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

[bankerchick]

2 hours ago, ctlady said:

I wouldn't go as far as saying she was a '0' - especially in that awful yellow knit dress and cris-crossy knit pink skirt she wore in a later office scene where you could see her thong right through the back.  And the yellow dress was so tight it made her butt cheeks look droopy.  The shorts were cute, but not with those sky high wedge sandals.  I did like the lavender skirt minus the crop periwinkle blue sweater she wore with it.  The minuscule blue handbag with useless scarf tied to it was clearly only for show.  

I tried to type something like this several times, plus the fact you could clearly see her belly-button indentation, but finally decided not to bother.  I'm glad you did, though.

2 hours ago, ctlady said:

The actress who played Angie looked like a young Genie Francis or could be the younger sister of the actress who plays Bree on Chesapeake Shores (Emilie Ullerup)

Agreed.  I have seen Natalie Hall in several Hallmark-ish movies and confused her with Emilie Ullerup a few times, but it takes no time at all to figure out that I like Emilie but do not care for Natalie.  Perhaps because she's one of the stereotypes who is always a bitch at the beginning for no reason.

[catrice2]

On 9/12/2022 at 7:59 AM, ctlady said:

IMO, the 'elephant in the room' question from me is why HM had to create a separate sub-genre for movies with predominately black actors/actresses.  Rather than show how inclusive and diverse they are by featuring more black/asian/disabled/plus-sized/whatever characters within the two genres they already have (Drama/romance; mysteries) they instead create a separate sub-network.  That's not diversity/inclusivity - that's segregation, plain and simple

So much YES to this.  I didn't watch it and will not, but I'm going to guess that AS's character wound up going back to BE's character - leaving her fiance in the dust.  It's insulting and hurtful.  It may be 'romance' on their end and (unless they contrived for fiance to turn out to be a massive dooooosh which would give her the green light to dump him for ex) 'heartbreak' on the fiance's end

I guess it's okay when doing this from the woman's POV.  Imagine if it were a male lead engaged to a perfectly stable, loving, attentive young woman and decided to ditch her for an ex he thought he was divorced from in the span of a headspin?  I'm going to go out on a limb and say that, because he's a man, he'd probably be bashed silly

It's been really hard finding original content to enjoy and with pumpkin spice latte/Ugg boot wearing fall movies they're going to saturate the channel with until they begin shoving Christmas movies down our throat as soon as Halloween is over, I guess I'll be rewatching some oldies or HOF movies on On Demand

The same reason that Harlequin created separate lines for Hispanic and Black people for years, and rarely included Asians....because love stories also have to be segregated and can only appeal to certain people.  It is ok for minorities to enjoy romances that don't  reflect any of them but it is inconceivable that a movie can be made with POC in the primary roles and it be enjoyed the other way.   The lack of diversity to me is how the towns or the movies have to be all one way or the other, as if we don't really interact with each other. The sassy/fiery friend, passive submissive date, smart talking boss or the friend that will be the first to get killed or never gets their own happy ending.    I am always conflicted on this subject because on one hand I resent that "diversity" n size, hairstyle, etc. has not been shown, but I also resent that now "diversity" for black women is natural hair or braids and a certain body type.  We come in all shades, shapes and hairstyles.   I know the argument is there that black women who are skinny, lighter and/or with straight hair have been preferred, but now they are acting as if every black woman has a certain body type and hairstyle.  So again, it sounds like I am complaining, but I really am just tired of thinking about why it has taken so long for people to be included and now that they are we (including myself) are picking that apart too just because of the history of the whole thing....ugh. Must be nice to never have to think of this because you are portrayed, and not portrayed negatively or with a stereotype. 

Edited September 30, 2022 by catrice2

[Chippings]

Sort of responsive to the above but not entirely, I was surprised that Hallmark premiered Girlfriendship on Saturday, entirely with Black actors, and there hasn't been a peep about it here, either about the movie itself or the emphasis on POC

I started watching because I'm a big fan of Krystal Joy Brown, but her character was such a super-perfect cliche', and the principal character was so hyper-perky, that I couldn't get into it.  It was obviously not the usual Hallmark tropes, but was it an okay movie?  

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Chippings said:

Sort of responsive to the above but not entirely, I was surprised that Hallmark premiered Girlfriendship on Saturday, entirely with Black actors, and there hasn't been a peep about it here, either about the movie itself or the emphasis on POC

A lot of movies don't get discussed on here.  And really, there wasn't much to discuss about this movie.  Especially considering we are usually nitpicking flaws in the movies.  And I didn't really think there was anything too OTT about the movie compared to the other Hallmark fare.

