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

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I like Cameron Mathison.  I've liked a few of his movies.  Sure Hallmark does diversity of age - for white people.  But they rarely do any kind of diversity in other ways.  And they clearly don't hire based on acting ability.

I like him too.  I did not like him when I saw him on his soap but when it comes to Hallmark movies, I like him because I think he has had a better than average run of having chemistry with his co-stars.

And since I'm starved for good chem with these movies, I appreciate it.  I liked him the Murder She Baked series.  The Christmas Club. Very Very Valentine.  I'm not saying he's the greatest actor but since chem is something I value, I've grown to appreciate him.

[Cherpumple]

5 hours ago, dubstepford wife said:

A little too frequently they have people like Erin Krakow, Alicia Witt, or Candace Cameron Burre playing roles that are clearly intended for people in their 20s, and they're all around 40.

Yes, this bugs me too. I nearly did a spit take during one of the Aurora Teagardens when someone asked her if she wanted kids and she was all "maybe someday." Girl, you are in your mid 40s; you no longer have the luxury of being wishy-washy about whether or not to have kids. I know her character is meant to be younger, but it took me out of the moment.

I have no idea if their push to use younger actors will be successful, but I hope they don't alienate their loyal older viewers to do it. I'm a young Gen Xer and have watched for years, often to make fun of the silliness, but sometimes because I truly enjoy the coziness of Hallmark Land. As long as the stories are age appropriate to the actors, I'm hoping they'll keep featuring actors of lots of different ages.

[WinnieWinkle]

58 minutes ago, Cherpumple said:

Yes, this bugs me too. I nearly did a spit take during one of the Aurora Teagardens when someone asked her if she wanted kids and she was all "maybe someday." Girl, you are in your mid 40s; you no longer have the luxury of being wishy-washy about whether or not to have kids. I know her character is meant to be younger, but it took me out of the moment.

 

This stood out for me in A Christmas Detour - a movie I actually liked quite a bit BTW - but the main characters were written IMO to be much younger than the actors portraying them.  The anxious bride to be and the cynical guy who got dumped for his brother just didn't seem like they were meant to be pushing 40.  It worked for me because I liked them and so I just looked past that but I really hope if they continue casting people like Bure that they write for someone her age and not for someone still in their 20s.

[Maelstrom]

I actually enjoyed Chasing Waterfalls more than I expected. I was mainly in it for the scenery, but the leads weren’t bad (Cindy Busby was much less irritating than I feared) and the story was inoffensively average. Though seriously... Hallmark needs to read Astronomy for Dummies. You can’t have a full moon the day after a crescent moon (and never mind you can’t have a crescent moon setting right before the sun). Unless Hallmark movies exist in some alternate reality where there are two moons? It could explain the one Christmas movie from this past year (Timeless Christmas?) that had a blue moon on Christmas Day. 😔 

Though I’m actually glad they didn’t use TLC’s song in the movie since it’s still stuck in my head from 1995.

Mini Galavant reunion with Josh Sasse and Malory Jansen on the way, cool! Will they fall in love... as much as someone like them can love anyone? 

 

Edited March 26, 2021 by Maelstrom

[kirinan]

On 3/15/2021 at 11:12 AM, bankerchick said:

Just finished watching Just Add Romance.  Generic, uninteresting cooking show competition movie and actually, I didn't really watch it so much as have it on in the background, on mute a lot of the time, while doing other things.

Once again, Luke Macfarlane has zero chemistry with the lead actress.  He always comes across as the best friend who happens to be a guy.  Given that Macfarlane is out as a gay man, why is Hallmark not capitalizing on this and using him as one of their gay leads instead of pushing him as a straight guy?  They clearly love him and he is a handsome man, so maybe he will bring in new viewers.  For me, I tend to zone out when he's on because I don't see or feel any connection between the leads.

