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

[Bronx Babe]

Let us not forget another important Bingo moment:  a science-fiction reference that comes figuratively and literally out of the blue.

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, norcalgal said:

eta: true story involving a friend of mine who told me this story about a decade after the event:  my friend went to college and for a brief time, a prince from Norway attended her university.  She had no idea of his royal status until someone on campus told her. My friend told me the prince was hawt.  (Of course attractiveness is subjective)

Carl Philip?? (But he’s from Sweden)

I will put The Holiday Sitter on my list since you guys say it’s good. 

[norcalgal]

2 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Carl Philip?? (But he’s from Sweden)

I will put The Holiday Sitter on my list since you guys say it’s good. 

No clue who the prince was as she never told me his name, nor did I look further into it (like trying to look him up online). I vaguely recall she told me the first time she saw him he was playing soccer with some guys on campus 

[Makai]

9 hours ago, norcalgal said:

Dunno about the British accent, but I do buy that non-UK royalty aren’t covered in magazines, newspapers, etc.  After all, without looking it up, how many of us can name - let alone recognize by sight - the princes of the current monarchies in Spain, Belgium, Netherlands…?  presumably at one point, those princes were young and single (maybe ok in looks?)

I think Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip proves that point. He’s frequently compared to Henry Cavill and isn’t in the US press at all. 

A surprising number of princes and princesses go to school in the US with little fanfare. Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon went to UC Berkeley. The Spanish Crown Prince went to Georgetown. The Swedish Crown Princess went to Yale. 

[Cetacean]

I have to wonder what defines "the big city".  

Every time someone says that I think, "what are you, Amish?"

[Miss Bones]

On 12/14/2022 at 10:56 AM, SusanwatchingTV said:

In case y'all are interested, I'm way behind on watching my recorded movies, but so far Haul Out the Holly is winning with 18 of the items on the list (if I didn't miss anything).

I'm still hoping to find one that does better, but that one will do.  It's pretty funny, and seems to be making fun of the genre which I think the guys will enjoy.

I was watching one of the Time for (insert pronoun) to Come Home for Christmas movies the other day, and it was checking so many of your items off the list, but it ended up missing quite a few.  It was fun looking out for them though!  I feel like now I'm just going to be playing your Bingo game in my head during all of these.  I'm usually half "hate-watching"/poking fun at them the whole time, anyway! 😄

[Miss Bones]

15 hours ago, Bronx Babe said:

Then there are the Bingo words and phrases:

Amazing, impressive, Christmassy, pitch, we make a great team, I sense a 'but', you/I got this, I will have you know, do you always, no no no no no we are not a couple, wait, what?, do you two know each other?, it's my favorite movie, I can't remember the last time I took a vacation, so how's the new plumber -- is he cute?, I don't do Christmas, this is the best (fill in food item) I ever had!

You forgot "the big merger" 😀

1 hour ago, Cetacean said:

I have to wonder what defines "the big city".  

Every time someone says that I think, "what are you, Amish?"

This made me laugh because I live in Lancaster PA among Amish folk (no, we are not Amish), and whenever my husband overhears someone from these movies say "the big city" he repeats it, using a fake Amish accent.  We have actually heard Amish people use that term, when referencing the city of Lancaster.  Too funny.

[bankerchick]

8 hours ago, Makai said:

I think Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip proves that point. He’s frequently compared to Henry Cavill and isn’t in the US press at all. 

Well, I had to Google him after seeing this and I have to agree, he has a Henry Cavill vibe.  And honestly, why wouldn't the paparazzi follow this guy around (I'm happy for him that they don't) and kick Harry and Megan to the well-deserved curb?

[voiceover]

Ummmmmmm…anyone else missing the comment buttons?

[bankerchick]

Just on your comments.  Weird.

ETA:  And I guess mine?

Edited December 16, 2022 by bankerchick

[voiceover]

18 minutes ago, bankerchick said:

And I guess mine?

Yes 🤔

[MerBearHou]

This happened with Instagram over the weekend too.  The comments buttons disappeared until you clicked on the little comment icon.  I had to google to see what was going on.  And the number of comments are very limited / reduced.  

On this site, if you touch where the comment or emotion button would be, it shows up.  Is that what you’re wondering?  I may have misunderstood.  