It did seem strange for a Saturday movie.  It was the kind of movie, mostly about friendships, that has been airing on HMM.  And I'm surprised it didn't have the Mahogany Label.  It makes me wonder if they've decided to drop that and are just focusing on releasing movies with all POC cast without the fanfare of putting them into a separate collection.

That said, I think all I can say about it is that it was a vibe.  The friendships themselves weren't overly interesting but I dug the setting, the sense of place, the sense of history and the musical choices they made.  The cast was pretty solid all around as well.

Overall, I don't have much to say about the story but I basically liked how I felt watching it if that makes any sense.  And for people who love movies about friendships, they may even get more out of it.

Edited October 5, 2022 by Irlandesa

[Cetacean]

7 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

It was the kind of movie, mostly about friendships, that has been airing on HMM.  And I'm surprised it didn't have the Mahogany Label.  It makes me wonder if they've decided to drop that and are just focusing on releasing movies with all POC cast without the fanfare of putting them into a separate collection.

I really hope that's the case.  I personally found the Mahogany label offensive.  Would they label movies with Asian actors something like Lemon Tree?  How about Native American - the Cinnamon network?  It's disgusting.

The movie was fine, I have no complaints but it didn't capture my interest for the most part.  Just not the strongest writing but that's Hallmark these days.  The cast was fine for what they had to work with.  Beautiful scenery.

[SusanwatchingTV]

Hallmark has had a Mahogany card division for years, so I don't know if they'll drop it now. 

https://corporate.hallmark.com/hallmark-news/greetings/mahogany/#:~:text=The company first introduced the,T.D. Jakes and Iyanla Vanzant.

This lady runs it:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hallmark-names-alexis-kerr-to-lead-mahogany-brand-301224498.html#:~:text=Hallmark Cards%2C Inc.

I didn't watch the movie, but it has nothing to do with skin color.  I mean, I occasionally watch a show on BET if it interests me.

I've cut down my tv and movie watching quite a bit, so I'm pretty much limiting myself to Tyler Hines and Andrew Walker movies exclusively right now.  I may watch a few more at Christmas.

I still haven't decided whether to watch the "old lady" movie this weekend.  I mean, she's nothing like me.  I've been happily married for 34 years, am now 40 lbs over weight, and basically read all evening, so a movie about my demographic would be like watching paint dry. haha

[bankerchick]

1 hour ago, SusanwatchingTV said:

I've cut down my tv and movie watching quite a bit, so I'm pretty much limiting myself to Tyler Hines and Andrew Walker movies exclusively right now. 

Well, it's hard to argue with your choices.

Our Saturday movie is Yellowstone Romance.  It was made in 2022 but I have no idea if I've seen it because it looks like another Christopher Russell outdoors movie and I'm sure I've seen a dozen of them.  I find him really hot, especially during his obligatory shirtless scene in every movie, but they really do run together after a while.  The title is familiar, so it could be the one about the farmer in the city who meets the weather girl, or the one with the glamping, or the one where he is a guide to a secret waterfall, or the one where they try to get maple syrup from some sort of fir tree or even the one where he helps to save a Christmas tree farm.  Or it could be an entirely new movie.

[Justaguest]

1 hour ago, bankerchick said:

Our Saturday movie is Yellowstone Romance.  It was made in 2022 but I have no idea if I've seen it because it looks like another Christopher Russell outdoors movie and I'm sure I've seen a dozen of them

Christopher as rancher in this one. In the US it ran on UPtv. And, yes, it has the requisite shirtless scene, this time in just a towel.

[ctlady]

On 10/5/2022 at 10:30 AM, Cetacean said:

I really hope that's the case.  I personally found the Mahogany label offensive.  Would they label movies with Asian actors something like Lemon Tree?  How about Native American - the Cinnamon network?  It's disgusting

I see what you mean.  I think Mahogany isn't quite as offensive as the other two because it reminds me of the movie Mahogany with Diana Ross from the 70s.  But, yeah - it really just emphasizes the color divide.  Maybe they should rename the regular HM channel 'Cream Cheese'!

On 10/5/2022 at 3:14 AM, Irlandesa said:

A lot of movies don't get discussed on here.  And really, there wasn't much to discuss about this movie.  Especially considering we are usually nitpicking flaws in the movies.  And I didn't really think there was anything too OTT about the movie compared to the other Hallmark fare.

