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

[WinnieWinkle]

1 hour ago, Cetacean said:

I'm not sure how you can call refusing to talk to him, packing up and completely moving out resolved quickly.  YMMV but it seemed pretty much the same as the rest of the Heroine Hysterics we see in every movie.

I think I worded my point poorly!  What made sense to me in this particular movie was that he was being very obviously reluctant to commit to a relationship with her - let alone admit to having feelings for her - and the night of the party he was suddenly working when he hadn't been before. They built things so that her seeing him with another woman and being suspicious made sense.  I guess the resolving things quickly aspect for me came with her (ok yes finally 🙂 ) challenging him and the explanation is made and it's over.  Not dragged out endlessly which is something that happens a lot and I hate.

[EyewatchTV211]

1 hour ago, bankerchick said:

Well, I guess you could say it was resolved quickly once she finally challenged him on it?  I agree it was frustrating to watch but eminently watchable anyway.

Why is there a movie called Betting on the Bride, which sounds exactly the same as A Bride for Christmas?  I was all set to PVR another Andrew Walker/Arielle Kebbel movie only to find that it is not that movie.

Don't watch the other movie. It's almost a carbon copy of A Bride for Christmas with lower quality actors and everything else lower quality. And I'm not kidding about almost carbon copy. I think I had pointed it out when I saw it and someone said it was the same writer? So maybe was asked to redo it for some other place for some reason. I forget. It was crazy, though. 

[ShelleySue]

16 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Clearly we don't travel in the same circles.😉  I'm not sure I've ever been to a ball unless you consider Prom.  Even weddings seem to be relatively casual these days (or you know, those days.  Back when people could have weddings.)

I'm drawing a complete blank because all of the holiday movies are now a blur to me.  But one of them had a party in which everyone was supposed to dress in pajamas.  It turns out that the reason was that the mother (now dead but the lead wanted to carry on the tradition -- of course) was just too tired because she was doing too much.  The father convinced the lead that the mother actually loved the days when the party was formal and he showed the lead a closet full of her mother's formal dresses which fit her exactly.  It was just before the party and the whole town was given a day's notice but all of the women were able to show up in formal dresses.

Edited February 4, 2021 by ShelleySue
clarification

[bankerchick]

I think that was One Royal Holiday and one of the examples I railed at a few pages ago about a daughter who had to do everything exactly the way her mother did it before she died 20 years ago in order to honour her memory, only to find that her mother really wasn't that rigid and would have loved to switch things up.  The fact that the father apparently had a closet full of gowns that his grown daughter knew nothing about was a little weird and I too wondered how everyone was able to come up with a gown, shoes, and jewellery and get their hair done with short notice.

EyewatchTV211, you were right about Betting on the Bride.  I literally watched 5 minutes of it and saw the whole interaction between the guys about whether or not he had yet found his target, and the girl trying to give the engagement ring back to the guy who told her to hang on to it because she might change her mind.  Now there is one glaring difference - the jilted guy in this movie is a florist/landscaper and the guy in A Bride for Christmas was a plumber.

Edited February 4, 2021 by bankerchick

[EyewatchTV211]

9 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I think that was One Royal Holiday and one of the examples I railed at a few pages ago about a daughter who had to do everything exactly the way her mother did it before she died 20 years ago in order to honour her memory, only to find that her mother really wasn't that rigid and would have loved to switch things up.  The fact that the father apparently had a closet full of gowns that his grown daughter knew nothing about was a little weird and I too wondered how everyone was able to come up with a gown, shoes, and jewellery and get their hair done with short notice.

EyewatchTV211, you were right about Betting on the Bride.  I literally watched 5 minutes of it and saw the whole interaction between the guys about whether or not he had yet found his target, and the girl trying to give the engagement ring back to the guy who told her to hang on to it because she might change her mind.  Now there is one glaring difference - the jilted guy in this movie is a florist/landscaper and the guy in A Bride for Christmas was a plumber.

