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


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3 hours ago, Frost said:

I'm watching A Summer to Remember for the scenery but I'm so distracted by Catherine Bells' bad plastic surgery/bad botox.  What did she do to her face?!  It's really pulling me out of a nice movie.

I so love Catherine Bell but my gosh, she will not leave her beautiful face alone.  As the Good Witch seasons continued on, I felt like every other season she showed up with a slightly different face.  Most recently, when she and James Denton were doing promos on Facebook, it might have been the worst I’d seen.  You got the feeling she knew it too because she wouldn’t look straight into the camera.  Catherine, you don’t need this!

  • Love 1
17 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

 

Who would be a good leading lady for James?  It won't be someone in their 20s, obviously.  Who is old enough to seem like a good match for him, but not someone who seems even older on camera (like the woman paired up with Gregory Harrison in "My Christmas Love")?  I know that Alison Sweeney is supposed to be doing another Christmas movie, but would they pair her up with him, I wonder?  Or is she too young?

 

I looked it up - James is 57.  Most of the 'older' Hallmark recurring actresses are in their mid-40s.  One who is a little closer to his age is Julie Benz at 48.  Courtney Thorne-Smith would be good fit at 52 - but don't think she has done any Hallmark Christmas movies, only Emma Fielding mysteries.   Holly Robinson Peete is 55 - would be interesting if they are ready to have a mixed-race couple.

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22 minutes ago, mikeb said:

I looked it up - James is 57.  Most of the 'older' Hallmark recurring actresses are in their mid-40s.  One who is a little closer to his age is Julie Benz at 48.  Courtney Thorne-Smith would be good fit at 52 - but don't think she has done any Hallmark Christmas movies, only Emma Fielding mysteries.   Holly Robinson Peete is 55 - would be interesting if they are ready to have a mixed-race couple.

I would take Julie Benz in a heartbeat. I really dislike Holly Robinson Peete.

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3 hours ago, mikeb said:

I looked it up - James is 57.  Most of the 'older' Hallmark recurring actresses are in their mid-40s.  One who is a little closer to his age is Julie Benz at 48.  Courtney Thorne-Smith would be good fit at 52 - but don't think she has done any Hallmark Christmas movies, only Emma Fielding mysteries.   Holly Robinson Peete is 55 - would be interesting if they are ready to have a mixed-race couple.

 

Those are good ideas!  Of course, at this rate they might pull in an actress who is new to Hallmark -- in which case, it could be anyone!  lol  I love Julie Benz, though -- especially with David Sutcliffe (more than with Michael Shanks).  She usually has good chemistry with her leading men.

 

Something else to consider is that sometimes there is a difference between a person's actual age and how young or old they appear on camera, if that makes sense.  I have seen some actors and actresses on camera who looked or seemed younger or older than they actually were.  And then it becomes tricky to cast their love interests because they have to find people who also 'look' like they are in a certain age range on camera, even if their real age is much lower or higher.  In these movies they mostly avoid casting women who 'seem' very young on camera with leading men who are quite a bit older.  The actress may actually be 35, in which case it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to date an man who is 42.  But if she looks or acts like she is 25, they won't cast her with the actor who is 42 (even though, in real life, much older men date younger women, and older women date younger men).

 

I brought up My Christmas Love as an example in my previous comment because Gregory Harrison was 66 at the time it was filmed, and yet, for some reason, he 'seems' a tad younger on camera.  It's not like he looked 46, but he was a young 66-year-old.  And yet... the nice lady they paired him up with in the movie seemed older.  In real life she was probably his age or maybe even a few years younger than Gregory (I have not looked up her age), but it didn't come across that way on camera.  I thought that Gregory and Barbara Niven would have been a much better match.  Or what about Marilu Henner and Gregory Harrison?  Would they be a good match and come across as similar in age on camera?

Speaking of My Christmas Love, Bobby Campo is now 37 years old, and was blessed with a face that looks young.  I like him, but sometimes he looks like a teenager on camera. Ellen Hollman is the same age as Bobby, but -- in their movie Sharing Christmas -- I thought she 'seemed' a couple of years older or more mature on camera.  It was nothing jarring or overly distracting, but he still looks like a teen and she does not.

 

Another movie that generated some comments about the leads being mismatched due to age was Hope at Christmas.  Ryan Paevey would have been 33 at the time it filmed, and Scottie Thompson is only 2 or 3 years older than Ryan -- but people complained that she looked and seemed too old for him, and that they were mismatched.

