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

[AuntieDiane6]

19 hours ago, bankerchick said:

My vote for the most insipid, bland, meh movie of the season is The Professional Bridesmaid.  Even the things that would normally drive me crazy (everything about her job, the whole fake name/fake job business, the idea that the wedding of the daughter of the mayor of a small town would be of interest to anyone, never mind enough to have a reporter follow her around for a month, the fact the intrepid reporter would fixate on the condominium question like it was Watergate) faded into a fugue of boredom, given that the female actress was terrible and the male actor wasn't hot enough to get me to overlook everything.

 

Awww... I enjoyed it, notwithstanding your entirely accurate review!  I usually don't watch non-Christmas Hallmark movies, but I enjoyed the leads.  

Now as for The Blessing Bracelet, I enjoyed it at first but a couple of things really bothered me:  her ex- came to town with a big check and she turned it down.  I appreciate that she thought she could make it on her own, BUT I BET HE OWED CHILD SUPPORT AND DEADBEAT PARENTS SHOULDN'T BE LET OFF THE HOOK!  She could have said, "I don't need it, but this will be a great college fund for Justin!"

Also, she says she makes her new business on her own.  No, she doesn't.  She is running a sweat shop:  taking advantage of her friends and NOT PAYING THEM.  I could understand the initial run, but not when she is getting corporate orders.  Tithing to the church?  Terrific.  But she should be paying her workers.  Even better, she could hire the folks like homeless women or disadvantaged youths.  

 

[FunnyFace]

The Professional Bridesmaid was so bland that it became background noise while I cleaned up after dinner and I found myself pondering this extremely nonimportant question: why did this wedding party need a wedding planner when the Professional Bridesmaid did a lot of wedding planner tasks. The mind she boggles.....

 

[Artsda]

The wedding planner handled just the wedding and planning/execution. Bridesmaid handled the jobs the MoH and bridesmaids were supposed to do and help bride with like planning the shower/bachelorette and helping her with her tasks. 

 

[sacrebleu]

11 hours ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

 

Now as for The Blessing Bracelet, I enjoyed it at first but a couple of things really bothered me:  her ex- came to town with a big check and she turned it down.  I appreciate that she thought she could make it on her own, BUT I BET HE OWED CHILD SUPPORT AND DEADBEAT PARENTS SHOULDN'T BE LET OFF THE HOOK!  She could have said, "I don't need it, but this will be a great college fund for Justin!"

Also, she says she makes her new business on her own.  No, she doesn't.  She is running a sweat shop:  taking advantage of her friends and NOT PAYING THEM.  I could understand the initial run, but not when she is getting corporate orders.  Tithing to the church?  Terrific.  But she should be paying her workers.  Even better, she could hire the folks like homeless women or disadvantaged youths.  

 

Heh. I had the same thought, but it was more... How can her business survive if she's relying on VOLUNTEERS for labor!?!? She's got to eventually hire people to do the work. 

[Orcinus orca]

The Bridal Cottage wasn't horrible. Typical formula and need for suspension of disbelief but overall watchable.

[Artsda]

Bridal Cottage wasn't bad.  

[Kemper]

Bridal Cottage - I think the actors made it a small cut above some of the more recent movies. 

[Guest]

It wasn't terrible, but I thought it was a pretty egregious example of the "woman acts obnoxiously at the beginning but it's supposed to be cute and gosh that guy is just so darn stubborn (even though he's being very reasonable)" trope.

He had every right to get her the hell off his property. It would have been one thing if he had just closed the cottage. But it had been closed for FIVE YEARS and he's supposed to let her take over his personal space because she never bothered to check her research when she published her guide?

Bleh. I had a hard time being invested in her after that.

[Daff]

3 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

It wasn't terrible, but I thought it was a pretty egregious example of the "woman acts obnoxiously at the beginning but it's supposed to be cute and gosh that guy is just so darn stubborn (even though he's being very reasonable)" trope.

He had every right to get her the hell off his property. It would have been one thing if he had just closed the cottage. But it had been closed for FIVE YEARS and he's supposed to let her take over his personal space because she never bothered to check her research when she published her guide?

