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

[Cetacean]

8 hours ago, bankerchick said:

OK, I guess what happens when you watch your favourite Christmas movie too many times is you start being annoyed by the usual tropes you had overlooked because you like the movie so much.

I do the same thing with Nine Lives.  A lot of stuff stands out and gets on my nerves. 

And I can count on one hand the number of Hallmark I can stand to watch more than once.

[WinnieWinkle]

1 hour ago, Cetacean said:

I do the same thing with Nine Lives.  A lot of stuff stands out and gets on my nerves. 

Yep!  Still love it but have a few problems with it (for example kids don't usually go to see Santa on Christmas morning!) that said what I do appreciate is no hot chocolate, snowmen or Christmas cookie baking!

[WinnieWinkle]

Just watching Hope at Christmas - not bad so far but if they explained why the lead character had such a huge chip on her shoulder I missed it and the grandmother's house oh my!  An absolute mansion that was being "looked after" by the neighbour.  That's a big favour keeping a house that big and fully furnished in such excellent condition!

And it features one of my pet peeves - pre-teens who still believe in Santa.  IME anyway this is just not realistic.  

Edited July 22, 2021 by WinnieWinkle

[bankerchick]

2 hours ago, Cetacean said:

And I can count on one hand the number of Hallmark I can stand to watch more than once.

Agreed.  It just so happens that of the few I can watch multiple times, Christmas at Starlight was on yesterday, Nine Lives of Christmas is on right now, Bridal Wave was on this past weekend and Wedding Every Weekend is on Demand.

39 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

Just watching Hope at Christmas - not bad so far but if they explained why the lead character had such a huge chip on her shoulder I missed it

I PVR'd this last night because of Ryan Paevey but sounds like I might not love it as I generally have no patience for women who are bitchy for no reason and it is difficult for me to suspend my disbelief that a hot guy would stick around for that sort of abuse because she's beautiful.  Like there aren't a million gorgeous women who would not only date Ryan Paevey, but also be nice to him.

[WinnieWinkle]

5 minutes ago, bankerchick said:

I PVR'd this last night because of Ryan Paevey but sounds like I might not love it as I generally have no patience for women who are bitchy for no reason and it is difficult for me to suspend my disbelief that a hot guy would stick around for that sort of abuse because she's beautiful.  Like there aren't a million gorgeous women who would not only date Ryan Paevey, but also be nice to him.

She's edgy with everyone at first but it improves pretty quickly with the magic of Christmas and a small town.  What is killing me is she isn't exactly in to Christmas (standard not gonna have a tree thing) but then before you know it the house is decorated within an inch of its life and there's a wreath on the front of her car.  Mmmkay.

Edited July 22, 2021 by WinnieWinkle

[bankerchick]

One thing I like about Nine Lives of Christmas, is that it is the men who are obsessing about the woman instead of the other way around.  All the guys at the fire station seem pretty invested in Zack's love life and whether he and Merilee will get together.  Whether or not that happens in real life (I doubt it) I enjoy seeing it for a change. 

[luvthepros]

21 hours ago, Clawdette said:

I read an article a couple of years ago; it was an interview with someone at Hallmark’s movie division. The Hallmarker said that snow is required in every Christmas movie, even if it’s just a few flakes at the end. No exceptions. 

Well, that lets Florida out.

[WinnieWinkle]

5 hours ago, bankerchick said:

One thing I like about Nine Lives of Christmas, is that it is the men who are obsessing about the woman instead of the other way around.  All the guys at the fire station seem pretty invested in Zack's love life and whether he and Merilee will get together.  Whether or not that happens in real life (I doubt it) I enjoy seeing it for a change. 

It's true about the guys but Merrilee's sister is also anxious to get her into a relationship and her fellow student even gets her onto a dating website.  This one was on today and so far it's the only Christmas movie I've PVR'd that isn't going to be getting deleted!  This one is a keeper.

Just watching A Christmas Miracle - so far so good but what the hell?????!!! When did Barry Bostwick become the nice elderly man character in movies?

Edited July 22, 2021 by WinnieWinkle

[bankerchick]

Just tried watching some execrable crap called Christmas at Holly Lodge with the aforementioned Alison Sweeney being her usual (to me) bitchy self.  When her friend had to go downstairs in the middle of the night to stop her from again turning the hot water taps off in the future love interest's room, I knew I had seen enough.