Same here.  I don't care what color the cast is, if the constant previews don't interest me enough before the constant rotation of them make me not want to watch it, then I'll watch it.  I usually wait until they upload to On Demand then check it out.  I can't tell you how many I've clicked off in the first 15 minutes because they were off the charts ridiculous

I watched an older movie On Demand - Truly, Madly, Sweetly  I enjoyed it well enough.  HM rarely has a divorced dad than a widower.  I don't think his aunt who left the bakery to him and the garage.....er......'carriage house' to the female lead who are strangers to each other knew what she was doing or the difficulty if each person had opposing views as to whether to sell or not.

And believe me - it takes a LOT longer than what it did in the movie to get through the political read tape of a town's historical society. 

The condition of the bakery - both interior and exterior - looked pretty good for something that had been sitting vacant for years.  Not a single cobweb, no dead bugs, no smell of must or dampness.  Everything was just covered with sheets and looked pristine when uncovered.  Even the white walls and trim looked as if they'd just been painted.  And I don't get choice of attire of jeans, collared shirt and pullover sweater to deep clean & paint the interior of an old bakery and not one of them looked sweaty or dirty.

And don't even get me started when all the baked goods for the grand opening got ruined by the fire sprinkler the night before and 4 people came together to re-bake EVERYTHING overnight and never ran out of ingredients.  

I could nit pick more items, but it's too exhausting.  

Edited October 6, 2022 by ctlady

[Bronx Babe]

Pumpkin Everything, just your average tacky, bizarre, off-kilter, weird, cheesy Hallmark movie.

Female lead writes vampire novels and is hailed as the new Stephen King. Returns to her hometown of Autumnborough (good God) to deal with her grouchy Wilfred Brimley-ish grandfather whose passion for the past thirty years has been running a thoroughly nondescript, ramshackle seasonal decorating store called.......Pumpkin Everything, the inside of which looks like a thrift shop.  

We learn that her vampire protagonist, Dimitri North's "journey", was "inspired by my grandfather's love of autumn"  wtf  

[Kemper]

I love Taylor Cole and was looking forward to “Pumpkin Everything”.   However.  She usually has a blunt-cut “bob” hairstyle. This movie she was sporting the awful mermaid hair (long, parted in the middle with waves draping over her shoulders). It aged her.

She usually kind of sparkles with her costars, but not this time. She seemed to sleepwalk through this movie and seemed too old for her onscreen partner (granted, he seemed to be sleepwalking the entire time); I could not stand the grandfather. Sadly, this may have been one of the worst of the seasonal movies I have seen in awhile. But I will hope Taylor gets her old hairstyle back and stars in another movie. With a different co-star. The actor is handsome; maybe there was not a lot he could do with the role.

Oh, I almost forgot….the poor actress who played the Mom. She either was wearing an awful wig or they thought her real hair should be as bad as her on-screen daughter. What is it with Hallmark and their hairstylists? Remember the terrible wigs on Candace CB?
 

[bankerchick]

Wow, I guess I can't wait to not watch that one when it comes on.   I usually like Taylor Cole and Cory Sevier, too.

[Kemper]

I just saw Taylor C in an earlier movie - she had the longer, wavy hair. But it looked so much better than in the current movie.

[Bronx Babe]

4 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Wow, I guess I can't wait to not watch that one when it comes on.   I usually like Taylor Cole and Cory Sevier, too.

There's a scarecrow competition too!

[Bronx Babe]

Let us not forget grandpa's proprietary pumpkin spice candles, which "people from everywhere" come to snatch up.

Harry Slatkin, if he watches Hallmark, must have been laughing his head off.

And there is a retirement community-assisted living facility that has its own senior citizen disc jockey who likes to keep young by saying "dude"

It suddenly dawned on me that a lot of these Hallmark "small towns" bear an uncomfortable resemblance to that surreal/science-fiction t.v. show from the 1960's, Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner.  Everyone smiling creepily -- "Be seeing you!"  

[DanaMB]

I think I’m a little more lenient with these movies than some, but Pumpkin Everything was just not good. Way too tropey. The DJ was so cringe with the way she spoke. And of course a season specific store…

[ECM1231]

Grandpa was just a cranky old man and I was horrified that the college fund he had for his granddaughter was contingent on only a certain course of study. I'm glad she was able to study what she wanted and became successful without any of his help. I also thought it was selfish of him to want her to take over his shop when he no longer was able to. Maybe it was just his hope or dream, but he came on kind of strong. Hallmark always plays fast and loose with ages , and the actress who played Taylor's mom is the same age as Grandpa, 72! And the coffee shop beau was only 53. Guess he was supposed to be older. Both Taylor and Cory are 38.

I also thought they made the mother look like a silly schoolgirl when she met the coffeeshop owner for the first time. She was portrayed as a highly competent realtor, so would she really act like that?

