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

[TVFan17]

Lately I haven't been watching the Hallmark Channel too much during the week or even outside of the premieres on Saturday nights, so I haven't been noticing more repeats of specific movies than usual.   But I know that there were a bunch of movies that moved from the channel to the Hallmark Movies Now streaming app in January, and I assume they've stayed there.   That probably left a bit of a hole in the rotation on the main Hallmark Channel. 

This past Saturday's "Love in Store" was the last new, made-for-Hallmark, original, never-before-seen movie until March 28th!!  So there is over one month passing until the next actual new Hallmark Channel movie.  Quite a drastic change from last year's schedule.

*****************************

The upcoming schedule is:

1. Sat. February 29th -- "Bad Date Chronicles" (w/ Merritt Patterson & Justin Kelly) -- This PixL movie was filmed in 2016, and it premiered on PixL in 2017.

2.  Sat., March 21st -- "Adventures in Love & Babysitting" aka "Bound & Babysitting" (w/ Travis Van Winkle, Tammin Sursok, Tiffany Hines & Stephen "tWitch" Boss) -- This PixL movie was filmed in 2014, and it premiered on PixL in 2015.

3.  Sat., March 21st -- "2020 Spring Fever Preview Special" (hosted by Bethany Joy Lenz & Michael Rady)

4.  Sat., March 28th -- "Just My Type" (w/ Bethany Joy Lenz & Brett Dalton)

5.  Sat. April 4th -- "You're Bacon Me Crazy" (w/ Natalie Hall & Michael Rady)

6.  Sat., April 11th -- "Fashionably Yours" (w/ Kat Graham, Kendrick Sampson & Sheryl Lee Ralph)

7.  Sat., April 18th -- "Nature of Love" aka "Glamping in Love" aka "Love and Glamping" (w/ Emilie Ullerup & Christopher Russell)

*****************************

After that... no clue.    Spring Fever was cut from 6 movies in 2019, to 4 movies in 2020. 

For the last 2 years there has been a Hall of Fame movie around the end of April.  So far I don't see anything that looks like an obvious Hall of Fame movie going into production, and if there were going to be one airing in late April, it probably would have already begun filming because the Hall of Fame shoots tend to take longer to complete.  Maybe they will save it for May.

Also -- although Hallmark has not officially made the announcements themselves, both "When Hope Calls" and "Chesapeake Shores" have been reported to have been renewed for a 2nd and 5th season, respectively.

Hallmark has not yet announced how many Christmas movies they plan to premiere this year, but the only official one that has been filmed so far is "Christmas in Vienna" (w/ Brennan Elliott & Sarah Drew).  Another one -- "A Timeless Christmas" -- is supposed to film in the near future, and it is based on a Hallmark Publishing novel. 

I posted the mystery line-up updates over in the Hallmark Mysteries thread.

Edited February 27, 2020 by TVFan17

[kirinan]

3 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

Another one -- "A Timeless Christmas" -- is supposed to film in the near future, and it is based on a Hallmark Publishing novel. 

I read this book! It actually wasn't a bad story. I'm an absolute sucker for time travel, so that's an interesting tidbit to hear.

[Leia1021]

On 2/4/2020 at 6:16 PM, Dani said:

I’m in California and yearly festivals are very common around me. It’s a huge tourism boost for many of the small towns. 
Now that I think about it I’ve always found Hallmark Christmas festivals unrealistic but I live in a large city with a two mile long Christmas Tree Lane. Every year there are walk nights where it is pretty similar to a Hallmark movie complete with free hot chocolate and Santa at the end. 

Fresno?

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Leia1021 said:

Fresno?

Yes. 

[TVFan17]

I was listening to the latest Jen Lilley interview on the Deck the Hallmark podcast, and she was talking about how she ended up with Hallmark.  One thing that put her on the Hallmark radar and got their attention was her movie The Spirit of Christmas (with Thomas Beaudoin).  That movie actually could have been a Hallmark movie.  It was not made specifically for Lifetime, although that's where it premiered.  She said that Lifetime, Hallmark and Netflix were in a bidding war of sorts to get The Spirit of Christmas, and Lifetime just happened to be the one that got it. 

