Hallmark Movies: Small Town Royalty Magically Celebrating Rekindled Love! - General Discussion

[Jaded]

I think that there should be a mixture of both kinds of movies. They make so many I don't see why it couldn't be done. They could be an alternative to the trash Lifetime puts out as TV movies. That's another channel that used to make their own TV movies that were multifaceted and had depth. Now all they decide to air is mostly thrillers or poorly made semi biographical movies.

[Woopwoopkitty]

I loved Love Takes Flight.  Despite the realism factors mentioned, which are par for the course, I enjoyed the drama rather than the rom com.  I found Walter’s grief to be both palpable and well balanced.  Maybe it’s because I lost my spouse 3 1/2 years ago and it resonated with me, but it rang true without being very the top.  Quinn was well played for a child of her age, cute as a button without being cutesy.  It was also refreshing to see a child character living with a medical issue; the only other one I recall was a Halloween one with a boy in a wheelchair who of course (insert eye roll) was able to walk and stand by the end of the movie.

My nit pick beyond those mentioned was a phrase Charlie used towards the end.  He talked about the airplane being full of gas, or gassed up, I can’t remember which.  Anyway, I work in the aviation industry and I’ve been around pilots every work day for 25+ years.  I have never heard a single one talk about gas.  Whether talking about Avgas or Jet fuel for the plane, diesel for ground equipment or their pickup truck, or gasoline in their wife’s car, it is always “fuel.”  Always.

Lizzie’s attire was inappropriate for the workplace.  Hallmark has a habit of overdressing women (high heels in the farm fields) or underdressing as in this case.

nonethless it’s on my re-watch list. It was good for a cathartic cry.

[doodlebug]

6 hours ago, Happywatcher said:

Not doubting you, but both of the two hospital CEOs in the teaching program I did work for were both non physician. The Catholic hospital had a non physician nun CEO, and the VA director was also non physician.

I didn't mean to imply that it was impossible for a non-physician to be a hospital CEO, I've worked under plenty of those, too, especially years ago.  But, it seems to be pretty common for those at the top of hospital administration these days to have an MD, too.

[AnnaRose]

Love Takes Flight:  I really liked Walter and little Quinn.  Nikki was great as usual, and Jeff Hephner was very appealing - I wouldn't mind seeing more of him.  Toward the end of the movie Lizzie tells Charley that when she first met him she expected to hate him, and I felt the same way during their first scene together.  He came across as a big jerk, so props to the actor for managing to make the character one that I would root for... and I did, even to the point of being more on his side during the land the helicopter scene. 

I know it wasn't technically his call to land, but he's the one with a boatload of experience flying and landing helicopters in extreme conditions... and he knew he could do it and obviously he was right.  I thought Lizzie being wrong about it was at least part of the reason why she was so pissed off.  I know, I know, he went against her order... but still...  I bet that patient is thrilled that the guy flying in their kidney listened to his own expert opinion, and the star-surgeon was too.  I ended up feeling like maybe they should have given the opinion of the expert (with tons of experience) who was out in those conditions sitting in the helicopter right above the landing pad a lot more credence.  (But then you wouldn't have the conflict, drama and makeup scene at the end.)

All that being said... I liked Lizzie and Charley's friendship, but there wasn't that much to it and they hadn't even gone out on a date... so the big OMG he's leaving! reaction didn't really feel earned.

I loved Walter with Quinn and Lizzie though!  That was very sweet.  Walter's home was fantastic... and how awesome was the tea party he set up for Quinn?  (He and Quinn had some cute banter, too.) 

I liked the father/son stuff, but I can understand why some people thought it was too much of a downer for Hallmark.  It seems like at least ninety percent of all Hallmark movies have one or more main characters who lost a spouse or parent very recently, but they usually don't spend so much time focused on it, I think.

I agree with y'all about Lizzie's wardrobe - it was weird for the C.O.O. of a hospital to be wearing jeans everyday.  It almost seemed like they started filming as if it was set in a very small, laid-back town and later added the exterior shots to make it Savannah.  (I think Lizzie mentions Savannah at one point though, so maybe not.)

[ShelleySue]

I was disappointed in Love Takes Flight because I expect more from a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie.  But this movie was just a typical Hallmark movie with a lot of sappy Hallmark card commercials.

Speaking of the commercials . . . I wish that Hallmark had the same diversity in their movies as they do in their greeting card commercials.

