Laura Soltis

Holiday Crashers

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Lying Liars from Lieville. But No Judgement.

**Spoilers**

Lifelong BFFs, Toni and Bri, work together in an invitation and card shop. Bri is the wild fun loving madcap one-always up for a lark but kind of aimless. Toni graduated at the top of her class from “Haltword”, a top Ivy League law school wink wink, but had a panic attack while taking the bar so is not a lawyer. She is working at the shop while trying to figure out her path forward. She is the daughter of one of those lawyers who promote themselves with those nerve-jangling TV ads and paste their faces on billboards and buses. She loves her Dad very much but she has always been embarrassed by his brand of ambulance-chasing injury lawyering and the way he drums up business. It’s not that she doesn’t love the law, but is afraid ending up like her father. He, of course, wants her to partner with him, but she is reluctant because in sophisticated circles he is somewhat of a joke.  So, in her mid-twenties, she is “taking a pause” and trying to figure it all out.

While delivering boxes of party invitations to a wealthy matron during another party she is throwing, Bri gets the the idea of pretending to be a guest for a laugh and drags Toni into the adventure against her better judgement. They both have a great time (Toni may have her feet on the ground but that doesn’t mean she is a stick in the mud). Toni meets Justin, an attractive guest and there is instant attraction between them. One thing leads to another, and the girls, taking advantage of their access to extra invitations, start going to all of the best parties in town while creating new exciting fake identities for themselves for each party. Like a Formula One Race Car Driver, Crash Test Dummy Manufacturer, and Olympic Skier. All harmless fun, you understand. In their adventures, Bri falls for a humble parking valet she keeps meeting, and Toni continues to run into Justin who is the corporate head of a corporation that acquires other corporations. Justin, played by the elegant Chris McNally, is just…Wow…in this movie. At one party she meets Latisha, one of Justin’s employees who was a fellow classmate of hers from “Haltword”. Latisha tells her boss what a great lawyer Toni is (based on what a great student she knew her to be).  He invites her on a Christmas retreat as a consultant after she advises him not to get involved in buying a company that her Dad will soon be filing a class action suit against. Toni tries to refuse but is powerless in the face of Latisha who almost gives birth on the portico. Also Bri, the human dynamo, adds her two cents, and Toni is powerless to refuse.

So just harmless party crashing and fantasy identities has just turned serious. Toni can get into serious trouble with the bar association for practicing law without a license even though she is just consulting and will refuse to be paid. It will also harm Justin and his company’s credibility. As Justin and Toni continue to fall for each other, Toni learns that due to a troubled childhood with his father and a past romantic betrayal, Justin cannot tolerate liars. Always on the verge of confessing the truth to Justin but never quite finding the courage, she finds herself in an increasingly impossible situation.

Despite all of the deception and lying, this was still enjoyable. The script had some funny jokes; especially the pop-culture references sprinkled throughout. Lyndsy Fonseca, who played Toni, has established a good track record with me, and newcomer Daniella Monet as Bri was a lot of fun. Because of their acting I just made the decision not to be judgey about their characters’ behavior.  Besides, a most beloved rom-com, While You Were Sleeping was based on Sandra Bullock’s big lie, and who ever had a problem with Sandra Bullock’s Lucy? Certainly not me.

 As all of the fake identities start to catch up with the two friends, it results in some pretty good comedy as well as tension. Olympic Skier, Huh? And Doula? The romance between Vinny the valet and Bri was sweet. It turns out Bri is not the only one who can conjure up a fake identity. Bri finding the ideal career path at last was an engaging sub plot, and her backstory did a lot to justify her more questionable actions. I love the way Toni came to terms with her Dad’s ways. The best scene in the movie is when she hears some of the party goers make fun of him and his commercials and she stalks over and rips them a new one, revealing her true identity in the process. This was a breakthrough for her and the point where she finally starts finding her way forward careerwise.  I also liked that Justin held Toni accountable for her lies when the truth finally came out. She was truly remorseful and apologetic, but he rightly had none of it, and they didn’t meet again for another year. She had passed the bar and had gone into partnership with her Dad, even starring in one of his crazy TV spots. I loved that. Good for her. When Justin sees her on TV, his heart melts and a happy ending is not far behind. Not that her saving him and his firm “two billion dollars” with her inside information played a factor in his forgiveness. Not at all.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

A Season for Family

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No Buddy, It’s Really Not That “Complicated.”