I know this should more properly be put in the holiday movie thread since it's not Hallmark, but it's germane to this discussion about Luke Macfarlane. 'Single All the Way’ Gay Holiday Rom-Com Announced by Netflix

I don't have Netflix so I won't be able to watch it. But since I like Luke but agree with you, bankerchick, that he never has much chemistry with his Hallmark costars, I'll be curious to hear if that changes with this new movie. And will he be in a Hallmark holiday movie this season as well? Interesting turn of events. (And good for him for not being afraid to break back out of his Hallmark persona!)

Edited March 27, 2021 by kirinan

[bankerchick]

Well, good luck to Luke.  I wish him no ill will, I just don't want to see him as a straight romantic lead anymore because he can't sell it.  It's similar to a comment made during a podcast I was listening to with Paul Campbell.  They were going through his Hallmark movies and rating them, and a general consensus was that Once Upon a Christmas (2015) would have been a much better movie with a different lead actress, as she was pretty uptight and serious.  In other words, not what Hallmark is looking for in a leading lady.  As one of the hosts mentions this, Paul says, 'well, they clearly learned their lesson because you don't see her in Hallmark movies any more.'  He then went on to defend her as an 'indy' actress but the point was made that not everyone is a good fit for these movies and they need to recognize this.  If Hallmark is going to become more diverse and have movies with gay leads, then that's where MacFarlane could excel, however, if they are sticking with straight storylines for whatever reason (viewers) then perhaps he is better off with Netflix.  That frees up 2 or 3 movies a year for Ryan Paevey, Paul Campbell, Travis Van Winkle, Andrew Walker, Tyler Hynes or Trevor Donovan to star in.  Or, as mentioned yesterday, an opportunity to try something new with older characters.

I do have Netflix so will definitely watch and hope it's a great movie.  Given that MacFarlane has pretty much always been openly gay and this hasn't stopped Hallmark from using him several times a year, I don't know that the Netflix thing will change that, but I guess we'll see.

[Scarlett45]

On 3/25/2021 at 1:15 PM, WinnieWinkle said:

This stood out for me in A Christmas Detour - a movie I actually liked quite a bit BTW - but the main characters were written IMO to be much younger than the actors portraying them.  The anxious bride to be and the cynical guy who got dumped for his brother just didn't seem like they were meant to be pushing 40.  It worked for me because I liked them and so I just looked past that but I really hope if they continue casting people like Bure that they write for someone her age and not for someone still in their 20s.

Yeah. Sometimes Cameron plays her age, like in Switched for Christmas where one of the twins had teenage kids, other times they cast her as a 25yrs old. 

I don’t mind leaving the age ambiguous- I’m 35 and pretty much doing the same time of things I was 10yrs ago (I have more money now and a better job) but my social life looks pretty similar so I don’t mind a “Range” of ages, but characters 50 + are interesting as well. 

[Scarlett45]

I saw an ad for One Perfect Wedding and I did NOT recognize Jack Turner with the shaved head and facial hair. He looks so much edgier!

[Chippings]

6 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I saw an ad for One Perfect Wedding and I did NOT recognize Jack Turner with the shaved head and facial hair. He looks so much edgier!

Me too--I m really looking forward to seeing if the show explains that new 'look', and if so, how.  If we were voting, I'd have to vote in favor of his appearance with hair.   

[Luckylyn]

I really liked Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.   Ryan Paevey really has improved exuding some charm instead of stiffness, and I think Italia Ricci is really good.  The instructor/client relationship as obstacle was realistic.  The last minute conflict was earned because I totally understand why she was hurt because she doesn’t let herself be vulnerable easily.  The morning show guy’s inclusion into the bootcamp made it clear she was transparent and open to the media interviewing her.  So  I get why the subterfuge was so hurtful because if he approached her honestly she probably would have agreed to an interview and would have still allowed him to attend class.  But I do think if he had told her he was working on an article she would have been more cautious with him and since he liked her instantly I think he subconsciously wanted an excuse to get closer to her and didn’t want her guard up with him.   I love that they didn’t do the “dislike at first meeting” trope and that they sparked immediately.  That was nice that they got along well and really seemed to enjoy and challenge each other in positive ways.  The obstacles between them felt organic.