So Hallmark remembered Jen because they really wanted that particular Christmas movie, and then they eventually brought her into the Hallmark mix and cast her in an actual made-for-Hallmark movie.

I suspect that this sort of scenario that Jen described happens much more often than we realize it does, especially since certain production companies make many movies -- not just Christmas movies but regular rom coms too -- and then sell them off to various networks.  There are probably many cases of specific movies being up for grabs, in a sense, for any network to swoop in and acquire them.  Sometimes Hallmark might win the bidding war.  Sometimes Lifetime might win the bidding war.  Maybe UP or ION might get lucky and wrestle a movie away from the grasp of Lifetime, Hallmark and Netflix.  Perhaps BYU will claim a movie for their own.

And if a movie does end up with another network instead of Hallmark, it's likely that Hallmark keeps certain actors in mind so they can bring them into projects later on.  My guess is that this sort of thing happened with Peter Porte, Meredith Hagner and Sarah Drew.  Hallmark probably wanted A Cinderella Christmas, A Gift Wrapped Christmas and Christmas Pen Pals, respectively, for their own.  They didn't get them, but they used those actors in their own projects later on down the line.

So some of the movies we see on Lifetime, Netflix, UP, ION, etc., could be things that Hallmark either lost out on in a bidding war, or that they turned down/passed on. 

There are, of course, movies that are made specifically for Lifetime, and for Netflix, and for Hallmark., and for UP.  And then there are movies that are acquired by networks way down the line -- like long after they've been filmed -- because they are still up for grabs when everyone else passes on them.  Also, sometimes a movie might be designated for one network after it's filmed, and then something changes and it ends up with a different network.

I find all of these details fascinating (as to how certain movies land on certain networks, and how certain actors stay on the network's radar), for some reason!🤣

Jen also mentioned having to turn down a recent offer for a new Hallmark movie shooting in Bulgaria.  It was going to be too difficult to pull off for her, so she regretfully passed on it.  The last Hallmark movie that was (partially) filmed in Bulgaria was Jen's Paris, Wine and Romance, so maybe Hallmark felt that Jen was a seasoned Bulgaria vet by now and figured it would be easy to get her on board.  But, alas, she had to turn it down. 

Edited February 27, 2020 by TVFan17

[In2You]

Hopefully they opt for a movie too

 

[Bronx Babe]

The Monolith Monsters on Svengoolie tonight!  Alien rocks invade a small town and turn the people who touch them into stone.  Sounds like a Hallmark movie to me!

[carolgoodnough57]

I've seen several of the Mystery Woman movies on Hallmark and the interior set for the shop looked oddly familiar, then I think I figured out why. It looks like the interior set for the 80's tv show "Friday the 13th" are they the same set?

[ehall1052]

On 2/25/2020 at 6:53 PM, kirinan said:

WHAT is up with the Hallmark Channel? I'm seeing the same 5 or 6 movies on the schedule,

I thought the same thing too. Then I went hunting for Hallmark Drama channel (my cable carrier has it hidden on a non-HD channel). I discovered several movies that are not too old (within the last 10 years). I never remember seeing ANY of them originally. Now I DVR several of them to view when nothing else in on that I want to see.

[Irlandesa]

UP also has a lot of "older" movies that originally ran on Hallmark.  Basically, the Levinson movies.

[TVFan17]

I thought that Bad Date Chronicles was pretty cute.  I think it was a good choice on Hallmark's part to acquire the rights to air this movie.  It fits their rom com mold, but it also feels a bit more contemporary and modern (despite having been filmed 4 years ago).  Also, there was a lot of humor in it, which I appreciated.  There is often not enough of the "com" in rom coms on the Hallmark Channel, so even though this was not their movie, at least it delivered as far as keeping a comedic tone.

However... when I checked one of Hallmark's Bad Date Chronicle posts/threads on their main Facebook page, I saw that most of the people in the thread were ranting and raving about how terrible the movie was.  It's really not that bad, but maybe the problem is a generational one.   It feels like a "young"-ish movie, or made for a slightly younger audience, which might have alienated the much older segment of the audience.