[JAYJAY1979]

Hallmark hall of fame needs to be aired on another network.. the quality has diminished since being put on hallmark channel

[In2You]

6 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

I was disappointed in Love Takes Flight because I expect more from a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie.  But this movie was just a typical Hallmark movie with a lot of sappy Hallmark card commercials.

Speaking of the commercials . . . I wish that Hallmark had the same diversity in their movies as they do in their greeting card commercials.

This sums up the last Hall of Fame airing as well. Along with commercials more diverse than the movies.

[Mountainair]

Love Takes Flight was one Hallmark movie that I actually watched without zoning out or doing something else so it had that going for it. The premise was a bit of a stretch for me as others have mentioned. I did not cringe at the child actor so there was that. The scenery was beautiful and I really loved the actor playing the older father in the movie. The one year anniversary of losing my own grandfather is coming up so this was just a bit much for me so I had to fast forward through a lot of the scenes involving him because I was bawling like a baby! 

[Pickles]

Gosh, the Hallmark commercials they aired during Love Takes Flight made me tear up more than the movie.

[EyewatchTV211]

20 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

All that being said... I liked Lizzie and Charley's friendship, but there wasn't that much to it and they hadn't even gone out on a date... so the big OMG he's leaving! reaction didn't really feel earned.

I loved Walter with Quinn and Lizzie though!  That was very sweet.  Walter's home was fantastic... and how awesome was the tea party he set up for Quinn?  (He and Quinn had some cute banter, too.) 

I liked the father/son stuff, but I can understand why some people thought it was too much of a downer for Hallmark.  It seems like at least ninety percent of all Hallmark movies have one or more main characters who lost a spouse or parent very recently, but they usually don't spend so much time focused on it, I think.

I agree with y'all about Lizzie's wardrobe - it was weird for the C.O.O. of a hospital to be wearing jeans everyday.  It almost seemed like they started filming as if it was set in a very small, laid-back town and later added the exterior shots to make it Savannah.  (I think Lizzie mentions Savannah at one point though, so maybe not.)

Agree with all this. Walter and Quinn were the best part of the movie. The romance part didn't feel earned at all.

[Irlandesa]

Some of Hallmark's best romances (Loving Leah, Follow The Stars Home, The Magic of Ordinary Days) were Hallmark Hall of Fame movies. 

But this was definitely not one of them.  I watched early morning in bed when I couldn't fall back asleep but didn't want to get up either.  It was okay.  A little more serious than the regular fare but not quite good enough to capture the magic of the best.

[Kohola3]

23 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

I know it wasn't technically his call to land, but he's the one with a boatload of experience flying and landing helicopters in extreme conditions... and he knew he could do it and obviously he was right. 

This kind of crap is what gets people killed.

As a former flight nurse I worked with hot shots who "knew" that they could fly in adverse conditions and ended up killing the crew and the patient as well.  There are safeguards that were put in place after a disastrous year of air evac crashes.

[Mittengirl]

As I understood it, the transplant could still go on if the helicopter landed at the back-up landing location, just not new procedure the hot-shot surgeon was wanting to perform.  So no need to risk many lives to land on the roof.  But then there would have been no dramatic end to the movie.

A decade or so ago a medical helicopter did crash on the roof of one of my hometown hospitals.  In that case it was a rogue wind gust that spun the ‘copter around shortly after lift off, IIRC, and the tail rotor hit something.  The chopper burst in to flames and started a fire that forced an evacuation of the top floors, fear of fuel leaking into the building and brief power outages and falling debris.  They had to cancel surgeries and close the ER.  Of course the helicopter was destroyed and the landing pad was damaged.  It was several months before they could use it again.  Not to mention the cost of repairs to the hospital and for replacing the helicopter.  

I wasn’t clear about the whole medical storyline - they kept referring to the kidney transplant as “the procedure” like it was a one-off, saying the patient had arrived  at the hospital, as though it was for one specific case.  And Charlie mentioned staying until the surgery was over.  But then Lizzie talked about getting grant money, to build a new wing/building, based on the prestige of the dr./operation.  Which sounds like a long-term commitment.

Edited April 30, 2019 by Mittengirl

[doodlebug]

3 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

As I understood it, the transplant could still go on if the helicopter landed at the back-up landing location, just not new procedure the hot-shot surgeon was wanting to perform.  So no need to risk many lives to land on the roof.  But then there would have been no dramatic end to the movie.

