Rebecca Staab

The Christmas Baby

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Two Wise Women and a Baby

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Erin (Ali Liebert) and Kelly (Katherine Barrell) are a happy couple just as they are. They are two successful women with large families and good friends. Their lives are full and complete and they have no desire to add children to the equation. But in the words of an old proverb, “Man plans, God laughs”. Erin is still at her store and rushing to get ready to attend an awards ceremony where Kelly is receiving an award for her production design. She hears someone enter her closed store and rushes out from the backroom only to find a baby boy in a carriage attached to a handwritten note.

“Kelly and Erin, I know you will take good care of him. His name is Nicholas. I’m sorry. I tried.”

Erin takes the baby to the event and together the couple decides to call social services. They are lucky enough to get lovely Barbara Niven who plays Betty, as the assigned case worker. Despite her assurances that a nice foster home awaits the baby, they ultimately  decide to take care of little Nicholas (nod to the season) temporarily over Christmas. Unlike Three Wise Men and a Baby the abandoned baby plot is not played for laughs. It is not without lightness and humor, but in the end, it is a quiet, sweet, and gentle story about a couple who opens up their lives and decides to redefine what it means to be a family. 

The two are never really in serious conflict, but Erin is decidedly more open to the idea of adding a baby into their lives. In fact, she is all in almost from the very beginning. Practical Kelly, on the other hand, is more reluctant and concerned about getting too close to Nicholas lest the mother show up and take the baby back after coming to her senses. As well she should be. She is unsure whether they can give him the stability and consistency he needs. I was a little surprised that Erin was full speed ahead with fostering the child given the possibility of having the baby taken away hanging over their heads. Or worse, being the baby’s foster parents for an extended time while waiting to adopt, before such a thing happens. Kelly is also concerned with the disruption to their lives and navigating the social challenges. She shares that she has always known in her heart and down to her toes who she is supposed to be and who she was supposed to love, but doesn’t know how to raise a child in a world that she herself does not understand: A world where complete strangers just look at her and think that she is wrong. But seeing how much it means to Erin and also falling for little Nicholas herself, Kelly puts her concerns to one side and they start the paperwork to be Nicholas’s official guardians and foster parents on more than just a temporary basis. Both women’s families and friends are part of their lives and are with them for the holidays. Their mothers are also important parts of their lives. The fathers, however, are absent and unaccounted for as far as I could tell. They even make friends with their grouchy neighbor and they inspire him to mend things with his estranged daughter. They will need all the support they can get when Betty calls with the scary news that the mother has turned up and wants to meet with them. 

Ali Liebert and Katherine Barrell have always been favorites and they give wonderful and authentic performances in this. There is a lot of conversation and introspection in this one but it was well balanced with happenings in their lives and steps forward and back. And always the question of who the mother is (it is obviously someone they must know), what will happen if or when she comes back, and why did she do what she did?  I was still left with some questions and concerns at the end which hopefully will lead to a sequel next Christmas.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

The Irresistible Blueberry Farm

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A Little Fruit, A Little Fantasy

Once again a movie I rated long ago deserves an upgrade after re-watching it years later. In this case, it’s The Irresistible Blueberry Farm which premiered way back in 2015. It was on the other night and it had been mentioned to me recently as one I would really like.  I didn’t remember being very impressed with it way back when. In fact, I barely remembered it all. I saw that I gave it a 4 on IMDb. And the title certainly didn’t impress me! Irresistible Blueberries? Come on! And spare me from another farm story. Pumpkins, Christmas Trees, Cranberries, Grapes, Apples, Pears, Olives, Tulips, Maple Syrup, Pecans: Except for veggies,  is there anything that grows in the ground that hasn’t been done?

But it was on the other night, so I gave it a go. And it was fantastic!

Yes, it was the same old city girl with almost fiance and very high heels goes-to-small-town-on-a-mission plot. In her will her beloved grandmother (yes) has tasked her to deliver a letter IN PERSON to a gentleman who lives in her old hometown. While trying to find him she learns that her grandmother was a talented artist and finds some of her paintings, one of which is of a home on a blueberry farm. More importantly, she meets working-class dude Roy who fishes her out of the water after she falls off a dock. Right off the bat she passionately kisses him. She is stunned and embarrassed by her out-of-character behavior and he is just stunned (in a good way.) And he just happens to be the nephew of the man for whom Ellen has been searching, who just passed away 3 months ago. He and Grandma were young lovers. Roy is trying to save his uncle’s blueberry farm and Ellen, as an attorney, helps him do just that.

