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

[norcalgal]

On 12/14/2023 at 5:18 AM, Orcinus orca said:

As a Boomer I missed most of those references.  I did enjoy it, however, as long as I had closed captioning on.

I almost exclusively watch anything with closed captioning. I find it easier to follow the story that way. 
Add me to the camp that liked Round and Round. It was a fun, cute movie, and as a comic book reader (on and off) since I was 12, whose favorite film genre is sci-fi/fantasy, I appreciated the geeky inclusion. 

[Trini]

If anyone's interested in behind-the-scenes of these movies, etc.; Deadline pulled a few quotes from a podcast interview with Luke Macfarlane: 'Luke Macfarlane Compares Netflix Payments To His Hallmark Channel Take'

[Trini]

Again, late; I finally saw Round and Round. I liked that the romance was there but it wasn't the main thing. Great group of supporting characters. Lots of good twists despite it being a time loop movie. The one twist I didn't love (but it's not a dealbreaker or anything) was literally everyone else in her family already knowing about the time loop nonsense. Also, I think they said it was seven loops, but I'm sure they implied more than that? But that's a minor nitpick.

Anyway, thumbs up!

[Irlandesa]

This meant to go here:

I do think the focus on the fact that he got paid more from Hallmark vs. Netflix that I've seen in many places is a bit strange. In Single All The Way, he was a supporting player. Michael Urie and Philomen Chambers were the stars.

On Hallmark, he's the lead. 

[Acmeproducts]

Any news about a new Wedding Veil movie?

[Nacos for Rufus]

On 12/30/2023 at 6:00 PM, Trini said:

If anyone's interested in behind-the-scenes of these movies, etc.; Deadline pulled a few quotes from a podcast interview with Luke Macfarlane: 'Luke Macfarlane Compares Netflix Payments To His Hallmark Channel Take'

That’s really interesting and the opposite of what I would have expected. Makes me wonder what was the pull for all those actors that jumped ship to GAC. I can’t imagine they’re making bank over there compared to Hallmark, but maybe?

 I do know that, contrary to my own expectations, I really enjoyed a lot of the new Christmas movies. Nice to see new faces. A lot of the ones I didn’t care for left, so that worked in my favor as well, lol.

[MerBearHou]

10 minutes ago, Nacos for Rufus said:

That’s really interesting and the opposite of what I would have expected. Makes me wonder what was the pull for all those actors that jumped ship to GAC. I can’t imagine they’re making bank over there compared to Hallmark, but maybe?

I have absolutely no data on this, but I am just wondering if some of those who jumped ship thought they would be so popular that many, many viewers would follow them to GAC and “hurt” Hallmark (those who were trying to make a statement against TPTB at Hallmark).  Speaking for myself, I wasn’t tempted to follow any of them over to GAC — for some reason, I wasn’t even curious about the GAC content.  

I, too, was really pleased with a number of the fall and winter movies.  Really enjoyed the stories, production quality, some familiar actor faces I enjoy so much, and some new faces.  They weren’t all hits for me, but that’s OK.  

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Nacos for Rufus said:

Makes me wonder what was the pull for all those actors that jumped ship to GAC. I can’t imagine they’re making bank over there compared to Hallmark, but maybe?

 

1 hour ago, MerBearHou said:

I have absolutely no data on this, but I am just wondering if some of those who jumped ship thought they would be so popular that many, many viewers would follow them to GAC and “hurt” Hallmark (those who were trying to make a statement against TPTB at Hallmark).

Hallmark also really wasn't known for paying its actors big money.  I remember reading an article that the benefit, especially with an EP credit, was the international distribution money that actors/producers got more of.

Some Hallmark actors may have gone with Abbott to GAC because of his "values" but I think most went for the money.  He offered something Hallmark didn't offer at the time--multi-picture deals and the ability to create or select their own content.  He probably thought having Hallmark's most popular actors would help launch GAC more than they have and offered them a salary to reflect that belief. 

Sometimes more is spent in the beginning to try and get something off of the ground. 

GAC's contract situation did change how Hallmark acted.  As soon as some people left for GAC, we started hearing about Hallmark signing actors to multi-picture deals.  Maybe that was always the case and they kept it quiet but I just recognized more announcements about actors signing exclusive deals. 