A decade or so ago a medical helicopter did crash on the roof of one of my hometown hospitals.  In that case it was a rogue wind gust that spun the ‘copter around shortly after lift off, IIRC, and the tail rotor hit something.  The chopper burst in to flames and started a fire that forced an evacuation of the top floors, fear of fuel leaking into the building and brief power outages and falling debris.  They had to cancel surgeries and close the ER.  Of course the helicopter was destroyed and the landing pad was damaged.  It was several months before they could use it again.  Not to mention the cost of repairs to the hospital and for replacing the helicopter.  

I wasn’t clear about the whole medical storyline - they kept referring to the kidney transplant as “the procedure” like it was a one-off, saying the patient had arrived  at the hospital, as though it was for one specific case.  And Charlie mentioned staying until the surgery was over.  But then Lizzie talked about getting grant money, to build a new wing/building, based on the prestige of the dr./operation.  Which sounds like a long-term commitment.

TV medical shows do that a lot; giving the glory to the rogue, the rule breaker, implying that the rules are the problem and hinder getting the job done. It really isn’t true.  It also happens a lot in shows about the military or law enforcement.  There are a reason rules are in place in those situations and it isn’t heroic for someone to put their own ego ahead of others’ lives.

[Guest]

Good news. A new Mystery 101 is filming right now.

[JAYJAY1979]

15 hours ago, Dani said:

Good news. A new Mystery 101 is filming right now.

Gotta replace garage sale mystery with something..and I quite liked the first movie for this..it has windows and situations can arise that would involve the main character.

[Kemper]

Okay...which one is "Mystery 101"?  Because at times they all blend.

[Irlandesa]

42 minutes ago, Kemper said:

Okay...which one is "Mystery 101"?  Because at times they all blend.

It's the one with Jill Wagner and Kristoffer Polaha who originally teamed for Pearl In Paradise.

He plays a cop.  She plays a lit professor.  The scenery was gorgeous.  The first movie had them team up to solve the death of a student on campus. I think it was probably the closest this board has come to having a positive consensus on a mystery movie. (Probably not universal, nothing is, but many of us enjoyed it.) 

Here's the promo:

[Woopwoopkitty]

What is this, a tribute to royal baby watch? All day today has been a marathon of royal movies.  Blech.  They are all cringe worthy, with the exception of two.  The chocolate one with Will Kemp and Lacey, saved from the shit pile by WK.  And the Montana rancher one.  I find James Brolin spewing cowboy wisdom in John Wayne  vocal inflections is campy enough to be funny, which is probably not their intention.

Edited May 4, 2019 by Woopwoopkitty

[GaT]

17 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I think it was probably the closest this board has come to having a positive consensus on a mystery movie. (Probably not universal, nothing is, but many of us enjoyed it.) 

I know a lot of people thought it was good, I didn't. I thought the Chronicle Mysteries  was much better.

Edited May 4, 2019 by GaT

[Kemper]

Thanks!  I really liked the movie!

[CaffeinatedAunt79]

On 4/30/2019 at 3:47 AM, Mittengirl said:

As I understood it, the transplant could still go on if the helicopter landed at the back-up landing location, just not new procedure the hot-shot surgeon was wanting to perform.  So no need to risk many lives to land on the roof.  But then there would have been no dramatic end to the movie.

A decade or so ago a medical helicopter did crash on the roof of one of my hometown hospitals.  In that case it was a rogue wind gust that spun the ‘copter around shortly after lift off, IIRC, and the tail rotor hit something.  The chopper burst in to flames and started a fire that forced an evacuation of the top floors, fear of fuel leaking into the building and brief power outages and falling debris.  They had to cancel surgeries and close the ER.  Of course the helicopter was destroyed and the landing pad was damaged.  It was several months before they could use it again.  Not to mention the cost of repairs to the hospital and for replacing the helicopter.  

I wasn’t clear about the whole medical storyline - they kept referring to the kidney transplant as “the procedure” like it was a one-off, saying the patient had arrived  at the hospital, as though it was for one specific case.  And Charlie mentioned staying until the surgery was over.  But then Lizzie talked about getting grant money, to build a new wing/building, based on the prestige of the dr./operation.  Which sounds like a long-term commitment.

Agreed...I wanted to know if the transplant was successful, they could have just had a line or two to let us know!  