[Cetacean]

4 hours ago, DanaMB said:

I think I’m a little more lenient with these movies than some, but Pumpkin Everything was just not good. Way too tropey. The DJ was so cringe with the way she spoke. And of course a season specific store…

Didn't make it fifteen minutes.  What a stinkeroo.

[MerBearHou]

9 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

Didn't make it fifteen minutes.  What a stinkeroo.

I lasted about 20 and then changed the channel.  

[ctlady]

21 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Hallmark always plays fast and loose with ages , and the actress who played Taylor's mom is the same age as Grandpa, 72! And the coffee shop beau was only 53. Guess he was supposed to be older. Both Taylor and Cory are 38.

When Mr.Ctlady saw the ad for this he actually gasped finding out it was Michal Ironside as he starred in a lot of syfy shows he likes to watch.  He's practically unrecognizable from those shows

I actually thought Amy's mother was her grandmother.  She didn't look young enough to be grandpa's daughter.  And yeah - that beachy, mermaidy, wavy hairstyle that is de rigueur for the Ladies of Hallmark looked like a wig on the mother.  I think it may've been a wig on Taylor Cole too. Something about two pieces of hair on her center part that seemed to go under the rest of the hair that looked a bit off

I just could not get past all the dang artificial fall leaves EVERYWHERE!   I live in the northeast and no one - I mean no.one - goes all out for fall like that.  Then again - I don't live in Autumnborough

21 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

I also thought they made the mother look like a silly schoolgirl when she met the coffeeshop owner for the first time.

That was sooooo cringy.

22 hours ago, DanaMB said:

The DJ was so cringe with the way she spoke.

As soon as she said "rock on!" as a reply to something I wanted to hurl

Now, onto my biggest eye rolling moment.  My dad lived in an assisted living facility before having to be moved to a skilled nursing facility.  The ALF was based on levels of care - zero for those who were able bodied and still worked and those who were practically home bound.  Even the younger residents there came and went, dressed very casually or even in track pants and sweat shirts.  The scene where they were walking around outside on the lawn of the ALF that was practically littered with well dressed people playing horseshoes, croquet and bean bag toss all in close proximity was absolutely unrealistic.  Oh, and the oh-so-casual shot of well dressed and bookish extra sitting on a bench with a book.  I don't know about other ALFs, but having everyone fluttering about playing games, reading, etc was not an accurate portray.

And why did Amy have to hire a service to clean grandpa's house?  Why couldn't his daughter check in on him every so often to give him a hand?  They live close by.  And when Amy first walked in and saw the mess in the kitchen, the first thing she should've done was put that jug of opened milk that had been out all day back in the fridge!  When she asked her grandpa if she could get him a glass of iced tea, how convenient that grandpa already had a pitcher of it already made in the fridge.  How did Amy know he had that?  Too many unexplained contrivances

I have a difficult time seeing Cory Sevier as anything but the creepy, pervy teenager from Lifetime movie  Student Seduction

[norcalgal]

14 minutes ago, ctlady said:

When Mr.Ctlady saw the ad for this he actually gasped finding out it was Michal Ironside as he starred in a lot of syfy shows he likes to watch.  He's practically unrecognizable from those shows

Wasn’t he in the first Top Gun movie?  I shouldn’t criticize his physical appearance since I’m no supermodel myself, but wow - either Ironside hasn’t taken care of himself, or medical issues accounts for his current appearance. 

I have a difficult time seeing Cory Sevier as anything but the creepy, pervy teenager from Lifetime movie  Student Seduction

For me, Sevier will always be Dan from Little Men. It’s amazing how his face hasn’t changed too much from his child actor days. 

[Clawdette]

I saw a Christmas ad this afternoon and realized that it is only 10 days until the Christmas movies roll out.  I know I'm getting (much) older but it seems this year is flying by at a pace I haven't experienced before.  I'm still debating how much of my Halloween stuff to drag out!

[Cetacean]

Anybody catch Mid-Love Crisis?  It was kind of OK, nothing special. The scenery was gorgeous as usual. 

But I was just totally taken out of a story where the lead is supposed to be 49 when she's closer to 60.  She looks fine but she was clearly not 49.

Maybe I should have watched without my glasses.  Or squinted.

[ECM1231]

5 hours ago, Cetacean said:

But I was just totally taken out of a story where the lead is supposed to be 49 when she's closer to 60.  She looks fine but she was clearly not 49.

I was as well. Both Teri Hatcher and James Tupper are 57. Hard to say if that's what 57 looks like. Both my husband and I come from families whose members all look much younger than their ages. Personally, I don't think she's aged that well, but again, my point of reference is skewed.