Edited December 16, 2022 by MerBearHou

[voiceover]

6 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

On this site, if you touch where the comment or emotion button would be, it shows up.  Is that what you’re wondering?  I may have misunderstood.

That did it, thanks!

I have such galloping neurosis I assumed I was being refused comment privileges because I made that “Gangsta Elf” comment. 

[Irlandesa]

Yeah.  They're there if you hover over it.  Still must be some kind of snafu.

[bankerchick]

Weird.  On @voiceover's original comment, I still don't have any icons.  On my comments before and after, I can see the upvotes that were chosen, but nothing shows up if I hover over the icons.  Strange...............

On topic, I am watching Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Sweater.  Ashley Williams doesn't bug me as much as she usually does, though I know she has one of those half-heard comment overreactions with 15 minutes left so I think I'll go to bed before then.

[Miss Bones]

8 hours ago, bankerchick said:

On topic, I am watching Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Sweater.  Ashley Williams doesn't bug me as much as she usually does, though I know she has one of those half-heard comment overreactions with 15 minutes left so I think I'll go to bed before then.

I am curious to see her performance in the Five More Minutes sequel that is coming out this weekend on HMM.  I can't imagine her goofy grin being appropriate in a grief-driven movie.  I'll be watching, and looking forward to snark from my fellow Primetimers.  That's usually the best part of watching a HM movie, is coming here afterward!

[Cetacean]

9 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Yeah.  They're there if you hover over it.  Still must be some kind of snafu.

They seem to have rearranged the order so I wonder if that screwed something up.

[Schnickelfritz]

Might be their idea for fixing something that didn't need to be fixed....

Edited December 16, 2022 by Schnickelfritz

[Bronx Babe]

On 12/15/2022 at 11:19 AM, Miss Bones said:

You forgot "the big merger" 😀

You're right!  I always, however, think of that in terms of the lead couple and their upcoming wedding, lol.  Just another business deal but with a double bed.

Now I know how these stinkeroo Lifetime Xmas movies get made (held my nose throughout The Magical Christmas Shoes last night) -- the scripts are Hallmark rejects.

Edited December 16, 2022 by Bronx Babe

[Bronx Babe]

Was it ever established why Lacey's dance instructor in Christmas Waltz spoke with an English accent?   He was supposed to be Russian (or Russian-American or something) and his family lived in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.  

I am still confused.

Edited December 16, 2022 by Bronx Babe

[EtheltoTillie]

I am making my way through my DVR stash.  I liked the Stocking Game movie.  It wasn't a romance but rather a sweet family reunion story. 

[Miss Bones]

1 hour ago, Bronx Babe said:

Was it ever established why Lacey's dance instructor in Christmas Waltz spoke with an English accent?   He was supposed to be Russian (or Russian-American or something) and his family lived in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.  

I am still confused.

British is HM's catch-all accent for any non-American.  

[bankerchick]

1 hour ago, Bronx Babe said:

Was it ever established why Lacey's dance instructor in Christmas Waltz spoke with an English accent? 

I thought there was, maybe when they were at his parents' place?  But I didn't like the movie enough to watch it again to see if that's the case.

5 hours ago, Cetacean said:

They seem to have rearranged the order so I wonder if that screwed something up.

Yeah, the Like button seems to be the default, over the Love button.  In future comments, know that I usually use either the default, or the laugh emoji, so if I now like your comments when I used to love them, it's not personal.

[Bethany]

Just watching Must Love Christmas - it's made a good start, a little bit different and it's hooked me in.  The two guys talking about why romances are popular definitely made me think that at least some of the writers are paying attention.

[Cetacean]

2 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Yeah, the Like button seems to be the default, over the Love button. 

And the laugh button moved closer to the default.  I bet most of those are not even used.

[Lugal]

On 12/10/2022 at 10:31 AM, Bronx Babe said:

The Most Colorful Time of the Year, meh.  Do colorblind people really see the world in literal black and white?  Did not care for the lead actress -- too much plastic surgery it looked like to me, plus her performance was just so.....boring.

I watched this one (finally got around to it) out of morbid curiosity on how badly they would screw up color blindness.  And it was about what I thought. 

Speaking from experience here, the vast majority colorblind people do not see the world in black and white.  There is a rare fraction of the colorblind population that does see only in monochrome and that usually comes with other related conditions like extreme sensitivity to light.  I can't think he would have made it that far in life without someone noticing his condition.

