Stephanie Bennett

Hearts Around the Table: Kiki’s Fourth Ingredient.

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I Didn’t know Whether to Add Stars or Subtract Them.

**Spoilers**

Jenna and Andrew are getting married in 4 days. Will Kiki, the last foster child on the docket, be able to meet, get to know, and fall in love with some man, have a big conflict, and then make up with him all the while preparing to cater her sister’s 100 guest wedding out of a food truck? It won’t be easy, but it’s Saturday night on the Hallmark Channel, so the answer is “yes.”  We see the road forward when we are introduced to Andrew’s best man who just happens to be the executive chef and owner of one of the most well-established restaurants in town. He is played by Torrance Coombs, who has been in a Hallmark and similar movie a time or two. There was one I didn’t like, but one I really did. And it turns out that he was the best thing about this one. He brought a suave and sophisticated mature older-man vibe to the proceedings that I really liked. Even though he was supposed to be the same age as Andrew. Kiki is supposed to be somewhat younger, so it was OK. I bought it.

Kiki is rather prickly with Clay when they first meet and she finds out his status in the local restaurant scene. She understandably feels a lot of pressure to make things perfect for her sister and now feels that she and her food truck will be judged and found wanting. And unexpected problems and glitches do seem to be mounting up. And no wonder, because she seems to be doing everything as if she didn’t know she was going to be the caterer until yesterday. Clay is very nice and makes it clear he has nothing but respect for her talent, admires her spirit and creativity, and even envies her freedom to create and serve what she wants.  Mainly, he points out that she is so preoccupied by prepping for the reception that she is missing out on her sister’s wedding and her bridesmaid duties. Kiki conquers her “I-can-do-it-all-by-myself-itis” and she lets him advise and help her. Only one day to the wedding, and they even have time to help out a local food bank.

All proceeds as expected on the romance and professional front until the night of the rehearsal dinner, when all things go to hell in a handbasket. Clay warmly introduces his female friend and colleague, another prominent chef, to the group and praises her skills and her restaurant. He praises Kiki and introduces her especially, and the lady makes some subtle digs at Kiki and her food truck.  Kiki goes on high alert, insecurity rears its ugly head again, and she gets huffy and sneaks out of the dinner. At first I thought she was being overly sensitive and overreacted. But looking at the exchange again, I didn’t really blame her for getting her panties in a twist. But she shouldn’t have walked out of her sister’s rehearsal dinner. She missed all of the drama.

While the Clay and Kiki saga was going on, Angie, the foster mother, tracked down Jenna’s long lost father behind her back as a special treat for Jenna. In the middle of the dinner, in he walks, still in his work clothes. What was the normally wise and caring Angie thinking? Not surprisingly Jenna was not pleased that the father who abandoned her and her mother (It wasn’t my idea!) shockingly intrudes uninvited by her on her happy (except for Kiki) rehearsal dinner. He didn’t even know her mother had died 20 years ago, and that Jenna had been raised in foster care (And why not, may I ask, you Jerk? That $64,000 question never gets answered.) She even turns on Andrew, the fiancé, in her anger and disgust. Uh Oh, SpaghettiOs.

And things go downhill from there! It got very awkward. As awkward as I’ve ever seen in a Hallmark movie. In fact, it was such a trainwreck, I almost gave it extra stars for the entertainment value. I’ll try not to give a play by play, but it mainly involves Kiki chopping vegetables like a maniac in her food truck the morning of the wedding after firing all of her temps instead of being a help and support to her traumatized sister. Also, Jenna refuses to walk down the aisle without the stranger she met the night before at her side (Don’t ask about the change of heart, because I have no idea). She keeps her Groom and his Groomsmen standing awkwardly in front of all of the guests in the pews waiting for her to appear while dear old “Dad” is rounded up.  They stand there quietly panicking and being stared at in silence without even any organ music for at least 20 minutes. They have no idea what is going on! And don’t get me started on Josh’s honey walking down the aisle like a hotdog in the middle of it all to straighten his tie. And the baptismal font in the middle of the aisle which Jenna, Deadbeat Dad, and Angie have to dodge on the trip to the altar.

