Lacey Chabert

Lost in Paradise

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A Perfect Movie for a Cold and Dreary Winter’s Day

Though unambitious plot-wise, this was a pleasant diversion set on a tropical isle. Two private jet passengers and their two pilots crash in the ocean on the way to Fiji and are marooned on an uninhabited-by-people island. Or so we are led to believe. Yes, it’s been done before. But this is no survival story. Or “Lost.” Nary an anxious moment to be found, in fact. Lacey Chabert, our heroine, and her luggage, including her eye-liner and make-up case, survives the trauma of the ocean-ditching intact, and she and her companions wash up on a beautiful tropical isle not a smidgeon the worse for wear. No blood and not even wet.

Backing up a bit, Sophia (Chabert) is the famous founder of a successful fashion line who learns that her ex-husband and business partner is selling his shares to a fashion firm with not such a great reputation. Sales have flat-lined lately and he has persuaded some of the board members to go along with him. Lacey is intent on saving her company and her quality brand from this takeover. She books a private jet to visit the neutral board members in person to persuade them not to approve the sale. Being that Sophia is played by Lacey Chabert, her character is not a spoiled demanding diva and awful boss that needs to be taught a lesson by being removed from civilization and the internet by way of a plane crash. It is clear from the get-go that she is a really nice person and good boss. The first stop in her mission is Fiji, accompanied by her new summer fashion line. In case you didn’t notice, “Fashion Designing” is the new “Baking” as far as professions for Hallmark heroines are concerned. Meanwhile, we meet the other half of our prospective romantic couple. Max is the assistant chef for a fancy restaurant whose boss unjustly takes credit for his creative and delicious creations. He wants to open his own restaurant but he has been burned by a previous unsuccessful effort and has lost his confidence. Despite being a chef, a profession that historically is chock-full of troublesome personalities, Max is also a very nice person. His buddy, Julian, a pilot, has arranged a meeting for Max with a prospective investor…in Fiji. The catch is that Max must pretend to be a flight attendant for Sophia’s flight so Julian doesn’t lose his job for stowing away his buddy for the trip.. This leads to some amusing banter as Sophia and Max start to get to know each other on the flight. Cue previously mentioned plane crash.

Once on the island (not even wet) Julian and Lance, his co-pilot, conveniently make themselves scarce by getting on a dinghy to explore another nearby island to hopefully discover some civilization and effect a rescue.  TBH, I was sorry to see Julian go because he was charming, funny, and looked like Chris “Thor” Hemsworth’s shorter, thinner brother. Alone now, except for her cute little dog, Gianni, Sophia and Max have confiding talks, spear fish, swim in a pretty freshwater pool (complete with waterfall), and fall in love. Max cooks up delicious food and Lacey uses her sewing skills to construct a shelter and suitable clothing for tropical living. Other than the brief appearance of a snake and shark, there is nothing to distract from the couples relationship building. Until, that is, they do a bit of exploring and run into…Pirates! I will draw a curtain on the rest of the adventure. I will just assure you that nothing bad happens to Gianni despite a predilection for running into the jungle. For those sophisticated in deserted island romantic comedies, nothing will come as a surprise. Or have seen Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson.

Although there are no laugh out loud funny or clever and quotable lines in the script, it is light, fun, and fast-paced. There’s lots of entertaining banter between Julian and Max, Julian and Lance, and Sophia and Max. Ian Harding who plays Max has been wonderful in the 2 previous Hallmark productions I have seen in him. He and Lacey made a good team and a credible romantic couple. After they are rescued, we peek in “One Year Later”. Inspired by their time getting back to basics, Sophia has rediscovered her love of designing and sewing, and has saved her company.  Max has gained the confidence to make his restaurant venture a success. And the two are together. That wasn’t a spoiler, was it? The setting is pretty, bright, and colorful.  I’m not sure this movie would have played as well as it did had it premiered in the summertime, but in cold and dreary January, after the excitement of Countdown to Christmas, it was just the ticket.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

She’s Making a List

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Coal-Worthy

It’s not that I didn’t understand this movie, it’s that so many little things did not make sense. And it was boring. I really had high hopes for it. The premise was cute and different, and it starred two of Hallmark’s biggest and most popular stars: Lacey Chabert and Andrew Walker. I would have thought they would have given them a better script. And I don’t know much about direction, I just know when it’s good, but things were said or implied that I didn’t see on screen. Then at the end, the plot just went off into La-La Land, and by that I don’t mean Los Angeles.