**Spoilers**

This was shaping up to be a decent pull at the ol’ heartstrings usually involving moving forward after a death that Hallmark Movies and Mysteries specializes in. Stacey Farber was charming and refreshingly natural looking (No long ringlet over her shoulder!) as Maddie, the female lead,  and Brendan Penny, the male lead, is always at least good, and sometimes very good. The two play adoptive parents. Maddie is single by choice, and the mother of Wesley, a fairly well-adjusted kid, except he has recently learned he has a biological brother that he longs to meet. It is his Christmas wish. Brendan plays Paul who has lots of challenges in his life. He owns a struggling ski shop and his wife died a couple of years ago. Their adopted son, Cody, who is maybe about 8 or 9 does not know that he is adopted, and his mother on her deathbed and widowed dad agreed not to tell him until he was 10 years old. First, WTH? And, why?  This does not seem like a good idea in this day and age not to tell a child they are adopted. I mean, what is the big deal? If you don’t raise a child to always know they are adopted, shouldn’t you at least drop the truth bomb on him before he starts school? Why 10? Seems a little random with no regard to circumstances and your child’s personality and maturity level. But anyway, all the conflict arises from this peculiar decision, which later morphs into a “promise.” As in deathbed. Right. As we are told over and over, “It’s complicated”.

Maddie and Wesley visit her parents for Christmas in Park City Utah where Paul and Cody live. They meet at Paul’s ski shop. Mother and Father and the two boys bond immediately and it turns out that Wesley and Cody are, yes, you guessed it, biological brothers! What a happy coincidence! Here is Maddie’s son, yearning for a brother, and here is Paul’s son who is shy and timid and needing to come out of his shell, finally making a much-needed friend in Wesley. And here is Paul and Maddie who like each other a lot. But no. It’s complicated. Since Paul is too stupid and cowardly to tell his son about being adopted until he reaches the magical age of 10, everything is hush-hush. And here’s the thing. I won’t go into all of the details explaining, but he will lose his business and will have to move to Colorado because he can’t take advantage of a business proposition involving Maddie’s father, Wesley’s grandfather. Because Wesley and Cody must be separated so Cody doesn’t find out the truth (before he is 10).

Paul’s life, Cody’s life, the life of his sister who has been a surrogate mother to Cody, his best friend, and even Maddie and Wesley and Maddie’s parents are all going to be torn apart or heartbroken because he won’t tell Cody he is adopted (before he is 10). Not to mention all that he is depriving his son of. And believe me, everyone sees what an idiot he is being except him, and isn’t afraid to try to nicely talk sense into him. Too nicely. It was maddening. And to top it off, when he finally takes to heart all of the wise advice he has ignored or anguished over throughout the movie and tells Cody the news, It turns out Cody already knew! Funny stuff!

So Paul’s foolishness ruined the movie for me, despite the great job the two little kid actors did as Wesley and Cody, the previously mentioned Stacey Farber, the presence of Laura Solis as Maggie’s mom, and the nice Christmas decorations. In the last 2 minutes, Paul apologizes to Maggie, they kiss, tell the boys the truth, the two families come together for Christmas dinner,  and we leave them at the table laughing like maniacs.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10.

The Wedding Contract

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Signing on the Dotted Line

I have always liked Becca Tobin in the movies I have seen her in and this was no exception. And I have really really liked Jake Epstein. He is good-looking, but with a nice normal guy-type vibe as well. They star together in this low-key Jewish-themed romance. Ms. Tobin has never looked lovelier. This one is a little different as the couple has a meet-cute, time goes by, Jake meets Rebecca’s close-knit family, and they are engaged to be married in the first 18 minutes. Rebecca teaches art, and we have a montage of pencil drawings of the couple having fun and such like to prove to the audience they have spent the necessary time together and they are a good match. And… it’s time to plan the wedding and bring home Jake’s single Mom ( I’m redecorating a Castle in Romania) from her world travels.

Of course, the mothers are…challenging. They have completely opposite tastes and lives. One likes lots of pizzazz and one favors understated sophistication. But their antics are mostly held in check. The conflict is limited to dirty looks and extreme civility. Plus, this bride actually has a backbone. There is also the matter of religious differences. Although they are both Jewish, Rebecca is fairly devout and holds to all the traditional customs and ceremonies. Adam on the other hand is Jewish in name only. His now-divorced mother married a gentile after his father died, and the pair lost touch with that side of things. There are a number of scenes of Adam getting immersed and educated in his heritage and he does it to make Rebecca happy. This involves meetings with a Rabbi, who looks more like an agent for the Mossad and is terrifying. The second and far more serious source of conflict is Adam’s career. After they are engaged and planning the wedding, Adam gets a big promotion to partner but it means he and Rebecca will have to move to Los Angeles. Rebecca is very close to her family and the after-school program she created and runs in Chicago. She is sad but rightly agrees with good grace that move is what they must do. Bonus Perk: He will be making twice as much money! So yes. Good decision. So far so good. They love each other and are willing to put the other first and work things out together. However,  after navigating their share of stormy waters the boat starts to flounder when Adam has to go to L.A. to handle an emergency just a few days before the wedding, and is late getting back in time for the rehearsal. Rebecca, already stressed and questioning Adam’s priorities walks out. I thought that was a little extreme.