I even liked the side characters like the widow repeating the course and the woman sharing custody of her cat with her ex-girlfriend.  I kinda want a sequel where the morning show guy and the sister maybe start dating.   I felt like there was a vibe there between those two.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Luckylyn

[bankerchick]

Sounds like a good movie, Luckylyn.  I will have to watch for it on W channel here in Canada.  I love Ryan Paevey and am glad to hear his acting is improving!  Last night's big Saturday night movie was the one about Sunflower Valley.  It wasn't horrible but I can't even remember the storyline and while I remember the actor didn't do anything for me, Erin Cahill must be the most charisma-free actress on Hallmark.  This is the second movie I have watched recently where she is a 'reporter' and she seems to think she has to tell us every fact she knows about something but she does it like a tour guide, not like someone invested in the story.  Plus, she has no chemistry with the leading men.  The guy last night was blah, but the other movie I watched her in starred Kevin McGarry.  How can you not have chemistry around that smoking hot guy?

I just finished watching Love at Sunset Terrace and I really liked it.  I have seen and enjoyed the male lead in other movies (Carlo Marks) but I have never seen the female lead before (Ellen Woglom) but would like to watch her more.

Italia Ricci is on now in Love In Winterland.  I have no particular opinion on her, but do enjoy Chad Michael Murray.

[Cetacean]

The star of Don't Go Breaking My Heart was Langley, BC where it was filmed. Otherwise standard stuff.  Not sure why the writers felt like ziplining and dancing were cures for a broken heart except to force the stars to be together.

[chitowngirl]

What the Deaf Man Heard is on Hallmark Drama now. I love this one. The Hallmark Hall of Fame movies were so good! They weren’t cookie cutter at all. Matthew Modine! Tom Skerritt! Bernadette Peters! Young Frankie Muniz and Jerry O’Connell!!

Edited March 28, 2021 by chitowngirl

[Luckylyn]

24 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

What the Deaf Man Heard is on Hallmark Drama now. I love this one. The Hallmark Hall of Fame movies were so good! They weren’t cookie cutter at all. Matthew Modine! Tom Skerritt! Bernadette Peters! Young Frankie Muniz and Jerry O’Connell!!

That’s one of my favorite movies.  So many good actors and interesting characters.  You could do a whole movie just on James Earl Jones’ character. I am so sad I don’t have Hallmark Drama.

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

What the Deaf Man Heard is on Hallmark Drama now. I love this one. The Hallmark Hall of Fame movies were so good! They weren’t cookie cutter at all. Matthew Modine! Tom Skerritt! Bernadette Peters! Young Frankie Muniz and Jerry O’Connell!!

Drats.  I'm sorry I missed it.  I haven't seen that movie since it originally aired and always hoped to one day.

I like Italia Ricci but the premise to the movie just seemed silly to me and once I saw Ryan Paevy, off it went.  He's a no go for me.  I've given him so many chances but I'm tired of trying.

[In2You]

13 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Drats.  I'm sorry I missed it.  I haven't seen that movie since it originally aired and always hoped to one day.

I like Italia Ricci but the premise to the movie just seemed silly to me and once I saw Ryan Paevy, off it went.  He's a no go for me.  I've given him so many chances but I'm tired of trying.

Ryan Paevy is such a horrible actor. Not sure why Hallmark saw his bad acting on General Hospital and decided he was their leading man.

[ShelleySue]

I watched Don't Go Breaking My Heart over the weekend. As soon as the I realized Ben was a journalist I knew what he conflict near the end was going to be. When the boss asked him to write the article about the bootcamp and my instinct was confirm I actually groaned out loud.  I'm glad it was resolved quickly, but I'm getting tired of these predictable Hallmark tropes. 

[Callietwo]

58 minutes ago, ShelleySue said:

Don't Go Breaking My Heart

I watched this one this weekend as well.  Ryan Peavy is like a wooden solider.  