 

[Badsamaritan]

11 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

 

Hallmark also really wasn't known for paying its actors big money.  I remember reading an article that the benefit, especially with an EP credit, was the international distribution money that actors/producers got more of.

Some Hallmark actors may have gone with Abbott to GAC because of his "values" but I think most went for the money.  He offered something Hallmark didn't offer at the time--multi-picture deals and the ability to create or select their own content.  He probably thought having Hallmark's most popular actors would help launch GAC more than they have and offered them a salary to reflect that belief. 

Sometimes more is spent in the beginning to try and get something off of the ground. 

GAC's contract situation did change how Hallmark acted.  As soon as some people left for GAC, we started hearing about Hallmark signing actors to multi-picture deals.  Maybe that was always the case and they kept it quiet but I just recognized more announcements about actors signing exclusive deals. 

 

I can't imagine that kind of contractual situation with actors is sustainable, if the network is losing money. And Hallmark does allow their actors to spread their wings as far as writing (Paul Campbell & Kimberly Sustad) and producing, like Lacey Chabert and possibly others. I did a drive by of a couple of their movies and the unknown leads were awful. Worse than Ryan Paevy levels of bad. But the worst was that no one had chemistry of any kind. Like they were explicitly told to generate anti chemistry. I don't think Hallmark has much to worry about. The actors that jumped ship? That's another story. I'm betting there's gonna be some serious conversations at GAC this month once final numbers come in for the holiday movie season. Because those Wagon Train reruns ain't keeping the lights on. 

[Orcinus orca]

I was seriously underwhelmed yet again this year, not a single one that I saved to rewatch.  

35 minutes ago, Badsamaritan said:

I did a drive by of a couple of their movies and the unknown leads were awful. Worse than Ryan Paevy levels of bad. But the worst was that no one had chemistry of any kind.

Yep, it was pretty sad.  I know new talent is needed but some screen testing might have been nice.  It's like they pulled names out of a hat.

As bland and boring (and repetitive) as the holiday stuff is, I find myself a bit sorry it's abruptly over for the year.  I have it on in the background when tootling around the house and now it's all Reba and 50 year old mystery series.  Since the current crop of movies are all essentially the same, it's not like you have to pay attention.

One thrilling development in my world - I found A Season for Miracles on plex (which I had never heard of) so was able to watch albeit with commercials.  But since the original was a Hallmark Hall of Fame on network TV, it was no problem as there were breaks built in.  Love that one with real acting and a somewhat gritty story.

[dalek]

I really enjoyed Round and Round.  Hallmark has made enough Hanukkah movies now that my expectations have gone from "just don't completely fuck up Chanukah" to "should actually have a decent plot and good acting." And I like a good time loop movie or tv show (Stargate SG1's Window of Opportunity is one of my favorites)

Wasn't a huge fan of this year's crop of movies. Liked Holiday Road, Friends and Family Christmas, Mystery of Mistletoe Lane, and To All a Good Night, thought The Santa Summit was decent, and enjoyed Catch Me If You Claus.

Was happy Hallmark Drama had a couple Hallmark Hall of Fame movie marathons, so I got to see Naughty or Nice twice this year, Hitched for the Holidays, and Season of Miracles, one of my all time favorites.

Mostly when I was watching Hallmark I was trying to watch movies I'd enjoyed from previous years, like A Godwink Christmas: Made for Love, my favorite of that series.

Edited January 2 by dalek
left out a movie

[absnow54]

1 hour ago, Orcinus orca said:

Yep, it was pretty sad.  I know new talent is needed but some screen testing might have been nice.  It's like they pulled names out of a hat.

Exactly! Although, even when they strike gold with some pairings, when the story isn't there, it's tough to catch lightning twice. Autumn Reeser and Antonio Cupo come to mind. I guess, statistically, Hallmark needs only 5/100 new movies in a season to succeed, so they don't saturate my holiday rewatch schedule year after year (I didn't even have time to watch Nine Lives of Christmas this year my DVR is so full!) but it's such a slog getting through the duds.

[Irlandesa]

Overall, I probably think last year's crop was better but there were quite a few I'd seek out again and even more I wouldn't change the channel over if they happened to come on. 

And I actually thought most of the movies ended up being better than their descriptions.  There were only maybe two that I actually couldn't watch.

