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

[SusanM]

10 hours ago, bankerchick said:

And who can afford to do that without the other spouse on the mortgage?

They are few and far between but the Hallmark Christmas movies that actually deal with real people dealing realistically with money issues are among my favourites.  Most of the time they are trying to make us believe that average people live in enormous houses in very upscale neighbourhoods and women typically have at least 4 winter coats.

[shapeshifter]

I haven't watched A Very Merry Bridesmaid yet(?) but the Decider reviewer made it sound like the best thing since sliced fruit cake bread and made Emily Osment sound like the Second Coming of Julia Roberts (or choose your own fav starlet of the past): 
https://decider.com/2021/12/04/a-very-merry-bridesmaid-hallmark-review/

Edited December 6, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Guest]

53 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I haven't watched A Very Merry Bridesmaid yet(?) but the Decider reviewer made it sound like the best thing since sliced fruit cake bread and made Emily Osment sound like the Second Coming of Julia Roberts (or choose your own fav starlet of the past): 
https://decider.com/2021/12/04/a-very-merry-bridesmaid-hallmark-review/

Quote

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: The mix of Christmas and wedding vibes are very While You Were Sleeping. Also, the gorgeous houses and cozy lighting makes this film feel very Nancy Meyers.

What?! I question if they have actually watched the movie or While You Were Sleeping. 

[absnow54]

While I thought A Very Merry Bridesmaid was just okay (I mean I watched the whole thing, but probably wouldn't set my DVR for repeats next year) I do agree that Emily Osment is one of Hallmark's better female leads. I usually tune into her movies without having to be convinced by the premise first. 

1 minute ago, Dani said:

What?! I question if they have actually watched the movie or While You Were Sleeping. 

Yeah. What? It was clearly more Sixteen Candles vibes. Although I do agree with them about Nancy Meyers, but again, that was more about this being a Rich People Problems movie. All of the houses they selected for it were stunning. Except the best friend's beloved Nana's home looked like a cookie cutter new build from the early 2000's.

[Irlandesa]

I really like Emily Osment as well ever since I binged Young & Hungry. She was the reason I watched the whole movie.  (She's the younger sister of the kid from the Sixth Sense--Hayley Joel Osment if you want to feel old.)

 

[MollyMelrose]

The Another World fan in me was beyond delighted to see the actress who played Sharlene Frame (and her amazing hair) as the mother in the Williams sisters' movie.

[Daff]

22 hours ago, Clawdette said:

Daff, I just used a similar description to describe One Magic Christmas a movie also from the 80s.  It stars Mary Steenburgen and Harry Dean Station and was a favorite of my kids and me.

You’re exactly right, I love that movie too! Funny the exact same mood didn’t trigger a memory of it. Have you ever seen Cross Creek? Mary S., Malcolm M. Set in 20s Everglades. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by Daff

[Luckylyn]

Did anyone catch Our Journey to Christmas ?  Holly Robinson Peete’s experience as the mother of a son who is autistic really showed in the writing.  The movie had legitimate stakes.  I really felt for the daughter who always felt second to her brother because it’s realistic that the child with special needs would dominate the parents attention.   Plus Peete had clearly wrapped her life around her son and was struggling to let him go out in the world more independently.  I hope we get a movie where the character who is autistic is the lead.  I liked the movie but it’s more about the families reaction to the situation then it is about his.

[SusanM]

I'm going to start keeping count of how many times people on these movies come home to empty houses that have roaring fires going in their fireplaces.  Does anyone actually do that in real life?  Seems like a Bad Idea to me!

[luvthepros]

On 11/14/2021 at 10:46 PM, Chippings said:

Just watched Christmas Family Tree and I share all of the reservations y'all have brought up.  I still think that if the DNA company said there was an error, there was an error.  They were sloppy in reporting it, but I wouldn't be so quick to challenge it from the photo.

I was really sure at the beginning with they variously called her mother "Trish" and "Patty" -- same issue they had in Very Merry Mix Up with Billy and Will, that he was not the father, and still didn't hear how they overcame that one.

And of course while there was a new basic story, 'discover bio-family', 80% of the movie was filling in the necessary Christmas tropes.  We are drowning in Christmas tropes --  I may have to go back to reading books til they get past this thing.