 

Edited March 1, 2020 by TVFan17

[Suzysite]

I think my issue with Bad Date Chronicles was the cartoonish bad-guy bosses.  They both needed mustaches to twirl when they were sabotaging the dates.   I mean, the guy had a drill.  Where did he come up with that?  And how did he know the exact boat they'd take to drill holes in it...without being caught?  Come on! 

Edited March 2, 2020 by Suzysite

[Luckylyn]

I thought Bad Date Chronicles was a fun bit of fluff.  The biggest annoyance for me was how long it took them to figure out who was messing with their dates.  The bosses were immature and silly with their interference which got old quickly but overall I enjoyed watching it.  I liked the cast.  

Edited March 1, 2020 by Luckylyn

[twoods]

Bad Date Chronicles is so much better than most of the drivel that Hallmark regurgitates out for us. No wonder their core audience hated it, since they prefer boring movies with the same useless tropes and bland leads.

Edited March 1, 2020 by twoods

[TVFan17]

1 hour ago, twoods said:

Bad Date Chronicles is so much better than most of the drivel that Hallmark regurgitates out for us. No wonder their core audience hated it, since they prefer boring movies with the same useless tropes and bland leads.

 

I liked the movie, but, to be fair, Merritt Patterson is one of Hallmark's annual/regular leading ladies -- probably considered bland by some -- so it's not like Bad Date Chronicles was breaking ground and showing us someone who has never appeared in Hallmark movies.  Giles Panton has done lots of Hallmark movies.  Lanie McAuley is in Hallmark projects.  Matt Bellefleur has done a few Hallmark things.  Even Gina Holden did a few Hallmark projects long ago.  It's only Justin Kelly who hasn't done Hallmark work -- but he is kind of bland to me. 

Also, the writer of Bad Date Chronicles is a regular writer of Hallmark movies.  And the director is a regular Hallmark director.  So none of these elements make the formula so vastly different from the formula used to make a Hallmark movie.  It's just that some movies are a little bit better and feel a little fresher, and some are not as good, which happens on any network.  But they didn't reinvent the wheel here, in other words.  It's another variation of a rom com that happened to be entertaining.  I have seen other PixL movies that I did not like at all..

 

Speaking as someone who likes the regular, trope-filled Hallmark movies and is also no spring chicken, I know it is possible to keep an open mind and like other not-made-for-Hallmark movies or movies with a slightly different spin from time to time!  lol  I am a bigger fan of current Hallmark movies than I am of the movies on other networks, but I can still appreciate when a movie with a slightly different vibe, geared towards younger adults, is entertaining.

It's fine for something to not be those complaining viewers' cup of tea, but they really exaggerate and get too dramatic about it.  I think when something is out of their comfort zone they have to yell, stomp, threaten to leave, insult Hallmark and demand that it never be shown again.  Everything they don't like is always the worst movie they've ever seen.  Many of them say ""I've never disliked a movie until now" or something similar.  Meanwhile, they were complaining 2 or 3 weeks earlier about a totally different movie!  lol  They can't simply say, "Okay, I didn't like that one.  On to the next."  It's always an overly-dramatic reaction, which is silly.

Edited March 1, 2020 by TVFan17

[Irlandesa]

I enjoyed Bad Date Chronicles as well.  It was fun.  I thought all the couples had decent chem.  I wasn't even put off by the "evil" bosses because they were a big part of the comedy. 

The only part I didn't like was when he rewrote his story because of the stolen adulterated blog post (that's the one time the bosses weren't equally at fault even though they acted like they were) instead of calling her to ask her what was up.  I don't even remember him questioning where his boss got it. 

10 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

Also, the writer of Bad Date Chronicles is a regular writer of Hallmark movies.  And the director is a regular Hallmark director.  So none of these elements make the formula so vastly different from the formula used to make a Hallmark movie. 

But I think that supports @twoods point in a way.  It had actors who do regular Hallmark movies.  We've often talked about how Hallmark seems to "bland up" actors who we have liked in other projects.  It had a writer who normally writes other Hallmark movies which goes to show that the writer is capable of a complete plotline free of some of the boring tropes and references to hot chocolate or escaping from the evil city. 