[norcalgal]

50 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Overall, I probably think last year's crop was better

Agree with this part. In fact, the only two from last year I can remember is the baby one with Tyler, Andrew and Paul.  And the Lacey Chabert/Wes Brown one which had a sequel this year.

[absnow54]

8 hours ago, norcalgal said:

Agree with this part. In fact, the only two from last year I can remember is the baby one with Tyler, Andrew and Paul.  And the Lacey Chabert/Wes Brown one which had a sequel this year.

Ghosts of Christmas Always was another good one from last year. I feel like by next year, I'll only remember 2 or 3 from this year too, which is fine, because it makes catching reruns less tenuous.

[EtheltoTillie]

My final roundup has all the comic movies at the top of my list:  Round and Round, Catch Me If You Claus, and Holiday Hotline.  I DNF'd a lot of new movies this year.  I also liked the lesbian movie, but its title was so bland, I can't remember it. 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Round and Round and A Biltmore Christmas were my favs this year. Haul Out The Holly part 2 was pretty good, but I liked the Haul Out The Holly from last year better. 

[Chippings]

A favorite for me was (this may be slightly off) Not So Royal Christmas with Will Kemp.  The fun of it largely was watching him play one unusual character, and then that character impersonating a Count.  He really shows a lot of acting range, more than the regular Hallmark leading men really ever have the chance to try.  I'm remembering his Prince in Royal Matchmaker, then the American in London (struggling with that American accent) in Jolly Good Christmas, and this last season also the dance instructor-turned-detective in the one filmed on Malta.  I'm a big fan, obviously, and think I read he has another film coming up.  

[Ele]

Love on the Right Course was written by Brittany Bristow and her husband. I love that! I liked the plot and the actor who played Whitney’s dad. I wish Bristow would have played the lead. Newbrough and Rosner were fine, but I usually don’t watch their movies. 
I thought it was funny that Daniel’s excuse to not having a Hungarian accent was that he went to an American school. It must have been a long time! I didn’t like how Whitney treated Daniel when she brought back her caddy and then blamed him for being distant. This isn’t a must rewatch for me, but it was a good writing effort by Bristow.

I’m looking forward to the other new movies this month. 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Wasn't Brittany Bristow the little skater who was so good in Blizzard (2003) ? Will have to see this new movie when it comes back on.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

 

[Bronx Babe]

Hearts of Winter:

"Does it always get this cold in January?"

 

Does one need any more evidence to figure out that their screenwriters are not of this Earth?

[voiceover]

AAAAIIIIIEEEE!!!!!

Saw this yesterday on X; then Tyler reposted it; and just saw the trailer!!!

As a longtime Chiefs fan, this made me lose my mind…

It’s an ad thing for a KC grocery chain (As far as I can figure out), but I ❤️ that one of my favorite Hallmark guys is de facto part of the Kingdom!

This is the trailer.

[voiceover]

My favorite part of the trailer is when she says: “It’s the Chiefs — or me!”

And he has to think about it. 🤣

Been there, Tyler.

[Orcinus orca]

Did Hallmark run out of folksy home town businesses so they had to turn to sports themes?  Do they put all kinds of sports in a hat and draw one?  We already had injured football and hockey players, golf, tennis and other equally forgettable ones.

[coffeebean]

I had a page bookmarked that displayed all TV movies, not just Hallmark movies. That page seems to have disappeared from this site. For at least the past week, when I click on that bookmark, I get a message on this site that says, "We could not locate the item you are trying to view".

Has PRIMETIMER purposefully changed the page or is there a technical issue that has to be worked on by IT? Anyone know? Maybe a moderator can give me some insight. Thanks.

 

Just now, coffeebean said:

I had a page bookmarked from PRIMETIMER that displayed all TV movies, not just Hallmark movies. That page seems to have disappeared from this site. For at least the past week, when I click on that bookmark, I get a message on this site that says, "We could not locate the item you are trying to view".

Has PRIMETIMER purposefully changed the page or is there a technical issue that has to be worked on by IT? Anyone know? Maybe a moderator can give me some insight. Thanks.

 

 

Also.....when I EDIT a comment such as the comment I just made, this site merges the edited comment with the original comment so now it looks like I posted the same comment twice.

I know.......first world problems.

[voiceover]

Here’s the full trailer.

Absolutely freaking hilarious with tons of Chiefs fan in-jokes, including but not limited to: former players, current players, radio play-by-play guy, mascot, mother of player, & names of famous games & famous plays.