And why does he look close to 50 when he's only 37 years old?  But he is still cute even with that but couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag.

It was fine for a background movie, though Italia Ricci's voice was annoying my ears in some parts... kind of strident, maybe?  

I also watched Chasing Waterfalls and agree that it was a near total rip off of the movie Pearl in Paradise.  And Cindy Busby and Christopher Russell always annoy me to no living end; her with her speech pattern and him because he usually acts from the Ryan Peavy School Of Non-Acting and I don't find him cute in any way so my expectations were very low.  (I'm dealing with a knee injury and some family stuff and too much down time so watched it anyway)

But I actually enjoyed it well enough anyway so good on them for stepping up.  

 

[bankerchick]

3 hours ago, In2You said:

Ryan Paevy is such a horrible actor. Not sure why Hallmark saw his bad acting on General Hospital and decided he was their leading man.

Because he is smoking hot.  I would watch him over most guys on the channel.  I don't consider any of them to be Academy Award (or Emmy) candidates and since the stories are all the same, there has to be something to draw people.

I guess it's why they say, 'different strokes for different folks.'  You don't care for Paevey, I have no interest in Michael Rady, yet there are many on here who would defend either, both, or neither.

I am just finishing Winter Love Story again because I liked the movie the first time, despite Jenn Lilley being the queen of the non-listening conclusion jumpers.  I am now at the part where the guy (Kevin McGarry, another reason to watch) is giving his acceptance speech for an award he has won.  Despite her being invited to the ceremony by his publicist, who says he will be thrilled to see her ('trust me') him leaving his group of friends to greet her and tell her she looks incredible, asking her to sit with him at the head table, and starting off his speech by saying he was so glad he didn't have to do his most recent book tour alone (she was with him,) when he starts thanking people and mentions his ex-wife, who helped him with his first book, she runs out of the ceremony while he is still on stage.  He must be in love with her still!  Listen to the damn speech already!!  Trust that he is into you because he has just spent the last several days showing you he is.  I get why Hallmark does this, it's the 15 minutes before the end of the movie 'will they won't they' crisis but my God, it's tiresome.

[Kemper]

The movie on Saturday with Ryan P and an actress I have never seen before - Italia Ricci? - was perhaps one of the most chemistry-free ones I have seen; and that is saying something.  The actress was as bad or worse as the actor.  Both were going through the predictable motions.  But yes, he is very pretty; so I guess there is that.

[bankerchick]

3 hours ago, Kemper said:

The movie on Saturday with Ryan P and an actress I have never seen before - Italia Ricci? - was perhaps one of the most chemistry-free ones I have seen; and that is saying something.

That is indeed saying something, as many of these people are so charisma-free it's hard to believe they could have chemistry with anyone.  Or why anyone would hire these people to star in romantic movies.  I guess God doesn't always give with both hands, so some pretty people are not particularly good actors and some of the best actors are not conventionally attractive.  What I would like to know is why I am neither smoking hot nor a good actress??

Italia Ricci was in the repeat I watched yesterday with Chad Michael Murray - something about a reality dating show contestant going back to her old hometown and (you'll never believe this part) meeting up with her old boyfriend who is still not over her.  She was relatively chemistry-free in that one as well.  In fact I had to check that she was not the same actress that Paul Campbell said was not being cast in Hallmark anymore.  They look very similar but are not the same person (Italia Ricci vs Briana Evigan.)

Edited March 30, 2021 by bankerchick

[Callietwo]

Italia Ricci was okay in the move "Rome in Love" which was a movie about a remake of the movie Roman Holiday.  And she was opposite Peter Porte, one of the actors I dislike immensely.  But I've not really liked her in anything I've seen of hers since then.

[Scarlett45]

2 hours ago, bankerchick said:

That is indeed saying something, as many of these people are so charisma-free it's hard to believe they could have chemistry with anyone.  Or why anyone would hire these people to star in romantic movies.  I guess God doesn't always give with both hands, so some pretty people are not particularly good actors and some of the best actors are not conventionally attractive.  What I would like to know is why I am neither smoking hot nor a good actress??