[kirinan]

Interesting news from a writer friend of mine: She saw in Publisher's Marketplace that Hallmark Publishing is shutting down (here's the link, but you have to be a subscriber to log in; I couldn't read it). I've read a few of their books, but (just like the movies) they're the same basic story over and over, which is why I haven't bothered to read any more.

From what I understand, their shop was tiny—only one person, Stacey Donovan, kept it going as the only full-time employee for a long while—and when she finally left, I guess they decided to close it down.

To bring it around to the topic, I have to wonder if Hallmark as a whole is in bigger trouble than we think, given the decreasing quality of their movies the last few years, the cutting and reshaping of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and the entrance of other players (Lifetime, Netflix, GAC, UP, a couple of the broadcast networks) into the market. My friend predicts that the apex of the Age of the Hallmark Movie has passed, and I can't disagree with her.

Edited October 14, 2022 by kirinan

[Irlandesa]

On 10/13/2022 at 7:22 PM, kirinan said:

My friend predicts that the apex of the Age of the Hallmark Movie has passed, and I can't disagree with her.

I'm not sure what factors would be considered in apex.  Ratings?  Quality?  Number of movies?

Ratings for the movies, especially Christmas movies, certainly kept growing and peaked in about 2015-2017 but that could be a combination of the channel growing its reach and output.  I believe I've read that part of the reason they offer movies weekly is so audiences expect to have a new movie every weekend.  Viewers having a habit is easier than trying to raise awareness of when there would be a new movie.  In other words, they pivoted and programmed for growth but eventually they'd grow as much as they could before they got caught in the wave of ratings decreases impacting all channels except maybe sports.

There are a lot of players in the game but I feel there always were.  ION and Freeform used to do more.  Lifetime did them and still does. 

If Hallmark were in trouble, I doubt they'd be doing even more movies this holiday season.  I suspect the overhaul of Hallmark Movies and Mysteries to fewer mysteries was a test to see weather more romantic movies, similar to the regular channel's output, would do better than mysteries. 

As for quality, that channel is quality proof.  I feel the blander movies do the best. 

Here's a twitter thread on ratings.  It's six months old but still informative.

Edited October 15, 2022 by Irlandesa

[kirinan]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I'm not sure what factors would be considered in apex.  Ratings?  Quality?  Number of movies?

I should have qualified that we were talking in completely non-objective, non-fact-based terms. More in feelings—movies (and the actors/actresses) we fall in love with, talk endlessly about, then watch again and again. Even if they're not objectively "good" to the world at large. We both had a lot of those in, say, the early to late 2010s, and over the last couple of years, hardly any. 

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, kirinan said:

More in feelings—movies (and the actors/actresses) we fall in love with, talk endlessly about, then watch again and again. Even if they're not objectively "good" to the world at large. We both had a lot of those in, say, the early to late 2010s, and over the last couple of years, hardly any. 

Ah.  I see.  I don't think I ever truly became obsessed with one actor or actress*.  There are some I like more but I think even they have done boring movies. 

*Maybe the Cupo/Reeser combo but that's about it.

I do think Hallmark is working to potentially grow some new favorites.  The biggest threat to Hallmark, as they said above, is the average age of the viewers.  If they don't also bring in younger viewers, the viewer base will die off.

[luvthepros]

What? No discussion about Romance in Style or did I miss it?

I loved everything about it. The premise is different and a new direction for Hallmark and one I really appreciate. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Benjamin Hollingsworth. His character in this Hallmark movie is just the opposite of his "bad boy" character on "Virgin River. I did not know Stacie (leading lady) is on "Grey's Anatomy" until I looked up what the media has to say about the movie and the leads. I really liked her as an actress and I liked her character. The on screen chemistry the leads had was very evident. They look like they really were into each other. Highly recommend this movie.

Edited October 16, 2022 by luvthepros

[Cetacean]

1 hour ago, luvthepros said:

What? No discussion about Romance in Style or did I miss it?

It was discussed when it first came out in August.  Not everyone was quite as positive as you are.

[bankerchick]

Well, I watched Autumn In Style last night.  Not sure if I was the only one, or if it was just so meh that nobody can bothered commenting.  I didn't hate it, but have come to the conclusion that I don't like Aimee Teegarden.  I'm never sure if I unfairly hold it against the actress that the writing is so bad, but even though the character was written as annoying, I still think it's at least partly her fault.  I also thought the actor was younger than her, and too young for me.

I get that the current crop of actors is getting a little old to be playing ingenues and young adults just starting their first job after college, but since I watch these movies mostly for the men, I feel like a perv if the actor is in his 20s.  If they're trying to get a younger audience, they will likely lose me, which is probably fine with them.  I would rather watch movies about older characters starting over at 40, or even 60.