They changed a few of the details, but there was dialogue that was the same or close and the major storylines were exactly the same. 🤦‍♀️

[Cetacean]

OK, made it halfway through Nature of Love and throwing in the towel.  If it hadn't been for beautiful Squamish I'd have bailed out in the first 15 minutes.  What a stinkeroo!  The green screen effects were SO bad - close ups of the stars in a boat in the middle of the lake were laughable with a wavy lake and a perfectly stable canoe.  And don't get me started on the plastic garden flowers just stuck randomly in the sand on the beach.

It didn't help that Ullerup was 4 months pregnant at the time so tons of close ups.  She was a ditz, he was wooden.  Ugh.

[Callietwo]

17 hours ago, Cetacean said:

It didn't help that Ullerup was 4 months pregnant at the time so tons of close ups.  She was a ditz, he was wooden.  Ugh.

He is ALWAYS Wooden. Why he's ever cast as a lead is totally beyond me.  One of my least favorite actors to show up in these.  

[bankerchick]

22 hours ago, Cetacean said:

OK, made it halfway through Nature of Love and throwing in the towel.

Or, as it's now known on IMDB, Love and Glamping.  Imagine thinking that's a better title.  The lead guy, Christopher Russell, is always wooden but I think he's pretty cute so I would be inclined to watch his terrible acting over some of the guys who I don't find particularly attractive.  I guess that's why they have so many actors, something for everyone.  The only reason I watch these movies is for the lead guys.  In fact, when I'm bored, I often find myself playing MFK (marry, f*, kill) with the Hallmark hunks.  Haven't really found any I would kill, but am having no trouble figuring out the other two.

One page after saying that I never see any of these actors on other shows, I leave the TV on the Jeopardy channel and an episode of Saving Hope comes on with 3 guys I recognize from Hallmark movies (including Tyler Hynes!)

Edited February 6, 2021 by bankerchick

[luvthepros]

deleted

Edited February 6, 2021 by luvthepros

[dubstepford wife]

17 hours ago, bankerchick said:

In fact, when I'm bored, I often find myself playing MFK (marry, f*, kill) with the Hallmark hunks.  Haven't really found any I would kill, but am having no trouble figuring out the other two.

You.  I like you.  I'm going to start doing this with the Hallmark Stable of Studs.  There are plenty in the second category (most, I would say, as they all have pretty faces but only a select few have brains and/or talent), a couple in the first, and one or two in the third.  Symbolically kill, of course, as in, "Can I just never see you in one of these movies ever again?"

[bankerchick]

deleted

Edited February 7, 2021 by bankerchick

[WhyAmIHere]

These last 2 Hallmark movies, Snowkissed & Beverly Hills Wedding, have been extra bad.  I don't know why they insist on writing the female leads as so unlikeable.  The only positive to the movies being bad is that the Deck the Hallmark podcast episodes tend to be funnier. 

[Cetacean]

My only takeaway from the Beverly Hills Wedding mess........Brooke has pretty hair.  That's about the only positive I can come up with.

[Fostersmom]

You guys are nicer than I am, the overbearing sister in Beverly Hills Wedding was a rude bitch. Did she expect the groom's brother to not be at the wedding at all? And not to be mean, but I get that the actual bride and groom weren't the leads in any way, shape, or form, but was it necessary to cast the most bland people known to man to play those roles. Seriously, the groom looked like he was just going to literally fade  right off the screen in most of his scenes. 

[bankerchick]

Watched Love on the Slopes last night, and honestly, the only thing I can say is that I don't really remember anything about it other than I didn't like the female lead and the male lead is cute.  What I do remember is if you are going to call the boyfriend 'Barton' then hire a freaking actress who can say it.  She has that valley girl way of speaking so it sounds like she is saying 'Bar'in.'  And she wore so many jackets I forgot to keep count!

On the other hand, before it was on, I watched Matching Hearts, which I have seen before and liked so much I am watching it again now.  Or rather, it is on the TV and I am not paying too much attention but Ryan Paevey and Taylor Cole make for good background.

Edited February 7, 2021 by bankerchick

[ShelleySue]

On 2/4/2021 at 10:20 AM, bankerchick said:

I think that was One Royal Holiday and one of the examples I railed at a few pages ago about a daughter who had to do everything exactly the way her mother did it before she died 20 years ago in order to honour her memory, only to find that her mother really wasn't that rigid and would have loved to switch things up.  The fact that the father apparently had a closet full of gowns that his grown daughter knew nothing about was a little weird and I too wondered how everyone was able to come up with a gown, shoes, and jewellery and get their hair done with short notice.