Question to my American friends:  if someone is behind on the mortgage, is it common for the bank to 'sell the note' to someone, as opposed to evicting them and selling the house under power of sale?  How does that work?  Do they have to advertise somewhere that 'Holly Lodge is defaulting on its mortgage so the mortgage is now for sale?'  How does that not violate privacy laws?  It's not the first time I have heard this particular concern, but I think they were all Hallmark movies, so maybe it's a convenient trope for them.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Question to my American friends:  if someone is behind on the mortgage, is it common for the bank to 'sell the note' to someone, as opposed to evicting them and selling the house under power of sale?  How does that work?  Do they have to advertise somewhere that 'Holly Lodge is defaulting on its mortgage so the mortgage is now for sale?'  How does that not violate privacy laws?  It's not the first time I have heard this particular concern, but I think they were all Hallmark movies, so maybe it's a convenient trope for them.

Mortgages are sold all the time. Generally they would sell as a group so it’s not about the specific property. The original lender gets a quick influx of cash without having to work to collect and the new company gets a good deal. 

[Daff]

On 7/22/2021 at 4:35 PM, WinnieWinkle said:

Just watching A Christmas Miracle - so far so good but what the hell?????!!! When did Barry Bostwick become the nice elderly man character in movies?

Since he appeared in several “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” movies-as Rita’s father? You’ve piqued my curiosity with your humor-now I have to go look at what he HAS been in lately. 

[bankerchick]

Watching The Christmas Ring.  Apparently 'Michael Jones' is such an unusual name and 'development heiresses' are so famous that everyone in the country knows about their breakup, and the mention of that name with absolutely no context will cause the editor of the magazine to stop what she's doing and decide that the story of the found ring needs to be told through the lens of said breakup.  Otherwise, the movie itself is ok.  The tree at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony is pretty, nicer than the 2 or 3 Christmas tree lighting ceremonies I watched yesterday.

[mikeb]

Glad to see they had first same-sex kiss on a Hallmark series, but wondering if they waited for last episode of Good Witch to avoid any threats of boycotts of the show.

https://tvline.com/2021/07/25/good-witch-lesbian-lgbtq-kiss-hallmark-channel-series-finale-joy-zoey-photo/

[ShelleySue]

On 7/23/2021 at 2:18 PM, bankerchick said:

Question to my American friends:  if someone is behind on the mortgage, is it common for the bank to 'sell the note' to someone, as opposed to evicting them and selling the house under power of sale?  How does that work?  Do they have to advertise somewhere that 'Holly Lodge is defaulting on its mortgage so the mortgage is now for sale?'  How does that not violate privacy laws?  It's not the first time I have heard this particular concern, but I think they were all Hallmark movies, so maybe it's a convenient trope for them.

I know a couple who couldn't afford their house payments after the husband lost his job.  They put the house on the market.  They were working with the bank to hold off on taking any actions to see if the house sold.  The house did sell and the asking price was a good one.  The sale would have solved all of the couple's problems.  They would have ended up with cash in their pockets. But a week before closing the bank (national office, not the branch that had been working with the couple) sold a bunch of mortgages including that one.  The new lender saw that the couple was behind in payments and took legal action which put the title in question. The buyer's attorney stopped the sale and the house eventually went into foreclosure.  It was a long drawn out affair and the couple lost money.  It was completely needless.

Speaking of Holly Lodge . . . Does anyone know if Jordan Bridges will be making any new Hallmark movies?  I have a certain fondness for Beau Bridges so it's nice seeing Jordan. IMDB shows him in two upcoming series, but nothing for Hallmark.

[Daff]

On 7/23/2021 at 2:18 PM, bankerchick said:

Question to my American friends:  if someone is behind on the mortgage, is it common for the bank to 'sell the note' to someone, as opposed to evicting them and selling the house under power of sale?  How does that work?  Do they have to advertise somewhere that 'Holly Lodge is defaulting on its mortgage so the mortgage is now for sale?'  How does that not violate privacy laws?  It's not the first time I have heard this particular concern, but I think they were all Hallmark movies, so maybe it's a convenient trope for them.

