Tamera Mowrey-Housley

All’s Fair in Love and Mahjong

/ Rebekahrox / 5 Comments
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Oy Vey!

This movie received a lot of backlash after the promotional poster was revealed last month (see left). There are 5 main cast members and only ½ of one of them is of Chinese extraction (Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, who is half Scottish and half Chinese). And non-traditional tiles. I will leave the outrage and accusations of cultural appropriation  to others who have more of a dog in the hunt. But it was jarring to say the least. And premiering during Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage month! Oooof, Hallmark. But I did read a little about it and this was inspired by the executive producer’s wife (white) and her path to becoming a well known and respected  teacher of the American variant of the game.  Frankly I’d always associated Mahjong with the Jewish community as much as the Chinese community. Didn’t appear to be any Jewish representation either, probably because it’s not Hanukkah time.  It’s fair to note that there is a scene set in a Chinese cultural center where Yan-kay does give a talk about the Chinese origin of the game and it’s importance to the culture. I do fault Hallmark for the lack of diversity in general lately. To me they do seem to be dialing back on that front. Just for one example, after featuring some really great movies centered round Chinese families at the beginning of the 2020’s there was a big gap between 2022 and this year’s Two for Tee. Thank goodness, just in time.

The movie opens with Roni ( the ever lovely and ageless Fiona Gublemann), our main character, playing Mahjong with her friend group and seeing her daughter off to college. The cast in this one is strong. Her 3 friends are played by the previously mentioned Lowe, Melissa Peterman, and Tamera Mowry-Housley. Her love interest is one of my favorites, Paul Campbell, who has lost the Botox, as have others amongst his Hallmark colleagues, thank goodness. Although the script didn’t give him a whole lot of opportunities to use his rightly acclaimed comic timing, he was charming as always. Roni has been divorced for 5 years and her ex comes by to remind her of their agreement to sell the house after their daughter goes off to college. The house has to have some minor repairs and a refresh before it goes on the market and he tells her to take all the time she needs (within reason.) When Roni is prevailed upon to give a Mahjong lesson for the school’s end of year fundraiser, she meets Ben, a contractor and the uncle of  one of the kids. Ben’s mother is in an assisted living community and is having trouble making friends. Ben thinks Mahjong is the answer and gets Roni to start a class there in exchange for him doing the repairs on Roni’s house. One thing leads to another and soon Roni has a fledgling side hustle being a Mahjong teacher. It’s timely because her job as a school nurse has been cut back to part time. Unfortunately Roni lives in the only community in the United States that has a glut of unemployed nurses because she can’t get a job elsewhere as any kind of nurse. At least we assume so, because we see her only unsuccessfully applying for one position in a hospital emergency room. Nevertheless, Roni, with Ben’s encouragement, has decided that she loves her house too much to move to a condo and is going to try to buy out her husband’s half despite her shaky financial status. After all, barring one disastrous experience with book club women, her mahjong classes are really taking off. She’s thinking maybe she can make a real career out of it. Unfortunately, her ex-husband’s loose goosey time line to get the house on the market changes to “You have 3 weeks!”, thanks to the house he and his new wife want finally coming up for sale. The change from reasonable ex-husband and co-parent to condescending stinker made me long for Roni to put him in his place by the end of the movie. 

Overall, this was a good one despite a weak plot. A lot of time was taken up with “Adventures in Mahjong”. But at least it was something different after the last several trope-filled offerings.  I had a few quibbles, as usual. When Ben made an appearance while Roni and her friends were playing their Mahjong game, the 3 women were very immature and obnoxious with the usual “ hello-o-o-o-o-o Roni’s got a boyfriend you’re hot” routine. They acted like 13-year-olds and it was embarrassing. Also after a night out Roni invites Ben in for a drink, and instead of romance, they end up playing Mahjong. I was rolling my eyes, but the situation was rescued by a kiss and a fade out. So who knows what ended up happening? Roni’s progress in her newfound possible career, securing a loan to buy her house,  and romance was well paced, made sense, and overall engaging.  Ben had some issues with his brother regarding his non-involvement in their mother’s life. Both Ben and Roni had to learn to ask for help, a frequent Hallmark roadblock to happiness and fulfillment. I liked that when Ben gave his brother a chance, he came through with flying colors and we have a nice clearing of the air scene between them with both apologizing to the other. Unfortunately the same closure  can not be said between Roni and her ex, which was a disappointment and kind of a loose end in my book. I really needed an acknowledgement of Roni’s success from him at the end of the movie. A little less Mahjong and more groveling. He really got on my bad side. I almost knocked it down a notch for that, but I’ll be nice and give it a 7.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Dream Moms