It's just that even the more unique storylines get reworked once they go through the Hallmark machine until it's not much different than a movie that aired the previous week.

Even Andrew Walker talked about how he and Joie Lenz were freer to joke around or kiss like normal humans when they did their Lifetime movie.  And when I say kiss like normal humans, I don't mean deep tongue kisses but rather not standing with their bodies a foot apart as they lean in to have their lips chastely touch.

On 3/1/2020 at 1:42 AM, TVFan17 said:

It feels like a "young"-ish movie, or made for a slightly younger audience, which might have alienated the much older segment of the audience.

What about it felt "young?"

[TVFan17]

8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I enjoyed Bad Date Chronicles as well.  It was fun.  I thought all the couples had decent chem.  I wasn't even put off by the "evil" bosses because they were a big part of the comedy. 

The only part I didn't like was when he rewrote his story because of the stolen adulterated blog post (that's the one time the bosses weren't equally at fault even though they acted like they were) instead of calling her to ask her what was up.  I don't even remember him questioning where his boss got it. 

But I think that supports @twoods point in a way.  It had actors who do regular Hallmark movies.  We've often talked about how Hallmark seems to "bland up" actors who we have liked in other projects.  It had a writer who normally writes other Hallmark movies which goes to show that the writer is capable of a complete plotline free of some of the boring tropes and references to hot chocolate or escaping from the evil city. 

It's just that even the more unique storylines get reworked once they go through the Hallmark machine until it's not much different than a movie that aired the previous week.

Even Andrew Walker talked about how he and Joie Lenz were freer to joke around or kiss like normal humans when they did their Lifetime movie.  And when I say kiss like normal humans, I don't mean deep tongue kisses but rather not standing with their bodies a foot apart as they lean in to have their lips chastely touch.

What about it felt "young?"

 

I don't know what specifically felt "young" about Bad Date Chronicles -- it just felt young-ish to me, or a bit more modern, geared towards a slightly younger audience.  ...Not geared towards teens, but not geared towards the Wedding March audience either, if that makes sense.  And that's totally fine -- that didn't bother me.  I also kind of thought the same thing about From Friend to Fiance, and that was another one that the Hallmark Channel Facebook page followers hated.  Some of the complainers on Facebook said BDC was immature and childish and all of that, and they said the same thing about FFTF.   I think BDC felt less mature than they wanted or expected. 

I have said it before in this thread, but it bears repeating.  I like Hallmark movies.   I am a fan of Hallmark movies.  I've said that some of the movies need more humor, or that the humor is gone too soon into the movies.  But I usually like what everyone refers to as boring tropes or bland leads, or references to hot chocolate, holiday festivals, the merits of moving to small towns vs. big cities, or whatever else people always complain about.  I live in a big city, and I like to see small towns in my made-for-TV movies because it's not what I see all the time.  I don't take offense to characters finding love in small charming towns instead of huge cities.  The movies are what they are, and they've been the way they are for quite a while now.  They are not the movies of yesteryear.  I'm fine with it.  Those tropes and predictable details are why I am tuned in.  That's what I'm there for, and I'm one of the core viewers.  I still like some other TV movies too (including Bad Date Chronicles), but I usually prefer Hallmark movies to the ones on other networks! 

The things that bother everyone here about Hallmark movies are usually not that big of a deal to me, I suppose.   I enjoy these simple little pleasures -- the cute, silly, predictable, hot chocolate-chugging, seasonal festival-planning, snowball fight-having, cookie-baking, harmless, fluffy, frothy movies filled with trope-tastic fun!

Edited March 2, 2020 by TVFan17

[In2You]

Hallmark needs to a change from the same tired elements that make every movie each week feel like the one you watched the last.

[Was-MArsenault]

I'm looking up Signed Sealed and Delivered right now, and found this really nice group photo.

Martha kind of looks like Jane Seymour a little bit.

[Was-MArsenault]

Nice to see this movie on right now!