Italia Ricci was in the repeat I watched yesterday with Chad Michael Murray - something about a reality dating show contestant going back to her old hometown and (you'll never believe this part) meeting up with her old boyfriend who is still not over her.  She was relatively chemistry-free in that one as well.  In fact I had to check that she was not the same actress that Paul Campbell said was not being cast in Hallmark anymore.  They look very similar but are not the same person (Italia Ricci vs Briana Evigan.)

I remember the one with Chad Michael Murray. 

[ShelleySue]

On 3/29/2021 at 1:03 PM, bankerchick said:

I get why Hallmark does this, it's the 15 minutes before the end of the movie 'will they won't they' crisis but my God, it's tiresome.

That's what I said above.  It would be ok if it was an occasional thing and actually created tension.  But it's every single movie and is so predictable that you know what the conflict is going to be usually by the first commercial.  

19 hours ago, Callietwo said:

Italia Ricci was okay in the move "Rome in Love" which was a movie about a remake of the movie Roman Holiday.  And she was opposite Peter Porte, one of the actors I dislike immensely.  But I've not really liked her in anything I've seen of hers since then.

I think that movie did her an injustice because I kept comparing her to Audrey Hepburn.  So now everytime I see her that's how I think of her. I know that's not fair to her, but I can't help it.

[twoods]

I liked Italia Ricci in a Pixl movie called Late Bloomer and thought she had good chemistry with her lead, and the Rome movie wasn’t bad. I wonder if she will do anything with her real life hubby Robbie Amell because he is smoking hot and I’ve liked the shows or movies he’s been in.

Edited March 31, 2021 by twoods

[Callietwo]

3 hours ago, twoods said:

I liked Italia Ricci in a Pixl movie Late Bloomer and thought she had good chemistry with her lead, and the Rome movie wasn’t bad. I wonder if she will do anything with her real life hubby Robbie Amell because he is smoking hot and I’ve liked the shows or movies he’s been in.

Oh, I enjoyed Late Bloomer more than I thought I would but didn't realize that was IR.  So there are two that weren't bad.

The one with CMM where she was on a dating show was *terrible* though.  

[Cherpumple]

On 3/29/2021 at 9:25 AM, ShelleySue said:

I watched Don't Go Breaking My Heart over the weekend. As soon as the I realized Ben was a journalist I knew what he conflict near the end was going to be. When the boss asked him to write the article about the bootcamp and my instinct was confirm I actually groaned out loud.

I just kept laughing at the fact that the boss was treating this story like hard-hitting journalism. It was even funnier when I saw that one of their previous issues (in a giant poster behind Ben's desk) featured a bunch of flying donuts. Dude, no one's getting a Pulitzer here. Calm down.

I also thought it was odd that in the scenes in the Italia Ricci's bedroom, she had a large window and it looked like she lived across the street from a strip mall or a 7-11. I mean, no shame if she does, but it was definitely a departure from the standard "everyone has an amazing home with a gorgeous view, no matter what their job is" Hallmark style. Just close the curtains!

[mikeb]

Jesse Metcalfe is leaving Chesapeake Shores but will continue to appear in Hallmark movies, including his HMM Martha's Vineyard Mysteries movies.  This is in contrast to Daniel Lissing who completely disappeared from the channel after leaving When Calls The Heart.

https://tvline.com/2021/03/31/jesse-metcalfe-leaving-chesapeake-shores-season-5-hallmark/

[In2You]

On 3/29/2021 at 1:03 PM, bankerchick said:

Because he is smoking hot.  I would watch him over most guys on the channel.  I don't consider any of them to be Academy Award (or Emmy) candidates and since the stories are all the same, there has to be something to draw people.

I guess it's why they say, 'different strokes for different folks.'  You don't care for Paevey, I have no interest in Michael Rady, yet there are many on here who would defend either, both, or neither.