 

And Beverly Hills Wedding was another example of a person trying to fulfill her dead mother's wishes and actually doing the opposite of what her mother would have wanted her to do. Did she actually think her mother's definition of "taking care of her sister" was completely ignoring her sister's wishes, being a b---, giving up her own dreams, etc?  I feel like I should be writing instructions to my children of what they do NOT have to do when I die.  "You do not have to follow all of my Christmas/Chanukah traditions. You do not have to wear my wedding dress when you get married.  You do not have to . . . "

[bankerchick]

That's a great idea, ShelleySue.  Can you imagine wearing your mother's wedding dress?  I don't know if my mom even had a wedding dress, and though I kept mine in the closet for decades until I got a divorce and threw it out, I would have been mortified if my daughter had said she wanted to wear the dress I wore in 1980.  It wasn't that nice back then.  One of the funny things about Bridal Wave is that the lead character was going to wear her mother's (hideous orlon) dress as some sentimental thing for her non-dead mom, but the groom's mother and even the groom tried to talk her into Vera Wang.

Also, did anyone actually dream of their wedding in fine detail, right down to the colours of the tablecloths and flowers?  I can recall thinking about getting married to every boy I ever had a crush on, including David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman, but I never got down to the nitty gritty of planning the colour scheme and what flowers we would have.

[Irlandesa]

So you guys think the lead character/sister-of-the-bride was the problem in Beverly Hills Wedding?

She was a problem.  But they all were.  They were all versions of passive aggressive awfulness and I hated them all.  Hated!

Did the sister-of-the-bride overrule her sister?  I guess maybe once or twice she tried to convince her of something but for the most part, her sister was totally on board to her sister's suggestions.

Did she and the bride ignore the groom's input?  Yes but the groom was pretty passive about not advocating for himself.  And his whole I-just-thought-we'd-do-vanilla-or-chocolate-cuz-I'm-just-a-simple-man schtick annoyed the hell out of me.  Stand up for yourself or expand your horizons don't wait to bitch until your brother confronts you. 

I guess his brother was the least worst but even he started giving the stank eye right away when, given how expensive weddings are, it really was quite a prize.

Surprisingly, I think the people I tolerated the most were the snotty wedding planners.  (Although I didn't get their hatred of daisies.  They photograph so well and would be perfect for Insta.)

I was cooking so I thought I could power through but I finally just could not any longer and had to turn the channel with 30 minutes to go.  That's right, I couldn't even tolerate the last 30 minutes.

I was a little bummed too because I do like Brooke as a lead.

Edited February 9, 2021 by Irlandesa

[Mittengirl]

Missed the beginning of Beverly Hills Wedding - who were the older couple at the end?  Dad and Aunt?  Why wasn’t Dad capable of  looking out for/ taking care of bride?  And were they really expecting the guests to go to a destination wedding with 6 weeks notice?  I hope their transportation and lodging costs were covered.

[bankerchick]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

That's right, I couldn't even tolerate the last 30 minutes.

Hmmm, I wonder how it turned out?  Would there be a mini crisis or misunderstanding with 15 minutes to go?  Will someone leave in a huff?  Most importantly, will it all be worked out in the end and everyone will live happily ever after?  Can't believe you ditched with these questions unanswered 🤣

This movie won't show here until Friday but it sounds like there's no need to cancel any plans.  Plans?  I think covid was probably the best thing that ever happened to Hallmark movies, despite the hassles to film them.  People like me who are housebound are getting pretty sucked into this stuff.

[MerBearHou]

11 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

Missed the beginning of Beverly Hills Wedding - who were the older couple at the end?  Dad and Aunt?  Why wasn’t Dad capable of  looking out for/ taking care of bride?  And were they really expecting the guests to go to a destination wedding with 6 weeks notice?  I hope their transportation and lodging costs were covered.