As others have said too, it was nice seeing Andrew Walker.  But I didn't discern any chemistry between him and the girl.  They were "nice" to each other, and their both losing their parents was about the extent of the bonding chat, and it was pretty mild.   Certainly there wasn't any of that great banter and snarkiness that he has had with other heroines. 

Anyway in my mind Andrew Walker is still living happily with the heroine of Bridal Wave or of the Bottled with Love one.   Glad he's working, but you can only take so much ..

 

To me, Andrew Walker's movie wife is Nikki DeLoach. I LOVE the two of them together in A Dream of Christmas. That is one of my "go to" movies that stay on my DVR the entire Christmas season.

Other movies that remain on my DVR and get played over and over and over just as back round in the house during the holidays are A Christmas Detour (my very first Hallmark movie that I ever saw), A Very Merry Mix Up, A Shoe Addicts Christmas and The Christmas Waltz.

Edited December 6, 2021 by luvthepros

[luvthepros]

On 11/19/2021 at 12:51 PM, Kaoteek said:

- Coyote Creek Christmas. Über-derivative and generic, but watchable. That said, I wouldn't be surprised to see the gay bff get a lead role in the near future, she was very likeable and memorable.

- On paper, Next Stop, Christmas should have been a slam dunk for me, esp. with an added BTTF reunion. Sadly, the overbearing music score, the blandish male and supporting parts casting, and some bits of awkward writing just left me cold. Lyndsy Fonseca did her best, though, even overcompensating at times, but overall, it didn't quite work for me.

I loved Next Stop Christmas. Christopher LLoyd is an absolute gem. Lyndsy Fonseca has some strong comedic talent and I really enjoyed her in this. Leah Thompson has found the "Fountain of Youth" and she glows on screen. Loved how the time travel elements all came together.

As an aside......My sister who introduced me to Hallmark movies with A Christmas Detour, cannot stand any of the new offerings from Hallmark. I highly recommended Next Stop Christmas to her and she LOVED the movie too.

[norcalgal]

20 hours ago, Artsda said:

I really enjoyed The Eight Gifts of Hanukkah, nice to see Inbar Lavi. Really sweet story and characters.

Lately, I've been watching movies where the two leads have known each other for a long time (childhood or teenhood) and then "see each other in a new light".  So far, I'm liking this.

Anyhoo, I finally saw Eight Gifts of Hanukkah, and my gripe with this is why didn't Sara (cards has Sara but my closed caption had Sarah) realize Daniel was her secret admirer??!!  It's obvious that her secret admirer had to be someone who knew about her past and her likes/dislikes. Besides her ex (Paul?), who else could it have been?  None of the new-ish love interests knew her well enough or long enough to come up with gifts that would have meaning to Sara. I echo Daniel's sentiment:  how could she not even think of Daniel as a candidate!!!

3 hours ago, absnow54 said:

While I thought A Very Merry Bridesmaid was just okay (I mean I watched the whole thing, but probably wouldn't set my DVR for repeats next year) I do agree that Emily Osment is one of Hallmark's better female leads. I usually tune into her movies without having to be convinced by the premise first. 

Yeah. What? It was clearly more Sixteen Candles vibes. Although I do agree with them about Nancy Meyers, but again, that was more about this being a Rich People Problems movie. All of the houses they selected for it were stunning. Except the best friend's beloved Nana's home looked like a cookie cutter new build from the early 2000's.

Yes, and in my post about A Very Merry Bridesmaid, I did mention the 16 Candles vibes.  While You Were Sleeping never once occurred to me. Maybe the person who did the review never watched 16 Candles, or wasn't of the target demo when that movie came out in 198X.

[kirinan]

1 hour ago, luvthepros said:

To me, Andrew Walker's movie wife is Nikki DeLoach. I LOVE the two of them together in A Dream of Christmas. That is one of my "go to" movies that stay on my DVR the entire Christmas season.

Seconded, luvthepros! I like A Dream of Christmas a lot, but my favorite pairing for them is the baseball movie The Perfect Catch. I love them together in that movie so much that I'll watch it every time it's on, despite her very annoying son (sorry, but that kid just drives me nuts). I have another one with the two of them on my DVR, Sweet Autumn, that I just haven't had a chance to watch yet.