[Was-MArsenault]

Speaking of my avatar in question:

[twoods]

Watching Winter Love Story again and man is Jen Lilley’s character is so obnoxious. She’s a first time writer who writes about her breakup and is snooty towards a famous “dragon writer.” She gets better as the movie goes on but it’s putting a bad taste in my mouth, especially when she’s whining about a small room when she knows that he has a dog to share his room with.

Edited March 17, 2020 by twoods

[formerlyfreedom]

Hallmark Channel Schedules Christmas Movie Marathon During Self-Quarantine (Exclusive)

Coming this weekend!

Quote

 

Starting Friday, March 20 at 12 p.m. ET/PT, Hallmark will air 27 original "Countdown to Christmas" holiday films from recent years, starting with Candace Cameron Bure's A Christmas Detour.

The weekend marathon, a response to fans' desires for a dedicated lineup of feel-good movies to help pass the time amid the coronavirus outbreak, culminates Sunday, March 22 at 6 p.m. ET/PT with Christmas in Rome starring Lacey Chabert.

 

 

[In2You]

Speaking of Christimas I don't feel like digging up the holiday thread but I heard no one mention this Amazon Prime feature last Christmas

 

[JenMD]

In the Key of Love, starring Laura Osnes and Scott Michael Foster, previously exclusive to the app, is finally going to be on the regular Hallmark channel.  Woot!  It's airing this Saturday, 3/21 at 9pm.

[Scarlett45]

On 3/19/2020 at 6:20 PM, JenMD said:

In the Key of Love, starring Laura Osnes and Scott Michael Foster, previously exclusive to the app, is finally going to be on the regular Hallmark channel.  Woot!  It's airing this Saturday, 3/21 at 9pm.

I saw Laura on broadway in 2013 (Cinderella) and I recorded this movie to watch later. 

[Irlandesa]

I watched. I thought it was pleasantly pleasant. Scott Michael Foster's character was a bit of a control freak and not in a good way so I can't say I was really rooting for the couple but they did sound great together when they sang.  And the scenery was gorgeous.  There also weren't too many misunderstandings which was nice for a change. 

I'll admit I aggressively needed some pleasant fare and this fit the bill. 

[Callietwo]

On 3/19/2020 at 7:20 PM, JenMD said:

In the Key of Love, starring Laura Osnes and Scott Michael Foster, previously exclusive to the app, is finally going to be on the regular Hallmark channel.  Woot!  It's airing this Saturday, 3/21 at 9pm.

It's being replayed on the 28th at 7 pm and 29th at 2 pm on HMM.  Thanks for the heads up- I've set a recording.

[VartanFan]

Watched In the Key of Love and enjoyed it.  Loved seeing Cappie again.  

[TVFan17]

I was glad that Hallmark decided to free In the Key of Love from the confines of Hallmark Movies Now and air it on the channel where it was supposed to premiere in the first place!  I had not seen the movie because I wasn't ready to sign up for HMN yet, so it was new to me.  At least Laura Osnes and Andrea Brooks were able to live tweet with people when it aired on Saturday night.

 

Adventures in Love & Babysitting (AKA "Bound & Babysitting" when it aired on PixL 5 years ago) has been moved to a Tuesday, April 21st showtime at... 2 PM. 

 

So, after the 4 upcoming Spring Fling movies (Hallmark changed the name of the event from Spring Fever back to Spring Fling) that start on March 28th and end on April 18th, there is nothing left to premiere, movie-wise!

Well, let me put it this way -- after that final Spring Fever movie on April 18th, there is nothing else to premiere on the Hallmark Channel that is an actual made-for-Hallmark movie.  They have not been able to film anything else for that channel.  (They did film a sequel to their JL Ranch movie that is supposed to air on Hallmark Drama, but not sure when.)  The well has run dry because of the current pandemic.   Everything has come to a standstill.  Hallmark was already lagging behind in filming due to the controversy in December and then losing their CEO, I think.  So everything had already slowed down.  Now it's just slowed down even more.

There are all sorts of romance movies that have been filmed which are not officially for Hallmark, made independently by various production companies, and Hallmark might have to acquire some of those and throw them on the air just to fill some gaps.

 

Good Witch's new season is premiering in May, so that's something to look forward to.