 

All For Love, with Sara Rue and Steve Bacic, got mixed reviews.  Most people liked the movie itself and didn't mind or notice the age difference, but there were some people who thought he was too old for her.  In real life, Steve would have been 52 when it was filmed, and Sara would have been 38.   That is a pretty significant real-life age difference that Hallmark usually does not seek out for their movies.  Did Sara 'seem' older on camera?  Did Steve 'seem' younger on camera?  Or did it not matter because they were a good match?

 

All For Love is what makes me wonder if Hallmark will cast a significantly younger actress opposite James Denton for his Christmas movie, or if they will aim for an actress also in her 50s.  I tend to think they will go with someone in her 40s, but there is a big difference between 41 and 48 when starring opposite a man who is a bit more 'seasoned' than some of the other current Hallmark leading men.

Anyway, I'm interested to see how it pans out!

 

Edited by TVFan17
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I would have said that James and Lori Loughlin would have made a great pairing, but...yeahhhh.  Candace Cameron Burre honestly wouldn't be the worst match, she's in her mid-40s and while she looks a little younger she doesn't look 25 either.  I feel like wardrobe dresses her younger, with her berets and skirts and Mary Jane shoes.  I'd love to see her in a power suit and a Christmas movie about her facing off with James in a hijinksy legal battle.  Meetcute outside the courthouse, perhaps? 

I had to look up Barbara Niven's age because I also thought of her, and holy cow does she look amazing for 67 (!!).  Catherine Bell needs to figure out who her dermatologist/plastic surgeon is and switch to them.  I don't doubt that Barbara has had a little help, nothing wrong with that, but she still looks human and like she's aging gracefully.  Bless her heart, Catherine Bell's cheekbones look like water balloons.

Edited by dubstepford wife
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I don't think age differences are a big deal, necessarily.  In fact, I like some May/December romances.  Take Gregory Harrison, for instance, I think he's hot and I've even rooted for him to develop a romance with the woman Oliver rejected on SSD.  He's got all the gray hair and everything of being an older person but he has a certain joie de vivre about him that does feel younger.

My issue with Steve Bacic and Sarah Rue is that, for whatever reason, that didn't come across in their movie.  If they would have had chemistry, it probably could have worked but they didn't have enough to overcome that age difference.  Plus, she's got a quirky vibe against his more serious character which only highlighted that difference more.

Another pairing that left me scratching my head was Lisa Welchel with Antonio Campo.  She was 51 and he was 36 at the time.  15 years isn't always a big deal but I do think putting someone in their 30s with someone in their 50s is noticeable.

Edited by Irlandesa

Fall Harvest line-up, per ET  --

https://www.etonline.com/hallmark-channel-reveals-fall-harvest-five-movie-lineup-exclusive-152024 

 

Love at Daisy Hills -- acquired movie with Cindy Busby and Marshall WIlliams (I scooped ET on this one) -- September 19th

Love at Look Lodge (also acquired) with Clark Backo and Jonathan Keltz (I scooped ET on this one too) -- September 26th

Country at Heart (finally!) with Jessy Schram and Niall Matter -- October 3rd

My Best Friend's Bouquet (FKA Neverbrides) with Chaley Rose and Nathan Witte -- October 10th

Sweet Autumn with Nikki DeLoach and Andrew Walker (I scooped ET on this one 11 days ago.  What took them so long?  lol) -- October 17th

 

No Good Witch Halloween movie this year, as I mentioned in a different post -- supposedly they can't start filming until October.

 

53 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I don't think age differences are a big deal, necessarily.  In fact, I like some May/December romances.  Take Gregory Harrison, for instance, I think he's hot and I've even rooted for him to develop a romance with the woman Oliver rejected on SSD.  He's got all the gray hair and everything of being an older person but he has a certain joie de vivre about him that does feel younger.

My issue with Steve Bacic and Sarah Rue is that, for whatever reason, that didn't come across in their movie.  If they would have had chemistry, it probably could have worked but they didn't have enough to overcome that age difference.  Plus, she's got a quirky vibe against his more serious character which only highlighted that difference more.

Another pairing that left me scratching my head was Lisa Welchel with Antonio Campo.  She was 51 and he was 36 at the time.  15 years isn't always a big deal but I do think putting someone in their 30s with someone in their 50s is noticeable.

 

I forgot about the Lisa Whelchel-Antonio Cupo movie, and that is a great example of how Hallmark must have thought Antonio looked older on camera and/or that Lisa looked younger on camera.

Sometimes I think Hallmark casts leads because they are close in age -- but on camera it may translate as one of the actors seeming much younger or older than they actually are, so then the couple seems mismatched (such as people thought Ryan and Scottie were).  And in other less frequent cases, I think Hallmark casts despite a substantial age difference because they think the couples looks closer in age on camera -- and that may not translate as well either (such as Lisa and Antonio).