Edited December 6, 2021 by kirinan

[SusanM]

4 hours ago, absnow54 said:

While I thought A Very Merry Bridesmaid was just okay (I mean I watched the whole thing, but probably wouldn't set my DVR for repeats next year) I do agree that Emily Osment is one of Hallmark's better female leads. I usually tune into her movies without having to be convinced by the premise first.

Agreed about the movie and about Emily Osment.  I've liked her since her Hannah Montana days.   With regard to A Very Merry Bridesmaid the two things I liked best about it were (1) the family is well to do and live life accordingly BUT it made sense given their professions, and (2) I liked that the romance was part of the story but in some ways was almost incidental to everything else that was happening.

 

[shapeshifter]

On 11/14/2021 at 3:16 PM, Rootbeer said:

My Christmas Family Tree ...I kept wondering why the DNA testing center kept leaving messages for her about the match while her father, who'd used the same center and had verified the match; apparently was ever contacted about the supposed error.  It seems like everyone who was incorrectly matched would be contacted, probably vial email

I also kept wondering why the dad thought Patty and Tricia had to be different people and not just 2 common nicknames for Patricia.  Seemed pretty obvious. 

On 11/14/2021 at 4:31 PM, twoods said:

I never got in My Christmas Family Tree why the dna website called to say there was an error when in fact there was not an error. Did they just hand wave it at the end? It would have made more sense for there to be an error but they still embraced her into the family like Andrew Walker’s family.... 

On 11/14/2021 at 10:46 PM, Chippings said:

Just watched Christmas Family Tree and I share all of the reservations y'all have brought up.  I still think that if the DNA company said there was an error, there was an error.  They were sloppy in reporting it, but I wouldn't be so quick to challenge it from the photo.

On 11/15/2021 at 11:38 AM, debbie311 said:

Christmas Family Tree. I know this is a Hallmark movie and I shouldn't analyze it, but I thought it was ridiculous that Vanessa's bio-dad and his wife did not prepare their children for the fact that they had a sister. As in, sit down with them and explain the situation BEFORE she arrives at their door....

Of course from the promos I knew there would be a mix-up.  What was ridiculous to me was they never explained the mix-up.  As far as the DNA company believed, she was not the right Vanessa.  But based on a picture, Vanessa and her dad realized he was in fact her father.  Were they going to notify the company that they had really messed up? Whatever.

I watched My Christmas Family Tree a couple of nights ago and had all the WTH? moments as all of you. 
At the end I handwaved it all with the person who kept calling Vanessa about the DNA searching company's "mistake" having made a mistake about the mistake.
That is:
   Maybe instead of there being 2 Vanessa Halls,
   perhaps there were 2 Veronica Halls
--which would mean somewhere out there another bio-dad has gotten a call on Christmas about a mix-up while his not-bio-daughter is clueless.

But I shouldn't have to fill in these huge plot holes. How much do the Hallmark movie writers and editors get paid? Maybe they need to double some salaries and at least hire real editors.

 

 

[luvthepros]

On 11/22/2021 at 11:17 AM, SusannahM said:

I just watched Switched For Christmas and I can't believe I'm typing this but I actually liked it!  I can't see it going into endless rotation for me but it was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.

I think one thing that really sold it for me was they didn't try to write Candace Bure as if was was still in her 20s-early 30s.  

I really like this movie. Must admit though, that I had to watch it at least twice to follow along with the twins and their love interests. Yikes!!! But, it was fun.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, norcalgal said:

Yes, and in my post about A Very Merry Bridesmaid, I did mention the 16 Candles vibes.  While You Were Sleeping never once occurred to me. Maybe the person who did the review never watched 16 Candles, or wasn't of the target demo when that movie came out in 198X.

I’ve spent more time thinking about than I should probably admit but the only point of comparison I can think of other than Christmas is that both leads put aside their dreams of travel do care for sick fathers. Although it’s still a bizarre comparison to me. 
 

Speaking of While You Were Sleeping, I’m surprised that Hallmark as never done a version of it. Seems like it’s right up their alley and Kimberly Sustad and Paul Campbell would be perfect. 

[Crs97]

I just watched Crashing through the Snow, which might be an old one because it was on midday.  It was delightful and unexpected. 