 

There was supposed to be a Hallmark movie filmed in Bulgaria -- not sure what the theme of that one was going to be -- that obviously is not happening right now.  There were a couple of wedding movies lined up to film, as well as the 6th Wedding March installment that would have filmed soon.  Chesapeake Shores would have had to start filming very soon in order to air in August, but that's obviously going to be stalled.  The new Signed, Sealed, Delivered movie was supposed to be filming in June-July, so hopefully there is still a chance for that to happen.

 

Hallmark only has two official, made-for-Hallmark holiday movies wrapped up -- and that's A New Year's Resolution with Aimee Teegarden and Michael Rady (pulled from the 2019 holiday schedule for no apparent reason), and Christmas in Vienna with Brennan Elliott and Sarah Drew.  They were supposed to film a couple more right now or within a few weeks (I mentioned A Timeless Christmas here at some point before, and that was one of them), but that's not happening now.  This, too, is a situation in which Hallmark will probably have to end up acquiring a bunch of random holiday movies that have not been claimed by other networks just to fill some space on the schedule.  But they usually film a lot of their holiday movies in September and October, so there is still a chance they could knock out a bunch of them for this year, one after another, in a flurry of Fall filming activity.  I doubt we'll see 40 new Christmas movies again, though.  I don't think it will be possible at this rate, because productions had already slowed way down even before COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the world.

 

At this rate -- and I don't mean to be the voice of doom, but we have all seen the constant bleak, grim news every day -- what is Hallmark waiting for in premiering the 2 Fall Harvest movies they pulled from the schedule in 2019 (Love Under the Olive Tree and Country At Heart)?  Who cares that it's not Fall right now?  Just air them in May, and at least let the casts and crews of the movies have their moment in the spotlight, so they can live tweet and interact with the viewers.  Is the network waiting for the next Fall Harvest event in Sept/Oct -- 6 or 7 months away -- to premiere them?   Many of their viewers are older -- probably over 65, and probably over 70.   If the information we have all been given about COVID-19 is accurate, and if as many people contract this virus and possibly die from it this year as we have been led to believe, then some of Hallmark's viewers might not be around to see the next Fall Harvest event!  That is an unfortunate reality.   Some of Hallmark's own employees, crews and talent might not be around at that point either, because the virus is hitting everyone, in all age groups, in all stations of life (regular citizens, law enforcement, medical professionals, celebrities, etc.).  They need to just air the movies after Spring Fling ends, and give the viewers something to look forward to.  No need to wait.  Tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone.

 

I posted the updates on Hallmark's mysteries over in the mystery thread!

 

Edited March 23, 2020 by TVFan17

[DanaMB]

I just started watching Bad Date Chronicles and it’s rated PG instead of G! I’m scandalized. 😂

[Irlandesa]

Considering how they write their adult relationships--maybe not so odd.

[In2You]

19 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Considering how they write their adult relationships--maybe not so odd.

Didn't realize I posted it in the wrong thread.  I follow alot of authors on Twitter and the authors tweets kept popping up in my timeline. The book is tween about Tessa working with her aunt Cleo. The movie is about Aunt Cleo. The way Hallmark always boasts about being family friendly I'm surprised they didn't keep it true to the book.

[Irlandesa]

Just My Type was quite nice.  I liked the leads and even though there were some silly things like Bethany's character pretending to know how to fish but even that was called out early.

And towards the end, when we found out what books Martin had been writing, I thought for sure her editor was going to find out and publish that information without her knowing about it.  And then Martin would get mad at her thinking she betrayed him. 

Then I looked at my clock and saw there were less than ten minutes to go and I realized there wasn't enough time.  There it was, a perfect moment for a stupid misunderstanding and then chose not to go there.  Bravo.

[EyewatchTV211]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

Just My Type was quite nice.  I liked the leads and even though there were some silly things like Bethany's character pretending to know how to fish but even that was called out early.

And towards the end, when we found out what books Martin had been writing, I thought for sure her editor was going to find out and publish that information without her knowing about it.  And then Martin would get mad at her thinking she betrayed him. 

Then I looked at my clock and saw there were less than ten minutes to go and I realized there wasn't enough time.  There it was, a perfect moment for a stupid misunderstanding and then chose not to go there.  Bravo.