In a nut shell, here is the plot. The naughty or nice list is real. But Santa’s elves have long since been relieved of the huge responsibility of deciding whether the children of the world get presents or coal in their stockings. That  job has been sourced to Naughty or Nice, Inc. who uses modern technology and algorithms to separate the good, the bad, and the in-between. They have a huge fancy office building in a big city so the whole company and its mission is right out there on Front Street. The algorithm is adequate for most kids, but some kids are on the line between naughty and nice. And that is where the human inspectors come in. Isabel (Chabert) is one of the best and up for a big promotion. The inspectors are dispersed throughout the Santa Claus believing world assigned to take a closer in-person look at the actions and behavior of these fence-straddling kids. They are armed with a huge guide book detailing, among other things, the rules of engagement in order to make the final determination of coal or presents for Christmas. And no one knows the rule book better or follows it more closely than Isabel. Sounds cute, right? And I am the last person to turn my nose up at a little whimsey. The production values were good, there were some clever and cute lines and concepts, and Lacey Chabert and Andrew Walker are always competent at the very least. But it ended up in a muddle that could have been done much better. And easily fixed.

The first case has Isabel scrutinizing two little boys playing with a ball. One dares the other to throw the ball as high as he can and when he does it breaks a car tail light when it lands (somehow?). It was just an accident, but the one kid runs away and the other struggles with his conscience and then runs away. Lacey writes down “Mischief, Destruction, and Evasion”. Both the boys are judged “Naughty.” Case Closed. No presents. One of the messages this movie seems to be trying to convey is about digging deeper past the surface actions before putting a label on a child. Wouldn’t it have been more effective if the kid would have changed his mind and taken responsibility for his actions but after Lacey had left the scene of the crime? Or some other extenuating circumstances?

The next case is a boy named Teddy who is apparently planting seedlings (In December?) with his classmates. He sprays bleach on everyone’s plants except his own! Why? Were they in some kind of plant competition? Why would a kid be so malicious? It’s never made clear. Isabel’s assistant thinks that he meant to spray fertilizer, not bleach. But if that’s true, why would he not fertilize his own plant? Isobel later claims it was the only bottle of bleach in a row of fertilizer bottles so it must have been a mistake. Which is clearly what the viewer is supposed to believe. But the frame showing the bottles clearly shows that is not true.  And why would bottles of bleach be right next to fertilizer in a children’s garden in the first place? And he was definitely acting guilty and sneaky. Making mountains out of mole hills? Maybe. But it was disengaging and distracting for no reason. Nothing about it made sense. If he was spraying bleach on innocent little baby plants that is more than just mischievous, it is very concerning behavior. The lesson of not jumping to conclusions about kids’ motivations was confused and murky.

Those two cases are just prologue to Isabel’s main case of Charlie, played by Cadence Compton, who was fantastic. 11-year-old Charlie is an amateur magician we first see making a little kid’s $20 bill “disappear.” Basically she steals it from him. And the other older kids are so impressed that they start waving their money at her so she can make all their money “disappear” too. What the Hell. As far as we see, she never gives them their money back, and the kids never report her to the authorities either. Again what would have served the moral of the story was her giving their money back when judgmental Isabelle wasn’t looking. Or maybe using the money to buy a warm coat for a homeless kid, or do some other good deed. No, what she did was more than just “naughty.” She does other bad stuff too. But since Isabel is now dating her handsome father Jason (very much against the rules but she couldn’t care less all of a sudden), she starts looking to make an exception for Charlie and protect her from getting coal instead of presents. Because you see, Charlie’s mother died last year, so all is forgiven and excused. Plus she picks up litter. We find out later that when she did get coal for Christmas last year, her Dad secretly replaced it with real presents anyway. I’m like, “Maybe a little coal in her stocking would have done her a lot of good!” Isabel is breaking all the rules when it comes to this one girl because of her crush on Charlie’s father. It just wasn’t right or fair to all the other gray-area kids. Not that Charlie was actually that “gray area” in my opinion. But let’s just overlook Isabel’s shady behavior. I mean it’s Lacey Chabert after all.