Ex-wife ends up crashing Christmas at the home of her ex-husband's girlfriend's family because girlfriend begs her to come.  I loved that there were no bad guys or ridiculous misunderstandings anywhere to be found.  Exes were still very friendly.  The girlfriend was a little OTT only because she wanted the ex-wife to like her and approve of her as an addition to their family.  The conflict, if there was one, really was just the transition pangs of family as the parents moved on from each other.

If I had a quibble, it was with the girlfriend's parents.  They weren't bad people, but they weren't well developed.  Girlfriend and her brother (who became the ex-wife's love interest) kept talking about how everything changed after their mother died and their stepmom seemed to be a little pushy in having things be her way, but the resolution there was vague.  I think the stepmom gave advice to her stepdaughter about not replacing the children's mother, but it didn't vibe with the fact that she had all her stepchildren's Christmas ornaments and memories of their mother stuffed in a storage box.  Oh, and the ex-husband is nice but a little clueless at times.  It also had a business trope of a big business meeting scheduled for Christmas Eve, but it happened off camera (and I was a lawyer long enough to remember that isn't as outlandish as one might hope).

BTW, the couple kissed before the movie ended, and he even had been invited to her room with her ready to show off some pretty pajamas.  Was this made pre-Hallmark code?

[Kaoteek]

Nah, Crashing through the Snow was this season's Christmas in July movie. So it's brand new.

 

(and it's one of my favorites, this year)

Edited December 6, 2021 by Kaoteek

[Irlandesa]

Hallmark's getting a little friskier this year.  Boyfriends of Christmas Past had one of the boyfriends ask the lead to live with him outside the bonds of holy matrimony.  And there was a lesbian love story, including a chaste kiss, in last night's Every Time A Bell Rings.

[bankerchick]

3 hours ago, Dani said:

Speaking of While You Were Sleeping, I’m surprised that Hallmark as never done a version of it. Seems like it’s right up their alley and Kimberly Sustad and Paul Campbell would be perfect. 

I would love to see those two together again in any movie. 

I know I have seen a Hallmark-y type movie recently that is the While You Were Sleeping plot.  Maybe Lifetime?  The coma guy was a business partner of the love interest and the person who knew the truth was a woman and blah blah blah is the reason why they had to keep up the secret.  I will try to find it (I can think of the actor but no idea what his name is.)

ETA:  A Love To Remember.  Looks like it aired in the US on UPtv (don't know if that means it's not Hallmark?)

A LOVE TO REMEMBER

Edited December 7, 2021 by bankerchick

[luvthepros]

5 hours ago, kirinan said:

Seconded, luvthepros! I like A Dream of Christmas a lot, but my favorite pairing for them is the baseball movie The Perfect Catch. I love them together in that movie so much that I'll watch it every time it's on, despite her very annoying son (sorry, but that kid just drives me nuts). I have another one with the two of them on my DVR, Sweet Autumn, that I just haven't had a chance to watch yet.

Agree about The Perfect Catch. Walker and DeLoach are very believable as two people in love. The kid is OK.

[KAOS Agent]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

And there was a lesbian love story, including a chaste kiss, in last night's Every Time A Bell Rings.

An interracial lesbian love story even. My dad asked if we were sure this was the Hallmark channel.

[KaveDweller]

On 12/4/2021 at 3:24 AM, Irlandesa said:

And all the references to Hanukkah were a bit much.  Like yes, we got it the first time.  (No worse than with the Christmas movies but not as much of a respite as I might have thought it would be.)  They also were heavy handed in making sure we knew the professions of the family. 

I also wonder how the male lead got the last gift he gave the female lead.  Wouldn't they know he had it or wonder where the heck it was? LOL

Do you mean the glasses? He saw that she was bidding on a pair in an online auction, went in and outbid her so he could give them to her. Unless someone else outbid her first and then he bid over that person?

I liked the movie though, and I thought it was actually the least Christmassy Hanukkah movie they have done in awhile. Often they have a Jewish person falling in love with a Christian person, so they can end on a Christmas scene. 

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I watched My Christmas Family Tree a couple of nights ago and had all the WTH? moments as all of you. 
At the end I handwaved it all with the person who kept calling Vanessa about the DNA searching company's "mistake" having made a mistake about the mistake.
That is:
   Maybe instead of there being 2 Vanessa Halls,
   perhaps there were 2 Veronica Halls
--which would mean somewhere out there another bio-dad has gotten a call on Christmas about a mix-up while his not-bio-daughter is clueless.