This wasn’t a bad movie otherwise as the “Hallmark Hall of Fame” ones usually are better in my experience.  Yes it was predictable, but I liked the story between Charlie’s father and Lizzie’s daughter.  And Jeff Hephner is nice to look at.

[kirinan]

So, did anyone watch Paris, Wine & Romance last night? I liked it quite a bit. Other than the "woman is uptight and pushy to the point of panic at the beginning" trope I so detest, I thought it was a decent story. I appreciated that no one was a villain, and if the black moment was a bit weak (not only did the brother have the wrong ID card, but it was also incorrect on the news story when they were evidently superstars in the wine world? Really? Talk about your convenient plot device), it didn't ruin the movie for me. And of course the scenery was gorgeous.

Aside from the uptight thing (which seems to be kind of a Jen Lilley specialty, come to think of it), I liked Isabella's cheek and confidence in her expertise; Jen really sold it. I wish they'd given her the swagger without the twitteriness. And Dan Jeannotte as Jacques was swoon-worthy. I thought they had great chemistry. Oh, and a small thing, but I liked that when he came to Oregon she'd already realized she had overreacted to what caused her to run back home. You know, like a grown-up. 

This movie goes into my win column, since I would happily watch it again.

Edited May 5, 2019 by kirinan

[AnnaRose]

Thanks for the review Kirinan.  I recorded it, but haven't watched it yet.  I did catch the last five minutes or so, and it didn't look very good... but of course that is without having watched the rest of it, so I'm glad to read that you liked it.

[bybrandy]

In Paris, Wine & Romance while her dad was teaching her to identify every wine in the world by grape type and location her father forgot to teach her how to pronounce Willamette.   It's Willamette dammit!   

[EyewatchTV211]

2 hours ago, kirinan said:

So, did anyone watch Paris, Wine & Romance last night? I liked it quite a bit. Other than the "woman is uptight and pushy to the point of panic at the beginning" trope I so detest, I thought it was a decent story. I appreciated that no one was a villain, and if the black moment was a bit weak (not only did the brother have the wrong ID card, but it was also incorrect on the news story when they were evidently superstars in the wine world? Really? Talk about your convenient plot device), it didn't ruin the movie for me. And of course the scenery was gorgeous.

Aside from the uptight thing (which seems to be kind of a Jen Lilley specialty, come to think of it), I liked Isabella's cheek and confidence in her expertise; Jen really sold it. I wish they'd given her the swagger without the twitteriness. And Dan Jeannotte as Jacques was swoon-worthy. I thought they had great chemistry. Oh, and a small thing, but I liked that when he came to Oregon she'd already realized she had overreacted to what caused her to run back home. You know, like a grown-up. 

This movie goes into my win column, since I would happily watch it again.

I also enjoyed it for the most part. It worked for most of the reasons you gave. Beautiful scenery. I really enjoyed Dan Jeannotte. I just wish they didn't throw in the usual misunderstanding, which was very stupid, as you explained. They really could have accomplished the same things without the misunderstanding. Have Isabella go back home, having decided they can't make it work living in different countries. They both recognize that they enjoyed their time together. Both of them deal with that while pining for each other. Then Jacques's family sees he is pining, shows him the same wine bottle that gives him a solution, and he goes and gets his girl. Same exact thing without the stupid misunderstanding. I still would rewatch it.

[JenMD]

Count me in as another thumbs up on Paris, Wine & Romance.  That was delightful.  The production really took advantage of the Paris scenery, so beautiful.  I liked both leads going in to it, so that's always a plus, Although I was a little leery when I realized Dan Jeannotte was going to be doing a French accent since fake accents in these movies don't always work out so well but I thought he was great and very, very charming.  I liked all the co-stars and the story and I'll even give a pass on the dumb misunderstanding because these movies can't help themselves. 

I do have to give a special mention to the not-very-successful attempts to hid Jen Lilley's pregnancy.  It took me a little while to notice, but once I did, I couldn't not see it.  The costumer tried, but mostly missed the mark.  It was kind of hilarious.  She looked lovely throughout, don't get me wrong, but it did make me chuckle.

[Irlandesa]

I didn't like it as much as others here.  I've been thinking about it and I think I need to develop a rubric for watching these.