Anyway, just to wrap up, the wedding happens in spite of itself and Kiki and Clay declare their undying love after knowing each other for 4 actually 3, days during which a good chunk of that time she was mad at him. What was the fourth ingredient? Another question goes unanswered. Stars for Mr. Coombs and all the craziness.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

Hearts Around the Table: Josh’s Third Serving

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Hallmark Takes on ADHD

As an After School Special exploring the topic of ADHD, this was excellent. As a Hallmark movie, it was just OK. And I didn’t understand the title. No third servings to be found. Angie welcomes a new foster to her table as brother Josh meets the new English teacher at his school. Thanks to the charm and good acting of Millie Davis, who played Gina, the second teen foster child to be taken in by Angie, this movie did keep me engaged. She was a star. I did question the wisdom of having two equally attractive unrelated teenagers of opposite sexes living in the same house. But that’s another subject. The romance between Josh and Ella, the new teacher, who also was put in charge of running the extra-curricular music program, definitely took second stage to Gina’s troubles with studying and Josh and Ella’s efforts to raise money for their Track and Music programs, respectively.

The two teacher’s initial friendly encounter turns to rivalry as Ella’s little music group has the unmitigated gall to practice their rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” outside on the school’s lawn within earshot of Josh’s apparently very unfocused and easily distracted track team. I was firmly on Ella’s side in this dispute, despite the screechiness and lack of musicality of her half dozen little chicks (which include Gina). The alternative to practicing outside on the lawn is to use the music room which is full of toppling junk and infested with (possibly dangerous?) mold. When the two teachers receive the news that their budget has been cut in half, they start competing for money with fundraising, from the PTA, the Board of Education, and the Alumni Association. Josh’s track team needs new uniforms and Ella needs a complete renovation of the dangerous, possibly deadly, music room. Ella gets a tip from the head of the PTA that the wealthy Alumni Association might be interested in funding a new project. Because the decision maker, Mr. Gupta, is a “go big or go home” kind of guy Ella very nicely invites Josh to team up with her to pitch funding sports and the arts together. Their mild flirting is kicked up a notch to include a hug in the classroom (which was kinda weird) and a date in a restaurant. Meanwhile, we spend a lot of time delving into Gina’s ADHD and the reasons why some may be resistant to being tested, the resources that can help them, and some pep talks and words of wisdom in dealing with those challenges. Also we spend some time with Steve Lund (yay!) who is trying to figure out a good way to propose to Jenna.

The big conflict right before the happy ending is particularly weak and manufactured because it depends on Josh losing his frigging mind. He is approached by a sports agent who offers to help Josh secure the money for his track program as he is an old buddy of Mr. Gupta. Josh conveniently forgets to tell the guy that the pitch is for the school music program as well as the track team. He is just shocked when his and Ella’s joint pitch is cancelled because Mr. Gupta was won over by the sports agent to generously fund the track team by itself, as requested. Let me tell you, Ella was shocked as well, to put it mildly. Josh redeems himself by refusing the money unless Mr. Gupta funds both programs. Mr. Gupta kindly declines and neither program gets the money. Hilarious. The whole thing was weird because the also very influential Mrs. Gupta turns out to be a big proponent of music programs and is a musician herself. It was very strange and harsh of Mr. Gupta but luckily, out of nowhere, the PTA steps in to save the day. Perhaps someone important got a whiff of that music room and pointed out the school was ripe for a lawsuit on the grounds of child endangerment.

Rating: 7 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.

Wedding Season

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Silly Season

How many times has a Hallmark movie started out with a youngish career girl hoping for a promotion into her dream job, usually in a creative field, end up back in her hometown for some reason pressured by a strong boss to meet a deadline in order to achieve her goal. And there meets the love of her life. Infinity times, that’s how many. This one started out in this same stale manner. But Despite this bone-tired beginning and a resolution to the romantic conflict at the end that I most certainly did not approve of, this wasn’t too bad in the middle.

Stephanie Bennett made a credible main girl, and the main guy, Casey Deidrick, I found to be very attractive. They had excellent chemistry together. I really like his type: Tall and powerful looking with a beard. Hope Hallmark keeps him on. And I had no problems with her.