Most colorblindness is due to faulty color receptors in the retina, usually red-green.  So most of us see colors but a few ranges that are hard to distinguish, like certain middle shades of tan-green-orange and dark shades of red-brown-green.

I get that filming in B&W is easier than playing around with the color balance, but they could make some effort.  And it didn't help that the doctor way overstepped.  And I have heard of color-enhancing/correcting lenses, I can't think that it would help with someone who doesn't see color at all.  They might as well just have said they were magic glasses.  I was hoping for some funny side effects, like he can now see in UV or IR.

On 12/12/2022 at 4:52 PM, Elizabeth Anne said:

Multiple coats and at least one party dress all packed in the same small suitcase!

That's the real Christmas miracle!

[Bronx Babe]

22 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I thought there was, maybe when they were at his parents' place?  But I didn't like the movie enough to watch it again to see if that's the case.

I wouldn't watch it again either to check, lol.

If I recall, his parents and other relatives spoke with a New York accent.   But of course I could be be wrong.

[Bronx Babe]

Boy oh boy, the Lifetime movies make Hallmark look like Citizen Kane.  Saw A Country Christmas Harmony yesterday.  I am not familiar with lead actress Brooke Elliot but she was a crashing bore.  Full-figured or skinny, these characters have no connection to reality, however "groundbreaking" the scriptwriters feel they are being.
 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Bronx Babe

[Justaguest]

On 12/16/2022 at 8:25 AM, Miss Bones said:

I am curious to see her performance in the Five More Minutes sequel that is coming out this weekend on HMM.  I can't imagine her goofy grin being appropriate in a grief-driven movie. 

I usually can't stand her because I find that smile so creepy (makes me think of the smile painted on the claymation The Little Drummer Boy), but she showed in the Hawaii movie where she was left at the alter that she can actually act without that smile. Hopefully she does the same here.

[norcalgal]

35 minutes ago, Justaguest said:

I usually can't stand her because I find that smile so creepy (makes me think of the smile painted on the claymation The Little Drummer Boy), but she showed in the Hawaii movie where she was left at the alter that she can actually act without that smile. Hopefully she does the same here.

I’ll be honest, it was not until I read the many comments here about Ashley Williams’ creepy, maniacal grin that I finally saw what you’re all talking about and now I can’t unsee it when I watch something with AW in it. 

[Lugal]

41 minutes ago, norcalgal said:

I’ll be honest, it was not until I read the many comments here about Ashley Williams’ creepy, maniacal grin that I finally saw what you’re all talking about and now I can’t unsee it when I watch something with AW in it.

She was in a multi-episode arc on Warehouse 13 where she played a villain and the grin worked perfectly.

[roughing it]

So far, this Five More Minutes movie is a snooze-fest.

[Irlandesa]

36 minutes ago, roughing it said:

So far, this Five More Minutes movie is a snooze-fest.

The previews looked that way.  I usually give a movie at least 10 minutes but I've been dreading even that much of the movie.  But sometimes they surprise me...

T'was The Night Before Christmas was kind of boring too.  I liked the leads so I watched the whole thing (with some fast forwarding) but since they were writing a play, rehearsing a play and then performing a play, it got kind of repetitive since the play didn't change all that much with each step.

Edited December 18, 2022 by Irlandesa

[Cetacean]

CBS Sunday Morning is doing a segment on Hallmark Christmas movies this morning.

[norcalgal]

13 hours ago, roughing it said:

So far, this Five More Minutes movie is a snooze-fest.

Agreed.  I had two issues with the movie before I finally called it quits:

1) the son in the beginning of the movie looks almost exactly the same as in the rest of the movie.  In the beginning, he’s supposed to be 5 going on 6, yet looks physically the same as he did in the “four years later” parts.  Have the producers/director never seen an almost 6 year old versus a 10 y.o.?  They should have said the kid had a biological problem where he ages differently if they weren’t going to bother having different kid actors.

2) Kaitlyn and her son went to Colorado to visit her in-laws for Christmas.  It’s not said so, but I got the feeling they went to Colorado about 3 weeks before Christmas. So that means the son’s school in California let them out for winter break a long, long time before Christmas?  My California kids are getting dismissed for winter break on Dec. 23. 
Maybe a definite timeline was given at some point in the movie, but I stopped watching half way through.