I also listened to some podcast yesterday with 3 people talking about the top 5 Christmas movies they were looking forward to this year.  The lone guy was as shocked as I was that neither of the two women had Three Wise Men and a Baby in their top 10.  Of course, they can't wait for the Lacey movie.  Interesting that one of the women is not so sure that Luke MacFarlane won't rethink his exit from Hallmark, given the bomb his feature movie turned out to be.

Edited October 16, 2022 by bankerchick

[Bronx Babe]

Autumn in the City.

Where do I start, lol.

Lots of the usual wtf moments -- "There are 8 million people in New York City" (the outer space scriptwriters must have been looking in the wrong reference folder)..."let me introduce you to real NY food, THE BEST IN THE CITY"   A veggie hot dog.......Piper is a museum greeter but immediately gets offered an administrative position on the basis of visitor compliments......gets immediately hired in two seconds as an assistant to a"famous Broadway actress", no references required...on and on.....

Her parents keep calling her when they are in their car.

Real "New Yawk" atmosphere.  They might as well have been on Venus.

 

[bankerchick]

1 hour ago, Bronx Babe said:

Her parents keep calling her when they are in their car.

Yeah, what was that all about?  Do they not have cel reception anywhere else?

[WhyAmIHere]

@bankerchick, Hallmark will lose me too if these movies all start skewing younger.  The older I get, the less I can relate to the 20-somethings.   If the leads are under 35, I don't even bother.   So I skipped Autumn in the City.  

I did like Mid-Love Crisis since it featured older leads.  I wish it would have focused more on Teri Hatcher and James Tupper.  They had great chemistry, but too much time was spent on the daughter's proposal plan and the ex-husband.  This movie didn't need the ex-husband complication at all.  

I also don't understand how Three Wise Men and a Baby isn't at the top of everyone's list for this year's crop of Christmas movies.   I too watch these movies for the men, but I don't think I realized just how much the female lead seems to drive most people's interest in these movies.  

[Kemper]

8 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I get that the current crop of actors is getting a little old to be playing ingenues and young adults just starting their first job after college, but since I watch these movies mostly for the men, I feel like a perv if the actor is in his 20s.  If they're trying to get a younger audience, they will likely lose me, which is probably fine with them.  I would rather watch movies about older characters starting over at 40, or even 60.

Maybe it is my age, but I am not connecting with the new crop of actors/actresses. I understand that the network wants to appeal to young audiences; and they probably need to do this. But I didn’t enjoy many of the Christmas movies this past holiday season - the movies themselves and the casts. I like the ridiculous storylines, multiple coats, the inappropriate footwear, over-decorated homes, “hot” cocoa, etc. The actors/actresses had some seasoning.

[norcalgal]

I can’t recall seeing it discussed here, but did anyone watch Presence of Love?  I still don’t understand how Joss could stay in England?  What job does she have? There are logistics to moving to another country but the show ignores all that for Happily Ever After. 
Also, the show ended in such a weird way with the male lead showing up to the festival and then the couple go for a walk!?  
Chemistry between the couple was ok, but two weeks of knowing each other seems really fast for them to be in love (although to their credit no one actually said I love you). 

[Irlandesa]

On 10/15/2022 at 7:31 PM, luvthepros said:

What? No discussion about Romance in Style or did I miss it?

I liked it too.  But yes, it was originally aired months ago.

I liked the beginning of Autumn In The City but started to like it less as it went on.  At some point, I just couldn't take that these two people had essentially zero work ethic.  I don't look for Hallmark movies to provide messages and yet I couldn't ignore how terrible the messaging was.  Let me tell you, a temp worker who continuously rejects full time offers of employment would not still get plum placements with the potential of full time.  They'd give her temp data entry type jobs.  It's pretty ridiculous that she planned to live in NYC for two months until she found the perfect job. 

And the spoiled son was equally as bad.  He didn't have a job which must mean he was living off of his successful mother while he wrote.  It's probably a job people would kill for and it was just handed to him to do poorly.  At least he was fired. 

I enjoyed Perfect Harmony tonight.  I don't think they chose songs that worked particularly well for the female lead until perhaps the last song but James sounded good.  And the biggest misunderstanding was between the woman and the son.  I didn't find it a little weird that the we knew the depressing truth behind the final song and they used it as the backdrop for happy kisses and wedding dances but that's pretty low on Hallmark offenses so I'll give them a pass.