That's right -- Dad and Aunt.  I believe the Dad had retired so budget was a big concern.  No kidding -- a destination wedding like that would end up being immediate family, I'm guessing.  

[Cetacean]

47 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

No kidding -- a destination wedding like that would end up being immediate family, I'm guessing.  

In a ballroom that holds 500.  Sheesh.

[WinnieWinkle]

5 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Also, did anyone actually dream of their wedding in fine detail, right down to the colours of the tablecloths and flowers?  I can recall thinking about getting married to every boy I ever had a crush on, including David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman, but I never got down to the nitty gritty of planning the colour scheme and what flowers we would have.

My first celebrity crush was Bobby Sherman 😍. With regard to dreaming about weddings I was probably the most undemanding bride ever.  My mother chose my dress, the colour scheme, the bridesmaids dresses,  the flowers, the venue - my dad chose the menu.  I honestly did not care one tiny little bit.  Came the day my daughter got married and she chose all of the above - again I didn't care.  Big difference was I got to pay this time!  Oh well.  Considering how totally unromantic I am I am amazed at how much I like these movies.  

Edited February 8, 2021 by WinnieWinkle

[bankerchick]

Here I was worried nobody would know who Bobby Sherman was!  I also have zero interest in wedding planning.  My son is (was?) planning to get married in June and assuming covid allows it goes ahead, my plan is to give them some money and let them do whatever.  The last thing I want to do is talk about flowers or food or booze.

[ShelleySue]

15 hours ago, Cetacean said:

In a ballroom that holds 500.  Sheesh.

They were going to fill it with flowers (but NOT DAISIES!!!!).

 

20 hours ago, bankerchick said:

 

Also, did anyone actually dream of their wedding in fine detail, right down to the colours of the tablecloths and flowers?  I can recall thinking about getting married to every boy I ever had a crush on, including David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman, but I never got down to the nitty gritty of planning the colour scheme and what flowers we would have.

I was going to marry David Cassidy and my sister was going to marry Bobby Sherman.  We were going to be neighbors in California.  We would live in mansions and have swimming pools.  I'm not sure we ever planned our weddings though, much less color schemes.

[In2You]

Why is Hallmark adapting these kid's books into adult romances? 

 

[bankerchick]

Ugh.  That looks terrible.  Neither lead is appealing to me.  Today I watched an old podcast with Paul Campbell and he said they were trying to skew younger to attract the 20-something eyeballs.  He referred to their average fans as 'fan-mas' (as opposed to Grandmas.)  Actually, as much as I knew that I was that demographic, I was a little offended.  

[Cetacean]

6 minutes ago, bankerchick said:

He referred to their average fans as 'fan-mas' (as opposed to Grandmas.)  Actually, as much as I knew that I was that demographic, I was a little offended.  

I am more than a little offended.  Fan-mas my ass.  

[In2You]

1 hour ago, bankerchick said:

Ugh.  That looks terrible.  Neither lead is appealing to me.  Today I watched an old podcast with Paul Campbell and he said they were trying to skew younger to attract the 20-something eyeballs.  He referred to their average fans as 'fan-mas' (as opposed to Grandmas.)  Actually, as much as I knew that I was that demographic, I was a little offended.  

What was the point of them starting a whole publishing imprint where they're actively seeking original stories and they're not even adapting the original books they're publishing? Instead they're reworking books for children about children and their first crushes. Who is the target audience? Because if you're a fan of the book you're probably 9-12 and Hallmark isn't a channel you watch. Plus they shift the focus from the kids to the parents. 

I'm 20 something and I don't understand how this is supposed to attract me.  I don't even have kids yet and most of my peers who do have kids under age 5.

This looks so badly acted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPVuWtRhC-I

[Callietwo]

Michael Rady is in first Episode of The (new) Equalizer on CBS!  And while googling to see if he's a regular (it doesn't appear so after that ending) I saw that he was Kostos in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  I didn't realize that!  

Playing Cupid looks *Terrible*.. nothing I've see or heard has me looking forward to that.  And then to see its based of a kiddie book?  WTF

[ctlady]

On 2/8/2021 at 4:21 PM, Irlandesa said:

So you guys think the lead character/sister-of-the-bride was the problem in Beverly Hills Wedding?