Here's my conclusion

Basic Questions

Is it usual Hallmark fare?  Y/N
If no, is it unusual in a way that would appeal to you?  Y/N (If yes, add a point. If no, subtract one) N/A

Quality (add a point for every yes or total points if a scale question)

Did the scenery elevate the standard fare?  Y/N
Optional point--add an extra point if the location is authentic/travel porn _1_
Did the script elevate the standard fare? Y/N
Optional--add an extra point if you laughed out loud __0__
Optional--add an extra point if the angst made you feel__0__
Did you like the stars individually (half point per star)? Y/N
Did they have special chemistry? Y/N
Option to add 1-2 extra bonus points depending on how good the chemistry is ______
If it's standard fare, is the plot at least different? Y/N (Wine and competition are pretty standard at this point.)
Was the movie smart about 3rd parties in that they don't exist or were dealt with early so they aren't cheatin' cheaters?) Y/N
The misunderstanding comes out of an adult, realistic place? Y/N
Does it use some tropes that are irresistible to you? Y/N
It avoids tropes that you detest? Y/N
Do you leave it on your DVR a while thinking you'll rewatch it (doesn't matter if you actually do)? Y/N

Deductions (Minus one per yes)

Was the chemistry an extra special kind of awful? Or one of the leads had visibly more chemistry with someone else in the movie?  Y/N
Did you find yourself nitpicking plot points or details?  Y/N 
Did you fast forward through parts or even not finish? *You may fraction this point) Y/N (.10)
 

So there are about 10 points possible for every movie.  There are 4 points possible for deduction.  And 4-6 optional bonus points.

This movie racked out at (5 positive points and 1.10 deductions) so it's at a 4.9 for me.  That sounds kind of awful but I'm sure many movies would rank lower.  In fact, I should run some of my favorites through this to see where they stack up. 

I liked the scenery.  Some of the nitpicks I had were about her uber fashion but I forgave that once I learned that some of the choices were likely due to Jen being pregnant during filming.  I also nitpicked the fact that she didn't have her uncle immediately send her a link to the article which would have cleared up the misunderstanding in two seconds flat. No excuse in this day of cell phones. Irritatingly, the family never spoke French to one another even when they were alone and they were French.  Speaking of French, some of the accents they used just felt cringe worthy.  Take Dan Jeannotte, for example, sure, he probably speaks French given that he's from Montreal but I bet his actual English is accentless so he had to do something fake. 
 

[EyewatchTV211]

5 minutes ago, JenMD said:

Although I was a little leery when I realized Dan Jeannotte was going to be doing a French accent since fake accents in these movies don't always work out so well but I thought he was great and very, very charming.

I was thinking the same. Jen posted on twitter that Dan is French-Canadian, so maybe he is very familiar with the accent from growing up close to it? Or I wonder if he ever had an accent and worked on losing it...It definitely was better than I expected it to be.

[Happywatcher]

Paris, Wine, and Romance. I like Jen Lilley, and the cheap easteuro scenes look a lot like Paris.

The story conflict isn't bad, and Jen is always good. They did an okay job dressing her, but half the full body shots make it obvious she is at least halfway through a pregnancy. 

More importantly, if they are at an international conference for the future of the US wine, why is she spending so much time in flirtyflirt with scruff beard, and not getting that wine placed? Jen has people counting on her, less kissy face with hair boy, more time marketing.

Edit to add. They got to the conflict with the broken bottles, and the love interest's accent got annoying. They should have inserted a line about him going to wine master's high school in canada or something and dropped the accent...

 

7 hours ago, bybrandy said:

In Paris, Wine & Romance while her dad was teaching her to identify every wine in the world by grape type and location her father forgot to teach her how to pronounce Willamette.   It's Willamette dammit!   

Our local trendy store's wine woman was kind enough to (politely and low key) teach me to say Wilmete....and to not only stop saying jobber for an overstock bottler, but to pronounce it correctly in french.

Edited May 6, 2019 by Happywatcher
edit to add

[mikeb]

10 hours ago, Happywatcher said:

The story conflict isn't bad, and Jen is always good. They did an okay job dressing her, but half the full body shots make it obvious she is at least halfway through a pregnancy.  

I don't know when this was filmed but here is an article from March discussing her pregnancy.  Also discusses that she and her husband are foster parents to two boys, aged two and 11 months and are in process of adopting the older one.   I suspect we won't be seeing any new movies featuring her for awhile.

https://people.com/parents/hallmark-channel-jen-lilley-pregnant-expecting-daughter-exclusive/

[LuvMyShows]

Watched the new Haley Dean movie.  Overall I like the plots of those, and with this one in particular, I liked the twist of two of the seemingly unconnected characters actually working together on the crime.  One picky catch, is that Haley made a point of saying she'd need to buy two calendars -- an extra one for work -- but then when she actually bought her calendar, she only got one.  And another picky point -- I found it hard to believe that a hospital calendar would feature on the cover someone who is only tangentially connected to the hospital.