I won’t go on with other examples of badly presented and mixed messages, but trust me. Isabel gets closer to Jason, finds out she has been doing more harm than good in putting kids on the “Naughty List,” and Charlie is miraculously transformed from bad girl to good girl at the drop of a hat. As it turns out, next year Isabelle’s boss (Steve Bacic) is going to take the whole human element out of labeling the children of the world and rely strictly on the algorithm. There will no longer be any excuses or human input. A now wiser Isabelle is so upset by this, that she quits and then decides to visit the top man, Santa Claus, along with Charlie and Jason to plead her case: No child is ever really naughty, they are just trying to find their way in the complicated adult world. No comment. But it all ends in a happy ending with a world free of coal, naughty lists, and children not being held accountable for their actions. I’m sorry, but this is a 5 in my book.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

Haul Out the Halloween

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“What in the Samhain?”

Taking Christmas decorating drama as far as it could go, what else was Hallmark to do but to move on to the next challenge and take on Halloween? The folks on HOA loving Evergreen Lane, a cul-de-sac in Provo Utah, are thrown into a panic when the Halloween (and Shakespeare) obsessed Marvin and Luna Balmer (The M. Balmers) move into the house vacated by the Jolly Johnsons and start setting up for their favorite holiday of the year. Not Christmas. Something must be done. It’s Evergreen Lane, not Everscream Lane. They call in the big guns, Jared (Wes Brown), President of the HOA, and Emily (Lacey Chabert) Director of mumble mumble Activities, just back from their honeymoon. To not shorten a long story, when Emily was a child, she was traumatized when a mean girl, Ashlynn Ashworth “Yard Yelped” her by scaring her with scarecrows on Halloween shortly before the death of her beloved Grandmother. From then on, the neighbors dialed back all of the other holiday decorations to focus only on Christmas to protect Emily. The Ashworths pulled up stakes and moved away shortly thereafter. However, the ban on Halloween was never officially written into the bylaws of the HOA (!). So, Alas poor Yorick, the Balmers can not be stopped. A Big cul-de-sac meeting is called, and led by sweet and kind Emily, they decide to welcome the Balmers and in a “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ’em” spirit, totally embrace all of the art and science of Halloween celebration complete with costumes, contests, yard displays, and child-friendly activities. (They agree to only go up to 5 on the “Nosferatu Scale”.) It doesn’t hurt that thanks to Luna Balmer’s life being saved when she was just a kid, all proceeds will go to the local Children’s Hospital. And as Emily points out, Halloween is for remembering the dead, and this year’s celebration will be the perfect tribute to Emily’s Gram-Gram.

I really liked this one much more than the previous two Haul Out the Holly movies, which had some very problematic and disturbing aspects to them. The fascist undertones of the HOA were dialed down considerably. It was very fast paced and the wisecracks, jokes, and gags came thick and fast. And they were mostly quite funny. I probably missed a lot of them, but one that stands out was when Jared calls Emily’s messy attic “the portal to Pan’s Labyrinth”. It was very episodic with no one gradually unfolding plotline to be seen. The neighbors tackle a number of challenges including baking contest drama, Jared’s dismay over his widowed mother being courted by weird Ned (Stephen Toblowsky), Jared’s suspension as HOA president, and Emily not being fulfilled in her career and wanting to write children’s books. Also it turns out that the local media star who holds in her hands the success or failure of the money raising aspect of the cul-de-sac’s Halloween hijinks is none other than Ashlynn Ashworth, the mean girl whose family may or may not have been chased out of the neighborhood when she dared to scare young Emily out of her wits. But no one, not even a former mean girl, can resist the niceness of Lacey Chabert’s Emily. So we were not worried. Even though a lot of the side stories kind of fizzled out, I would certainly be on board with another one with these next year. Perhaps an Independence Day or Thanksgiving Day edition? This was fun and silly. If you can embrace that, it’s a treat, not the other thing.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

An Unexpected Valentine

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If You Find a Ring on Valentine’s Day, You Know What to Do

**Spoilers**

With Robert Buckley as the lead guy, how can you go wrong? It would be very difficult, although certainly doable in the hands of our friends at Hallmark. (No offence! Love you!) Luckily, his rapport with with the ever reliable Lacey Chabert was almost a given. She always makes the most of her established romantic comedy credentials when she really clicks with her costar. This one lived up to the funny and charming previews we were favored with last week. Although a bit marred by some improbable departures from what the realities of traffic and parking availability are in New York City and some other things, the fast-paced quest-type romance really hit the target.

After catching a ride share from work and after everyone but she is dropped off, Lacey finds a diamond ring which must be an engagement ring. Since Finn (Robert Buckley) tells her he cleans his cab every night, it must belong to one of his fares from today. Despite a less than satisfactory dating history, Lacey is a romantic at heart with empathy to spare and prevails on the more cynical Finn to go back and help her find the owner, who, since it is Valentine’s Day, was surely planning to propose with the ring tonight. In addition to that urgent circumstance, Lacey has an important presentation for her designer chocolate campaign at 9 PM that night, and Finn has a gallery showing of his photographic art that he must attend as well. What follows is a slow-burn development of their relationship as they look for the owner of the ring in between completing Finn’s Valentine deliveries.