This DNA company sounds pretty terrible.

I enjoyed a Very Merry Bridesmaid, and especially liked that the movie had the lead being inspired to follow her dreams of travelling, rather than giving up a previously mentioned job/dream.

[quickjessie]

4 hours ago, Dani said:

I’ve spent more time thinking about than I should probably admit but the only point of comparison I can think of other than Christmas is that both leads put aside their dreams of travel do care for sick fathers. Although it’s still a bizarre comparison to me. 
 

Speaking of While You Were Sleeping, I’m surprised that Hallmark as never done a version of it. Seems like it’s right up their alley and Kimberly Sustad and Paul Campbell would be perfect. 

I would pay to see KS and PC in a version of WYWS.  I actually bought Wedding Every Weekend as they are just too perfect together.  

[Guest]

1 hour ago, bankerchick said:

I would love to see those two together again in any movie. 

When they were doing press for one of their movies last year they mentioned they were developing a mystery series together. I would love to see that happen so they would be making a few movies together every year. 

2 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I know I have seen a Hallmark-y type movie recently that is the While You Were Sleeping plot.  Maybe Lifetime?  The coma guy was a business partner of the love interest and the person who knew the truth was a woman and blah blah blah is the reason why they had to keep up the secret.  I will try to find it (I can think of the actor but no idea what his name is.)

ETA:  A Love To Remember.  Looks like it aired in the US on UPtv (don't know if that means it's not Hallmark?)

A LOVE TO REMEMBER

Interesting. That wasn’t a Hallmark movie.  I’ll have to try and find that. Would I be correct in assuming that it didn’t have the humor aspect of While You Were Sleeping? To me that’s a necessary aspect and very few actors could pull it off. 

[Justaguest]

48 minutes ago, Dani said:

Interesting. That wasn’t a Hallmark movie.  I’ll have to try and find that. Would I be correct in assuming that it didn’t have the humor aspect of While You Were Sleeping? To me that’s a necessary aspect and very few actors could pull it off. 

As mentioned above, it was A Love to Remember and aired on UPtv. It's a 2020 movie. It starred Rhiannon Fish, who was the lead in Hallmark's Journey of My Heart. I find her charming, which was the main reason I really liked ALTR, but I still consider it a poor man's WYWS.  It took a lot of effort to buy into the fact that she could never find a time to tell anyone the truth. But if I could ignore that, it was really enjoyable. There was more humor than the average Hallmark movie.

Edited December 7, 2021 by Justaguest

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, KaveDweller said:

Do you mean the glasses?

No. The glasses were the second-to-last gift. The very last gift he gave her was her grandmother's (bubbe's) promise ring. He said that bubbe gave it to him to give to her/the lead actress. To me, that kind of keepsake would be something the family would probably want to know who has it or where it is. 

 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

And there was a lesbian love story, including a chaste kiss, in last night's Every Time A Bell Rings.

If haven’t watched this one yet. I’m assuming that involved Ali Liebert’s character. I thrilled she is a part of Hallmark becoming more inclusive.  She was stuck in the best friend role for so long and was never really given the roles she deserved under the old leadership. When she spoke out during the Zola controversy I was concerned she might have left Hallmark for good. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by Guest

[Irlandesa]

54 minutes ago, Dani said:

I’m assuming that involved Ali Liebert’s character.

Yes.  It was about three adopted sisters.  There is an Asian sister married to a black man trying to decide whether or not they're going to have a baby.  Erin Cahill's character is trying to decide whether or not she wants to meet her biological mother while flirting with wes brown and Ali's character getting back out there after a breakup.  And they're doing a scavenger hunt as sisters.  It was definitely more of a family film than a romantic one but all three relationships had their moments.

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

No. The glasses were the second-to-last gift. The very last gift he gave her was her grandmother's (bubbe's) promise ring. He said that bubbe gave it to him to give to her/the lead actress. To me, that kind of keepsake would be something the family would probably want to know who has it or where it is. 

 

Oh, the gift he gave her in person.

Yes, that's a good point, it would be strange for the family not to wonder, unless it wasn't something the grandmother talked about very often, or if she had lots of jewelry. But you would think someone would have thought of it, since the lead seemed to recognize it.