Edited December 18, 2022 by norcalgal

[Cetacean]

Good grief, leave it to Hallmark to have two movies with the same (Five More Minutes) name.  Since one includes 
"Moments Like These" (the one with the miracle kid who never changes) I guess this will be a series of stories revolving around dead relatives a la people for whom it's "Time to Come Home for Christmas". 

Hallmarklandia is a very dangerous place especially for young people.  They get killed off at a high rate for the purposes of a plot. 
 

[Bronx Babe]

This nice Jewish girl from NYC is looking forward, for better or worse, to Hanukkah on Rye tonight, lol.   I just know they will screw things up.  

Who wants to bet there will be a Bingo card "This is the best food item I ever ate!" with either latkes, brisket, jelly doughnuts, chopped liver or corned beef sandwich?

[EtheltoTillie]

From one Bronx babe (one borough removed) to another @Bronx Babe, I'm ready with my Zabar's jelly donuts! 

I did not mind 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  I thought it was more intelligently written than many others.  I thought the main character would end up taking the lead, but I did not predict that she would first make the other lead a better actress. 

Edited December 19, 2022 by EtheltoTillie

[Bronx Babe]

On 12/15/2022 at 11:19 AM, Miss Bones said:

" 😀

This made me laugh because I live in Lancaster PA among Amish folk (no, we are not Amish), and whenever my husband overhears someone from these movies say "the big city" he repeats it, using a fake Amish accent.  We have actually heard Amish people use that term, when referencing the city of Lancaster.  Too funny.

Don't remember the name of a Hallmark movie I was watching a few days ago where the lead family goes into a diner and grandpa intones "You don't get service like this in the city"

I think it was because the owner served them her special Hungarian goulash.

Big deal.

Edited December 18, 2022 by Bronx Babe

[Chippings]

Anyone else see the CBS Sunday Morning piece on Hallmark Christmas movies?  Lacey Chabert was interviewed, and two of the (female) executives.  It was all super nice, naturally.  I didn't learn much,  except how fake snow is generated.  

[Cetacean]

3 hours ago, Chippings said:

Anyone else see the CBS Sunday Morning piece on Hallmark Christmas movies? 

Yes, I posted it was going to be on right before it aired.  As you said, nothing new.  All sunshine and smiles - but we know better.

[greekmom]

Hannukah on Rye. It's a You Got Mail meets Hannukah meets Hallmark Christmas movies.
Oh hi there Lisa Loebe. Nice for you to sing your Hannukah song.
Now I got to find me a Jewish deli cause I got donuts and latke cravings and I don't live in a place that has one.
Anyone notice that the old matchmaking lady looked like Grannie from the Tweety bird cartoons?! Anyone?

[FunnyFace]

I'm a Jeremy Jordan fan (based on his Broadway work) and so checked out Hanukah on Rye. Hallmark's take on Shop Around the Corner (for us theatre nerds -- She Loves Me -- musical version of SAtC) and You've Got Mail was fun and kept me actually watching rather than having the TV on as background. The two leads had really good chemistry and the food looked amazing. I now want latkes and jelly donuts.

23 minutes ago, greekmom said:

Anyone notice that the old matchmaking lady looked like Grannie from the Tweety bird cartoons?! Anyone?

LOL! I didn't get the Grannie reference but I thought Cloris Leachman had returned from the great beyond......

Edited December 19, 2022 by FunnyFace

[FunnyFace]

The Christmas Heritage aka Hallmark Tries to Have Its Cake and Eat It Too, with the career woman and the big city vs. small town trope. I don't celebrate Kwanzaa but it was interesting to learn about the holiday. What I didn't understand was the numerous references for St. Mary's, PA, as I could'nt find from a quick search that the town has any connection to the founding of Kwanzaa. Apparently, the town is known for allowing hunting of wild elk. The conflict between the daughter (Holly Robinson Peete's character) and mother was well drawn and IMO the focus on Kwanzaa got in the way of that story. 

[bankerchick]

7 hours ago, Bronx Babe said:

Who wants to bet there will be a Bingo card "This is the best food item I ever ate!" with either latkes, brisket, jelly doughnuts, chopped liver or corned beef sandwich?

