Pascale Hutton

The Wish Swap

/ Rebekahrox / 11 Comments
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If Wishes were Chickens

Emily Tennant, fresh from her role as an adversarial sister in a Countdown to Christmas movie, is back in the saddle as the main girl In The Wish Swap. She is paired with Jake Foy, who has worked in Hallmark movies before, but not in quite awhile. I really liked him and would like to see him cast in more lead roles. And ones that require flannel. Casey is an executive recruiter for a large company and her fatal flaw is that she carries self sufficiency too far. She wants to do everything herself and won’t ask for help when she could use it. Henry manages a large farm and doesn’t really have a fatal flaw, except he is kind of reserved, likes to stay in the background, and won’t “put himself out there” as they say. They first meet at a restaurant where they are meeting friends (Casey) and family (Henry) to celebrate their birthdays. The two parties are seated next to each other and the sparks fly immediately. When Casey’s friends bring out a birthday cake, Casey offers to share it with Henry’s party. Casey is very open and outgoing, the opposite of Henry. They make their birthday wishes and blow out the candles together. And that’s where the title of this movie comes in. Somehow (we are never told why or how) their wishes come true, but Casey gets Henry’s wish of owning his own farm, and Henry gets Casey’s wish of being on “Dancing Your Heart Out,” a reality show like Dancing with the Stars but with ordinary people.

Casey figures out what happened right away, doesn’t even freak out like any normal person would, but finds Henry and explains what happened. He doesn’t freak out either. She makes a deal with him. If she can be his partner on the national dance contest, she will let him run her farm for a whole year part time as a second job so he can save up enough money to buy his own place. Being on a nationwide dance show is Henry’s worse nightmare, but he agrees. What she doesn’t tell him is that her birthday wish is actually three wishes. What could be worse for a reserved somewhat shy person like Henry than being on a nationwide dance show? How about doing a stand up comedy routine in front of a club full of people? In order to get Henry to agree to be her partner in comedy she ups the ante by promising Henry part ownership of her farm. That is his dream and he cannot refuse. Casey’s third wish is a secret.

This was a cute movie with a better than average script. The banter between the various characters was amusing and everyone was likable. Nary a bad guy in the bunch which can be refreshing. What with Henry being forced out of his comfort zone with the dancing and having to do a comedy routine (which wasn’t half bad) with Casey, there was plenty of opportunity for situational comedy as well as romance. And of course the same goes for city girl Casey’s struggles working with Henry doing the usual Farm duties on the most darling little farm ever.

Henry’s sister Charlotte (Molly Saunders-possible Hallmark lead in training?) who helped out on the farm added value and a nice way with a line. Along with her wannabe boyfriend she provided the secondary romance. The last minute conflict was on the lame side, but in order for the couple to have their happy ending,  they had to prove they had learned their life lessons once and for all as well as seal the deal on their love story. But do they win the dance contest? I thought the writers had left a loose end, but the very last scene provides the answer.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Notes of Autumn

/ Rebekahrox / 2 Comments

Trading Places

This is a “trading places” romance wherein two long-distance friends exchange homes for a week or so to figure things out regarding their professional lives.  Ever smiley Ashley Williams plays Ellie, a former professional pianist, who just got fired from her event planner job because she kept getting distracted by pianos. She gave up her true vocation because, she says, she likes to eat, have a roof over her head, and wear clothes. But it’s really because her confidence was shattered by a mean conductor. One of her good friends in the hotel she worked at is Matt, the chef, who is using her apartment kitchen to create new recipes for a restaurant he hopes to open soon. The ever charming and adorable Luke McFarlane plays Leo, a romance writer with the curse of all Hallmark characters who write for a living: the dread Writer’s Block. His neighbor is Sam who is trying to whip a string quartet into shape for a charity event called a Piano Ball even though he is not a musician. Friends Leo and Ellie change places a la The Holiday Or Hallmark’s own Trading Christmas or last year’s Sister Swap movies. Yes, it’s been done before. And disappointingly a lot better in two of the cases.

To make a long story short, Ellie falls for Sam while getting her music mojo back, and Leo falls for Matt who inspires him to write something new as he is tired of writing his very popular series of historical romances. The fictional characters of Isabelle and Jack, amusingly played by Pascale Hutton and Kavan Smith,(who play a couple in Hallmark’s super popular series, When Calls the Heart) keep intruding in Leo’s real-life struggles writing on his computer. I kept getting distracted by Ashley’s smile and Marcus Rosner’s dimples, imagining what their children might look like. Can we make that happen?