Gregory has aged really well.  It's not that he looks 20 years younger than he is, but he pulls off the silver fox look with ease.  The woman -- lovely though she may be -- he was supposed to be paired up with in My Christmas Love may have been his age or even younger, but he was a young 66 years old at the time it was filmed, and she seemed older than Gregory on camera.  Their levels of joie de vivre didn't match!  lol  That's why I thought he'd be better with Barbara Niven or someone like that, who seems a tad younger than she is, and is vibrant, but is still mature.

 

 

Edited by TVFan17
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2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Another pairing that left me scratching my head was Lisa Welchel with Antonio Campo.  She was 51 and he was 36 at the time.  15 years isn't always a big deal but I do think putting someone in their 30s with someone in their 50s is noticeable.

I'm with you on the head-scratching. I always assumed it was why they styled or cut his hair so he almost looked like he was balding--which he may be, for all I know, but whatever the case, it seemed like an attempt to make him look closer to her age. I didn't think it was successful.

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I think Elizabeth Mitchell would be a good co-star with James Denton.  She was one of my favorites on Lost and I enjoyed seeing her in The Christmas Club last year on Hallmark.  I tend to enjoy the Hallmark movies with "older" leads more.  

Is Victor Webster doing anything else for Hallmark besides the mystery series with Danica McKellar?   She's not one of my favorites so I haven't been watching those movies, but I usually enjoy the stand alone movies with Victor. 

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I thought Kelly Rutherford did a good job in the movie with Cameron Mathison (Love, Of Course) so she might pair well with James Denton.  I’m with you, WhyAmIHere — I enjoy Victor Webster a great deal but do not see him as paired well with Danica.  He needs a co-star of more substance IMO.  Danica is just OK, in my book — she comes across too “little girl” to me in her voice and facial expressions — I just don’t seek out her movies at all.  

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2 hours ago, kirinan said:

I'm with you on the head-scratching. I always assumed it was why they styled or cut his hair so he almost looked like he was balding--which he may be, for all I know, but whatever the case, it seemed like an attempt to make him look closer to her age. I didn't think it was successful.

Another thing that undermined it was that the actress playing his engaged daughter was only 13 years younger than him so I do think he was meant to be older but I don't think it worked.

I'd rather them just lean into the younger man/older woman variety instead of pretending it doesn't exist.

5 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

Love at Look Lodge (also acquired) with Clark Backo and Jonathan Keltz (I scooped ET on this one too)

Oooh, an interracial romance with actors I know nothing about.  Crossing my fingers.

5 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

Country at Heart (finally!) with Jessy Schram and Niall Matter -- October 3rd

I'm nervous.  This could be a good duo.

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1 hour ago, WhyAmIHere said:

I think Elizabeth Mitchell would be a good co-star with James Denton.  She was one of my favorites on Lost and I enjoyed seeing her in The Christmas Club last year on Hallmark.  I tend to enjoy the Hallmark movies with "older" leads more.  

Is Victor Webster doing anything else for Hallmark besides the mystery series with Danica McKellar?   She's not one of my favorites so I haven't been watching those movies, but I usually enjoy the stand alone movies with Victor. 

So far, Victor has not appeared on the Christmas movie radar (which is the majority of what Hallmark is filming now, on through probably early November), but there is still time for him to show up in something.   At some point there is supposed to be a 3rd MatchMaker Mysteries installment, but not sure when.

 

Elizabeth Mitchell would be a great match for James.  She comes across as mature and classy on camera, but not too old.  I also think Kelly Rutherford would be a good choice, as MerBerHou suggested.

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I think Teryl Rothery would be a good match for James. She's in her late 50s, and has a good mix of being bubbly/adorable and exuding the wisdom of an older woman. I've only seen her in supporting roles, and would love to see her as a lead. She also reminds me of Shirley Jones, which is a plus!

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2 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

I think Teryl Rothery would be a good match for James. She's in her late 50s, and has a good mix of being bubbly/adorable and exuding the wisdom of an older woman. I've only seen her in supporting roles, and would love to see her as a lead. She also reminds me of Shirley Jones, which is a plus!

Another good choice!

 

Hallmark-related, but not specifically about Hallmark programming:

"Anne Heche, Jesse Metcalfe and Vernon Davis Confirmed for ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 29"

 

The other day, when pondering who James Denton's co-star might be, I thought "Isn't it almost time for Anne Heche to do another Hallmark movie?" Her last one was 4 years ago (Looks Like Christmas with Dylan Neal), and I thought it was better with additional viewings. 

