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

[Callietwo]

Very frustrated with "As Luck Would Have It" due to the closed captionings not working properly.  I'm hearing impaired, and am having trouble following it.  The captioning shows only one or two lines every few minutes.  

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Callietwo said:

Very frustrated with "As Luck Would Have It" due to the closed captionings not working properly.  I'm hearing impaired, and am having trouble following it.  The captioning shows only one or two lines every few minutes.  

Oh so it wasn't just my TV?  I'm not hearing impaired but I do usually have captions on, especially if I'm multi-tasking.  It was frustrating that the captions weren't working.

[JenMD]

Same here, captions were very wonky.  I just checked the On Demand version and it looks like that is coming up complete, so whatever issue was going on seems they fixed it.  Not sure if you have access Callietwo, but you might give it a try if you do.

You can put me in the loved it camp.   I was so looking forward to this one, since the promo first popped up during the Winter movies.  I adore Allen Leech and have always like Joanna Garcia-Swisher. The little bits of them in the commercials for this had me totally sold and they delivered.  And the location! So beautiful.  Add in a script that actually rose above the (yes, very low) bar and it definitely ended up a favorite.  Also, I loved the interstitials with Joanna and Allen, they're just adorable. 

If there was one thing that made me LOL every time they mentioned it, it was the "1000" people who attend each year, because clearly there weren't 1000 people there.  I think there were like 6 people in that cooking class.  Ha.  But because I was enjoying it so much, it really just made me chuckle.  And I do get that they couldn't actually have that many people there, but they have to make it sound like it's super successful and is a destination.  Overall though, I'm sure I could find stuff to nitpick, but give me talented, pretty actors with chemistry and stick them in a beautiful setting and apparently I'll be too happy to bother nitpicking.

Also, it was really nice to have a movie filled with people new to Hallmark.  I'm thinking some of that was down to a combination of the pandemic and being on location and not that I don't love our Canadian Repertory, but I hope they continue to branch out.

 

 

[luvthepros]

On 4/10/2021 at 11:57 AM, WinnieWinkle said:

I'll have to start watching the hairstyles, I admit I never really noticed before - too distracted by the fake eyelashes and the bad make-up jobs on women who are supposed to be "just a regular gal".  Once I started noticing the lashes it was all I could see!

Jodie Sweetin is the queen of the distracting eye lashes. I have had to turn off her movies, sorry to say, just because of her lashes.

[luvthepros]

On 4/11/2021 at 5:55 PM, Clawdette said:

I second the shoutout for The Nine Lives of Christmas!  It may be my favorite. Regarding the puffy sleeved wedding dress, might you be thinking of Snow Bride with Katrina Law?  She ruins her best friend’s wedding dress (that was her mother-in-law’s, maybe) and the atrocious sleeves are history in the repair. 

And, As Luck Would Have It did break the Hallmark movie mold I just outlined in the last week or so. Hooray! Let’s hope it’s a trend. 

Yes, the puffy sleeves wedding dress is from Snow Bride. I love that movie. Thanks for allowing me to get my wedding dresses straight. LOL.

[bankerchick]

54 minutes ago, luvthepros said:

Yes, the puffy sleeves wedding dress is from Snow Bride. I love that movie. Thanks for allowing me to get my wedding dresses straight. LOL.

Watched Bridal Wave this morning and it is definitely a bolero-type jacket that the Mom wears but the daughter doesn't.  I was finally able to load a picture of the mom's hair.  This is not even the worst picture, just the only one I could get posted.

[Daff]

The first run of ALWHI is on my DVR and there’s nothing wrong with the cc, except the errors that run rampant these days. For example, during the first organizational meeting in the pub, the woman confirming everyone’s tasks clearly says “hurling”, yet cc wrote “hurdling”. 
 

“Hurling is a type of stick and ball game where teams of 15 members play it out on a rectangular grass pitch.” You can look it up, but you must add “Gaelic”, or you know what you’ll get!
I’m most frustrated by (and Hallmark seems to be the biggest offender) the stupid banners that obscure the cc, or the description of background (noise or music). They just won’t go away and persist through whole conversations!