She was a problem.  But they all were.  They were all versions of passive aggressive awfulness and I hated them all.  Hated!

Thanks for the heads up because I saw this pop into the Hallmark On Demand listing as I'm antsy waiting for new Mystery movies to start

On 2/8/2021 at 1:12 PM, bankerchick said:

One of the funny things about Bridal Wave is that the lead character was going to wear her mother's (hideous orlon) dress as some sentimental thing for her non-dead mom, but the groom's mother and even the groom tried to talk her into Vera Wang.

Dear Lord, why?  With what could be spent on a Wang can be used towards a down payment on a house!

On 2/8/2021 at 1:12 PM, bankerchick said:

I can recall thinking about getting married to every boy I ever had a crush on, including David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman,

Was never a Bobby Sherman gal, but when I was 10 I ran a tandem between David Cassidy and Donny Osmond.  Was quite the little Tiger Beat groupie!

[bankerchick]

 

1 hour ago, ctlady said:

Dear Lord, why?  With what could be spent on a Wang can be used towards a down payment on a house!

I believe the rich mother-in-law paid for the dress which she went ahead and brought to the wedding resort without checking first.

I am watching Love In Design because Andrew Walker is in it and awesome as usual and so cute in this one (the buzzcut in Bridal Wave was a mistake in my opinion.)  I'm sorry but I don't buy that he and Danica McKellar dated in high school.  She is the intractable character that I argue no guy wants to be around but once he escaped after high school, why would he go back down that road again and why is everyone from his friends to her parents trying to get them back together?  Not only that, but she seems like she's a lot older than him. I am not buying that she is a young, 30-something career woman which is I believe what she is playing here.  She gotta be in her 40s (IMDB says she is 45 and he is 41) which I know is something we have complained about before.  Either get a 30 year old actress, or make the characters older.  Also, where do these people live that it's clearly summer but it is dark enough at 6:30pm to show an outdoor movie to the town?  Ugh.  That was a PVR delete.

How about a new genre of Hallmark movies where a bunch of the guys hang out for the whole movie, perhaps casually dating and warning each other about the crazy harpies in the town who freak out at them for no apparent reason?  That way we could have all the cute guys in one movie, but with limited scenes with all the women that drive me crazy.

Edited February 11, 2021 by bankerchick

[MissyPoo]

Man, I used to look forward to a good chunk of Hallmark movies back in the day even to the point of having them in the background while I work. Each season I could choose a couple I look forward to. Now I look at the upcoming roster of movies and can barely pick one I'm looking forward to each season. Nothing interested me from Winterfest. Well, the one with the mixed couple did until I saw how meh the reception was here (thanks, guys!) and Jessica Lowndes movie is the only one I'm looking forward to for Countdown to V-day. The Tyler Hynes one is an iffy because I just can't with Krakow. Has the quality really dipped after lockdown or am I crazy? Heck, I can't even remember half the Christmas movies from this past season!

I usually look forward to Hallmark v-day movies with some wine and chocolate but this year I'll probably be watching Lifetime's psycho v-day movies instead.

On 2/3/2021 at 2:41 PM, bankerchick said:

Well, I guess you could say it was resolved quickly once she finally challenged him on it?  I agree it was frustrating to watch but eminently watchable anyway.

Why is there a movie called Betting on the Bride, which sounds exactly the same as A Bride for Christmas?  I was all set to PVR another Andrew Walker/Arielle Kebbel movie only to find that it is not that movie.

  

On 2/3/2021 at 3:56 PM, EyewatchTV211 said:

Don't watch the other movie. It's almost a carbon copy of A Bride for Christmas with lower quality actors and everything else lower quality. And I'm not kidding about almost carbon copy. I think I had pointed it out when I saw it and someone said it was the same writer? So maybe was asked to redo it for some other place for some reason. I forget. It was crazy, though. 

So much this! I think someone mentioned it on here that they both have the same screenplay and she sold the same story twice to two different companies or something like that so we got a good one and a crappy one. Love love love A Bride for Christmas so I checked out Betting on the Bride just to compare. I couldn't do it. Couldn't make it past like 10 minutes until I noped right out of there. Low quality indeed.