Not a movie.  Just an affectionate tie-in to the playoffs.

[chitowngirl]

1 hour ago, coffeebean said:

I had a page bookmarked that displayed all TV movies, not just Hallmark movies. That page seems to have disappeared from this site. For at least the past week, when I click on that bookmark, I get a message on this site that says, "We could not locate the item you are trying to view".

Has PRIMETIMER purposefully changed the page or is there a technical issue that has to be worked on by IT? Anyone know? Maybe a moderator can give me some insight. Thanks.

TV Movies are here  You have to put the individual threads on your home page now instead of the whole topic.

[coffeebean]

1 hour ago, chitowngirl said:

TV Movies are here  You have to put the individual threads on your home page now instead of the whole topic.

Thank you but I have seen this page. This is how I found this thread. Problem with this page is it does not tell me which threads have new posts on them by bolding the title of the thread. I like the other way better.

BUT......good to know it is not just me and PRIMETIMER did change the page and how to access the threads.

Thanks again for your reply.

[norcalgal]

2 hours ago, voiceover said:

Here’s the full trailer.

Absolutely freaking hilarious with tons of Chiefs fan in-jokes, including but not limited to: former players, current players, radio play-by-play guy, mascot, mother of player, & names of famous games & famous plays.

Not a movie.  Just an affectionate tie-in to the playoffs.

To be clear:  this is to pump up the Chiefs for the postseason, right?  There is no actual movie coming called Falling for Football…?  Also, too bad this trailer couldn’t work in a Taylor Swift mention.

[chitowngirl]

30 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

Thank you but I have seen this page. This is how I found this thread. Problem with this page is it does not tell me which threads have new posts on them by bolding the title of the thread. I like the other way better.

I agree! The only TV movie threads I really read were the 2 Hallmark ones, so those were the only ones I added to my Home Page. Conversely, I have SO many award show threads all over my Page because the Award Show group was disbanded…but I digress.

Favorite Hallmark Christmas movies? Round and Round and most definitely, Catch Me If You Clause.

[coffeebean]

3 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

I agree! The only TV movie threads I really read were the 2 Hallmark ones, so those were the only ones I added to my Home Page. Conversely, I have SO many award show threads all over my Page because the Award Show group was disbanded…but I digress.

Favorite Hallmark Christmas movies? Round and Round and most definitely, Catch Me If You Clause.

Favorites this Christmas season .....

Holiday Hotline

A Biltmore Christmas

Edited January 11 by coffeebean

[GeorgiaRai]

On 1/4/2024 at 12:00 AM, One4Sorrow2TooBad said:

Round and Round and A Biltmore Christmas were my favs this year. Haul Out The Holly part 2 was pretty good, but I liked the Haul Out The Holly from last year better. 

This is exactly where I ended up, as well!  I'd put Biltmore at #1 and Round & Round at #2.  And I liked HOTH2 more on my 2nd watch, but still not as much as I liked the original.  

Overall, I thought it was a pretty good season for Hallmark.

Edited January 11 by GeorgiaRai

[Irlandesa]

13 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

Did Hallmark run out of folksy home town businesses so they had to turn to sports themes?  Do they put all kinds of sports in a hat and draw one?  We already had injured football and hockey players, golf, tennis and other equally forgettable ones.

I believe they're following romance book trends.  Sports romances are a popular subgenre of those books. 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

I loved_ Holiday Hotline!!!!

[voiceover]

What follows are the footnotes to the Hallmark movie **spoof** trailer, Falling for Football:

As the sympathetic bartender: Dante Hall, the 2000-06 Chiefs’ extraordinary punt/kick returner

As Tyler’s shop: “Kingdom” (nickname for the fanbase)

As Tyler’s co-worker: Mitch Holthus, Chiefs’ radio play-by-play announcer.  “Sweet nectar of the end zone” is one of his catchphrases

As Tyler’s dog: KC Wolf, the Chiefs’ mascot (inspired by 60s/70s Chiefs fan club name “The Wolfpack”)

FaceTiming Janel: Melissa Etheridge, hometown fan

As the singer on the street corner: Tech N9ne, another local, who wrote “Red Kingdom”, which plays at pep rallies and during games at Arrowhead Stadium