[bankerchick]

7 hours ago, Daff said:

I’m most frustrated by (and Hallmark seems to be the biggest offender) the stupid banners that obscure the cc, or the description of background (noise or music). They just won’t go away and persist through whole conversations!

As if we didn't know we were watching 'Spring Fling!' or that Aurora Teagarden Mysteries are on Thursdays at 8 (or whatever.)  I notice most channels do this now, perhaps because they know we PVR everything and don't watch commercials anymore.

[Maelstrom]

As Luck Would Have It was a definite step up from the usual Hallmark fare. Not only gorgeous scenery, but fun leads with some actual personality and a story that wasn’t as insipid as most. Always a treat to have characters that act like mature adults (his stunt with the bowl of salt notwithstanding).

Obligatory Hallmark Coat Count: I lost track at five (long periwinkle, red, white, navy, and short blue puffy jacket) not including the beautiful green and purple shawl that I now covet. How many suitcases did she have to schlep over from New York just for her coat collection?

[Cherpumple]

On 4/11/2021 at 10:16 AM, kirinan said:

And yes, it was a little stereotypical in places; I kept getting vibes of The Matchmaker with Janeane Garofalo—one of my all-time favorite movies

YES! I love this movie too! I actually hadn't thought about it in a long time until I started seeing ads on Hallmark for this one. It really put me in the mood to see it again, and since I can't find it streaming anywhere I ordered a DVD copy. Can't wait to watch it again!

[Luckylyn]

On 4/11/2021 at 10:16 AM, kirinan said:

And yes, it was a little stereotypical in places; I kept getting vibes of The Matchmaker with Janeane Garofalo—one of my all-time favorite movies—and Leap Year with Amy Adams, who could be Joanna Garcia's sister). But I got caught up in it and just enjoyed the heck out of it. This one's a keeper for me!

I love The Matchmaker!  

I appreciated the scenery porn in As Luck Would Have It.   I enjoyed it.  I really liked both leads.  I remember the actress from the Reba sitcom.   I also remember the actor from Dowton Abbey.  

[memememe76]

Loved As Luck Would Have It! I have always loved both actors so me liking this was a no brainer. But the chemistry was strong between these two. I want more! 

[bankerchick]

I am watching Sailing Into Love.  I remember enjoying this movie last summer so was anxious to see it again.  It was my first introduction to Chris McNally, who while not much of an actor, is really cute (in jeans, in a suit and in a naval uniform!) and his character is quite likeable.  Unlike, as usual, the female lead, who is all about saving 'Blue Island,' the local treasure, from evil developers.  It just seems to me that if it truly is a treasure to everyone in the town, more than just her, her dad and her best friend would have showed up to the city council meeting to discuss saving or selling it.  But hey, what do I know?  It appears that if you hand out a couple of posters on Thursday afternoon, dozens of people will cancel their Friday plans to show up and filibuster the next meeting.  And apparently the city didn't need the money after all, because they decided not to sell the island.  Who saw that coming?

[KLovestoShop]

After watching Love at Sea, I’ve come to the conclusion that Alexa Pena Vega is the worst actress of all the Hallmark actresses.  She couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag and reminded me of watching a middle school audition.  How did she ever get a contract from Hallmark?  
 

Loved As Luck Would Have It. Both leads are favorites of mine and I hope Hallmark uses them in future movies——-maybe something like Christmas in Ireland. 

[Maelstrom]

I kind of enjoyed APV in Taking a Shot at Love with Luke McFarlane, mostly because he's impossible not to like and anything involving dance or ballet will usually get a watch from me. That being said, I'm totally with you that she's one of my least favorite Hallmark actresses. The movies with her real-life husband are the worst, since their chemistry definitely does not show up onscreen.

[bankerchick]

So, that guy is her husband.  I thought it might be her brother.  You're right, there is no chemistry between them but I don't find either of them particularly appealing.