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

No. The glasses were the second-to-last gift. The very last gift he gave her was her grandmother's (bubbe's) promise ring. He said that bubbe gave it to him to give to her/the lead actress. To me, that kind of keepsake would be something the family would probably want to know who has it or where it is. 

I seem to recall several camera pans from Daniel’s face to Sara’s parents’ faces when Sara would be trying to guess who was her secret gift giver——or at other meaningful moments——to show that her parents had always thought he was “the one” for her.
So they probably knew about the ring and just always figured it would be for Sara?  
Did Daniel say it was supposed to be specifically for Sara, or just for his future wife?

Anyway, since Daniel was introduced as de facto family, and since Sara's brother would have already been married when Bubbe died (correct?) it isn't a stretch that Bubbe told her son or daughter that she was giving Daniel the ring.

Edited December 7, 2021 by shapeshifter

[kirinan]

11 hours ago, Dani said:

When they were doing press for one of their movies last year they mentioned they were developing a mystery series together. I would love to see that happen so they would be making a few movies together every year. 

Even as someone who isn't a mystery fan, put Mystery 101 and a mystery series with Paul and Kimberley on a channel and I'd climb any mountain, etc. to make sure I watch them. I so hope that will happen.

[ECM1231]

23 hours ago, MollyMelrose said:

The Another World fan in me was beyond delighted to see the actress who played Sharlene Frame (and her amazing hair) as the mother in the Williams sisters' movie.

I kept scratching my head wondering why she looked so familiar! Had to look up the cast. I was a big fan of Another World and can't believe I didn't immediately recognize her as Sharlene.  She's 64 and not old enough to play Kimberly's mom as Kimberly is 50. I guess both Kimberly and the male lead were supposed to be a decade younger? The male lead is 54... He looked younger to me.

[geekgirl921]

17 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Hallmark's getting a little friskier this year.  Boyfriends of Christmas Past had one of the boyfriends ask the lead to live with him outside the bonds of holy matrimony.  And there was a lesbian love story, including a chaste kiss, in last night's Every Time A Bell Rings.

I was so amused by the lesbian love story. Last year it was the gay couple wanting to adopt in the The Christmas House included with two other relationship stories. This year it was the lesbian romance among the other sisters' stories. Hallmark can't seem to bring themselves to just do a full on gay romance just by itself!!

[Kaoteek]

Can't say I really cared for A Very Merry Bridesmaid. Too many subplots with underdeveloped stakes (Wedding ! Birthday ! Lost wedding dress ! Sick dad ! House renovation ! Existential crisis ! Christmas ! Selling a house !), Frances Leigh's acting felt a bit stiff and flat (and not in a "passive agressive character" kind of way), the main character's "I'm 30, I've got a successful job and a home, but I accomplished nothing" schtick was annoying and overall, it felt like they decided to throw everything but the kitchen sink in this one, hoping it would make for a strong movie.

That said, I still think Emily Osment deserves much better scripts, and the main couple had pretty decent chemistry.

[NYGirl]

Just watched Sister Swap.  It started out fine but as it went along I got more and more annoyed.

One sister owns a restaurant that is up for a big competition yet she leaves for her hometown because her uncle passed and she wanted to be there for her parents.  Her uncle owned a theater and they were trying to either sell it or keep it.  Meanwhile she really isn't doing much at the town except for hanging around with her ex high school boyfriend.

At the same time her sister, who stayed at the restaurant to "help" out, even though she had no restaurant experience keeps calling her with problems and yet laughing like an idiot as she's telling her. 

The restaurant owner has to go to the restaurant to fix the problems and her son wants to stay in the town...the hell with the fact that the mom's business is in Salt Lake.

Everything got tied up in a bow at the end.  I'm not a fan.

[StaceyNotStacie]

On 12/5/2021 at 11:12 PM, bankerchick said:

 

I just finished Nine Kittens of Christmas and went back to read all of your comments.  I actually enjoyed it overall and was thrilled with the Paul Campbell cameo.  There were definite sparks between him and Kimberly.  I also enjoyed the other storylines, particularly the Fire Chief and his wife.  That was an incredible job everyone did on the antique fire truck, all in one afternoon!  Good thing there were no fires that day.  I also liked that Merilee was a little snarky with Zack at times.  

I’m enjoying this series. Now that they’ve introduced the daughter of the older couple, they need a third movie to keep the franchise going. The female firefighter can have her own romance with appearances from the other characters. They can mix it up with puppies instead of kittens. 