There were several things that really made this movie for me. The first one was the undeniable chemistry between Mark Blucas who plays Roy and Alison Sweeney who plays Ellen. They really put the physical attraction between the two characters on the front burner while the emotional attraction simmered along as well. When, later in the movie, Ellen’s scary mother (another reason why this movie really worked) and her nice fiance show up to bring her home, they both know right away that there is going to be trouble when they see the two together. Another reason I liked it was the slightly “out there” choice to have Ellen’s grandmother visit her to encourage and advise her when Ellen is alone. But she’s not a ghost, exactly, even though she’s dead. She just comes to Ellen who takes her appearances in stride, and they talk together. Loved the dose of fantasy and that she’s played by the late great Shirley Jones.

Ellen’s dilemma of choosing between the two men and the two ways of life, as well as her mother’s coercion to get her back to her prestigious career and socially prominent fiance provide drama and tension even though we know which path Ellen will choose. Because Ellen and Roy’s love cannot be denied. To top it all off, there is a nice happy ending epilogue and a very touching visual at the end that ties in the romance between Ellen’s Grandmother and Roy’s Great-Uncle. It was all meant to be.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Mingle All the Way

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Mom gets Burned by the Boyfriend, Sees the Light, and Drinks Eggnog

I love the Hallmarks where a hero or heroine we like is not appreciated by their family or their boss and is not treated as well as they deserve. We know that, with the help of the love interest, they will finally be appreciated and valued. It always makes a nice satisfying sub-plot to the romance, which is, of course, the main event. Thinking back, many of my favorite hallmark movies have this element. Mingle All the Way does, and they do it very well. I guess I’m just a sucker for comeuppances and nice people prevailing over mean people.

I loved the chemistry between Jen Lilly and Brant Dougherty. The plot device used to get them together was clever and really worked. Molly has to personally test out her new app which, instead of matching couples interested in romance, finds the perfect “plus-one” for functions for those with no time or interest in a relationship. The writers did a good job of making the viewer understand their initial antagonism with the fight over the angel ornament. They really invested me in their situations by making me root for them and by well-written antagonists that you loved to hate. Also, the viewer sympathizes with them being focused on their goals, while all their family and co-workers are interested in is whether or not they have a boyfriend or girlfriend. How disrespectful!

The scene where our hero really tells off her mother was a gem. And I loved the way the angel came back into play in that scene as well. He was truly a knight in shining armor. Lindsay Wagner did a great job of making us really dislike her. She was terrifying. And then, after the hero told her a few home truths, showing us a sincere change of heart. I loved the way the eggnog played into that: very good writing. That whole scene at Molly’s house was worth the price of admission. I wish we had had more of it.

And the same goes for Jeff’s work troubles. She took a less proactive approach to helping him in that department, but she had his back as well as he had hers. And it did the trick. I love the way his rival was taken down. What a jerk and contemptible human being! Good writing and acting on the villain’s part. I just wish Molly had done the taking down.

The only low point was Molly’s silly petulant overreaction to Jeff meeting his ex by chance at a party. But that’s par for the course in Hallmark romance. It’s a plus when it’s avoided. All in all, though, one of the best this year.**8 out of 10**

Rating: 8 out of 10.

December 9, 2018

Moonlight in Vermont

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Nothing Special

Moonlight in Vermont is your typical country good-city bad, pretend boyfriend to make old boyfriend jealous, issues with dad Hallmark fare. The only thing to set it apart is good production values, a cute setting, and the always reliable Lacey Chabert. Unfortunately, she is not given too much to work with here. Her love interest is pretty cute as well and her stepmother is a nice smart woman and not a source of tension or conflict. Her rejection of city life for “stop to smell the roses” country living was too quick and not well supported. **6 out of 10**

Rating: 6 out of 10.

April 18, 2017