As Janel’s hairdresser: Tommy Townsend, Chiefs’ punter

As the waitress: Donna Kelce, mother of Travis (Chiefs’ tight end) and Jason (Eagles’ center); thus her “The heart can be two places at once” line (her sons were on opposing teams in last year’s Super Bowl)

As the cook: Creed Humphrey, Chiefs’ center (his saying “13” refers to one of the most famous drives in Chiefs’ history: in the 2022 divisional playoff against the Buffalo Bills, KC was down 3 with 13 seconds left in the game.  Patrick Mahomes drove the team downfield with a few seconds to spare — our kicker made the game-tying field goal as time expired)

As the customer: Trey Smith, Chiefs’ right guard (his “corn dog” line refers to the name of the play that caused the Chiefs to score the go-ahead touchdown in last year’s Super Bowl)

You’re welcome!🤣

 

[MerBearHou]

3 minutes ago, voiceover said:

What follows are the footnotes to the Hallmark movie **spoof** trailer, Falling for Football:

As the sympathetic bartender: Dante Hall, the 2000-06 Chiefs’ extraordinary punt/kick returner

As Tyler’s shop: “Kingdom” (nickname for the fanbase)

As Tyler’s co-worker: Mitch Holthus, Chiefs’ radio play-by-play announcer.  “Sweet nectar of the end zone” is one of his catchphrases

As Tyler’s dog: KC Wolf, the Chiefs’ mascot (inspired by 60s/70s Chiefs fan club name “The Wolfpack”)

FaceTiming Janel: Melissa Etheridge, hometown fan

As the singer on the street corner: Tech N9ne, another local, who wrote “Red Kingdom”, which plays at pep rallies and during games at Arrowhead Stadium

As Janel’s hairdresser: Tommy Townsend, Chiefs’ punter

As the waitress: Donna Kelce, mother of Travis (Chiefs’ tight end) and Jason (Eagles’ center); thus her “The heart can be two places at once” line (her sons were on opposing teams in last year’s Super Bowl)

As the cook: Creed Humphrey, Chiefs’ center (his saying “13” refers to one of the most famous drives in Chiefs’ history: in the 2022 divisional playoff against the Buffalo Bills, KC was down 3 with 13 seconds left in the game.  Patrick Mahomes drove the team downfield with a few seconds to spare — our kicker made the game-tying field goal as time expired)

As the customer: Trey Smith, Chiefs’ right guard (his “corn dog” line refers to the name of the play that caused the Chiefs to score the go-ahead touchdown in last year’s Super Bowl)

You’re welcome!🤣

 

Amazing — thank you!  So fun, so clever — way to go, Chiefs, Tyler and Janel, and Hallmark for this wink-wink “out of the box” trailer / ad for the Chiefs.  Got such a kick out of it (no pun intended) and your footnotes make it even more fun and impressive.  All showed a great, sly sense of humor.  

[coffeebean]

17 hours ago, GeorgiaRai said:

This is exactly where I ended up, as well!  I'd put Biltmore at #1 and Round & Round at #2.  And I liked HOTH2 more on my 2nd watch, but still not as much as I liked the original.  

Overall, I thought it was a pretty good season for Hallmark.

I didn't see Round and Round this past season. I will look for it next season or maybe in the Christmas in July blitz.

Edited January 11 by coffeebean

[Orcinus orca]

20 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

I didn't see Round and Round this past season. I will look for it next season or maybe in the Christmas in July blitz.

Hopefully you will be able to follow it better than I could.  I don't have any familiarity with any of the comic book culture or sci/fi so I was totally lost.  I did like the story  but had to have closed captioning on because of the rapid fire dialog.  But I am an old fogey so....

[kirinan]

On 1/10/2024 at 1:20 PM, voiceover said:

Here’s the full trailer.

Absolutely freaking hilarious with tons of Chiefs fan in-jokes, including but not limited to: former players, current players, radio play-by-play guy, mascot, mother of player, & names of famous games & famous plays.

Not a movie.  Just an affectionate tie-in to the playoffs.

I probably dislike football more than anyone else on earth (including Janel Parrish!), but this was AWESOME. Even if it didn't have Tyler Hynes in it, I would have laughed. Good job, KC!

[norcalgal]

3 hours ago, kirinan said:

I probably dislike football more than anyone else on earth (including Janel Parrish!), but this was AWESOME. Even if it didn't have Tyler Hynes in it, I would have laughed. Good job, KC!