Their adventures with the people they meet along the way were just mildly entertaining, but the romantic chemistry and banter between the two leads overrode the more boring parts. While supposedly on more than one urgent deadline they spend an inordinate amount of time with coffee breaks, dancing at a club and on the street, making pizza, and volunteering to temporarily man a food truck. And who immediately pulls their car over the second the check engine light goes on? As the day and night wore on, I began to get anxious over Lacey and Finn’s disregard for their professional commitments and it was distracting. Important people (Lacey’s corporate clients and Finn’s “art-snob”, as he so rudely calls them, potential customers) were waiting for them to show up. Not to mention their put-upon colleagues who have to deal with the awkward absences of the stars of their shows. It became quite uncomfortable for me. I must say, Finn, in particular, was very blasé about the people who can make or break his career as a photographic artist. Especially for a guy who has to supplement his income driving a ride-share/delivery van. Anyway, near the end, they finally find the nervous groom-to-be, who somehow had not noticed that the ring-box was not in his jacket pocket, and deliver the engagement ring he didn’t even know was missing just in time. It was one of several funny scenes. Lacey manages to make a credible appearance at her affair and Finn favors the art gallery with his presence. Briefly and not very graciously. For such a nice guy, he was a bit of a diva. What was up with that?

This was a Hallmark set entirely in New York City (though filmed in Canada, of course) and was a fairly fresh approach for Hallmark. We did have the interrupted kiss near the end which was particularly frustrating since Lacey backed off for no. Reason. Whatsoever. Girl! I really looked forward to this one and despite the weaknesses in the plot, it did not disappoint. Great chemistry between appealing and good actors count for a lot. It was fun and romantic.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Christmas in Rome

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Roman Holiday

Lacey Chabert and Sam Page make a good pair. I really liked the rapport they had together. They really matched. This 2019 production is set in Rome and although it had a lot of the usual travelogue elements, there was a lot more plot to this one and it definitely had its moments.

Lacey plays Angela who is an expatriate American living and working in Rome as a tour guide. She loves Rome, knows every little nook and cranny, and delights in taking her tourists off the beaten path to show them the real heart and soul of her favorite city. Unfortunately, her forays away from the safe well traveled tourist sites have sometimes gotten her and her little ducklings into trouble. Her latest out of the way adventure to a 400-year-old bakery results in one of her clients getting attacked by gluten. It is the last straw for Angela’s boss and he fires her. On her way home she meets a visiting business executive, Oliver, played by Sam Page, who is lost. She gets him to his business meeting successfully despite taking the scenic route, to his impatience. Oliver wants the retiring Luigi, played by Franco Nero, as handsome and charismatic as ever, to sell his high end family ceramics company to his firm. Oliver is all business, all the time. He is all about the bottom line, ignoring the niceties, and cutting right to the chase, which might be okay in some countries, but not in Italy, as Angela tries to tell him. As it happens, Luigi is very rich and doesn’t care how much money he gets for his Christmas ornament and other ceramics manufacturing company as long as its heart, soul, and artistic culture is preserved and nourished. There is lot of talk about “heart” and “soul” in this one. When Angela steps in and saves his bacon with Luigi who was very put off by Oliver’s initial approach, she adds life coach to her tour guide duties. She escorts the culture-shocked American around “the real” Rome showing him its heart and soul while lecturing him to death. There is nothing that Angela does not know about anything Roman. This was a very educational Hallmark. Oliver is won over and encourages her to start her own kind of tour guide company, specializing in tours that are much more than just the top ten tourist must-sees and selfie sites in the Eternal City. Meanwhile, Oliver is fending off his boss’s constant nagging about-When he is going to close the deal? What’s taking so long? Why do you look so relaxed and happy? And what does kneading bread with Lacey Chabert have to do with Luigi’s manufacturing plant? God, she was annoying. And the more she talked, the more I was afraid that Oliver actually would convince Luigi to sell his wonderful company to them as they were the exact opposite of everything that Luigi wanted from its future owner.

There were some really good moments in this one besides the scenery.