My greater concern is that while I like the Haley Dean character in terms of how she isn't as 'bubbly' as the other franchise female leads, it causes a problem for me in terms of what seems like a lack of chemistry.  I have never bought her and Fincher as best friends.  It just doesn't convey in their acting, whereas I bought that he had a long-standing friendship with that marine who got killed in this episode.  Then I noticed that she and her boyfriend come off as a new couple rather than an established couple.  So I guess I have to conclude that to me, her acting style doesn't mesh with the others' in terms of what they are trying to portray.  The meshing came off much better with Philby (from the Mystery Woman series), I guess because his character's temperament was a little more in line with hers.

Side note on Mystery Woman and Philby -- I loved that they had an episode with a reunion of Linc and Pete from Mod Squad...kept hoping that Julie would show up too!!

[david gideon]

I was a little distracted by all the times their breath was visible (thanks to the Canadian weather) in Atlanta GA. I know they tried to explain it away by referencing a 'cold snap' but with today's HD tvs it's hard not to notice stuff like that.

I also noticed a bit of dialogue probably dubbed in after the filming. When they cut to a scene with Hailey and the coroner eating breakfast at Hailey's place, they added Hailey saying It was sweet of you to bring me breakfast. Just to make sure nobody got the wrong impression. (They stuck it over an establishing shot of the house and then Hailey taking a seat with her back to the camera.) 

Edited May 6, 2019 by david gideon
clarity

[Kemper]

I am fond of the Hailey Dean mysteries,too.  I like her relationship with Fincher; wish he was the love interest instead of the vanilla actor Hallmark usually gets for these movies.  Kelly Martin must have some clout with the network; they showed a nice kiss with her and Vanilla; and they have not given her kids.  (I watched a Flower Shop Mystery this weekend and never realized that Brooke Shields had an on-screen daughter)  By the way, I really liked the actor who played the restaurant owner/detective/love interest in this series. 

I wish Kelly Martin would use any clout she has to do something about the hair styles on these actresses.  Mr. Kemper (who was only half watching) looked up and commented on how good she looked with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.  This was when she and Vanilla were jogging.  But poor Lauren Holly!  The first few scenes she was in, her hair looked terrible!  Waved and hanging over in what appeared to be ringlets.  Isn't she over 50?  (I am over 70, so no age shaming)  She is a very attractive woman.  

[TVFan17]

I'll throw in my two cents on Paris, Wine & Romance -- It was better than I expected it to be.  Not amazing, but pleasant enough and enjoyable.

I knew I would love the Parisian scenery when it was thrown in here and there, and I did (I think all of the indoor scenes were shot in Bulgaria).    It was lovely.

I was afraid I would not like the story.  Honestly, I don't care about wine.  I don't want to hear long discussions about wine.  When I hear that a movie is going to feature a heavy wine element or that it takes place around a vineyard, I dread it.  I don't drink wine -- but even if a movie featured long discussions about something I actually drink, like water or coffee, I don't want to hear about it!   lol

That said, I enjoyed Jen Lilley and Dan Jeannotte together.  I thought her face looked absolutely beautiful in some of the scenes -- she's beautiful anyway, but I guess she was glowing more than usual.   I thought their chemistry was pretty good.    They each looked at each other as though they were falling in love, which was cute.   He is very charming, indeed, and I think we will see him again as a lead.

If I compare this movie to other Hallmark movies I have enjoyed over the past year only -- or let's say just from maybe January 2018 on until now -- I like it a bit better than some (maybe I like Paris, Wine & Romance better than, for example, Love, Romance & Chocolate from Feb. 2019), but not nearly as much as others. 

In other words... is Paris, Wine & Chocolate on par with Pearl in Paradise for me?  Not even close.  I love me some Pearl in Paradise, and I will stop and watch it whenever I happen to see that it's on.   I would not go out of my way to watch Paris, Wine & Romance over and over, but it was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours, and I might watch it again at some point down the road.

I am holding out hope for Rome in Love, with Peter Porte and (also pregnant) Italia Ricci, which I assume is probably premiering in late July or August.  I am eager to see the glorious Italian scenery!!