Trish is an assistant at a magazine doing stupid fluff like how to choose the correct nail polish color. She dreams of being a feature writer doing personal pieces that move, surprise, and illuminate. She is taking a month’s vacation time to go back home and be a bridesmaid at three good friends’ weddings which are happening only a week apart. But first, she has a meeting with Helen, her boss, about some of her ideas for features she can do when she gets back. All of her proposals are tired and stale and have all been done before, as Helen points out. And it takes her boss to tell her that she has the perfect unusual story right in front of her. Being a bridesmaid 3 times within 3 weeks. So here’s the thing. Right away we see this girl has no initiative, imagination, or creativity. It certainly looks like she needs to stay with the fluff and be grateful for it.

The love interest is the big brother of her male best friend who is one of the grooms. They are both single so they decide to be each other’s plus one. The 3 weddings each have their challenges to overcome and to my mind, there is plenty for Trish to write about. But she struggles. The second couple is even brave enough to call off their wedding the day before even though they love each other, because they realize that their careers are more important to them than their marriage. And they are both OK with that. Happy even. That was certainly different for a Hallmark movie! Their shocking decision throws a wrench into Trish’s 3 weddings in 3 weeks theme. Instead of realizing that this bombshell might make her feature story better (in the hands of a good writer) she calls her boss to give up and quit! Honestly, this girl is hopeless. Her boss is made of sterner stuff though and points out that writing about nail polish is easy and personal experience features are hard. She has an assignment. She just can’t quit. She has a magazine to publish. Finish the damn article. I loved her. Well, she does, in between falling in love with the big brother, being a bridesmaid, and paddleboarding (she has a very casual approach to deadlines which also doesn’t bode well for an aspiring journalist).

Like I said, I didn’t approve of the ending either. Ryan, the love interest, is a world-traveling photographer who is pretty well-known and successful. He is starting to long for family and stability with all of these weddings and true love going on. He gets a message the day before his brother’s wedding that he has to skip the reception because the rarely visible Southern Lights (in Australia) have made an appearance and it is his dream to photograph them. Trish understands and rightly encourages him to go. It’s his dream. When he asks her whether they can continue getting to know each other and kissing and stuff after he gets back, she says no, because he is always on the move and all these weddings and such have made her realize she wants love and marriage too. Girl. Putting a halt to a budding relationship with such a sexy good guy without giving him a chance is not the way to accomplish that. To make a long story short, he gives up his dream assignment to stay home and do something else for a career so he can start a relationship with Trish. This was all ass-backwards. She’s the one who should have had a think about her career goal because she doesn’t, from what we saw, have what it takes. She should have followed him to Australia, written about it-hello?!, and then they could have figured out their future later.  Argh. He quits his life and great career and doesn’t even have a plan.

Enid-Raye Adams who played Trish’s boss was a stand-out. Trish’s office mate and friend was Latonya Williams who is a favorite of mine. I was sorry to leave her behind in New York City when we moved to the small town. I wish she could have come along. Trish could have used her good influence and advice.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

Christmas Class Reunion

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**Spoilers**

A Class Act

The movie starts with the Winter Prom of 2007 featuring 6 stereotypical teen “types.” The smart and popular achiever, both male and female versions, the class clown, the in-love inseparable couple, the popular jock, and the class nerd. The mean girl is missing. They are part of the class deemed “cursed” due to disasters at prom, graduation, and other class events. They used the same early 30-something-year-old actors to play themselves as teens. And may I just say that as much as Botox, collagen injections and fillers do not work for 30-somethings, that goes double if they are playing teens. I speak of one of the secondary actors in particular.

Cut to 15 years later and the “achiever”, Elle, short for Noelle, played by Aimee Teagarden is in charge of planning the class reunion. We know that she is the focus mainly because her name is Christmassy. She indeed has fulfilled her potential, having made quite a name for herself as the Chief Technology Officer of a successful and important company. She leaves Silicon Valley for Hartford CT, looking forward to seeing her old friends again, particularly Kam the male version of herself whom she had a crush on when she was in high school. We next meet Devin the class clown, very appealingly played by Tanner Novlan. At the 2007 prom, he flooded both Aimee and the school gym with his malfunctioning snow machine. Tanner is the male lead and his chemistry with Aimee was amazing.