All is (miraculously) resolved of course, with some thanks to the sage guidance of the two Moms. The actors were excellent. Becca Tobin managed to convey teacher-like qualities outside of the classroom without coming across as overly high-handed. Jake Epstein conveyed his character’s high-strung tendencies without making him seem like a ditz.  Jake’s mother, played by Laura Soltis had a lovely and touching scene near the end which softened her hard sophisticate facade. Oh! and good ol’ Peter Benson was in this. This was a low-key story that did include some drama and tension but didn’t turn into a silly circus. It was very pleasant.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Lights, Camera, Christmas!

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Cute and Clever, but I Didn’t Buy the Love Story.

**spoilers**

Hallmark had a little fun with this parody of Hallmark Christmas movies. And I had fun with it as well. Kimberley Sustad, who is a favorite with many viewers including me, plays Kerry, a formerly aspiring dress designer who now owns a dress shop in a small town. She lives with her mother and her shop is on the verge of failure. She is very self-effacing and lacks confidence. Hallmark, oops, excuse me “Dazzle”, comes to town to film their latest Christmas movie, My Favorite Santa, which is super-cheesy. We get to know the cast and crew including the male star and love interest, Brad “the King of Christmas” Baxter.  He embodies all of the cliches attached to a phony vain movie star, including his trademark flirty wink to the camera which caps off all of his movies. When the production’s costume designer quits, Kerry is dragooned into taking her place. She proves her worth time after time. As she gets to know  Brad, she realizes that beneath the Hollywood facade, he is a nice guy. They start to fall for each other.  There is a secondary romance as well between the producer and the director. They are exes who used to be the most successful movie-making team at Hallm…um, “Dazzle”. They go from only being able to talk to each other through an intermediary, a put-upon P.A., to mutual respect, and then re-igniting their love for each other.

Unfortunately, although very promising, it fell short for me. First of all, it was kind of boring. There was no drama, tension or suspense. The enemies-to-lovers conflict between the divorced showrunners was slow and predictable with a minimum of fireworks. I didn’t buy the Brad character. How could a truly genuine and nice guy act like such a dolt? His character is meant to be funny, but also mildly contemptible as well. He certainly wasn’t worthy of Kerry especially as played by the lovely and talented Kimberley Sustad. At one point, he offers Kerry a job as his costume designer after he gets a game-changing movie role in London. She takes a leap of faith and turns down her dream job in New York to go with him. But when he reads a piece criticizing his going against type to play a villain, he chickens out and backs out of the gig. He didn’t even think of his promise to Kerry. So Kerry lost her dream job and the London opportunity.  Thanks, Brad.

I give Hallmark props for parodying itself in an amusing and effective way. And the structure was unusual for Hallmark as well. It is told in flashbacks at the premiere with the principals taking questions from the audience. We learn that Brad changed his mind again and took the role in London (without Kerry) but she is now working in Hollywood as a costume designer for the re-married team with a 6 picture contract. Brad and Kerry get together at the end after Brad apologizes and vows to change, but I didn’t believe in the relationship. And, so far, I’m not a fan of John Brotherton. I have to add that the final scene was very funny. I chuckled.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Autumn in the City

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New York is so Nice!

This was fairly watchable despite a few troublesome aspects. One of which was the mismatch in the casting. Aimee Teegarden is an attractive and relatively youthful Hallmark leading lady and Evan Roderick as her love interest was a fresh new face and did well. Unfortunately, together, the pair didn’t work. Aimee is in her early 30s playing an almost 30-year-old. Evan Roderick is 6 years younger and could pass for 17. So, for me, the chemistry was off.