  

On 2/4/2021 at 7:05 PM, Cetacean said:

OK, made it halfway through Nature of Love and throwing in the towel.  If it hadn't been for beautiful Squamish I'd have bailed out in the first 15 minutes.  What a stinkeroo!  The green screen effects were SO bad - close ups of the stars in a boat in the middle of the lake were laughable with a wavy lake and a perfectly stable canoe.  And don't get me started on the plastic garden flowers just stuck randomly in the sand on the beach.

It didn't help that Ullerup was 4 months pregnant at the time so tons of close ups.  She was a ditz, he was wooden.  Ugh.

  

On 2/5/2021 at 3:57 PM, bankerchick said:

Or, as it's now known on IMDB, Love and Glamping.  Imagine thinking that's a better title.  The lead guy, Christopher Russell, is always wooden but I think he's pretty cute so I would be inclined to watch his terrible acting over some of the guys who I don't find particularly attractive.  I guess that's why they have so many actors, something for everyone.  The only reason I watch these movies is for the lead guys.  In fact, when I'm bored, I often find myself playing MFK (marry, f*, kill) with the Hallmark hunks.  Haven't really found any I would kill, but am having no trouble figuring out the other two.

One page after saying that I never see any of these actors on other shows, I leave the TV on the Jeopardy channel and an episode of Saving Hope comes on with 3 guys I recognize from Hallmark movies (including Tyler Hynes!)

Woo! Thank goodness it wasn't just me! I could not get into this one when it premiered and saved it for later thinking I just wasn't in the mood at the time. But I never returned to it. I like CR since Midnight Masquerade, but I haven't been getting into this movies lately mainly because of the doe-eyed and/or overbearing leading actresses they've been putting in these movies.

And they're still pushing out the good oldies for this new crop and that's a shame because they have some past goodies. For instance, they aren't showing Valentine Ever After or All Things Valentine until the 15th of this year when they've been airing the new and recent premieres multiple times in a week.

  

16 hours ago, bankerchick said:

How about a new genre of Hallmark movies where a bunch of the guys hang out for the whole movie, perhaps casually dating and warning each other about the crazy harpies in the town who freak out at them for no apparent reason?  That way we could have all the cute guys in one movie, but with limited scenes with all the women that drive me crazy.

I'd watch the crap out of these movies, no lie. Throw in some gratuitous shirtless scenes and I'll bring the popcorn!

 

Edited February 12, 2021 by MissyPoo

[In2You]

The problem with Hallmark's "diverse" movies is that diversity doesnt extend behind the scenes to the writer so we get a Black character or Latinx character who is just a carbon copy of their white ones.

[In2You]

Apparently the Hallmark Scholastic partnership was made in 2019. Again confused as to why they thought adapting these kid's  stories but removing the kid's from being the focus was a good idea. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/variety.com/2019/tv/news/scholastic-movies-hallmark-channel-1203411892/amp/

[luvthepros]

On 2/10/2021 at 7:05 PM, Cetacean said:

I am more than a little offended.  Fan-mas my ass.  

So.....let's all put Paul Campbell on our shit list.

[bankerchick]

Nope.  Still love him.  I'm temporarily mad at him, but he's still my favourite because he's cute, kinda funny and his characters are always more interesting than most (except for Holiday Hearts.  That was bad.)

[Veronica]

7 hours ago, luvthepros said:

So.....let's all put Paul Campbell on our shit list.

I’ve been called worse. I think it’s funny. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 

[ctlady]

On 2/12/2021 at 3:48 AM, MissyPoo said:

And they're still pushing out the good oldies for this new crop and that's a shame because they have some past goodies

I just saw one of those good oldies yesterday on Hallmark On Demand The Lost Valentine with Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt.  What an incredible movie.  Betty White was phenomenal.  My dad (who passed 2 months ago at 93) was former navy and the final scene at the train depot resulted in downright sobbing.  Imagine - a Hallmark movie made me sob rather than cringe for once!  If you can find this movie, I urge you to please please watch it before it disappears.  You won't be disappointed.