You can be fully paid up to date, never late, and have excellent credit-doesn’t matter. At any given point during the term of the contract the lien holder can sell the debt to another entity. It takes a lot of employee wages to process monthly payments and if a bank (loosely, any FI) is sitting on a number of defaulted loans, it’s a quick, easy way out. More often than not, however, the lien holder will contract out for the processing and management of their mortgages-and those companies are unscrupulous!
My local lending bank did that. Every month I always had to go to the bank to complain about something the management company had done. One example-Homeowners are required to carry PMI (personal mortgage insurance) until a certain percentage of the principal is paid off. In my case, the management company’s insurer charged the PMI 10-15 days prior to the monthly due date. I always paid more each month toward principal (clearly indicated on the payment coupon). One month, the management company took my additional payment and paid the PMI instead of applying it to principal. The local bank straightened it out, telling the management company that they had no right, the timing was their problem. In the end, I paid a 30 year mortgage off in 15 years just to be rid of them! The final insult came when after it was paid, they tried to tack on one more day’s interest to the payout!

[kirinan]

On 7/23/2021 at 2:18 PM, bankerchick said:

Question to my American friends:  if someone is behind on the mortgage, is it common for the bank to 'sell the note' to someone, as opposed to evicting them and selling the house under power of sale?  How does that work?  Do they have to advertise somewhere that 'Holly Lodge is defaulting on its mortgage so the mortgage is now for sale?'  How does that not violate privacy laws?  It's not the first time I have heard this particular concern, but I think they were all Hallmark movies, so maybe it's a convenient trope for them.

It's been 20+ years since I worked in mortgage servicing so my knowledge may be out of date. And keep in mind that what I do know happens in Michigan, so other states may differ.

But if you're referring to foreclosure proceedings, yes--that still happens unless there's a moratorium and foreclosures are put on hold, as I believe they were during the pandemic. The institution works as much as it can with the property owners--I've known banks/credit unions/mortgage companies that have let the owners remain in the property for six months to a year--but in the end, if they can't pay the amount that's in arrears, they're evicted and the property goes to sheriff's sale/auction, with notices posted and advertisements in the proper channels (newspapers, etc.). 

I don't know if that's changed given the changes in privacy laws over the years, but it had been standard practice for decades when I worked in that industry. FWIW.

Edited July 27, 2021 by kirinan

[WinnieWinkle]

On 7/26/2021 at 11:17 AM, ShelleySue said:

Speaking of Holly Lodge . . . Does anyone know if Jordan Bridges will be making any new Hallmark movies?  I have a certain fondness for Beau Bridges so it's nice seeing Jordan. IMDB shows him in two upcoming series, but nothing for Hallmark.

I can't answer your question but you answered mine!  I watched this movie the other day (thought it was pretty good as far as these movies go) and I wondered if he was connected to THE Bridges family but forgot to google it.  He can act and I thought he was kinda cute .

[bankerchick]

2 hours ago, kirinan said:

But if you're referring to foreclosure proceedings, yes--that still happens unless there's a moratorium and foreclosures are put on hold, as I believe they were during the pandemic. The institution works as much as it can with the property owners--I've known banks/credit unions/mortgage companies that have let the owners remain in the property for six months to a year--but in the end, if they can't pay the amount that's in arrears, they're evicted and the property goes to sheriff's sale/auction, with notices posted and advertisements in the proper channels (newspapers, etc.). 

Interesting.  Thanks for the responses.  Kirinan's response is similar to what happens here in Canada (or at least Ontario but our banking is federally regulated so probably the same across the country.)  Aside from an insured mortgage (any mortgage with less than 20% equity on purchase,) in cases of default, once the phone calls have been made and it's decided to move to foreclosure, the sheriff evicts the homeowner but the property is listed with a real estate agent and sold for fair market value.  Once the mortgage and all the legal fees are paid, any money left over goes back to the homeowner.  Defaults on insured mortgages have the insurer pay the bank then take over the property, where the same process applies.  In other words, the bank would sell the house, not the debt.  I worked in a bank and we would get calls all the time from people looking to buy a house that they knew was in arrears but the answer was always, 'talk to the homeowner or get a real estate agent and buy it when it comes on the market.'