I am such a crank.  I dislike so many of the actresses that each one is the worst while I'm watching, then I see a different movie with a different actress and change my mind.  Just now I passed up Love To The Rescue because I don't like Nikki DeLoach, so I am watching Signed, Sealed, Delivered about post office mysteries of all things.

[Irlandesa]

Right In Front of Me was a delightful surprise that I was not expecting. 

It was two AAPI leads who I thought did good jobs in their roles.  They were very natural.  There was kind of a quad with the two leads, Carly & Nick, and then the guy Carly thought she wanted, Matt, and then the other woman who wanted Matt.  Yet there was no villain.  No cat fighting.  It was all love and respect.

Both leads were kind of telling each other what to do but it was mostly in good fun/helpful.  The angst that the end wasn't a misunderstanding.  Believe me, I was waiting for Nick to walk up and see Carly talking to Matt and jump to the wrong conclusion but nope--that wasn't it.

And the kiss at the end wasn't explicit but I did find it to be pretty sexy.  The lead actor had a really good intense look on his face which made the "Hallmark-appropriate" kiss feel sexier than usual.

It was one of the better scripts. 

[bankerchick]

Watched Love In Whitbrooke last night.  It was fine, but it felt like a movie from 2017 or something.  I thought we had moved past the 'woman comes home from the big city and ends up saving the festival, then ditches high powered job to stay home with the new/old re-discovered man.'  The only difference here is that they decide to travel together for a year before coming back to the small town to live.  Cory Sevier is cute, but not the top of my list.

[Cetacean]

8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Right In Front of Me was a delightful surprise that I was not expecting. 

Wow, definitely different strokes, I thought it was a snooze and the lead female got on my last nerve with her perfection.  Mind reading to know the mother of the bride would hate  her dress and (without measurements or a fitting) just happened to have the most perfect dress along with her.  Bridesmaid melt down on something pink - no worries, a magical transformation with some ribbon and fake flowers.  And when she pulled out the sewing machine to whip up a new dress for herself - well, that was the end for me. So perky, so personable, so perfect in all ways.  Ugh.

[MerBearHou]

Right in Front of Me was enjoyable because of the lead guy IMO (Marco Grazzini).  He is wonderful in all ways and I hope we see him again.  The lead actress (Janel Parrish) was passable — I didn’t dislike her enough to change the channel as a few make me do — but I don’t need to seek her out in other projects.  Gorgeous food.  Matt was super bland, but he was supposed to be good-looking with no BS, I gather.  

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Cetacean said:

Mind reading to know the mother of the bride would hate  her dress and (without measurements or a fitting) just happened to have the most perfect dress along with her.  Bridesmaid melt down on something pink - no worries, a magical transformation with some ribbon and fake flowers.

I didn't have an issue with that. It's her job.  And if you're good at your job and do it long enough, you can anticipate issues that will come up or might be bothering the bride/family.  I know I can guess or articulate issues some of the people I help are having even when they aren't sure what their issue is. 

11 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

I don’t need to seek her out in other projects.

If people do think they recognize her but can't figure out where, I know her as the older sister in To All The Boys I've Loved Before movie series on Netflix.

[luvthepros]

Janel Parrish was Val's partner in season 19 of DWTS. They came in third.

[suebee1212]

And when she pulled out the sewing machine to whip up a new dress for herself - well, that was the end for me.

If you could call that a sewing machine! It was barely an upgrade from a children's machine. At least she didn't staple the dress together,

[ehall1052]

12 hours ago, suebee1212 said:

And when she pulled out the sewing machine to whip up a new dress for herself - well, that was the end for me.

If you could call that a sewing machine! It was barely an upgrade from a children's machine. At least she didn't staple the dress together,

I believe it was a portable sewing machine used by wedding planners for emergencies. However, she wasn’t at the resort for a wedding (until she saw her former classmates there). Maybe a stylist always carries her machine. 