5 hours ago, WhyAmIHere said:

@bankerchick, Hallmark will lose me too if these movies all start skewing younger.  The older I get, the less I can relate to the 20-somethings.   If the leads are under 35, I don't even bother.   So I skipped Autumn in the City. 

Hallmark does movies across all age groups.  They always have.  As you said, there was a movie featuring people in their 50s last week and this Sunday's movie starred people in their 40s/50s too.  Yesterday's movie was with a younger cast.

If you think about it, some of the Hallmark favorites in their 40s like Tyler Hynes, Paul Campbell, Andrew walker...etc. started doing Hallmark movies in their early or mid 30s.  Now they're graduating into their 40s and taking on those roles so Hallmark is bringing in  actors and actresses in their 30s who will be the 40 year olds in ten years. 

For the record, next Friday's movie is with an early-30s woman and a late 30s guy.  Saturday's movie is with a cast in their 40s.  And Sunday is back to 30s/late 30s.  The following Friday, 40s. Saturday: 40s.  Sunday: mid-30s. 

14 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Interesting that one of the women is not so sure that Luke MacFarlane won't rethink his exit from Hallmark, given the bomb his feature movie turned out to be.

He's a regular in an upcoming streaming show for Apple TV+ called Platonic starring Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen.  And I haven't seen anyone blame him for the reason Bros didn't do well. In fact, his performance has gotten a lot of love which would help him get more roles even if the movie didn't make a ton of money.

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by Irlandesa

[luvthepros]

On 10/15/2022 at 9:55 PM, Cetacean said:

It was discussed when it first came out in August.  Not everyone was quite as positive as you are.

How did I miss this movie from August? I must be slipping. LOL.

[luvthepros]

On 8/14/2022 at 7:59 PM, GeorgiaRai said:

Ok, I will be the lone voice crying in the wilderness and say... I really liked Romance in Style!  I was afraid the romance part of it would be Shallow Hal-esque, but instead, I felt like her fight was with the industry itself, not individuals.  That there was no "proving to the handsome guy" (or his friends, or his father) that she was worthy was a relief, and I felt her commitment to more inclusive fashion was believable.  I liked the supporting cast, and the fact that the "bad guys" (Claudia & Liza) didn't get some comical comeuppance felt like the right outcome to me.  I'll watch it again.  In fact, I already am!

Well.......I went back to the August posts and found the discussion about Romance in Style. You are the only person, so far in the discussion, who liked the movie. I thought I was the only one who enjoyed it until I read your comments. I agree with what you said.

[luvthepros]

On 8/14/2022 at 11:57 PM, Irlandesa said:

I liked it too.  I thought they had a natural chem.  I think they could have dialed back the explanation of body positivity in the fashion industry a bit, though.  I didn't always love the fashion but the leads worked for me.

And the outright villains cracked me up.

And I'd so take this over another movie about trying to save the bakery/tulip farm/Christmas tree farm/Christmas Tree store/butterfly farm....etc. The repetitiveness of those make me want to poke my eye out. 

The thing I'm liking the most about Hallmark these days is at least they're trying different plots.

One of the reasons I enjoyed Romance in Style is the different direction this movie took. Yes, the plot was new. Has there been a movie about the fashion industry before? I dont' recall. That was refreshing for me.

On 8/15/2022 at 2:52 PM, Bronx Babe said:

I get that the plus-sized female lead in Romance in Style hid her insecurities by projecting an arrogant personality but the script I feel went overboard -- her character came across as completely unlikeable.

Had to laugh at the "7th most eligible bachelor in New York" because that actor looked pretty scary to me, -- a cross between serial killer, Jim Carrey and Bruce Dern.  That Ella would think this guy was "unattainable" seemed pretty unrealistic to me.  He was creepy!

Have you seen Ben Hollingsworth in "Virgin River" on Netflix? He does do bad boy really well. I like him. He also does really steamy love scenes really well. YUM!

Edited October 17, 2022 by luvthepros

[Cetacean]

The problem with Hallmark these days are the incredibly weak and formulaic stories.  I hate to keep dragging up the old Hallmark Hall of Fame movies but it really didn't matter back then the age of the actors.  The stories were all so outstanding that they had a wide appeal to a wide audience.

These days they use the same stale storylines just substituting different actors of different ages in an attempt to bring in all ages of viewer.  But the scripts, frankly, suck overall.

[Bronx Babe]

If anyone else sat through Autumn in the City, can you explain why Piper confused a dinner hostess job ad with a theatrical one calling for actresses to audition for a play with the title of "Hostess"?   I mean, how dumb can a person be?  Then when she's called on stage starts warbling Give My Regards to Broadway?  Hallmark thinks this is funny??? 