Why specifically were Tyler and Janel asked to do this?  Are they from KC, or Chiefs fans?

[Trini]

5 hours ago, kirinan said:

I probably dislike football more than anyone else on earth (including Janel Parrish!), but this was AWESOME. Even if it didn't have Tyler Hynes in it, I would have laughed. Good job, KC!

It works as a rom-com parody whether or not you know any of these people. Good job, marketing team!

 

 

Edited January 12 by Trini

[Notabug]

5 hours ago, norcalgal said:

Why specifically were Tyler and Janel asked to do this?  Are they from KC, or Chiefs fans?

Tyjer Hynes is Canadian, born and raised. Janel was born in Hawaii and moved to California as a kid.  Neither one seems to have any obvious links to Kansas City or the  Chiefs.  I think they were hired because they're both fairly recognizable as rom-com stars of the sort being parodied in the ad.

[Mittengirl]

Isn’t Hallmark HQ in Kansas City?

[Orcinus orca]

4 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

Isn’t Hallmark HQ in Kansas City?

Yes

[kirinan]

23 hours ago, norcalgal said:

Why specifically were Tyler and Janel asked to do this?  Are they from KC, or Chiefs fans?

There's more information in this Variety article.

[Orcinus orca]

The star of Scottish Love Scheme was definitely the gorgeous scenery.  That and the wonderful accents although thank heavens for closed captioning.

Felt zero chemistry between the leads.  And unusual for Hallmark to have such a downer ending.

[Notabug]

1 hour ago, Orcinus orca said:

The star of Scottish Love Scheme was definitely the gorgeous scenery.  That and the wonderful accents although thank heavens for closed captioning.

Felt zero chemistry between the leads.  And unusual for Hallmark to have such a downer ending.

The scenery was lovely.  The accents were sexy but closed captioning was a must.  Wasn't too impressed by either of the leads.  And, yes, the premise that the mother had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer and decided to travel to Scotland to visit old friends with her daughter, who doesn't know her mother is dying, was kinda ridiculous.   Also, the woman was married, her marriage seemingly a good one; but she decides to leave her husband at home to take the trip?  Why?  Why wouldn't he have insisted on coming along if only because he knew she was terminally ill?  Wouldn't she be wanting to spend time with him as well?  Wouldn't he want to be with her in case anything happened?  And she tells her Scottish friend she's dying but not her daughter?  And the friend's adult kids who are spending a lot of time with the daughter aren't warned to keep quiet?

BTW, since they said it was terminal, I presume she was Stage 4.  95% chance of being dead within a year, average survival 6 months.  And she wouldn't have been in any shape to travel.

Dumb, dumb storyline.

Edited January 14 by Notabug

[kirinan]

52 minutes ago, Notabug said:

BTW, since they said it was terminal, I presume she was Stage 4.  95% chance of being dead within a year, average survival 6 months.  And she wouldn't have been in any shape to travel.

Although I agree they handled it clumsily and unrealistically, I have to gently disagree with part of this. I was diagnosed with inoperable Stage 3B lung cancer in January 2022 (my treatment ended in April 2023 and although the cancer's not completely gone, it's stable and I'm doing and feeling very well), so I frequent a cancer discussion board through which I've come to know a lot of people with different types of cancer. There are a number of Stage 4 people out there living their lives, traveling, etc. even though they've been declared terminal—and surviving well beyond the average survival times for the various types. So while I know it happens way too often, it's not always an immediate death sentence. The human capacity to hold off death and accomplish the things you still want to do, even in the face of terminal illness, is a miraculous thing, I've come to discover. 

But I also agree that I wish they wouldn't have put a downer ending on the story; the disconnect between that and the rest of the move was jarring. But what I did enjoy about this movie? Erica Durance (one of my favorite actresses); all of the other actors, especially the adorable little guy who played Finn; the accents; the scenery; and the music, which I thought was fabulous. Even with the missteps, I'd watch this one again.

Edited January 14 by kirinan

[Clawdette]

My husband's renal cell carcinoma was Stage 4 when diagnosed.  He continued to work for three-plus years, including international travel. We were thankful he felt well enough to continue moving because it took his mind off the inevitable.  So, I never even thought it was unrealistic for the mom to travel.