[WinnieWinkle]

On 4/18/2021 at 9:30 AM, bankerchick said:

Watched Love In Whitbrooke last night.  It was fine, but it felt like a movie from 2017 or something.  I thought we had moved past the 'woman comes home from the big city and ends up saving the festival, then ditches high powered job to stay home with the new/old re-discovered man.'  The only difference here is that they decide to travel together for a year before coming back to the small town to live.  Cory Sevier is cute, but not the top of my list.

Watched this one this morning.  It was good in a background movie to watch while I do other stuff kind of way.  I did appreciate that she wasn't giving up her dream job for small town life with the small town guy.  I thought they were setting things up for that and it was a nice twist when they didn't do that.  Definitely not one of those movies though that will be in eternal rotation Chez Winnie.

[bankerchick]

3 hours ago, WinnieWinkle said:

I did appreciate that she wasn't giving up her dream job for small town life with the small town guy.

Isn't she? Admittedly I wasn't glued to the tv but at the end I thought she decided to give up London, travel for a year with the guy, then settle in the town and become a full-time artist.  That's why I said it seemed old. It crossed my mind when the sister decided to go away for school that perhaps the guy would move to London with her and they could use that as their base for travel.  That would have been an awesome ending.  Did I mix it up with another movie?

[WinnieWinkle]

1 hour ago, bankerchick said:

Isn't she? 

Admittedly my attention strayed throughout but if I was listening right she gave up the job because she wanted to travel and eventually settle back down in Small Town but she that was her decision and had nothing to do with getting together with her guy.

[bankerchick]

She definitely wanted to leave the job, but I think in the back of her mind she wanted to be with him so decided to move to the town to be an artist there, but then he did the misheard/misunderstood jump to conclusions thing (another 2017 trope) and pushed her away to protect his feelings.  She decided to stay anyway, the sister straightened him out and we all lived happily ever after.

[redpencil]

What is Love in Whitbrooke? When and where did it air? I'm very confused, as I thought I had recorded everything.

[Irlandesa]

It looks like a Canadian exclusive. 

[redpencil]

3 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

It looks like a Canadian exclusive. 

Ah, okay. That makes more sense. So it wasn't Hallmark (unless Hallmark does Canadian exclusives?).

[Irlandesa]

4 minutes ago, redpencil said:

Ah, okay. That makes more sense. So it wasn't Hallmark (unless Hallmark does Canadian exclusives?).

When I googled it (the link I tried to paste didn't work), it said it's part of Hallmark's Spring Fling on the W Network in Canada.  So clearly not a Hallmark exclusive movie.

[bankerchick]

Interesting.  Both of the stars (Brittany Bristow and Cory Sevier) have been in several Hallmarks so I assumed Love In Whitbrooke was also Hallmark and that my American friends watched it last week, as we usually get the movie a week later.  I have no idea about Right In Front of Me but planned to find out this weekend (yet not holding my breath based on previous comments.)  Though now that I check, there are a bunch of Mysteries (Picture Perfect Mysteries, Mystery 101, Matchmaker Mysteries) coming up.  They sound like they might be Hallmark-type mystery movies.

[luvthepros]

On 4/18/2021 at 9:30 AM, bankerchick said:

Watched Love In Whitbrooke last night.  It was fine, but it felt like a movie from 2017 or something.  I thought we had moved past the 'woman comes home from the big city and ends up saving the festival, then ditches high powered job to stay home with the new/old re-discovered man.'  The only difference here is that they decide to travel together for a year before coming back to the small town to live.  Cory Sevier is cute, but not the top of my list.

I haven't seen this movie yet but looked it up on IMDb. Brittany Bristow is the female lead? That is a Hallmark promotion for her as I've seen her as the "side kick" in every movie she has been in.

 

 

[bankerchick]

Yes, she's another generic Hallmark actress.  Good for her if this is a promotion; she was a nice change from Lacey Chabert or Nikki DeLoach or Jenn Lilley.  She's not as annoying as most but didn't stand out as particularly appealing either.  It really was such a rehash of an overtold generic Hallmark story that I wonder why they even made it in 2020 (IMDB says 2021.)  Maybe it's like that movie that was literally made twice with different actors in different years (A Bride for Christmas is the good one.)