Anne is an interesting person in that she is kooky and weird and hard to figure out when she does talk shows.   You can tell that if she is like that in real life, it must be challenging to deal with.  Even her social media posts are sometimes... unusual.   And yet... I have enjoyed quite a few projects she has done, both on TV and in actual feature films.  She is strangely intriguing on camera, and she is usually well-cast in whatever she does.  She's not a bad actress.  However, I think she will be a handful for her dance partner to teach on DWTS, though, as I think she has trouble focusing.

 

And we know we'll see Jesse Metcalfe in the 3rd installment of his Martha's Vineyard Mysteries series in 2021 (he has been filming it recently), as well as in Chesapeake Shores next year, assuming it can go into production in the spring.   I know he sings, but who knows if he can actually dance?

(Speaking of Christmas movies and Chesapeake Shores, Treat Williams is about to start filming another Christmas movie for Hallmark.)

 

I guess this means no Christmas movies for either Anne or Jesse this year, unless they get booted off of DWTS in the first couple of weeks.

Edited by TVFan17
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On 8/26/2020 at 11:44 PM, mikeb said:

Speaking of Michael Shanks, he is married to Lexa Doig, who plays Sally in the Aurora Teagarden movies.  I would like to see her in a lead role in a movie.  She is 47 but seems to come across younger, so not sure would be good match for James Denton.

She's 47? I never would have guessed that! She looks way younger. 

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On 8/13/2020 at 1:05 AM, Girl in a Cardigan said:

Wow, I'm loving him! And I'm loving that so many of those tweets were deleted after he responded to them. Not so brave in bigotry when put on blast, huh?

Just set my DVR to record the movie. Even if the plot is dumb or poorly acted, we gotta rep 🌈

I loved  him before visiting his Twitter feed this morning, and now I love him even more. 

Edited by DanaMB
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On 8/15/2020 at 9:23 PM, TVFan17 said:

I just spotted one of the obvious mannequins at a wedding, less than 20 minutes in.  It's still early yet, though.  There are more to be found!

I’m finally watching this and find myself spending too much time trying to spot mannequins. 😂

  • LOL 6
17 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

Does anyone else here have this problem with Hallmark movies?  For me, the background music has taken over the audio.  You can barely hear the dialogue because the music has become so intrusive.  

Yes!  It used to be that way all of the time but for the past few years it got better.  Now they are back to drowning out the dialog so badly that I need to use closed captioning!

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23 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

Does anyone else here have this problem with Hallmark movies?  For me, the background music has taken over the audio.  You can barely hear the dialogue because the music has become so intrusive.  

Yes!  In the last week or so, the music is oddly very loud and doesn't really even go with the scene -- the voices are very quiet.  Our other channels aren't doing this.  Annoying.

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As I suspected, Hallmark continues to pair up some of their existing actors for the first time in movies this year.  I think I mentioned before that I strongly believe this tactic is 'just in case' they can't pull off 40 movies, but they still want to get most of their familiar Hallmark faces into however many movies they can manage to film, thus resulting in new combos of actors they have not tried in the past.

So this time, the new combo of existing Hallmark actors is... Wes Brown and Jessy Schram.  They are also filming in North Carolina, just as Jen Lilley and Trevor Donovan will be.  The Jessy-Wes movie is tentatively titled "Nashville Christmas Carol," and I am guessing that it will involve both Wes and Jessy singing.

I wonder who Danica McKellar, Jill Wagner, Holly Robinson Peete and Bethany Joy Lenz will be paired up with in their Christmas movies.

Edited by TVFan17
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I’ve never seen this Mitford movie before, but after reading the entire series I would never have seen Cameron Mathison or Andie MacDowell  (in her way too tight tops) as the lead roles.  Try just don’t seem to fit the roles that I saw in the books. 

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On 9/12/2020 at 10:27 PM, KLovestoShop said:

I’ve never seen this Mitford movie before, but after reading the entire series I would never have seen Cameron Mathison or Andie MacDowell  (in her way too tight tops) as the lead roles.  Try just don’t seem to fit the roles that I saw in the books. 

I didn't realize it was based on a book series. I like Cameron a lot as well as Andie but she's 11 years older than Cameron irl and looks it. It took me out of the movie.

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1 hour ago, ECM1231 said:

I didn't realize it was based on a book series. I like Cameron a lot as well as Andie but she's 11 years older than Cameron irl and looks it. It took me out of the movie.

There are 14 books in the Mitford series.  Unfortunately, they really mangled the book, the first in the series.  

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2 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

I didn't realize it was based on a book series. I like Cameron a lot as well as Andie but she's 11 years older than Cameron irl and looks it. It took me out of the movie.