Angela refusing her former boss’s pleas to come back to work for him was one high point. Despite the inconvenience, seems Angela was very popular with his clients and frequently mentioned by name in his Trip Advisor reviews. His alarm when she tells him she is starting her own company and is on her way to line up some investors (arranged by Oliver) was very satisfying. A real “Hee-Hee-Hee” moment. I really liked that Oliver really bought into and supported Angela’s business aspirations.

Her pitch to her future investors was well done and the outcome was well managed, with just enough suspense to contribute to the overall effect.

I even liked that big conflict at the end which was well-founded and not silly or cooked up. At a celebratory dinner, Angela and Oliver agree to give their relationship a go despite living in different countries. Oliver tells her he will stay in Rome through New Year’s which signals that he has found balance between work and his personal life. Also, he has refused to take his boss’s calls! Angela is so encouraged that when she rings again, Angela encourages him to talk to her. He does, but he comes back to the table with news that he has been promoted to vice president (good news) but he must leave for New York immediately after all (bad).  In an instant, Angela sees the sad reality of their future in front of her versus the dream of making a go of it with the back-sliding Oliver. She calls the whole thing off and is direct, strong, and articulate. It was a great scene, and I was cheering her on all the way. Sam Page perfectly conveyed Oliver’s confusion and heartbreak.

There was a lot to resolve to achieve a satisfactory ending: The romance, Angela’s business venture, Oliver’s work/life balance, and, importantly for me, the future of Luigi’s beautiful little company in the hands of Oliver’s cutthroat employer. All were hanging by a thread. At one point Angela is even contemplating moving back to Seattle, of all places! Sure enough, Hallmark checked them all off and did so right in front of St. Peter’s Basilica during a Christmas concert. Well played.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

His & Hers

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The “A” Team

Frequent partners in Hallmark movies, Brennan Elliot and Lacey Chabert were perfectly cast as two married lawyers on opposite sides of a divorce case. And they could not have been better. They are mature adults who were playing mature characters blissfully married for 7 years, successful, and fulfilled in their careers. Thankfully not characters who still do not have it figured out professionally or personally though well into their thirties. Dana and Mark (Chabert and Elliott) are not “chasing or not chasing their dreams”, or doing anything Hallmark couples are usually involved in like getting themselves unstuck from some trauma or life altering misunderstanding. It was a very fresh plot-line for Hallmark although at first I thought it might be a riff on the classic Tracy-Hepburn vehicle, Adams Rib, or the little noticed (but one of my favorites) 2004 romantic comedy Laws of Attraction. But no, this one ends up doing its own thing once past the basic setup of romance between opposing  forces in the legal arena.

Dana and Mark are two good lawyers who are sincere, kind, cheerful, honest, wholesome, and a perfect match for each other. Now this could have gotten into drippy-sappy territory, except that Lacey and Brennan unapologetically embrace their characters; and instead of cringing at them, I just really liked them. Mark is about to make partner in his firm provided he wins his next case representing Brett Noble, one half of a reality TV couple who is about to go through a very messy divorce. So he is under some pressure there from his tough boss. Dana is a corporate  lawyer who has been assigned to represent Brett’s wife Tabby despite the fact that family law is not her thing. They  hope to work everything out in arbitration to avoid going to court. Besides avoiding bad publicity and negative attention from the press, Dana has an aversion to the courtroom. She abhors public speaking, “I get weird, I clam up, I make that face.” Mark wants to avoid court for the usual reasons, but also because he loves and supports Dana and doesn’t want her to go through that kind of stress and anxiety. Unfortunately the two contentious spouses each “want everything” and refuse to compromise.

Predictable (and unpredictable!) shenanigans ensue. What I liked most about this movie is that despite the couple being tested by the conflicts between their clients inevitably encroaching into their personal lives, there is never any fear that their relationship will be seriously threatened. The writers did not go the obvious route, but let their two clients provide the brunt of the relationship drama. Although Mark and Dana’s marriage weathers a few minor squalls due to their conflict of interest, they just love and respect each other too much to let it develop into a serious storm.  At one point the two open each others’ background checks by mistake and are shocked by what they learn. “You were incarcerated?!” “You were married?!”-for 1 hour to a “Will Kemp”-inside joke. “You were crowned Miss Supreme Ann Arbor?” “I did it for the scholarship money!” “You gave a speech on World Peace!” I was young-everyone makes mistakes.” They stalk off to opposite sides of their apartment but turn around immediately and hug it out. “This isn’t us.” In fact, rather than causing dissension, their involvement in the messy divorce ultimately brings them closer together, spurring them to tackle previously unaddressed issues and questions.