[Clawdette]

Brittany Bristow was the lead in a Hallmark Christmas movie, Holiday Date.  It's the one where her boyfriend dumps her just before their planned trip to her home for the holidays. A Jewish actor acquaintance accompanies her, impersonating her boyfriend, and dual celebrations ensue. 

Bruce Boxleitner played her Dad and I find him just as appealing as when he was on Scarecrow and Mrs. King.

[luvthepros]

4 minutes ago, Clawdette said:

Brittany Bristow was the lead in a Hallmark Christmas movie, Holiday Date.  It's the one where her boyfriend dumps her just before their planned trip to her home for the holidays. A Jewish actor acquaintance accompanies her, impersonating her boyfriend, and dual celebrations ensue. 

Bruce Boxleitner played her Dad and I find him just as appealing as when he was on Scarecrow and Mrs. King.

I didn't see this movie but looked it up on IMDb. That was Matt Cohen who played the Jewish actor. He is a host on Entertainment Tonight.

[twoods]

I enjoyed Right in Front of Me because I liked the chemistry, storyline and new actors! I fanwaved her having a sewing machine because she came from the last wedding where she mentioned to the bride that she carries a sewing machine with her. It’s her freaking job so figured she had everything incase there needed to be alterations to the dresses. 
I really didn’t understand why Nick didn’t tell Carly about his new restaurant, but then I guess we wouldn’t get the perfect happy ending scene. I just wish there was a line mentioned that he was worried she wouldn’t want him if he was unemployed since he had that issue with past relationships not liking him just being a banquet chef. 

[Cherpumple]

On 4/22/2021 at 2:22 AM, twoods said:

I fanwaved her having a sewing machine because she came from the last wedding where she mentioned to the bride that she carries a sewing machine with her.

That makes sense. I figured she bought it at the craft store that her friend mentioned when they were walking around town. Either way, I quickly forgot about it when I saw the hideous dress that she made with it. Yikes! I wouldn't have minded the netting sleeves if they were more form fitting, but they looked terrible as is. And it looked even worse considering that everyone else was in bright or pastel colors.

I loved Marco Grazzini, and definitely want to see him again. I don't think it was necessary to make the other guy quite so bland to show that he and Carly weren't right for each other, but I appreciated the lack of drama surrounding that whole situation. Speaking of other guys, it was really weird that her ex-boyfriend was randomly part of the opening wedding scene, and then never mentioned again. Hallmark movies are so short and formulaic that I rarely see plot points left dangling, so this really stood out to me.

[Cetacean]

7 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

I quickly forgot about it when I saw the hideous dress that she made with it. Yikes!

Hallmark is so bad at coming up with anything realistic from "artists".  Paintings, photographs, haute couture are all so incredibly pedestrian but are supposedly utterly fantastic and worthy of stopping passing experts in their tracks.  It's so absurd.  Plus they used that very same dress in another movie from a couple of years ago. I had it on in the background and that monstrosity caught my eye.  Don't have any idea which one, they are all interchangeable.

[mikeb]

Cindy Busby does not usually get mentioned as a Hallmark favorite, but she is starring in her 5th movie in less than a year tonight.  Tonight's is Hearts Down Under which is an Australian movie that looks like was shown there last year with the title Romance On The Menu.

Edited April 24, 2021 by mikeb

[WinnieWinkle]

3 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Hallmark is so bad at coming up with anything realistic from "artists".  Paintings, photographs, haute couture are all so incredibly pedestrian but are supposedly utterly fantastic and worthy of stopping passing experts in their tracks. 