Edited to add:  Oh, and I watched the new Hailey Dean movie -- I don't follow the mysteries on a regular basis, but I decided to watch it.  I thought it was pretty good.  I like Hailey's friendship with Fincher, and her relationship with Jonas.   Nancy Grace's cameo was amusing.

Edited May 6, 2019 by TVFan17

[twoods]

I also enjoyed the Paris movie. Dan is extremely charming- I like him on The Bold Type but he’s paired with such a wet blanket of a character that I liked seeing him shine with an actress he has chemistry with. Hoping to see him in other Hallmark movies, and his accent was pretty good.

The scenery was beautiful. I got sad during their scene in front of Notre Dame. I also loved the way they looked at each other and we saw them falling in love. Definitely will watch this movie again.

[AnnaRose]

5 hours ago, twoods said:

I also enjoyed the Paris movie. Dan is extremely charming- I like him on The Bold Type but he’s paired with such a wet blanket of a character that I liked seeing him shine with an actress he has chemistry with. Hoping to see him in other Hallmark movies, and his accent was pretty good.

The scenery was beautiful. I got sad during their scene in front of Notre Dame. I also loved the way they looked at each other and we saw them falling in love. Definitely will watch this movie again.

Same here.  

I watched Paris, Wine & Romance last night and really liked it.  (A lot more than I expected to, especially since I'm not into wine-making or talking a lot about it even though I do drink it.)  

I had already read here that Jen was pregnant, so I was never unable to unsee that.  She is gorgeous though, and her eyes are huge!  Her best friend was stunning too and looked like a model.  They certainly won the genetic lottery. 😉

Dan Jeannotte was great and his accent sounded good to me.   The only issue I had is that I wish they would have spoken French with subtitles in scenes with just him and his brother and/or mother.  It seemed jarring to have them only speak English, and was one of the reasons I thought the movie might be a dud when I only saw the last five minutes.  I really liked him with Jen and I hope he stars in more Hallmark movies in the future.

Edited to Add:  I enjoyed Paris, Wine & Romance way more than Paris, Wine & Chocolate even though I love chocolate way more than I do wine... go figure.

I loved the exterior shots of Paris, I love the travel-porn, and I hope they continue to film a lot of these movies in appealing locations.  That really ups the enjoyment factor for me.

Edited May 7, 2019 by AnnaRose

[Misslindsey]

8 hours ago, twoods said:

I also enjoyed the Paris movie. Dan is extremely charming- I like him on The Bold Type but he’s paired with such a wet blanket of a character that I liked seeing him shine with an actress he has chemistry with. Hoping to see him in other Hallmark movies, and his accent was pretty good.

The scenery was beautiful. I got sad during their scene in front of Notre Dame. I also loved the way they looked at each other and we saw them falling in love. Definitely will watch this movie again.

I am pretty much indifferent to his character on The Bold Type, but enjoyed him in this. I really liked his chemistry with Jen Lilley and thought during the movie that maybe if he was paired with a better character on The Bold Type I might like him more in that show.

[LuvMyShows]

9 hours ago, Kemper said:

I wish Kelly Martin would use any clout she has to do something about the hair styles on these actresses.  Mr. Kemper (who was only half watching) looked up and commented on how good she looked with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.  This was when she and Vanilla were jogging.  But poor Lauren Holly!  The first few scenes she was in, her hair looked terrible!  Waved and hanging over in what appeared to be ringlets.  Isn't she over 50?  (I am over 70, so no age shaming)  She is a very attractive woman.  

I totally agree.  She was basically unrecognizable in the hairstyle from early in the show.  The hairstyle later in the show was only marginally better.  I much prefer her as a redhead than a blonde.

[Pallida]

On 5/5/2019 at 5:28 PM, Happywatcher said:

Our local trendy store's wine woman was kind enough to (politely and low key) teach me to say Wilmete....and to not only stop saying jobber for an overstock bottler, but to pronounce it correctly in french.

Apologies if I'm misunderstanding how the woman taught you to say Willamette (or if you had a typo), but how I read what you wrote isn't correct. (I live in the Willamette Valley.) This video has a pretty clear pronunciation: 

[Kohola3]

On 5/5/2019 at 7:30 PM, Irlandesa said:

I've been thinking about it and I think I need to develop a rubric for watching these.

Brilliant!  Love the whole concept of ratings the Hallmark pap.

Levinson needs to retire and get some real writers in there.