Piper has escaped from her hometown and her over-protective parents to pursue her dreams in New York City. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have any dreams other than escaping from her dead-end life in Iowa or Omaha or whatever. This leads to a series of temp jobs where she hopes that her destiny will hit her “like a bolt of lightning.” She is almost 30 years old. Honey, if lightning hasn’t struck by now, it’s not going to. The thing is, her passion is right in front of her, but she is totally oblivious. Big Clue: She is constantly drawing and coloring in her sketchbook which is never far from her side. So, Piper, art? Maybe? While waiting for her bolt out of the blue, Piper waves aside several amazing opportunities that most young ambitious *20* somethings starting from scratch would kill for. I could neither sympathize, understand, nor relate. She turns down a supervisory position in a museum, which I’m pretty sure would be snapped up by most master’s degree holders in the field just to get their foot in the door. She takes a job as the personal assistant to a Broadway star. But she is about ready to go on a national and international tour, including London. Piper doesn’t want to go (why not?????!!!!!!!) and quits or is fired. Then she gets a job in an art gallery where she promptly sells a painting they have been trying to get rid of for months and earns a 10% commission which the owner has to insist she accept. New York certainly is the land of opportunity and New Yorkers are all just waiting to give nice mid-westerners cool jobs. But not cool enough for Piper. Despite being a closerthanthis match to her artistic talents, she quits to go back home to her boring life and suffocating parents even ditching her own birthday party. (She is sad because her boss told her her cute sketches weren’t quite gallery show material.) Spoiler alert. She changes her mind at the last minute.

While all this is going on she gets to know Austin, the son of a world-famous journalist and Piper’s next-door neighbor. He is writing a  children’s book about Nathan the Squirrel rather than following in his egotistical mother’s footsteps. His mother won’t let up and she gets him a job he doesn’t want as a reporter and instead of just turning it down, he is a waste of space, acts like a petulant child, and gets fired. Both of these two lead charmed lives, however, even for Hallmark. Austin submits his manuscript to a publisher, thanks to some shaming from Piper, and, even without an agent, it gets accepted. And not only accepted but they want a whole series about Nathan! He had talked Piper into doing the illustrations for his pitch. Lightening Bolt! By the end, after a lot of “tragedy” and triumph, she has her dream career and a boyfriend. There were no pumpkins in this one (pumpkin spice lattes don’t count) but lots of leaves. Attention young midwesterners! Life in New York City really isn’t like this!

Rating: 6 out of 10.

Romance in Style

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“Go Ella!” Literally, Just Go.

This was good for the first 70%. The premise was intriguing and anytime Hallmark resists the urge to fall back on their go-to templates, it always feels fresh.

Ella (think Cinderella), a sewer (I guess I should have said seamstress) in the fashion industry, has aspirations to be a dress designer specializing in clothes for the average woman, such as herself, both in price and size. She has already gotten some love from a premiere designer who has seen promise in her designs (think Vera Wang). She has a meet-cute with a seemingly entitled self-absorbed (but handsome!) man at a coffee shop on her way to do some freelance sewing work for the fashion magazine her friend works at (think Vogue). We meet her friend’s mean-girl bosses who are very much like Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt from The Devil Wears Prada. Lo and Behold, it turns out that the charming gentleman (Prince Charming, that is) whom she traded good-natured barbs with at the coffee shop is the son of the new owner of the media company who has been sent to turn things around for the struggling magazine.

I really liked that the powerful love interest, Derek, played by Ben Hollingsworth, and our heroine were aligned on the same side against Meryl and Emily who did not want to expand their fashion coverage to include anyone over a size 4. He likes her and he likes her ideas. Recognizing her talent and knowledge, he relies on her to tutor him in the ins and outs of the fashion industry. They work together to develop the digital version of the magazine to appeal to a larger audience. No pun intended. He decides to feature her and her designs much to the resentment and anger of the mean girls. The stage is perfectly set for drama, sabotage, confrontation, and a hopefully massive take-down of Meryl and Emily, the wicked stepsister and stepmother.

The precarious current state of print media and its challenges are not ignored. Usually, with Hallmark, successful independent bookstores abound and magazines and newspapers are super successful and legion to provide gainful and glamorous employment for our heroes and heroines. The set design and graphics were stylish and imaginative and the fashions actually looked fashionable. The pace was energized and the dialogue snappy.

Unfortunately, the ending was extremely weak and brought my final rating down a whole star. The big misunderstanding at the end was too dumb for words. It entailed Ella swallowing the obvious lie from mean girl #2 that Derek really didn’t care anything about her and was just using her. Why would she even stay in the same room with the nasty venomous bitch let alone listen to and believe her? Ben had never been anything but kind and supportive. Anyway, she does, and leaves the big launch party in a huff before Ben can introduce her to the fashion world as a hot new designer. She simultaneously disses the Vera “fairy godmother” Wang character and embarrasses everyone into the bargain. She not only potentially tanks her romance with the rich, powerful, and nice Ben but her dream career as well. Talk about self-hatred! Of course, the happy ending can’t be denied. All is forgiven. But then we are robbed of the pleasure of seeing the wicked stepsisters being taken down by turning them into nice girls at the last minute for no reason other than expediency. (“Go Ella!”, they cheer.) If you’re going to do Cinderella, don’t leave out the best part.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

August 16, 2022