Besides the cute gimmick of Pascale and Kavan’s occasional appearances, the writing was average but the actors made the most of their lines. All of them were likable and funny, although Ashley’s struggles made no sense whatsoever. The gay romance was well done and sweet. Their sexual preference was pretty much in deep cover. Even Leo was surprised Matt was gay even after they had spent a good bit of time together. Guess his writer’s block also broke his Gaydar. At the end though we get some pretty loving looks and a couple of kisses. They all end up in Pinewood, Leo’s and Sam’s picturesque Canadian hometown, the city where Ellie and Matt lived abandoned in true Hallmark fashion. The love lives and professional lives are destined for success.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Fourth Down and Love

/ Rebekahrox / 13 Comments

Not quite a Touchdown, but at least a Field Goal

I did not hold high hopes for this one for a few reasons. First of all, there is the age thing, which probably bothers me more than it should for some reason. Ryan Paevey is 39 years old and it is absurd that he could credibly play a star wide receiver in the NFL. It is rare that wide receivers play much past age 30, and the youngest his character could be is 35. Secondly and sadly, I have not been much of a Pascale Hutton fan. She just always seems so placid and too mellow. I don’t watch When Calls the Heart, so maybe I would feel differently if I did.  Also, getting back to the age thing, she is 44 years old and is playing a character that must be at least 10 years younger.

But I was surprised. Ryan and Pascale were good together and totally believable as a couple, despite Erin, Pascale’s character, hitting the nurturing maternal thing pretty hard, and not only with her daughter. She really won me over with her comic timing delivering the humorous lines (“It’s a powerpoint. We’re doomed.”) and her skill with physical comedy as well. Her bee scene was a standout. The two actors seemed to play off each other very well and both seemed to be having a great time with this movie.

The plot was not much being the same old second chance romance of a former couple parted in their youth by a misunderstanding and lack of communication. It was made more tiresome because the lack of communication continued on and on until the end despite them becoming friends and then getting serious again. Briefly, Mike (Paevey) breaks multiple ribs in his first game after a long absence recovering from an ACL tear. Not surprising given his age. Sorry, not sorry. He goes home to recover and ends up helping his brother Jimmy by coaching the girls’ flag football team. Mike and Erin are reunited, she having mysteriously ghosted him after he was drafted by the Pros after college, breaking his heart. Her daughter has joined the girls’ team after being discounted and ignored trying to play on the boy’s team. The weakness of the plot was more than countered by the strong cast of characters. To single out just two, Kalyn Miles, Erin’s friend, and partner in their real estate firm was a standout, as was the always reliable Heather Doerksen as Danielle, Mike’s droll smart-mouthed sister-in-law who, along with her husband, immediately starts scheming to get the two reunited. The family dynamic adds a lot, as well as the adventures in coaching and the competition on the field as the girls go through the season and finally play the boys for the championship. I can’t help it: I love a good dose of girl power in my stories.

The strong cast was bolstered by some entertaining cameos: Ben Wilkinson as a sportscaster, and Kimberly Sustad appearing as a sideline reporter. Another favorite, Steve Bacic, played Mike’s quite dastardly agent who-spoiler alert!-gets satisfactorily fired at the end. I prefer him as a good guy, but he was well-cast.

It’s about time a football story was included in Hallmarks Fall lineup.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

We Wish You a Married Christmas

/ Rebekahrox / 2 Comments

Goodness Gracious!

I absolutely love Kristoffer Polaha and so I was really looking forward to this movie. I wasn’t sure about his pairing with Marisol Nichols but I haven’t seen her in anything before and I was willing to give her a chance. I must say though that her eyebrows did give me pause. They were very scary and actually looked navy blue in certain lights. Also the height difference. It was flattering for Kristoffer, but not so much for Marisol.

It started off very promisingly and unusually for Hallmark. Not the usual sweeping city or country scene but extreme closeups of a couple in a marriage therapist’s office talking directly to the camera. The therapist is played by Pascale Hutton, a Hallmark leading lady herself. I don’t care for her in starring roles but she made a great therapist in this little cameo. So calm, gentle, and pleasant. She sends them off for a Christmas getaway in Gracious, Vermont to spend some time together and make an attempt to repair their faltering marriage.

Gracious is a quirky little town filled with alpacas and really really nice friendly people who welcome the couple into all of their holiday activities. This includes Amy Groening once again charming and funny in a supporting role as a pet portrait painter. Time for a promotion, Hallmark! She really has a certain something. Marisol was ok but I wish Kristoffer would have been paired with someone with a little more spark.

All proceeds predictably, repetitively, and boringly as the troubled couple starts to reconnect as they spend more and more time together. The tale of their marriage troubles and the steps forward to eventual reconciliation needed a lot of bolstering and luckily it got quite a bit. Their dog, Jerry was, adorable and a real scene-stealer. He was no Nova. But he was a charmer nevertheless. The couple, Vince and Brian, who own the inn, had a sweet relationship and put a smile on my face whenever they came on the scene. Amy played her funny quirky character to perfection and her tentative romance with the awkward infatuated waiter was darling.

Kristoffer and Marisol’s characters actually turned out to be quite likable even if their journey was not. Isolated parts of the script and plot were well-written and entertaining. The ending had a cute little surprise at the end which hints that their therapist, the inn owners, and the town might have a little Christmas conspiracy going on with more than a hint of Christmas magic. All in all, it’s a 7: nothing really special but little to no eye rolling or remote throwing involved.

Rating: 7 out of 10.