Although she did a good job, I didn't care for JLH in the role.  She's supposed to be a reporter whose always on the go and wardrobe dresses her in super tight dresses and jeans, 5-inch stilettos, Snookie-style hair and 'bump' and garish false eye lashes.

[Cetacean]

19 minutes ago, ctlady said:

Imagine - a Hallmark movie made me sob rather than cringe for once!  If you can find this movie, I urge you to please please watch it before it disappears.  You won't be disappointed.

It is a lovely, lovely movie.  The type that Hallmark used to make.  The type that had wonderful writing and moved you to laughter or tears.  Those were the days.

20 minutes ago, ctlady said:

Although she did a good job, I didn't care for JLH in the role.  She's supposed to be a reporter whose always on the go and wardrobe dresses her in super tight dresses and jeans, 5-inch stilettos, Snookie-style hair and 'bump' and garish false eye lashes.

Amen to that.

[kirinan]

2 hours ago, ctlady said:

I just saw one of those good oldies yesterday on Hallmark On Demand The Lost Valentine with Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt.  What an incredible movie.  Betty White was phenomenal.  My dad (who passed 2 months ago at 93) was former navy and the final scene at the train depot resulted in downright sobbing.  Imagine - a Hallmark movie made me sob rather than cringe for once!  If you can find this movie, I urge you to please please watch it before it disappears.  You won't be disappointed.

I watched this once and absolutely loved it, although it took me half an hour to stop crying after the movie ended. But it was a good cry, not the despairing kind of cry you have after watching movies like Glory or Brian's Song. I agree with ctlady and Cetacean; it's so worth searching out this movie. Just a beautiful, beautiful story. (And I'm not a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt, but I agree that she was good in the role. She didn't detract from the movie at all for me.)

Edited February 13, 2021 by kirinan

[bankerchick]

Watching Love In Winterland.  Jack Turner (Tanner, the reality show date) is generically handsome but non-memorable to me.  Chad Michael Murray (Brett, the old boyfriend) is his usual self.  Perhaps Italia Ricci (Ally, the female lead) is an incredible actress because her character is, if not the most unlikeable, then certainly high up on the list of unlikeable female leads in the whole Hallmark pantheon.  She is without a doubt the exact character that makes me wonder why I and many others put ourselves through the torture of watching these movies.  She is rude, dismissive, intractable, unfriendly, borderline mean, bitchy and miserable.  He was a high school boyfriend and she is at minimum, 30 years old now.  She's been mad at him for 6 to 8 times as long as they dated.  He has apologized at least 2 or 3 times now for what happened 12 years ago!!! and she's still mad, even though everything else in her life has apparently gone swimmingly.

[Luckylyn]

I had mixed feelings about Playing Cupid.   I thought the leads had a ton of chemistry and really liked the characters. Overall it’s the best movie I’ve seen so far on Hallmark in 2021.

 I am a teacher so storylines where a teacher has a romance with a parent of their student make me uncomfortable.   In real life this is a big no no.   I didn’t like that the ethics of a teacher/parent relationship was treated as a non issue.  It should have been a source of tension and an obstacle.  Even becoming platonic close friends with a parent can be problematic.   There’s a rule at my school that parents aren’t supposed to have the personal phone numbers of teachers and the idea of going to a child’s home and socializing outside of school with a parent/student would get a teacher in trouble.  It’s not prohibited once the student is no longer in that teacher’s class.  

[Callietwo]

3 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

I had mixed feelings about Playing Cupid.   I thought the leads had a ton of chemistry and really liked the characters. Overall it’s the best movie I’ve seen so far on Hallmark in 2021.

I actually liked this way more than I wanted to, even though I disliked the Dad/Love interest.  I felt like he sounded the same no matter what his emotions... just fell flat for me.  But even with that, it was still better than many they've come out with lately.  Even the ex was not your typical bitchy ex in the end.   

[bankerchick]

Good to know.  I passed on this movie last night due to the reviews here, but it is playing again today so might check it out.