To add to the fun, there are a lot of blink-and-you-might-miss-them inside jokes involving Brennan and Lacey’s past movies together:  “You know I love baby goats”, says Dana, and the way she fills in a crossword puzzle. I felt there was an opportunity missed by not taking advantage of Lacey “I am not a litigator!” Chabert’s comic timing by having her struggle in the courtroom before finding her feet longer than she did. Oh well, time constraints and all that. Stephanie Bennett and Clayton James nail their roles as the shallow seemingly vacuous battling couple. The script was sharp with some wit as well as situational comedy. There were also some twists that I did not see coming until I did, and the ending was very satisfying with justice served outside the courtroom, and Mark and Dana’s professional and personal lives on an even better track than they were before. If that’s possible. It was a very strong entry in this year’s “Fall into Love” premiere movies although no one was “falling in love” and there was not an Autumn leaf in sight.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up

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May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor

And so it continues. The sequel to Haul Out the Holly is more of the same only the ante is upped by a new family moving to Evergreen Lane. At first, the Christmas Trappings-obsessed neighborhood is worried that the new neighbors won’t fit in, and that their decor and Christmas spirit (as defined by the HOA) will not be up to snuff. That the HOA might have to go “medieval on their merriment”. Scary stuff. Christmas Bling is serious business on Evergreen Lane. But much to their excitement and joy the new homeowners are none other than the world-famous royalty of Christmas celebration, “The Jolly Johnsons”, the reigning champions of the reality series Ho Ho House and who “set the bar for Suburban Santaology”.  It all proceeds as one might expect. At first, the Johnsons and Evergreen Lane are a mutual admiration society. That doesn’t last long. The Johnsons start to belittle Evergreen Lane’s efforts and start to take over the neighborhood celebrations with grander displays and over the top of E.L.’s over-the-top events. And it’s their way or the highway. Worst of all they ignore the rules and regulations of the HOA! It all escalates in sometimes amusing and sometimes horrifying ways until the Johnsons end up ripping up Jared’s citations and quitting the HOA!! This is exactly what some viewers wanted poor Lacey to do last year. Quite put out, she responds “This isn’t in the handbook. Why did you make me participate last year?!” Obviously reinforcements are needed and it’s Lacey’s parents, the founders of the HOA, to the rescue.

 Lacey Chabert was excellent in this. Her character, though buying in and embracing the ways of Evergreen Lane, manages not to lose her sanity (for long) and remains the voice of reason and kindness. Haul Out the Holly was a somewhat divisive movie, either loved for the broad comedy and satire or hated for the torture and bullying of Lacey Chabert until she conformed to HOA regulations. Not to mention the anti- “real meaning of Christmas” message. I thought this was funnier and less disturbing than the first one. Cute gags and running jokes abound. At the beginning of the movie, Mary Louise, who is played by Ellen Travolta, references a member of her famous real-life family, but not the one you think. And the bit about the Canadian rock group Nickelback. It was funny and clever. The whole talented cast did their job to almost perfection- I confess I still didn’t care for Wes Brown’s character, Jared, Lacey’s boyfriend and president of the HOA.

Maybe I just knew what to expect with this one. Instead of a whole neighborhood (including her absent parents) ganging up on one nice girl, the neighborhood ended up being divided into two more or less equal factions battling it out for Christmas supremacy. The neighborhood comes together in the end thanks to Lacey. But although the true meaning of Christmas is given lip service, I just didn’t buy it. It was still all about the tinsel, lights, and gingerbread houses. If there is a third one in this series (and why wouldn’t there be?) it would be interesting to see what would happen if a Jewish or Muslim family moved in. Or better yet, a true Christian family who celebrates the original source of the season by looking inward instead of outward unless it is to help others in need. I know. That’s just crazy talk.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

A Merry Scottish Christmas

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Good Craic!

I really really liked this! It was most pleasant. Not a lot of drama or romance, just a nice story of a family reconnecting and coming together and embracing a new perspective on themselves and their future. There is a bit of a romance of course but really only to provide a path forward to a healthy life/work balance for our single workaholic heroine and hope for a future happy home life. It is also the story of a married couple who have grown apart rediscovering each other and recommitting to their marriage. And it’s all set and filmed in a real castle in Scotland! What could be better?