/ Rebekahrox / 5 Comments

Dream a Little Dream

I liked this one more than I expected. It had some problems, but overall I liked the cast, the acting, and the message.

Chelsea Hobbs and Tamera Mowry-Housely play Claire and Danielle, the Dream Moms. Strangers, they meet through Danielle’s brother’s dance studio. They are both hard-working and devoted to their families. Claire is a divorced mother of two sons and their Dad is not in the picture. She works in the garment district and is hard put to handle her job and raise her two boys on her own. To add to the financial and time pressures, her oldest son, ably played by Glen Gordon, a Hallmark regular, has been accepted into a prestigious prep school, but can’t go unless she comes up with the tuition money or he wins a scholarship. Danielle is married to a successful attorney who is up for partner in his firm. She has a daughter who is a talented ballerina. Her whole life revolves around being a helpmeet to her husband, a support to her daughter, and volunteer work. Both of the women were once Broadway hopefuls, Claire a dancer and Danielle a singer who can also dance. But they both have traded their own dreams in to support their families and their hopes and ambitions.

When the ladies meet at Danielle’s brother RJ’s studio he has the idea of putting them together to enter a nationally televised talent competition for duos only. The prize for the ultimate winner is  $100,000. Chelsea is all in because she needs the money, as does RJ in addition to the publicity. Tamera finally agrees in order to support her brother although she really doesn’t need the money.

The time they need to devote to the success of their act causes tensions within their respective families. In Claire’s case, she is forced to accept help from her sweet and handsome neighbor, Sam, played by Matthew James Dowden, who is a peach and a mensch. (she has trust issues, of course, because her husband deserted her). At one point he intervenes when her son Paul gets all pissy with her because she missed his brother’s ball game and is no longer at their beck and call because of rehearsals. After Sam points out a few home truths to her son, he gets on board, which was very satisfying. In Danielle’s case, she is mostly OK until she finds out that her final competition night is the same night OF COURSE as her daughter’s most important dance showcase which will ensure her acceptance into a prestigious ballet school.

Danielle struggles with the decision and keeps putting off telling her family, and, more importantly, Claire. This was the source of quite a bit of frustration on my part because I knew what she should do, no question.

I liked the message this show ultimately sent to parents and their children. Danielle’s epiphany comes during a conversation with her daughter when she realizes the message she is sending to her husband and her daughter by her constant self-sacrifice is not necessarily a healthy one. Even though she has always been loving, supportive, and always present for her daughter and her husband,  she has also modeled the idea that being married and being a mother means giving up your own dreams and not having a life of your own.

The actors who played the children of the two women were wonderful. As the two families get to know each other and become friends (which I loved) Claire’s son and Danielle’s daughter have an innocent teenage romance which was sweet, but get in a little bit of mischief and trouble as well. Tamera Mowry-Housely, not surprisingly, was a stand-out as Danielle. Her marriage was healthy and happy, although the husband had a few things to learn for sure. I liked that. It was a wise and not surprising choice to have the successful well-off family be black and the struggling family be white. It was well-paced and kept my interest throughout. Danielle was not one of those neurotic mothers who live life through their children and are overly protective or overly involved in their lives. She was a good mother and counselor but needed to look at things in a new light. That is to the writer’s credit. Hallmark loves crazy mothers. I also liked that when any of the characters pissed me off, they came to their senses in a timely manner. Claire’s learning curve was not as dramatic as Danielle’s, but the scene where she reads an essay that her son wrote about her was touching and gives her the courage to make a brave decision.