[WinnieWinkle]

Ok just finished watching Christmas in Angel Falls.  It was sugary and predictable and corny and I still loved it!  Good acting will do that for a film I guess.  This one may not go into endless rotation but I'm glad I watched.  Definitely the right feel good movie for the mood I was in today/

[WinnieWinkle]

Saw the Christmas in Evergreen movies this week - I liked them but so many plot holes (what?  stories that don't make sense on Hallmark?  who knew?) But the one thing that I find so dumb, frankly, is in the first movie where the little girl keeps making it abundantly clear that she does not want a Florida Christmas and all the adults around her just keep smiling and ignoring what she is saying because it doesn't fit with what they want for her.  

[bankerchick]

OMG, what is this crap I'm watching?  Love, For Real.  Crap, For Real.  I was hoping to like it because the story looked like it might be funny (dating show shenanigans) and I thought the lead actor was cute (Scott Michael Foster) but the lead character (and the actress who plays her) is so unlikeable I can't finish watching it.

 

[MerBearHou]

Agreed about Love, For Real.  I gave it a shot and had to change the channel.  The lead actress was SO bad.  

[Luckylyn]

I didn’t hate or love Love, For Real.  I thought it was okay.  

It reminded me of one of my favorite movies I Want to Marry Ryan Banks aka The Reality of Love which is a wonderful romance that I think was family channel.  In that one, a contestant played by Emma Caulfield falls for the behind the scenes guy played by Bradley Cooper instead of the superstar Ryan Banks played by Jason Priestly.  I recommend that one highly.

[bankerchick]

Well, I would choose Bradley Cooper over Jason Priestly and would probably power through a movie with them in it, but this crapper had neither of those guys in it.  I don't know who Emma Caulfield is, but she can't be as unwatchable as Chloe Bridges, who I hope is a 'one and done' as far as Hallmark is concerned.

[Luckylyn]

1 minute ago, bankerchick said:

Well, I would choose Bradley Cooper over Jason Priestly and would probably power through a movie with them in it, but this crapper had neither of those guys in it.  I don't know who Emma Caulfield is, but she can't be as unwatchable as Chloe Bridges, who I hope is a 'one and done' as far as Hallmark is concerned.

It’s available on YouTube if you want to check it out and compare it. 

 

[Cetacean]

10 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Love, For Real.  Crap, For Real. 

Well said.  Absolutely unwatchable.  Hallmark continues its consistent downhill slide.

[WhyAmIHere]

1 hour ago, Luckylyn said:

I didn’t hate or love Love, For Real.  I thought it was okay.  

It reminded me of one of my favorite movies I Want to Marry Ryan Banks aka The Reality of Love which is a wonderful romance that I think was family channel.  In that one, a contestant played by Emma Caulfield falls for the behind the scenes guy played by Bradley Cooper instead of the superstar Ryan Banks played by Jason Priestly.  I recommend that one highly.

I Want to Marry Ryan Banks is one of my all time favorite TV movies (along with Lucky 7).  Since the plot of Love, For Real sounded so similar, I decided not to watch.  I didn't think it could measure up.   TV movies used to be much higher quality.  I don't understand why it is so difficult to get back to that level.  Maybe it's because Hallmark & Lifetime emphasize quantity over quality. 

 

[Luckylyn]

1 minute ago, WhyAmIHere said:

I Want to Marry Ryan Banks is one of my all time favorite TV movies (along with Lucky 7).  Since the plot of Love, For Real sounded so similar, I decided not to watch.  I didn't think it could measure up.   TV movies used to be much higher quality.  I don't understand why it is so difficult to get back to that level.  Maybe it's because Hallmark & Lifetime emphasize quantity over quality. 

 

Love, For Real definitely doesn’t measure up against I Want to Marry Ryan Banks.

I also love Lucky 7.  That’s another favorite for me.

[DanaMB]

I’m trying to watch Love, For Real but my god the lead actress’ voice is the worst vocal fry I've ever heard. I don’t think I can take it. 

[bankerchick]

10 minutes ago, DanaMB said:

I’m trying to watch Love, For Real but my god the lead actress’ voice is the worst vocal fry I've ever heard. I don’t think I can take it. 

Not really sure what 'vocal fry' is though I have heard the term before, but that may be one of the reasons why I could not stand to watch her.  There is another actress who has been in a lot of movies lately, Maggie Lawson, who sounds like she is swallowing her words when she talks.  I can't watch her either.

Thank you for recommending The Reality of Love.  I just watched in on Youtube and loved it.  The characters were all likeable and believable.  I really liked the sister and loved the scene where her husband set up a romantic date because he thought that's what his wife wanted.