She is very wary of him because he was her complete opposite in high school and always getting into trouble. She is surprised that the irresponsible screw-up is now the loving father of a 13-year-old tech prodigy and running a successful event supply business. He has always had a crush on her though. The young actress that played his daughter was a star and a scene-stealer, by the way. As father and daughter, the two actors have an easy and natural rapport. She is very impressed that her tech-phobic Dad knows the famous Elle Chamberlain.

As the reunion plans come into shape we also reconnect with the inseparable couple whose marriage is falling apart even as their real estate agency is booming. The Nerd Girl is now an attractive and successful TV host up for a big promotion to a national morning show. She still lacks self-confidence despite her success and is inseparable from her best friend who is also her very flamboyant stylist. When the popular jock makes an appearance we think we spy a love interest for our likable TV host, but sadly he is attracted to her gay best friend instead! Aimee is very happy when her old unrequited crush, Kam, shows up. He is just like her: career and success-focused and very very busy. Too busy and important to help with the reunion, so she finds herself partnering with her old nemesis, Devin.

Of course, the inevitable catastrophes start to happen with a fire breaking out at their fancy venue and Aimee’s company being the target of a federal investigation putting her whole career in jeopardy. As she works with Devin in finding a new venue and tackling all of the challenges, she realizes that her worth is not what she does for a living, but what she is inside. She and all of her friends’ lives are happily sorted, which we learn in one of my beloved “one year later” epilogues. Hallmark is delighting fans by casting other popular Hallmark stars in cameo roles. This time was Chris McNally’s turn in a cute performance as an Elf-garbed photographer. I tend to like movies using ensemble casts and this one was no exception.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Yellowstone Romance

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Wacky Fun

After being away for work, Olivia returns to New York City and finds her best friend and roommate, Amber, engaged to a guy she’s only known for a few months. Olivia disapproves. Amber is a city girl and a ditz. Her new fiance is a rancher and Amber will be following him to the boondocks. Olivia thinks (rightly) that Amber does not know what she is getting into. In the guise of a “bachelorette retreat,” She takes Amber to a working Dude ranch along with their other best friend, Jason, to give her a taste of what is in store for her. Olivia selfishly does not want to lose her best friend and roommate, but she also is genuinely concerned.

What follows is kind of a hoot. First, the trio arrives at the ranch dressed in New York City’s idea of what is proper ranch wear. It is a cute visual. They are greeted by the ranch owner and his son, played by Christopher Russell.  Christopher’s natural fallback position in his roles is laid-back and easy-going. He was perfectly cast in this role as the strong but silent cowboy who is unhappily roped into taking care of the “citidiots” and showing them a good time as well as a taste of authentic ranch life. The “Dude” part of the dude ranch is just until his Dad makes the extra money to pay the back taxes.   It’s all wacky fun while the three take on getting up at the crack of dawn, camping, horse riding, egg-gathering (and breaking), fence repair, cattle herding, barn dancing, wolf and bear avoiding, etc.

To Olivia’s surprise and frustration Amber is game for everything and her enthusiasm never flags. Except when she is attacked in a river by a leech. And who can blame her for that? Cowboy Travis is exasperated but is very good at hiding his annoyance at the situation, and it’s not long before the trio’s good humor and effort earn his respect and liking. The actress who played Olivia really grew on me and had great chemistry with Christopher Russell. Amber and their friend Jason were funny, and Christopher was in his element. And when CR is on point, he is the bomb-diggity.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

May 18, 2022

The Nine Kittens of Christmas

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Kittens!

**Spoilers**

The sequel to the Nine Lives of Christmas starts out with a shocker! Marilee and Zachary have broken up! And she’s with another guy! In Miami! And she looks happy! AAAAAIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? Well, it turns out that she wanted more (marriage) and he didn’t want to “ruin a good thing”. She enrolled in a veterinarian school in far away Miami by way of a wake-up call, and he didn’t stop her or come after her. So yes, it was totally his fault.