Lacey Chabert and Scott Wolf famously of the old TV series Party of Five reunite as brother and sister, Brad and Lindsay Morgan.  Over the years the once very close pair have drifted apart and haven’t spoken or met for 2 years. Refreshingly, there wasn’t a huge disagreement or misunderstanding involved, it was just their busy lives and important time-consuming careers getting in the way.  I venture to say that too many families can sadly relate to this same situation. One little thing leads to another, a perceived snub, a hurtful word or two, until two family members are well and truly estranged.

Brad and Lindsay’s mother has brought them together, along with Brad’s wife Sarah to spend their Christmas vacation in Scotland at Glencrave Castle. Little do they know that their mother has actually inherited the castle and the estate and is a countess. When she was 20, she ran away to California with an American, the pair’s future father, and never returned. The title and the responsibility of running things went to her brother who passed away a few weeks prior. So now the jig is up and she has no choice but to spill the truth of her past to her children and to figure out what to do about her inheritance. When she was 20, she wanted no part of the massive responsibility that being a countess entailed. She wanted the freedom to choose her destiny. Yay, America! Her life in Scotland didn’t fit then and doesn’t fit now. She wants to pass it along to Brad and Lindsay, or at least give them the choice to take on their legacy or sell up. Now they must decide whether to return to their lives in California or become the titled owners of the castle, its 30,000 acres,  and the huge responsibility that that entails. Along the way, we are immersed in the scenery and Christmas traditions of Scotland and the robust social life of the village that is supported by Glencrave. And that includes a funny and delightful cameo appearance by actor and dancer Will Kemp, Lacey Chabert’s frequent partner in several Hallmark productions.

The dilemmas and troubles of the family were involving as they worked to iron things out between mother and children, husband and wife, and brother and sister. There were both chuckles and touching moments to spare.  Of course, the scenery and atmosphere were as important as the plot and characters. And I really enjoyed the nuggets of history and lore as well. Who knew that Christmas was banned in Scotland until 1958? Although celebrated privately by some families, to most it was just another day until the 1960s. It all concludes in a heartwarming and satisfying fashion and I forgive them for any mistakes they may have made regarding how the Scottish peerage actually works.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

The Wedding Veil Journey

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The Best of the Bunch

At the beginning of the movie, The three friends have gotten together and since they are also enjoying their wine, we know it’s been well over a year since the end of “Inspiration” when we learned Emma was newly pregnant. It’s been a total of 3 years since they first bought the veil. We follow Tracy (Alison Sweeney) home and we see that she and Nick (Victor Webster) rarely see each other, as she works during the day as the head of an art auction house, and he at night at his two restaurants. After talking to her friends, Tracy is inspired to give her marriage the kick in the pants it needs and the two end up going on their long-delayed honeymoon. They decide on Greece, the veil in tow, to lend to Nick’s still single sister in Spain. As in the second installment, we are treated to some gorgeous scenery throughout the movie.

I believe this one was very well done. It was very well put together and although not really comedic, had plenty of amusing scenes, dialogue, and a lot of heart. Alison and Nick’s relationship was very loving and mature. Any rough patches were handled by communication and a sense of humor. At one point, Nick starts surreptitiously doing the cooking for one of the owners of the struggling inn they are staying at. His food is inedible which is both a running gag and a real problem. Tracy is irritated when he starts “working” on their honeymoon, but, no worries, it is handled with no silly drama. There is drama in this one, but it is definitely not silly. Tracy and Nick get close to a cute orphan boy, a talented artist and athlete, but who lives at his school under the rule of a temperamental headmaster who actively discourages his art. As he explains to the interfering Americans, Leo will have to earn his living when he leaves the school and can’t afford to indulge his talent in a vocation that will not support him.  He has no one to fall back on, unlike impractical art majors. The neighbor who was raising him after his parents died had to be put in a care facility for early Alzheimer’s. Leo lovingly sends him his drawings weekly but it is doubtful he even remembers Leo. It is a very tragic situation and when Tracy and Nick take Leo to visit him it is a real tearjerker.

Meanwhile, in the light sweet romance department,  the veil works its magic with the young beautiful Inn owner and the grandson of a wealthy aristocrat played by Jane Asher, a British actress most famous for being engaged to Paul McCartney in the 1960s. When the young man called her “Granny”, it was jarring, to say the least. Equally jarring was learning she is almost 80 years old! Off the subject, but hey, we all love the romance and happy endings Hallmark is famous for, right? After her very public breakup with Paul, Jane Asher met Gerald Scarfe, a famous English illustrator and cartoonist. They have been together for over 50 years, and happily married for over 40. Can we have a movie about that, please?