[MerBearHou]

4 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Not really sure what 'vocal fry' is though I have heard the term before, but that may be one of the reasons why I could not stand to watch her.  There is another actress who has been in a lot of movies lately, Maggie Lawson, who sounds like she is swallowing her words when she talks.  I can't watch her either.

I have a real issue with voices that are annoying (to me) and sadly Maggie Lawson has gotten so much worse.  I didn't have a problem listening to her when she was on "Psych" but now, it's tough.  Chloe Bridges' vocal fry is impossible to listen to.  Like said above, I hope she is a one and done for Hallmark.  

My voices issue (it's usually with women, unfortunately - vocal fry, Valley girl, uptalk, baby) led me to the movie with Lake Bell "In A World...".  It's great.  

Edited August 1, 2021 by MerBearHou

[bankerchick]

I went to Youtube to watch the preview for Love, For Real in order to listen to Chloe Bridges and now I get what you're talking about.  Ugh.  She sounds like Anne Hathaway.

[twoods]

Damn, I was looking forward to it because I liked Scott Michael Foster in Greek so it’s a shame the actress ruined it. 
 

I have never noticed Maggie Lawson has vocal fry, but that’s probably my bias from loving her on Psych.

[Woopwoopkitty]

I knew I could count on this board to hate on Love for Real - this board finds fault with most things Hallmark.

I for one thoroughly enjoyed this movie,I will rewatch today and record it for future viewings. The female didn’t bother me the way she did for this board, and I found it interesting that she was the least attractive of any of the women.

My biggest complaint is the green dress Hayley wore at the pool party, it was hideous and inexcusable given that she is supposedly a fashion designer.  It reminded me of the makeshift togas in Animal House.

I thought Bree and Marco had smoking chemistry, Hayley and the lead good chemistry.  I loved the parody of the Bachelorette - the scripted lines, the painting of one or more contestants as “the bitch” or “the favorite”.  The interference of the producers in the outcome.  I have no problem believing that was fairly close to how that show really gets made.

[EyewatchTV211]

I didn't hate Love, For Real. I didn't love the women's acting in the first scene, but I was okay with them after that. And I did feel the two couples had good chemistry which went a long way for my enjoyment. I liked it okay. 

[luvthepros]

On 8/1/2021 at 1:54 PM, bankerchick said:

Not really sure what 'vocal fry' is though I have heard the term before, but that may be one of the reasons why I could not stand to watch her.  There is another actress who has been in a lot of movies lately, Maggie Lawson, who sounds like she is swallowing her words when she talks.  I can't watch her either.

Thank you for recommending The Reality of Love.  I just watched in on Youtube and loved it.  The characters were all likeable and believable.  I really liked the sister and loved the scene where her husband set up a romantic date because he thought that's what his wife wanted.

Vocal fry DRIVES ME CRAZY!!!!!! Can not stand it.

What is vocal fry?

[chitowngirl]

New season of Chesapeake Shores starts August 15th

[Luckylyn]

Autumn Reeser and Andrew Walker are favorites of mine so I was looking forward to The 27 Hour Day.  They had chemistry, but I found I was a bit bored.  I fast forwarded through parts of it.  Maybe my expectations were too high because I am a fan of the actors? 

[MerBearHou]

50 minutes ago, Luckylyn said:

Autumn Reeser and Andrew Walker are favorites of mine so I was looking forward to The 27 Hour Day.  They had chemistry, but I found I was a bit bored.  I fast forwarded through parts of it.  Maybe my expectations were too high because I am a fan of the actors? 

Ditto here.  They are two of my favorites in everything they do so I expected to love this movie with them paired together.  I found it kind of void of warmth.  The piggy was the best thing about it.  

[kirinan]

2 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

Autumn Reeser and Andrew Walker are favorites of mine so I was looking forward to The 27 Hour Day.  They had chemistry, but I found I was a bit bored.  I fast forwarded through parts of it.  Maybe my expectations were too high because I am a fan of the actors? 

I enjoyed it more than a lot of the recent new movies, but I don't think I'd say it was an all-time favorite. I would watch it again, though. It was a pleasant enough watch, and they were good together. I didn't even mind Autumn's character being so uptight at the beginning, because I knew she'd calm down later. (Plus I'd have to say she's my favorite Hallmark actress, so she gets a pass from me where other actresses might not.)