But there’s hope. She goes home for Christmas, as one does, looking forward to spending time with Miles (her boyfriend) and her family. But he prioritizes their veterinarian practice over family, they have a fight and they break up over the phone. She remarks sadly to her sister that she thought Miles would have fought harder for their relationship. Poor Marilee burned again. But she doesn’t get a complex over it, she goes on and reconnects with Zack over finding homes for 9 adorable kittens. The chemistry is still there.

Kimberley Sustad is great as always. Beautiful in an accessible way, charming, and funny. Brandon Routh is very handsome and does a good job. He works well with Kimberley. She gets some good digs in. She steals the Christmas tree he and Sam (Gregory Harrison the Fire Chief) had their eye on. When he protests she tells him “Well think of it as a teachable moment. The next time you find “the one” don’t drag your feet.” Thanks to good acting, the banter is entertaining.

The only quibble I have with this one is that she seems to do all the work in the relationship. He is very passive. At one point, she grabs him and kisses him and then apologizes and walks away. He lets her. He admits to Sam that the break-up was his fault and it was the worst mistake of his life. Sam asks him whether he ever told her that. Uh, No. He sees her with her ex (yes Miles shows up in Oregon all contrite) and he jumps to conclusions and runs home. She has to call him. He doesn’t answer his phone. When his cat answers it for him, she confesses her love, but he has to think about it and remains silent. Paul Campbell, Kimberley’s frequent partner in past Hallmarks, makes a cameo in this one. At this point, I’m thinking she missed the boat.

Finally, in the end, he says and does everything he should and even puts a ring on it. I am making the decision to have faith that this relationship has a future because I like the couple so much. Plus, breaking up with her now that they’re engaged would take some initiative on his part, so I think Marilee is safe from another heartbreak.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

November 26, 2021

The Christmas Pact

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I Guess She Didn’t go to London

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The attractive and very diverse young cast is a plus. At first, since the story started in the 80’s when the H/h were only 8 or 10 years old or so, I was afraid this was going to be another one of these Hallmances where they would end up in their late 30s and still be romantically unfulfilled and still struggling with their careers, acting like teenagers or in their 20’s instead of mature adults established and successful in their careers. Thank goodness most of the action concludes when they are still in their very early 30’s or late 20’s, with the epilogue in the present day. The main problem I had with the story was the unlikely development of the heroine giving up her exciting almost fairy-tale-like dream career as a photographer who travels all over the world in order to settle in a small town with her guy who runs a garden center. I mean she kisses away a presumably very well-paid editor job in London? Big Lifestyle change, there. Huge. That decision needed to be dealt with upfront and seriously instead of happening off-screen.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

January 29, 2019

The Last Bridesmaid

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Bad Vibes

I am a fan of Paul Campbell so I thought I’d give this a re-watch, even though I didn’t remember being overly impressed the first time around. Paul was fine. Rachel, Rachel, Rachel. I used to like her all right. She used to be one of the go-to Hallmark actresses. The more I have seen her in recent years, the less I like her. She has a real stagey acting style. She says her lines like she knows there is an audience watching her. Like she is an elementary teacher role-playing in front of her not too bright students. This is just the way she comes across to me. I know she has her fans, and that is fine.

I found that her interaction with Paul Campbell came across as borderline hostile, especially at the beginning. And it wasn’t due to the story. Her eyes were so cold when she looked at him in a few scenes, I actually got a little freaked out. I wish I knew what was going on there, if anything.

The story wasn’t all that bad, hence a semi-respectable 6 1/2 stars from me. The script seemed well-written and had some cute and clever lines. I liked that she was playing her age not an almost 40-year-old actress playing a young inexperienced girl just starting out in her career. The jewelry-making subplot was interesting and added a lot to the usual love story. The message was a good one: Follow your dreams, do what you love, but stay sensible and grounded. The romance as scripted did not come out of nowhere, the relationship developed naturally and realistically.**6 1/2 stars out of 10** *

May 26, 2021

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.