I am just finishing Winter Love Story again because I liked the movie the first time, despite Jenn Lilley being the queen of the non-listening conclusion jumpers.  I am now at the part where the guy (Kevin McGarry, another reason to watch) is giving his acceptance speech for an award he has won.  Despite her being invited to the ceremony by his publicist, who says he will be thrilled to see her ('trust me') him leaving his group of friends to greet her and tell her she looks incredible, asking her to sit with him at the head table, and starting off his speech by saying he was so glad he didn't have to do his most recent book tour alone (she was with him,) when he starts thanking people and mentions his ex-wife, who helped him with his first book, she runs out of the ceremony while he is still on stage.  He must be in love with her still!  Listen to the damn speech already!!  Trust that he is into you because he has just spent the last several days showing you he is.  I get why Hallmark does this, it's the 15 minutes before the end of the movie 'will they won't they' crisis but my God, it's tiresome.

He has Ken doll looks that I don't find attractive at all. And no charm onscreen to make me swoon. I only liked Michael Rady in It Had to Be You and Melrose Place.

[EyewatchTV211]

5 hours ago, mikeb said:

Jesse Metcalfe is leaving Chesapeake Shores but will continue to appear in Hallmark movies, including his HMM Martha's Vineyard Mysteries movies.  This is in contrast to Daniel Lissing who completely disappeared from the channel after leaving When Calls The Heart.

https://tvline.com/2021/03/31/jesse-metcalfe-leaving-chesapeake-shores-season-5-hallmark/

I could be remembering wrong, but I thought Daniel Lissing did do one movie for the channel after leaving When Calls The Heart before he disappeared. Interestingly, when the Deck the Hallmark guys interviewed him, he said he was willing to come back and do another movie with them. 

[mikeb]

7 hours ago, EyewatchTV211 said:

I could be remembering wrong, but I thought Daniel Lissing did do one movie for the channel after leaving When Calls The Heart before he disappeared. Interestingly, when the Deck the Hallmark guys interviewed him, he said he was willing to come back and do another movie with them. 

His IMDB page shows his last Hallmark project was a Christmas movie in 2018, which it also lists as last year he appeared in When Calls The Heart, so inconclusive as to whether he made that movie before or after he left the series.

[In2You]

 

[Cetacean]

The Magic of Ordinary Days is on HMM tonight!  Color me excited!  I bet there will be a thousand commercials for their pay channel.

[ShelleySue]

16 hours ago, Cetacean said:

The Magic of Ordinary Days is on HMM tonight!  Color me excited!  I bet there will be a thousand commercials for their pay channel.

I have it on my DVR have rewatched it so many times that I fast forward through the commercials as well as the extraneous story lines (ie anything not directly related to Livvy and Ray).

[Cetacean]

7 minutes ago, ShelleySue said:

I have it on my DVR have rewatched it so many times that I fast forward through the commercials as well as the extraneous story lines (ie anything not directly related to Livvy and Ray).

I love Mare Winningham in that as well.  She does a good salt-of-the-earth woman.

[Callietwo]

Oh Brother.

One Perfect Wedding was ridiculous.  I haven’t enough ways to roll my eyes over that ending.  

[Rabithed]

1 minute ago, Callietwo said:

Oh Brother.

One Perfect Wedding was ridiculous.  I haven’t enough ways to roll my eyes over that ending.  

The acting was way over the top and the main couple have no chemistry. The “witty” and weird quick banter and gushy smiles was odd and embarrassing. I only watched to the end for Jack Turner. What a cutie. 

[Callietwo]

I couldn’t deal with the remote best man and the shenanigans with the remote proposal.

I don’t understand why they bothered with the movie and included the actor if he couldn’t actually be there.  
 

Edited April 4, 2021 by Callietwo

[MerBearHou]

I was glued to a Signed, Sealed, Delivered marathon today and was not interested in One Perfect Wedding.  Sounds like I didn’t miss much.  I hate to say it but I don’t think Taylor Cole has much chemistry with any of her leads.  She’s capable and lovely but there is never a spark with her romantic interests IMO.