[MissyPoo]

On 5/8/2019 at 3:42 PM, Kohola3 said:

Levinson needs to retire and get some real writers in there.

So much this. Although, isn't Levinson still busy with his Pixl channel? I give him a little more credit for changing things up the story and cast when he was in charge of Hallmark while Crown Media is so strict with their writing and storylines that it tends to come off as samey after viewing a bunch at at time.

[mikeb]

I found this page where they have been announcing details about upcoming 2019 Christmas movies.  https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/christmas/the-latest-news?et_cid=119252&et_rid=27267004&linkid=https%3a%2f%2fwww.hallmarkchannel.com%2fchristmas%2fthe-latest-news

Andrew Walker is going to be starring in one with Jodie Sweetin, which is not a pairing I would have expected (also don't see her as a CEO of a candy cane company).

[EyewatchTV211]

Two other random, small comments on Paris, Wine, & Romance. Every time Isabella or someone mentioned her vineyard, Ricci Ridge, I kept hearing Richie Rich. Guess showing my generation. Just me? Also, why does she repeatedly say she doesn't have time to wait for her business to grow? People kept asking her, including her uncle, and she never really answers the question. It just seems like she can't wait because she doesn't want to wait.  

[Happywatcher]

Currently watching A Feeling of Home. Too early for an opinion on the movie, other than they have replaced the usual restored 1940 pickup for a slightly rusted 1940s pickup. Storyline is standard city girl with awesome job comes home to farm/ranch country and reconnects with high school boyfriend.

However, Jonna Walsh is literally the perfect Hallmark lead. It is like someone rammed Danica, Candace, Taylor, and Erin together in a lab. I have no idea about the rest of her acting resume, but she is going 100% Hallmark girl in this

Edited May 12, 2019 by Happywatcher

[Irlandesa]

10 minutes into tonight's movie and I had to turn it off.  Either the movie was insinuating that a woman who grew up on a ranch was naive or incapable of ranching or it was just the former boyfriend who was insinuating that. Either way, I gave the movie the finger and turned it off because I don't want to watch a movie whose story is the former and I would find it hard to root for a movie where the main love interest is the latter.

Plus, Texas might be a fine state (never been) but "Texas" is not a plot.

[Koalagirl]

47 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

10 minutes into tonight's movie and I had to turn it off.  Either the movie was insinuating that a woman who grew up on a ranch was naive or incapable of ranching or it was just the former boyfriend who was insinuating that. Either way, I gave the movie the finger and turned it off because I don't want to watch a movie whose story is the former and I would find it hard to root for a movie where the main love interest is the latter.

Plus, Texas might be a fine state (never been) but "Texas" is not a plot.

I turned this off after 30 minutes hoping that the storyline would at some point hold my interest. I didn’t find any of the characters believable and the pseudo-Texas accents of the actors playing her father and ex-boyfriend annoyed me to no end.

[AnnaRose]

15 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

10 minutes into tonight's movie and I had to turn it off.  Either the movie was insinuating that a woman who grew up on a ranch was naive or incapable of ranching or it was just the former boyfriend who was insinuating that. Either way, I gave the movie the finger and turned it off because I don't want to watch a movie whose story is the former and I would find it hard to root for a movie where the main love interest is the latter.

Plus, Texas might be a fine state (never been) but "Texas" is not a plot.

I made it about twenty or thirty minutes too, before I turned it off.  The lead male was obnoxious, arrogant and patronizing.   I wasn't sure if it was partly due to the tremendous ill will I feel toward the actor because he butchers the role of Max Evans in the horrible remake of my beloved Roswell... but every time he was onscreen in this movie I just wanted to punch him in the face.  (And I'm normally a very nonviolent person.)

Edited May 12, 2019 by AnnaRose

[JenMD]

@AnnaRose, I'm cracking up over here because I hold ill will towards him, too, but mine is decades old.  He was on General Hospital about a million years ago playing a character I loathed.  Loathed. When I saw the commercial for this last week I turned to my sister and said, "Nope.  No, no, no and no."  Heh, she just started laughing and took it off the dvr (he wasn't in the description at the time she set it).  Glad to see we didn't miss anything. The actor may be a perfectly lovely human being (or not, who knows), but man, some first impressions just stay with you.

[Irlandesa]

OMG, the guy who plays the dad was the voice of the beast in the original animated The Beauty and The Beast. I knew that name sounded familiar.

But still not watching the movie.