[Cetacean]

It takes a LOT for me to like one of the Hallmark offerings but I have to say An Unexpected Christmas was, well, unexpected.  The Bramblejam dudes just loved it and they have Tyler Hynes as part of their show which was interesting.  Of course, Paul Campbell wrote it instead of the Hallmark hacks (no  offense to them, they have to include all of the corny tropes in every movie) so it was definitely way above the usual.  The lying was over the top but I did like the humor, especially the physical stuff.

[Miss Bones]

On 12/6/2021 at 12:58 PM, SusannahM said:

I'm going to start keeping count of how many times people on these movies come home to empty houses that have roaring fires going in their fireplaces.  Does anyone actually do that in real life?  Seems like a Bad Idea to me!

We let our woodstove burn when we are not home, but it isn't "roaring"-- It needs to be cut back quite a bit, if it is left unattended.

On 12/6/2021 at 6:58 PM, bankerchick said:

I would love to see those two together again in any movie. 

I know I have seen a Hallmark-y type movie recently that is the While You Were Sleeping plot.  Maybe Lifetime?  The coma guy was a business partner of the love interest and the person who knew the truth was a woman and blah blah blah is the reason why they had to keep up the secret.  I will try to find it (I can think of the actor but no idea what his name is.)

ETA:  A Love To Remember.  Looks like it aired in the US on UPtv (don't know if that means it's not Hallmark?)

A LOVE TO REMEMBER

I've always felt like A Very Merry Mix Up was similar to While You Were Sleeping.  The whole "falling in love with the brother of her fiance" thing... even though he wasn't actually the brother of her fiance, in either case.

Also, not a HM movie, but the movie Mrs. Winterbourne with Ricki Lake and Brendan Frasier (which I love) has similarities to WYWS.

[geekgirl921]

On 12/6/2021 at 9:50 AM, Luckylyn said:

Did anyone catch Our Journey to Christmas ?  Holly Robinson Peete’s experience as the mother of a son who is autistic really showed in the writing.  The movie had legitimate stakes.  I really felt for the daughter who always felt second to her brother because it’s realistic that the child with special needs would dominate the parents attention.   Plus Peete had clearly wrapped her life around her son and was struggling to let him go out in the world more independently.  I hope we get a movie where the character who is autistic is the lead.  I liked the movie but it’s more about the families reaction to the situation then it is about his.

I did watch this one and enjoyed it. It was obviously a labor of love for Holly Robinson Peete.

[ehall1052]

3 hours ago, geekgirl921 said:

I did watch this one and enjoyed it. It was obviously a labor of love for Holly Robinson Peete.

To me, it almost was the quality of a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. The ones in the last couple of years which were HOF, were no where near as good.

[MsNewsradio]

On 12/6/2021 at 12:50 PM, Luckylyn said:

Did anyone catch Our Journey to Christmas ?  Holly Robinson Peete’s experience as the mother of a son who is autistic really showed in the writing.  The movie had legitimate stakes.  I really felt for the daughter who always felt second to her brother because it’s realistic that the child with special needs would dominate the parents attention.   Plus Peete had clearly wrapped her life around her son and was struggling to let him go out in the world more independently.  I hope we get a movie where the character who is autistic is the lead.  I liked the movie but it’s more about the families reaction to the situation then it is about his.

Now I'm unsure if I'll watch, because that was one of my chief concerns when I heard she was doing this movie. I'm autistic, and too much media focuses on the family and uses the autistic character as a prop in their own stories and growth, rather than on the autistic person as a three dimensional human being in their own right. Not sure if I want to sit through yet another story like that. 

[ShelleySue]

On 12/6/2021 at 3:33 PM, shapeshifter said:

My Christmas Family Tree ...I kept wondering why the DNA testing center kept leaving messages for her about the match while her father, who'd used the same center and had verified the match; apparently was ever contacted about the supposed error.  It seems like everyone who was incorrectly matched would be contacted, probably vial email

I won't go in to the details, but I'm trying to find a long lost family member so I've done ancestry and 23andMe.  I've also downloaded (uploaded?) my data to other sites to maximize the possibility of finding a match. When I started doing this seven years ago (and I still haven't found the person I'm looking for) most people used their real names.  Now more and more people are using alias/initials for online profiles so you can't even cyberstalk matches.  But when you send your kits to ancestry and 23andMe you use a kit number.  That is how you are identified.  I guess that there might be some sort of mix-up in the lab with the bar code and/or kit number, but not a name.  When you get a match (I have thousands of matches, just not the one I'm looking for) you find out when you log on in or when you get an email notice (if you've set settings to get notices).  I am on Facebook pages for people looking for relatives and no one has ever gotten a call from ancestry or 23andMe unless they do and they are not posting it. And people find parents, children, siblings all of the time (but did I mention I still have not found my relative???).