This is why I have never been able to watch that movie. Watched maybe the first 15 minutes and couldn't get past it. And that's rare for me. I can deal with A LOT in these movies.

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On 9/5/2020 at 9:36 AM, Kohola3 said:

  Now they are back to drowning out the dialog so badly that I need to use closed captioning!

All the dialogue and words used in any Hallmark movie:

"S-o-o-o......."

"A-a-a-a-n-d....."

"B-u-u-u-t....."

"Amazing!"

"I get it"

"I'll have you know....."

"This is the best (fill in food) in the whole town!"

"My mother passed away when I was 16"

"My father passed away when I was 16"

"My mother and father passed away when I was 16"

"What's the pitch?"

"How did the pitch go?"

"Did you give a good pitch?"

"We'd make a good team"

"New York and Chicago are great cities but I miss Beaver Falls"

"Who's up for some hot chocolate?"

 

Then there are the odd pauses in sentences which don't need them:

"Do....you....want....breakfast?"

"How....are....you?"

"Hi.....I'm......Jake"

 

 

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It looks as though there will once again be preview specials for the Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel, and the ones airing on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.  I wasn't sure if they would do the previews this year.

2020 Countdown to Christmas Preview Special (Hallmark Channel) - hosted by Candace Cameron Bure -- Saturday, October 17th (after the final Fall Harvest movie premieres)

2020 Miracles of Christmas Preview Special (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel) - host to be announced -- Sunday, October 18th (after the premiere of the latest Aurora Teagarden movie)

Edited by TVFan17
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On 9/14/2020 at 2:13 PM, Bronx Babe said:

All the dialogue and words used in any Hallmark movie:

"S-o-o-o......."

"A-a-a-a-n-d....."

"B-u-u-u-t....."

"Amazing!"

"I get it"

"I'll have you know....."

"This is the best (fill in food) in the whole town!"

"My mother passed away when I was 16"

"My father passed away when I was 16"

"My mother and father passed away when I was 16"

"What's the pitch?"

"How did the pitch go?"

"Did you give a good pitch?"

"We'd make a good team"

"New York and Chicago are great cities but I miss Beaver Falls"

"Who's up for some hot chocolate?"

 

Then there are the odd pauses in sentences which don't need them:

"Do....you....want....breakfast?"

"How....are....you?"

"Hi.....I'm......Jake"

 

 

Also adding:

"You two know each other?"

"You got this."

Edited by MissyPoo
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On 8/26/2020 at 4:35 PM, Irlandesa said:

I don't think age differences are a big deal, necessarily.  In fact, I like some May/December romances.  Take Gregory Harrison, for instance, I think he's hot and I've even rooted for him to develop a romance with the woman Oliver rejected on SSD.  He's got all the gray hair and everything of being an older person but he has a certain joie de vivre about him that does feel younger.

My issue with Steve Bacic and Sarah Rue is that, for whatever reason, that didn't come across in their movie.  If they would have had chemistry, it probably could have worked but they didn't have enough to overcome that age difference.  Plus, she's got a quirky vibe against his more serious character which only highlighted that difference more.

Another pairing that left me scratching my head was Lisa Welchel with Antonio Campo.  She was 51 and he was 36 at the time.  15 years isn't always a big deal but I do think putting someone in their 30s with someone in their 50s is noticeable.

And Lisa W looked like she was in her 40s..and he looked like he was in his early 30s.  Had he looked in his 40s..it would have worked.

1 hour ago, AAEBoiler said:

Let's not forget, "There's some flour/whipped cream/chocolate on your face. Let me get that."

So true! Then they look into each other's eyes and ever so tentatively lean in for a first kiss - but someone suddenly walks into the room.

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2 hours ago, Ashforth said:

Spicy!  https://pagesix.com/2020/09/11/candace-cameron-bure-re-posts-inappropriate-flick-with-husband/

image.png.0c8331fb3d3a631cac2e07ca78616f37.png

I like her attitude about this! I wonder whether Hallmark will weigh in?

Yeah I don’t see how this is inappropriate. That’s her husband! They are both wearing clothes. People are ridiculous. 

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C'mon guys, it's totally fine, they're married.  And like, actually married, not "married" the way that those awful gay people can get married these days.  It's totally cool and completely family friendly to post your husband grabbing your boobs -- but a lesbian wedding, how will we explain that to the kids?  Won't someone think of the CHILDREN?!?

(/s, in case it wasn't abundantly obvious.  I love boobs.  Boobs are great.  I love teehee pics.  I also love that LGBTQ people have rights nowadays.)

Oh, and because I want to play too: "What do you mean you're a prince?!?"

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