There was a lot going on in this 6th Wedding Veil movie: Mystery (the veil keeps disappearing) light romance, Humor (the inedible food and the victims’ efforts not to hurt the amateur chef’s feelings) suspense and drama ( the antagonistic head of the school), and some real heartwarming moments involving how Tracy and Nick handle their attachment to Leo and how they help him.  Tracy and Nick have to have a think about their whole lifestyle and the kind of people they are individually and as a couple.  I thought it was well handled, with due respect given to balancing each of their careers with their relationship along with how they handle the situation with Leo. Unlike some of its predecessors,  All of the plot threads were fully developed, interconnected, and well-integrated into one coherent story. We are also treated to a thought-provoking defense of the importance of art in everyday life.

Yes, Autumn Reeser and Lacey Chabert do horn in on Alison’s honeymoon, Autumn on a small pretext, but Lacey flying halfway around the world on no pretext whatsoever. This does serve to illustrate what a good sport Nick is, however. Tracy is one lucky woman. I want to add that Alison’s acting in this was superb. I once referred to Alison Sweeney as Hallmark’s best crier. She is, IMHO, but in this one, her performance was truly moving. And she was funny too.

After a 7th couple is brought together by the Wedding Veil, (Nick’s sister is now married, we hear,) Tracy, whose skepticism is a running thread throughout the series is forced to admit that she has no choice but to believe in Magic.  The movie ends with the women going shopping, being lured into a shop, and tempted by a beautiful antique necklace that, Oh No! has a legend attached to it. Everything has come full circle. Well played, Hallmark.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

The Wedding Veil Inspiration

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Terror in the Art Department

I liked most of this one. The script was smart and the plot was multilayered without being all over the place. All of the actors did a nice job.  Emma’s (Autumn Reeser) slowness to realize her professional life needed a reset got on my last nerve, but mostly it was very enjoyable, buoyed considerably by the charm of the secondary romance. The movie picks up a few months after the ending of  Lacey Chabert part II, A.K.A. The Wedding Veil Expectations. Paolo and Emma are living in Chicago with Emma pursuing her career goal of being the director of the Art History Department at the University.  Paolo is in the midst of opening the new Chicago location of his family’s lace business.


While her rigid taskmaster of a boss is preparing Emma to take her place as department head, Paolo is called back to Italy to deal with his father’s health crisis. Meanwhile, a cousin, Matteo, has left his home in Miami to live in Chicago and take over the day-to-day running of the new store. During the grand opening Matteo meets Lily, Emma’s assistant, and due to an almost accident, they both touch The Veil together and their fate is sealed. Carlo Marks as Matteo, and Kacey Rohl as Lily are both charming and appealing with Lily, in particular, having a quirky and well-rounded personality with a nice sense of humor. And a terrible haircut.

The main event, however, is the trouble Emma is having at work which is causing some hiccups in her and Paolo’s personal life and worrying her two best friends. The more she is groomed by her boss to take over the long-dreamed-of position, the more unhappy she becomes. Her very bossy boss insists she give up her teaching assignments, work longer hours (leaving less time with Paolo,) go to bureaucratic meetings, and stop posting her popular educational art videos. Emma complies unhappily with each new restriction. It is obvious to the viewer and everyone else except her that the post that has always been her professional goal is not a good match for her. When will the light dawn? When her tyrannical boss advises Autumn that she must give up her stylish wardrobe because it doesn’t reflect the image she must project, I thought that that surely must be the last straw. I mean, why would an ART professor have a wardrobe like a trial lawyer? But sure enough, she shows up at work the next day in a black “who died?” suit getting the side-eye from all of her friends and colleagues. At this point, I was getting remote-throwing level frustrated with her not putting her foot down. Adding to the pressure, are Paolo’s increasing obligations in Italy. Long-distance relationships don’t work for Emma, and she is in a quandary.

All is resolved finally with an unanticipated (by me, anyway) twist, that puts a new light on Emma’s struggles and bumped my rating up a star. I liked that Paolo was loving, clear-eyed, and patient throughout all of the drama, but was not a doormat.  I liked the lesson Emma learned at the end about building a happy life with your husband and working towards professional goals. But I wish she had learned it without being driven by force to the end of her rope.

Next week we have the last entry in this second trilogy. I am a little worried about that one because according to the previews it has Autumn and Lacey horning in on Alison Sweeney and Victor Webster’s delayed honeymoon. All I can say is that the reason for this intrusion better be good.

Rating: 8 out of 10.