She's hired for another greeter position, this time in an art gallery, whereupon first meeting her the owner gushes "You're a breath of fresh air!"

These Hallmark productions keep getting more synthetic and unworldly.  Truly untouched by human hands.  

[Bronx Babe]

14 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I liked the beginning of Autumn In The City but started to like it less as it went on.  At some point, I just couldn't take that these two people had essentially zero work ethic.  I don't look for Hallmark movies to provide messages and yet I couldn't ignore how terrible the messaging was.  Let me tell you, a temp worker who continuously rejects full time offers of employment would not still get plum placements with the potential of full time.  They'd give her temp data entry type jobs.  It's pretty ridiculous that she planned to live in NYC for two months until she found the perfect job. 

And the spoiled son was equally as bad.  He didn't have a job which must mean he was living off of his successful mother while he wrote.  It's probably a job people would kill for and it was just handed to him to do poorly.  At least he was fired. 

 

All Austin really wanted to do was write children's books about Nathan the squirrel and those magic acorns, lol.

[Clawdette]

I think that the appeal of the Hall of Fame movies truly lay in the stories being told.  The scripts were well-written and covered a range of topics that needed highlighting, particularly mental illness and complex family dynamics.  Yes, many had the heart-warming endings but they usually felt earned and were often bittersweet.

[ctlady]

20 hours ago, Clawdette said:

I think that the appeal of the Hall of Fame movies truly lay in the stories being told

Wonderfully said.  There are three HOF (at least I believe they are as they certainly do not fit the mold of the conveyor belt, romance fluff currently on HM) that have been on On Demand for several months now.

Blackwater Lightship (2004)  When his A.I.D.S. reaches the terminal stages, gay Declan Kehoe (Keith McErlean) returns to his Irish coastal home, or actually grandma's, near a lightship site. A caring partner help him and his whining female relatives deal with unresolved family issues, as well as his physical syndrome .  Angela Lansbury stars

Away and Back (2015) Hostility turns into something else between a widowed farmer and a pushy ornithologist who came to his farm to save a family of swans

The Seventh Stream (2001) A lonely widowed Irish fisherman meets a pretty mysterious woman who may just literally be the stuff of legends.  This was my favorite

If you can find these movies, you won't be disappointed with any of them

[ctlady]

MODS - in light of the upcoming barrage of Christmas movies to be shoved down our throats from now until Feb 1st, is it possible to create a separate thread just for Hallmark Christmas movies from non-Christmas romance ones?  I may be in the minority, but I pretty much don't watch the Christmas movies and, instead, seek out regular or HOF ones when they're On Demand.  

[luvthepros]

1 hour ago, ctlady said:

Wonderfully said.  There are three HOF (at least I believe they are as they certainly do not fit the mold of the conveyor belt, romance fluff currently on HM) that have been on On Demand for several months now.

Blackwater Lightship (2004)  When his A.I.D.S. reaches the terminal stages, gay Declan Kehoe (Keith McErlean) returns to his Irish coastal home, or actually grandma's, near a lightship site. A caring partner help him and his whining female relatives deal with unresolved family issues, as well as his physical syndrome .  Angela Lansbury stars

Away and Back (2015) Hostility turns into something else between a widowed farmer and a pushy ornithologist who came to his farm to save a family of swans

The Seventh Stream (2001) A lonely widowed Irish fisherman meets a pretty mysterious woman who may just literally be the stuff of legends.  This was my favorite

If you can find these movies, you won't be disappointed with any of them

One Hallmark HOF movie that is a DO NOT MISS is The Lost Valentine with Betty White. She truly showed her acting chops in that one.

[ctlady]

4 minutes ago, luvthepros said:

One Hallmark HOF movie that is a DO NOT MISS is The Lost Valentine with Betty White. She truly showed her acting chops in that one

Yes - I did see that one as well.  Has disappeared from my On Demand, but was fortunate to have caught it when it was uploaded

[Door County Cherry]

1 hour ago, ctlady said:

MODS - in light of the upcoming barrage of Christmas movies to be shoved down our throats from now until Feb 1st, is it possible to create a separate thread just for Hallmark Christmas movies from non-Christmas romance ones?  I may be in the minority, but I pretty much don't watch the Christmas movies and, instead, seek out regular or HOF ones when they're On Demand.  

There's already a thread for holiday movies from all the networks, including Hallmark.

However, we don't force people wanting to discuss Hallmark Christmas movies into one thread or the other.  For now, discussion happens where discussion naturally gravitates as long as it fits the thread.  

[DanaMB]

14 minutes in and I’m really struggling with Autumn in the City. The heroine is annoying af and stupid.