ETA: I hope you can all see this Twitter post on Andrew Walker's timeline. It made me laugh out loud. 

Edited August 8, 2021 by kirinan

[bankerchick]

Yup, not much to add.  Not bad, but not particularly good either.  Andrew Walker was his reliably charming self and Amanda Reeser is not a favourite of mine, though not a 'can't watch.'  I did find it a little much when she arrived at the resort and while acknowledging that she knew she had to give up her electronics, still had a laptop, tablet, phone and watch.  Did she use all of them at the same time while on the plane?

On 8/8/2021 at 1:30 PM, kirinan said:

ETA: I hope you can all see this Twitter post on Andrew Walker's timeline. It made me laugh out loud. 

Thanks for sharing!  I guess they were watching in Canada, as W Network carried It Was Always You and The 27 Hour Day as their Saturday night double feature.  It was nice to see Tyler Hynes again.  This was the movie where we spent time debating Erin Krakow's hair, and not so much Tyler Hynes'!

[kirinan]

A list of Hallmark's fall movie premieres. Call me a sucker, tell me I have bad taste, but I'm happy that there's a new Signed, Sealed, Delivered movie. 

[chitowngirl]

8 minutes ago, kirinan said:

A list of Hallmark's fall movie premieres. Call me a sucker, tell me I have bad taste, but I'm happy that there's a new Signed, Sealed, Delivered movie. 

I love the Signed, Sealed, and Delivered movies!

[Cetacean]

2 hours ago, kirinan said:

Call me a sucker, tell me I have bad taste, but I'm happy that there's a new Signed, Sealed, Delivered movie. 

SO much better than the formulaic schlock the writers keep pumping out. I'm really happy to see that there will be a new one!

[Irlandesa]

Signed, Sealed, Delivered was supposed to be on Hallmark Drama but not it looks like it's going to be on HMM--in fact, a few of the movies seem to be more on the drama side than mystery side.

[bankerchick]

I also love the Signed, Sealed, Delivered movies and am happy to see Tyler Hynes and Taylor Cole have movies this fall.  I guess I will keep my fingers crossed for a Paul Campbell/Kimberly Sustad Christmas movie and no Lacy Chabert, Danica McKellar or Luke Macfarlane movies

[Guest]

On 8/10/2021 at 5:00 PM, bankerchick said:

I also love the Signed, Sealed, Delivered movies and am happy to see Tyler Hynes and Taylor Cole have movies this fall.  I guess I will keep my fingers crossed for a Paul Campbell/Kimberly Sustad Christmas movie and no Lacy Chabert, Danica McKellar or Luke Macfarlane movies

Kimberly Sustand’s Christmas movie this year is supposed to be the Nine Lives sequel. 

 

I was looking at a list of the Christmas movies planned and was surprised to see they are adapting the last Mrs. Miracle book. The plot of that book isn’t a romance. It would be nice if they do something different rather than butchering another book. 

[twoods]

Hallmark is totally going to ruin the Nine Lives sequel aren't they? I have zero faith in them after the dreck they have shoved down our throats this year.

[bankerchick]

9 hours ago, twoods said:

Hallmark is totally going to ruin the Nine Lives sequel aren't they? I have zero faith in them after the dreck they have shoved down our throats this year.

I hope not.  Nine Lives of Christmas is one of my favourite Christmas movies, even though it does have the stupid 'saw an innocent hug and immediately jumped to conclusions and fled the party' trope.  As mentioned above, one of the things I really liked about this move is that the men seemed to be doing the relationship obsessing, not the women.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's good, although I don't know what the sequel would be.  Are they married now and adopt a new stray cat?

[ShelleySue]

3 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I hope not.  Nine Lives of Christmas is one of my favourite Christmas movies, even though it does have the stupid 'saw an innocent hug and immediately jumped to conclusions and fled the party' trope.  As mentioned above, one of the things I really liked about this move is that the men seemed to be doing the relationship obsessing, not the women.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's good, although I don't know what the sequel would be.  Are they married now and adopt a new stray cat?

I hope that it's a continuation of the original story and not something like Christmas in Evergreen where it's just in that universe with some of the recurring characters as supporting characters but new characters in the main storyline.