You read my mind. Or even before it was revealed what books he was writing, I thought they would publish the story before he got a chance to read it. Like Rome in Love. Was SO SO glad there was no stupid misunderstanding. It allowed me to enjoy the movie in its entirety, despite some of the silliness like you mentioned. 

[kirinan]

I also enjoyed Just My Type. I third the relief that there was no stupid misunderstanding. I thought Bethany Joy Lenz and Brett Dalton had great chemistry, and everything evolved pretty naturally, I thought. It was...a grown-up romance! Yay, Hallmark, you did good on this one. I will watch it again, for sure.

I hope next week's You're Bacon Me Crazy is equally good, because Michael Rady. 

[Suzysite]

12 hours ago, kirinan said:

I also enjoyed Just My Type. I third the relief that there was no stupid misunderstanding. I thought Bethany Joy Lenz and Brett Dalton had great chemistry, and everything evolved pretty naturally, I thought. It was...a grown-up romance!

 

Absolutely!   I was bracing for the misunderstanding.   I hate those idiotic storm-away-mad scenes so much.  Maybe Hallmark has finally gotten the message that NOBODY likes it.  

[screengem]

Did anyone find it strange that while Bethany's character was staying at an inn, every time she and her gal pal were eating, it was always at a restaurant, away from the inn?  Since this place was a real inn and HUGE, one would think that it had a fully equipped kitchen capable of making simple meals.

[EyewatchTV211]

11 hours ago, Suzysite said:

Absolutely!   I was bracing for the misunderstanding.   I hate those idiotic storm-away-mad scenes so much.  Maybe Hallmark has finally gotten the message that NOBODY likes it.  

Doubt they've gotten the message. They have these movies without the misunderstanding on occasion but still seem to encourage their writers to have misunderstandings the majority of the time. I want to know if there are any people who actually like it that way. 

[kirinan]

14 hours ago, VMepicgrl said:

Doubt they've gotten the message. They have these movies without the misunderstanding on occasion but still seem to encourage their writers to have misunderstandings the majority of the time. I want to know if there are any people who actually like it that way. 

I would guess the Hallmark social media devotees--the Hausfraus who are Team-Hallmark-to-the-End. That's Hallmark's biggest cheering section.

Edited March 31, 2020 by kirinan

[Scarlett45]

I want to check this out. Sharing from Kat Graham’s Instagram
 

 

[MissyPoo]

 

On 3/16/2020 at 9:55 PM, twoods said:

Watching Winter Love Story again and man is Jen Lilley’s character is so obnoxious. She’s a first time writer who writes about her breakup and is snooty towards a famous “dragon writer.” She gets better as the movie goes on but it’s putting a bad taste in my mouth, especially when she’s whining about a small room when she knows that he has a dog to share his room with.

Agreed. She really annoyed me when I saw this back when it premiered and I especially hated the way she crapped on fantasy and sci-fi books (two of my fave genres).

On 3/30/2020 at 6:40 AM, screengem said:

Did anyone find it strange that while Bethany's character was staying at an inn, every time she and her gal pal were eating, it was always at a restaurant, away from the inn?  Since this place was a real inn and HUGE, one would think that it had a fully equipped kitchen capable of making simple meals.

Another strange instance is that there were no other guests at the inn...unless I missed the explanation. But it didn't really hit me until Bethany Joy's character was leaving at the end and waving goodbye to her bff's parents when I thought "wait a minute..."

Though I have to chime in and say I really enjoyed the movie and both lead characters. It had one of my trope weaknesses in it (writing/publishing related) so it caught my eye and I ended up liking it until the end. Of course, it had the usual crap on the big city while waxing poetic about small towns which made me roll my eyes but the story and characters kept me invested. 

On 3/29/2020 at 1:22 PM, Irlandesa said:

I liked the leads and even though there were some silly things like Bethany's character pretending to know how to fish but even that was called out early.

I think with any other actress that would have been hugely cringe inducing moment. But Bethany Joy is so endearing, at least to me, that she made it work with some adorableness to smooth it out. Glad he called her out, made it seem more amusing.