After complaining abut every Hallmark Chanukah movie I'm thrilled with Eight Gifts of Hanukah. Was it perfect?  No.  But it was obviously written with a great deal of care and consideration.  It wasn't a Christmas movie with Chanukah thrown in.  It wasn't insulting.  It was charming and sweet.  It had stupid moments (who didn't know it was Daniel?) and it had a blue and white wreath on her door (but that was de minimus).  But all in all, I loved it and I'm grateful to Hallmark for finally listening.

[shapeshifter]

6 minutes ago, ShelleySue said:

I won't go in to the details, but I'm trying to find a long lost family member so I've done ancestry and 23andMe.  I've also downloaded (uploaded?) my data to other sites to maximize the possibility of finding a match. When I started doing this seven years ago (and I still haven't found the person I'm looking for) most people used their real names.  Now more and more people are using alias/initials for online profiles so you can't even cyberstalk matches.  But when you send your kits to ancestry and 23andMe you use a kit number.  That is how you are identified.  I guess that there might be some sort of mix-up in the lab with the bar code and/or kit number, but not a name.  When you get a match (I have thousands of matches, just not the one I'm looking for) you find out when you log on in or when you get an email notice (if you've set settings to get notices).  I am on Facebook pages for people looking for relatives and no one has ever gotten a call from ancestry or 23andMe unless they do and they are not posting it. And people find parents, children, siblings all of the time (but did I mention I still have not found my relative???).

I didn't know about the ID number instead of name for ancestry DNA searches, but, now that you mention it, it makes a lot of sense. I'm guessing the My Christmas Family Tree writers didn't know this?
As recently as January 2020 (I think) on the Emmy-winning Grace and Frankie there was a plot arc in which someone contacted a character via Ancestry to meet up, and it turned out they wanted a kidney. Of course, since it's a comedy, the plot resolution was mostly humorous.

[bankerchick]

We often comment on the number of coats the women wear in these movies.  I am currently watching Nine Lives of Christmas (the original) and not only does Merilee wear the same coat throughout this movie (except when she wears Zack's coat) she actually wears this same coat in the new movie (black puffer with snowflake pattern collar.)  I remember how distracting the collar was in the new movie.  I wonder if this is her own coat, or if it actually sat in a wardrobe room for 8 years?

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, bankerchick said:

We often comment on the number of coats the women wear in these movies.  I am currently watching Nine Lives of Christmas (the original) and not only does Merilee wear the same coat throughout this movie (except when she wears Zack's coat) she actually wears this same coat in the new movie (black puffer with snowflake pattern collar.)  I remember how distracting the collar was in the new movie.  I wonder if this is her own coat, or if it actually sat in a wardrobe room for 8 years?

Heh. I actually have a 20 year-old down coat, and it looks it.   
So if the snowflakes still look crisp on Merilee’s collar, my bet would be that it’s been hanging out in Wardrobe. 
But that might be because I’ve put my coat through the washing machine at least 10 times. 
Mom always dry cleaned, as I’m sure they would with set wardrobe pieces. 

Edited December 8, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Artsda]

Enjoyed Very Merry Bridesmaid. The lead used to be on Days of our lives when he first started out. Was great to see him again.  I liked the reversal of the norm plot, the guy came back home and chose to stay, while the girl got to follow her dreams.

[StaceyNotStacie]

I haven’t gotten a chance to watch a lot of the movies (there’s just too many to choose from), but I watched the first of the sister swap movies last night (mostly because I knew there were two of them and I wanted to watch them in order). The beginning was a bit slow, but I enjoyed it overall. 

[chitowngirl]

Hallmark is showing the Sister Swap movies back to back on Sunday, with the first one on at 6:00 (Eastern) and the new one on at 8:00.