I think every single one.  Maybe not the chopped liver.  And I have to agree the corned beef sandwich looked amazing.  I did like the movie, but it seemed like the writers decided to write a 'Jewish' movie and threw in every Jewish phrase, food and stereotype they could think of.  Wasn't the actress who played the grandma whose mother came over on the boat from the home country, in the Italian movie a few weeks ago where she played the grandma whose mother came came over on the boat from the home country?

[Irlandesa]

I absolutely loved Hanukkah on Rye.  I had high hopes for this because of the cast but I got even more excited once I realized it was based on Shop Around The Corner/You've Got Mail...etc.

There's just so much to recommend it.  They had genuine chemistry.  The supporting characters from the family to the guy at the lobby desk were all perfect.  The "angst" was smartly written into the plot.  He kept the secret from her a bit too long but not ridiculously so.  And yet it made sense it'd make her upset.  There was no misunderstanding but rather a genuine, understandable reaction to a choice he made.  The coin thing played off as genuinly romantic.  Plus, it made me laugh in several places.

And there was a nice sense of fate to it. 

The only drawback was how much they used "bubbe" and "bubbula" in the first twenty minutes.  Once they stopped peppering that into every sentence to remind us we were watching a Hanukkah movie, the movie just kept flowing better and better. 

I don't know what it is about Hallmark's Hunukkah movies but both this movie and last year's Eight Gifts of Hanukkah really give me what I want in a romcom. 

[Cetacean]

Sounds like Hanukkah on Rye was worth a watch. Unfortunately I missed it and can't see that Hallmark is repeating it anytime soon. I guess only Christmas movies are repeated ad nauseum.

[Miss Bones]

On 12/17/2022 at 6:04 PM, Justaguest said:

I usually can't stand her because I find that smile so creepy (makes me think of the smile painted on the claymation The Little Drummer Boy), but she showed in the Hawaii movie where she was left at the alter that she can actually act without that smile. Hopefully she does the same here.

Oh, yeah!  I did see that one, and I guess I didn't notice that she had toned down the clown.  I have to say, she wasn't too bad in the new Five More Minutes, but I found it kind of boring.  And I am also not a fan of the guy that played her love interest, Lucas Bryant, either.  I just find something off-putting about him.

On 12/17/2022 at 6:41 PM, norcalgal said:

I’ll be honest, it was not until I read the many comments here about Ashley Williams’ creepy, maniacal grin that I finally saw what you’re all talking about and now I can’t unsee it when I watch something with AW in it. 

Hahaha - same here!  The posters on this forum brought it to my attention, and now I can't not cringe every time the poor woman cracks a grin. 

17 hours ago, Bronx Babe said:

Don't remember the name of a Hallmark movie I was watching a few days ago where the lead family goes into a diner and grandpa intones "You don't get service like this in the city"

I think it was because the owner served them her special Hungarian goulash.

Big deal.

Ugh, I watched 4 HM movies this weekend, and I believe 3 out of 4 (may have been all 4) referenced the BIG CITY.  The writers have to be trolling us, at this point.

10 hours ago, greekmom said:

Hannukah on Rye. It's a You Got Mail meets Hannukah meets Hallmark Christmas movies.
Oh hi there Lisa Loebe. Nice for you to sing your Hannukah song.
Now I got to find me a Jewish deli cause I got donuts and latke cravings and I don't live in a place that has one.
Anyone notice that the old matchmaking lady looked like Grannie from the Tweety bird cartoons?! Anyone?

I have not watched it yet, but am looking forward to it, after seeing positive reviews from most here.  However, when I was watching other HM movies through the weekend, I was getting so hungry when they would play the ads for Hannukah on Rye.  Mmm the food looked sooo good!!

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, Cetacean said:

Sounds like Hanukkah on Rye was worth a watch. Unfortunately I missed it and can't see that Hallmark is repeating it anytime soon. I guess only Christmas movies are repeated ad nauseum.

Try Peacock.  I think they are repeating the movies for three days after they air.  It's really worth a watch.

Edited December 19, 2022 by EtheltoTillie

[EtheltoTillie]

Good news, @Cetacean.  My spectrum app says that they're also showing Hanukkah on Rye tonight at 10 PM Eastern, and three more showings:  Dec 22, 23 and 28.   I guess every movie gets at least five showings.

Edited December 19, 2022 by EtheltoTillie