So true!  I can't think of a single movie they've done where someone is meant to create something wonderful that actually was wonderful!  Even favourites like Window Wonderland feature supposedly drop dead fabulous Christmas windows that are just painfully amatuerish and not the lease bit artistic let alone worthy of all the oohs and aahs from the crowds.  Just so silly.  Saw one where they were meant to create gingerbread houses in a competition and again yes a little more complicated than the ones you make from a kit with your children at home but none of them were, as you say "utterly fantastic".  

[bankerchick]

5 hours ago, mikeb said:

Cindy Busby does not usually get mentioned as a Hallmark favorite, but she is starring in her 5th movie in less than a year tonight.

Nope.  Not a favourite.  I would be curious to know how the powers that be decide who is going to star in the movies, especially multiple times.  I listened to a podcast with Travis Van Winkle (Christmas Getaway, Project Christmas Wish) and he said actors don't actually audition for Hallmark.  Hallmark reaches out to the actors and offers them the roles.  So, who decided to reach out to Cindy Busby 5 times in the last year, as opposed to literally thousands of other actresses?  It can't be based on fan reaction or ratings because I don't believe her movies were bigger hits than others and as you mention, mikeb, I don't think she's ever been mentioned on here as a favourite of anyone, even though we all apparently have quite different tastes!

[WinnieWinkle]

One thing I notice with Hallmark movies that I've seen is that sometimes you're the star and sometimes you have a supporting role.  I wondered about this because a favourite of mine,  Kimberley Sustad, has starred in quite  a few movies but she's also been a supporting player in many of them, made after starring in some.  How to they decide this?  Are some actors just happy to be cast and don't care if they are the star?

Edited April 24, 2021 by WinnieWinkle

[Cetacean]

2 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I don't think she's ever been mentioned on here as a favourite of anyone, even though we all apparently have quite different tastes!

Generally she is named as someone that is not well liked.  I think Hallmark just has a stable of actors on contract and uses them as needed.  There are so many roles for which they are not appropriate (think 40 year old ingenue) but they just keep showing up anyway.

[bankerchick]

'Dad, I know it's been hard on you since Mom died and I know I haven't been home in a couple of years, but You can't sell the inn, it's home!!!!!'  So I guess she'll stay home for an extra week to help Dad bring the inn back up to standards, then leave again for a couple more years.  This is her plan, but of course we know she will end up falling back in love with her high school boyfriend and after all, you can run an app from anywhere, right?

I know it sounds like every movie on Hallmark.  It's called Love In The Sun.  The lead actress is quite unlikeable and the old boyfriend looks to be about 18 years old so I think I'll quit it.  My One and Only is also on so I guess I'll watch that again rather than stick this one out til the end.

[Cetacean]

Hearts Down Under

Spoiler

 

Dead relative - check

Beloved small town business - check

Big city, success driven woman - check

Small town jack-of-all-trades, easygoing guy - check

Loathesome, smarmy fiance - check

Eavesdropping causing the ubiquitous misunderstanding - check

Kiss in last minute of the movie - check

 

The scenary was nice.  Busby wasn't horrible.  Lead guy nice to look at.

[carolibra]

Ms. Busby's mispronunciation of "realtor" has pretty much cemented her into my least-liked actress category. 

It's not "real-a-tor", dear. For real.

[MerBearHou]

I only made it about 1/3 of the way through the Cindy Busby movie Hearts Down Under.  I usually can’t tolerate a CB movie, but because of Australia, I wanted to give this one a look.  She started out much more toned down from her (to me) often annoying persona so I didn’t mind the beginning.  But as it went on, I just had to move on — couldn’t do it.  

Edited April 26, 2021 by MerBearHou

[Maelstrom]

Hearts Down Under

• 1 highly unlikeable female lead
• 1 moderately entertaining male lead
• 1 remarkably terrible script 
• A dash of beautiful Australian scenery 

Combine and choke it down as best you can. Serve with a heavy dose of snark.

Seriously folks, this one was bad. I didn’t even make it to the halfway point before I had to start giving it the MST3K treatment.

On the positive side, I liked Beth the waitress’s purple sneakers.

Edited April 26, 2021 by Maelstrom