Edited April 4, 2021 by MerBearHou

[KLovestoShop]

I’m concerned about Jack Turner.  He’s gotten so skinny and with the shaved head, he looks like he’s had chemo.  He was so cute in his other movies, including those leading up to this movie, but I think he looks bad. 

[Cetacean]

7 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

I’m concerned about Jack Turner.  He’s gotten so skinny and with the shaved head, he looks like he’s had chemo.  

Apparently in a Deck the Hallmark interview he said that he was losing his  hair in April 2020 so decided to shave his head. He loves the look and freedom and hopes to get roles as villians.  Not that it's related (as far as I know) this occurred after he had Covid.

Seeing him bald was the only interesting part of that mess of a movie.  One Perfect Wedding (and who didn't see the dress mix up from the start) was One Horrible Movie.

[bankerchick]

Yeah, I have to agree with everyone here.  One Perfect Wedding was a dud. I agree with Rabithed that there was no chemistry.  In fact, at one point when they were going for some sort of a walk, I honestly thought they were going to admit it and break up.  I love Taylor Cole and have no opinion on Jack Turner (hair or no hair) and I'm pretty sure I saw both of the prequels but I just wasn't buying it.  I also don't understand why the doctor was on video only.  Did he (the actor) personally have covid or something?  It just seems strange that 3 of the leads and a lot of peripheral characters were on scene but one actor was remote.  It didn't add anything to the story either.  Next up:  One Perfect Baby.  Maybe she can go into labour at the wedding of the two friends.

Matching Hearts is coming on later this morning.  Another chance for Taylor Cole to show some chemistry, this time with wooden/too cute to care if he's wooden Ryan Paevey.

[Irlandesa]

Thanks for your reviews.  Normally, I'd check out a new Hallmark movie because I've disagreed with the crowd before but as this is the third movie in the series, and the first two weren't exactly faves, I'll skip it.

[Kemper]

11 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Apparently in a Deck the Hallmark interview he said that he was losing his  hair in April 2020 so decided to shave his head. He loves the look and freedom and hopes to get roles as villians.  Not that it's related (as far as I know) this occurred after he had Covid.

Seeing him bald was the only interesting part of that mess of a movie.  One Perfect Wedding (and who didn't see the dress mix up from the start) was One Horrible Movie.

If he wants to get roles as villains, his career at Hallmark is over.  I like him, too.

When discussing the blandness, Ken-doll look of some of the actors, I saw one the other night that is maybe the worst; but I also know that different people have different tastes.  This actor is blond-ish, has a round face, kind-of-gravel-y voice and is just a terrible actor.  I have seen him play a prince in one of the movies.  His name is maybe Trevor something.  

I think most of us can agree that the writing for these movies is lacking and it is on the shoulders of the actors and actresses to make the movie worth watching.  So many of the do.  Lots of people have commented on Luke McFarlane; he is in the usual cut-from-the-same-cloth actor category but he actually seems to put his all into the roles; he seems filled with good cheer.  So him, I don't mind.

[MerBearHou]

8 minutes ago, Kemper said:

When discussing the blandness, Ken-doll look of some of the actors, I saw one the other night that is maybe the worst; but I also know that different people have different tastes.  This actor is blond-ish, has a round face, kind-of-gravel-y voice and is just a terrible actor.  I have seen him play a prince in one of the movies.  His name is maybe Trevor something.  

Are you thinking of Trevor Donovan?  I find him super wooden in his roles, like he can barely stand to be in a Hallmark movie.  

[Kemper]

2 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

Are you thinking of Trevor Donovan?  I find him super wooden in his roles, like he can barely stand to be in a Hallmark movie.  

I think that is it!  How does he keep getting parts? I feel badly for any actress cast opposite him; she has to do 150% of the emoting.

[bankerchick]

3 hours ago, Kemper said:

I think that is it!  How does he keep getting parts? I feel badly for any actress cast opposite him; she has to do 150% of the emoting.