Currently watching Love Is A Piece of Cake.  Woman learned to bake with the grandmother and now runs her grandmother's bakery.  Despite loving nothing more than baking and honouring her grandmother, she is not sure she can re-open the bakery in a new location now that a nefarious developer (who happens to employ the budding romantic interest) has bought the building.  Are we supposed to believe that the grandmother would want her to close her business and leave her dream behind because she might have to move to a new building (because nobody including the grandmother ever bothered to buy the hallowed bakery?)  Doesn't say much for her grandmother if that's true.  And what's with the high-waisted, wide-leg pants?  Not flattering, especially to this actress and her flat butt!

[ehall1052]

Re: Playing Cupid. I couldn’t believe how grungy Nicholas Gonzalez looked.  Nothing like the great Dr. Melendez from The Good Doctor! 😁LOL

Agree whole-heartedly with the friendship between a parent and teacher... A huge no-no in my school district. In fact, we even had workshops telling us that, among other offenses.

[luvthepros]

On 2/13/2021 at 7:56 AM, ctlady said:

I just saw one of those good oldies yesterday on Hallmark On Demand The Lost Valentine with Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt.  What an incredible movie.  Betty White was phenomenal.  My dad (who passed 2 months ago at 93) was former navy and the final scene at the train depot resulted in downright sobbing.  Imagine - a Hallmark movie made me sob rather than cringe for once!  If you can find this movie, I urge you to please please watch it before it disappears.  You won't be disappointed.

Although she did a good job, I didn't care for JLH in the role.  She's supposed to be a reporter whose always on the go and wardrobe dresses her in super tight dresses and jeans, 5-inch stilettos, Snookie-style hair and 'bump' and garish false eye lashes.

This movie remains on my DVR. Betty White was wonderful. I had no idea she was such a great actress.

[Ashforth]

6 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Currently watching Love Is A Piece of Cake.  Woman learned to bake with the grandmother and now runs her grandmother's bakery.  Despite loving nothing more than baking and honouring her grandmother, she is not sure she can re-open the bakery in a new location now that a nefarious developer (who happens to employ the budding romantic interest) has bought the building.  Are we supposed to believe that the grandmother would want her to close her business and leave her dream behind because she might have to move to a new building (because nobody including the grandmother ever bothered to buy the hallowed bakery?)  Doesn't say much for her grandmother if that's true.  And what's with the high-waisted, wide-leg pants?  Not flattering, especially to this actress and her flat butt!

I'm watching this, too, on UP TV (not sure whether it's related to Hallmark). I also find it ridiculous that the lead will just take her flour and go home instead of finding a new location that she can afford, especially since with her new contract to bake cakes for a grocery store chain, she will need a factory instead of three people standing around stirring batter in small bowls.

The love interest/Dad in this one has a daughter who seems to still be a toddler, yet the mom "passed a few years ago." Was that in childbirth? After she agreed to freeze some embryos, not knowing that her hubby would kill her and then have a surrogate carry his child? The dead parent trope just seems more and more creepy to me.

[bankerchick]

She might be a toddler, but she has quite a vocabulary and she seems pretty precocious for a kid that age.  Just the kind of kid I hate.

I agree that the dead mom thing is kind've overdone.  It's also ridiculous that their voices trail off or drop real low when they have to say, 'she's dead!'  'Is her mother part of her life?'  'She (voice drops to barely audible) ... passed away.'  All we're missing is the violin music.  Why can't they just have divorced parents where the dad is either primary or shared custody dad?  Women still fall in love with divorced men, Hallmark.

I don't know what UP TV is, but if you were watching the movie this afternoon, maybe it is a version of W Network in Canada, which is the channel that carries all the Hallmark movies.

[WinnieWinkle]

15 hours ago, Ashforth said:

The dead parent trope just seems more and more creepy to me.

Thanks to Hallmark "feel good" Christmas movies I notice this all the time now.  I recently read a book where for reasons of the plot 4 parents of various children had all died before the story began.  Doing the math each of these parents was under 30 when they died, one in childbirth but the other 3 of random illnesses.  This was not a book set in the 18th century so the odds of 4 young people all connected although not related all dying that young seems very unlikely but the way had to be cleared for the happy ever after romances.  No sacrifice to great for True Love I guess!

Edited February 15, 2021 by WinnieWinkle