 

On 3/31/2020 at 9:18 AM, Scarlett45 said:

I want to check this out. Sharing from Kat Graham’s Instagram

I'm so looking forward to this one! Looks too cute. And I'm glad they let the OG herself, Sheryl Lee Ralph, be fabulous and styling in this one. I feel like the stylist did her wrong with that Holly Lodge movie. 

All of the Spring movies caught my eye this year. Not sure if it's the dark, grim reality of the world at the moment but I've added each one to my list and I'm really looking forward to Kat's movie. She also has another christmas movie for Netflix later this year that I think has already filmed. She's becoming my second fave tv movie gal after Christina Milian.

[redpencil]

9 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

Another strange instance is that there were no other guests at the inn...unless I missed the explanation. But it didn't really hit me until Bethany Joy's character was leaving at the end and waving goodbye to her bff's parents when I thought "wait a minute..."

Was it an inn? I thought the whole time it was just their house. Unless I missed something at the beginning?

[EyewatchTV211]

14 minutes ago, redpencil said:

Was it an inn? I thought the whole time it was just their house. Unless I missed something at the beginning?

When there were outside shots, it showed a sign pointing to the inn on one side and I think the house on the other (my eye seemed to keep going to the same side of the sign each time). 

[MissyPoo]

11 hours ago, redpencil said:

Was it an inn? I thought the whole time it was just their house. Unless I missed something at the beginning?

 

11 hours ago, VMepicgrl said:

When there were outside shots, it showed a sign pointing to the inn on one side and I think the house on the other (my eye seemed to keep going to the same side of the sign each time). 

I need to keep an eye out during my next viewing. I may have conflated the two as one. :-)

[ehall1052]

20 hours ago, redpencil said:

Was it an inn? I thought the whole time it was just their house. Unless I missed something at the beginning?

Re Just My Type: It’s repeating right now and the friend states the inn is her parent’s bed and breakfast and empty now because their season doesn’t start until Founder’s Day.

I’ve only been to one bed and breakfast, but breakfast was the only meal the owners offered.  Maybe Bethany and her friend chose to eat at restaurants to give the parents a break.

[twoods]

I really enjoyed You’re Bacon Me Crazy. I liked that the leads both had food trucks and weren’t competitive at first. Even when the lead got jealous and competitive, the guy was super nice about it. Then there was a misunderstanding and the guy called her on it and she immediately apologized. Very impressive, writers, right up until the end when the lead threw a fit for no reason. 

 Michael Rady is so freaking charming . I loved his chemistry with Natalie. All the food porn was so good and now I’m starving. 

Edited April 5, 2020 by twoods

[Irlandesa]

25 minutes ago, twoods said:

Very impressive, writers, right up until the end when the lead threw a fit for no reason.

I understood where she was coming from with the contest so that didn't bother me much. And I did like the leads but overall, I was bored with the movie. Maybe it's because I was distracted by a noisy roommate but I wanted to like it more.

[EyewatchTV211]

Michael Rady is one of my favorite leading men, but I was disappointed in the movie. I agree that I understand where the female lead was coming from in some of her complaints, but she still bothered me for some reason. And this didn't ruin the movie for me, but her thinking she was a genius for naming his sandwich a BLP was eyeroll worthy. There was something similar to that later in the movie, but I forget the exact example. Also, while I know all of these competition-themed movies end up with one of the leads winning (or the leads tying 🙄), this movie projected which one would win it all more than usual. Especially once there was also a fan favorite prize. And I was just bored like Irlandesa, though I was multitasking. I liked Just My Type better.

[formerlyfreedom]

I agree that of the spring films so far, Just My Type has been my favorite - Brett Dalton was fantastic, but then I've had a thing for him since the first season of Agents of SHIELD. I have always enjoyed Bethany Joy Lenz, too. The story had just enough meat on it's bones that I have now watched it, albeit in the background the last time, two times!

Michael Rady did just fine, and Natalie Miller was okay, it's not on them - I just wasn't into the story of You're Bacon Me Crazy. I did like Michael's back and forth with his brother, and I liked Natalie's co-workers and family, but it wasn't enough for me to enjoy it really.