The only real problem was the Dream Mom’s act itself. Tamera sang and danced nicely, while Chelsea danced with her and around her. And though she wasn’t bad, she didn’t really bring anything to the table. There really wasn’t any reason for her to even be there. Kind of like Richard Carpenter or the Captain of The Captain and Tennille. Their act and rehearsing for the act are throughout the movie so it’s hard to ignore and is pretty glaring. I will say that the original songs were good and the performances were not an embarrassment which is not always the case with Hallmark. Bless ’em. Despite Matty Finochio playing the part of the host, the actual TV show was pretty feebly done as well.

The movie ends with *spoiler alert* everyone’s dreams coming true, though not in the way you might think. Romance was not the focus in this one, and I like that Hallmark is seeming to get the fact that it does not always have to be the be-all and end-all. That said,  Sam and Claire getting together did provide a little romantic satisfaction.  Matthew James Dowden and his low-key pursuit of Chelsea was a highlight for me.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Inventing the Christmas Prince

/ Rebekahrox / 4 Comments

Opposites Don’t Attract. Until They Do.

**spoilers**

The best thing about this movie was the acting. Tamera Mowry-Housley plays a widowed mother of an adorable little girl. She is a rocket scientist and the team’s supervisor. The manager of the company is Evan, played by Ronnie Rowe, Jr. Now Evan is a very interesting character. To say he is not a people person is putting it mildly. He is brilliant but cold and uncaring of his employees. He cannot seem to understand or have empathy toward others. He almost behaves as if he is “on the spectrum.” 3 valuable employees have resigned, citing his management as the cause and because of that, he is in trouble with the board of directors. They tell him not to be such a demanding taskmaster and get a life, essentially. If one more employee quits, he will be fired. Yet right after that, due to a deadline, he informs his employees that they will have to work Christmas Eve and possibly Christmas. He is just clueless and disconnected. It is too much for Tamera, and she tells him off and quits on the spot. But that day, she had to bring her daughter Grace to work for a few hours, and the little girl, nicely played by Isabel Birch, takes one look at her mother’s hateful boss and believes he is the “Christmas Prince” from a story passed down through her family. She believes this fantasy figure, who picks out one little girl or boy every Christmas to grant 12 wishes to, is real. Tamera knows what’s up with her boss’s bosses and tells him she will return to work if he poses as the Prince through Christmas. If she doesn’t he will lose his job. He is horrified but has no choice. Yes, she probably should have told her daughter the truth and not blackmailed her boss, but then we wouldn’t have a movie, would we?

As Evan spends more time with Tamera and her little girl, he starts to open up and warm up. His communication skills improve as well. During their first dinner, for example, his conversation is like, “I see you eat carrots. Do you eat carrots often?” Scintillating! But soon they are opening up to each other, confiding, and empathizing. He learns she is a widow. Three years ago, when her husband died, he approved her bereavement leave but didn’t even care enough to ask who died! When she reminds him of this, he is shocked. It causes him to see himself clearly and make an effort to change his ways. Besides his personal relationship developing with Tamera and Grace, By the end of the movie he becomes a great boss, and even gets promoted, instead of fired!

That Ronnie Rowe Jr. makes his character sympathetic is little short of a miracle. His transformation is slow and subtly done, even changing his body language and the way he stands. Fantastic Job. Mowry-Housley was so funny, warm, and charming in this. The Maitre d’ scene was a stand-out. The secondary characters are entertaining as well. She has a support group she started to help her cope with her husband’s death. It includes Caitlin Stryker, a Hallmark veteran who is always good. I’ve never seen Nathanael Vass who plays Lorenzo, her “work husband” but he was a treat as well. I hope I see him again. Definitely Hallmark Hero material. Even the other little kid actors did well, especially “Sherman.”The actual plot was cheesy as heck, but the writing was bright and amusing, and considerably elevated by the actors’ talents.

Rating: 7 out of 10.