Perhaps that's why I enjoyed USS Christmas this past season.  His co-star was Jenn Lilley, who is a 200% emoter.

[Clawdette]

Several of you will remember 2017’s The Christmas Cottage with Merritt Patterson and Steve Byers.  The author whose book the movie was based on is from North Carolina and she was interviewed about her experience in having her book optioned and produced by Hallmark.  

She was gently frank and I have always remembered what she said.   It was along the lines of, if you sell movie/TV rights, you have go let go of control because it doesn’t belong to you anymore. She knew right away that the ending would change because all adaptations had to fit in the Hallmark template. So it wasn’t exactly going to be her story anymore. She was talking about Christmas movies but the template is the same for all Hallmark movies. 

This is the formula I’ve identified. An 18-20 minute introduction is followed by chunks of content around 10-12 minutes separated by commercials. The big misunderstanding happens around the 1 1/2 hour mark followed by a realization of the error and then easing into the resolution at around 1 hour 50 minutes after the last commercial. In the past, this is where viewers were “rewarded” with the movie’s one chaste kiss but in the last couple of years, a kiss or two have been allowed earlier. 

I am retired but work 29 hours a week from home.  Law & Order (the mothership, not derivatives) served as my background noise for years. But, now I occasionally sub in Hallmark movies as I know the drill and am not distracted by unexpected turns of events. The only mystery arises when a plot sounds a little two familiar and I have to remember which of the dozen plot lines in the stable have been recycled. 

With that being said, you might wonder why I bother watching. There are some movies that are sweet with gentle humor that I find enjoyable. But, as someone mentioned, the push for quantity has definitely hurt quality. 

Regarding Hallmark Hall of Fame movies, I highly recommend “Decoration Day” with James Garner and “Promise” with James Garner and James Woods.  Both are terrific.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I know it's subjective, but Jen Lilley makes my skin crawl.  I watched a movie with her and she was the prototypical "Manic Pixie Dream Girl".  Like outrageously quirky when it didn't make sense at all.  There was another one where it was more subdued, but I realized that I can't watch her movies.

"One Perfect Wedding" was INSANELY BORING. 

Spoiler

And one castmember only joined the movie by Zoom.

  What a huge waste of my time.  Even if you've seen the first two movies like I have I would say skip it!

Edited April 5, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[bankerchick]

11 hours ago, Clawdette said:

With that being said, you might wonder why I bother watching. There are some movies that are sweet with gentle humor that I find enjoyable. But, as someone mentioned, the push for quantity has definitely hurt quality. 

We all have our reasons that make no sense to anyone.  I tell people I fell into a red-and-green hole around Christmastime and I am still trying to dig myself out.  Fortunately, the movies are no longer on 24/7 and I have seen enough that I don't pay attention to a lot of them, but it is still my go-to background noise, depending on the stars.

10 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I know it's subjective, but Jen Lilley makes my skin crawl.  I watched a movie with her and she was the prototypical "Manic Pixie Dream Girl".  Like outrageously quirky when it didn't make sense at all.  There was another one where it was more subdued, but I realized that I can't watch her movies.

Probably the one where she is a veterinarian and trying to win back her high school boyfriend who is now dating a mean girl.  Her friend talks her into trading her 1970s glasses for contacts, but even though she appears to be legally blind she goes a whole day without them, bumping into everything and being whimsically funny.  Or the recent one where she goes to Banff.  Or the one I spoke of earlier where she goes on the book tour.  You can tell I am not a fan either and unless the male star is really cute, I won't watch her.

Yesterday my sister gave me a small package of Easter chocolates that were made at a chocolate store in Almonte, Ontario where a lot of Christmas movies are filmed (including the hot scene with the blacksmith in Christmas Around the Corner.)  I wondered if they were perhaps sold at a store that at some point had to be rescued by a big-city girl home for the holidays.

Edited April 5, 2021 by bankerchick