Bleh. I had a hard time being invested in her after that.

I thought the movie was very romantic, funny, and engaging, mostly because of the star: Brendan Penny. His performance really ramped up the enchantment of the setting. I’ve given up on plausible from these things and I don’t really care one way or the other about Erin K. I did have to laugh at some of her physical humor attempts (thinking, you’re no Lucille Ball). What if they had cast Kim Sustadt (sp?) instead? I wasn’t expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, Daff said:

I thought the movie was very romantic, funny, and engaging, mostly because of the star: Brendan Penny. His performance really ramped up the enchantment of the setting. I’ve given up on plausible from these things and I don’t really care one way or the other about Erin K. I did have to laugh at some of her physical humor attempts (thinking, you’re no Lucille Ball). What if they had cast Kim Sustadt (sp?) instead? I wasn’t expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised.

I agree that most (none?) of these movies are plausible, but for me there's implausible that I can overlook and sometimes actually adds to the schmaltziness of the whole thing (e.g. Danica McKellar loses her job and almost immediately gets hired as a governess for a king's daughter), and implausible that makes the character(s) unlikeable and casts a pall over the whole thing (Erin Krakow effs up her wedding guide and browbeats a poor guy into opening up his own personal property to cover up her screw-up). Add to that the implication that the guy was somehow in the wrong (not just from her, but from the townspeople in general) and it was a no for me.

Not sure if Kimberly Sustad would have worked any better, since she just starred in that Game of Love movie where they also went out of their way to make her unlikeable in the beginning. For me it's more of a writing issue than an actress issue, though I know people have their favorites, understandably.

I mean it's cool that people liked it; it just didn't work for me, personally.

[norcalgal]

9 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

and implausible that makes the character(s) unlikeable and casts a pall over the whole thing (Erin Krakow effs up her wedding guide and browbeats a poor guy into opening up his own personal property to cover up her screw-up). Add to that the implication that the guy was somehow in the wrong (not just from her, but from the townspeople in general) and it was a no for me.

I didn’t watch this but count me in as someone who detests a character acting like their shit don’t stink while acting like the other party was the one who shat in the punch bowl.

[Orcinus orca]

8 hours ago, norcalgal said:

I didn’t watch this but count me in as someone who detests a character acting like their shit don’t stink while acting like the other party was the one who shat in the punch bowl.

For what it's worth, that's not how this character played out.  She was more wheedling than uppity.  She'd screwed up and knew it.

[FunnyFace]

I gave the Bridal Cottage a pass since both of the leads are two  Hallmark actors I cannot abide to watch.

[bankerchick]

I have never been a fan of Erin Krakow, but I watched a couple of seasons of When Calls the Heart and she didn't bug me that much.  However, watching The Wedding Cottage, I was really put off by her efforts to become this generation's Lucille Ball (as @Daff points out, nope.) When I saw her pick up the leafblower, I cringed because I knew I was going to hate it, which I did. 

Brendan Penny is one of those guys that I like when I watch him, but he's never on my list of guys I want to watch and not enough to keep me watching a movie if I don't like the actress.

I think the comments were posted in the Mystery Movies thread, which I mostly avoided to prevent spoilers, but to me (and Canadians with no Hallmark networks) it's a tv movie, so I am just going to say that finally!!! the Paul Campbell movie is airing this weekend.  I don't even care if it's good, I'm just happy to see him in a movie.  Having said that, I am desperately hoping the female lead is watchable.

 

[Ele]

This Saturday's movie, A Pinch of Portugal, looks promising. If the plot is bad, at least the location will be pretty!

[Daff]

13 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I have never been a fan of Erin Krakow, but I watched a couple of seasons of When Calls the Heart and she didn't bug me that much.  However, watching The Wedding Cottage, I was really put off by her efforts to become this generation's Lucille Ball (as @Daff points out, nope.) When I saw her pick up the leafblower, I cringed because I knew I was going to hate it, which I did. 

Brendan Penny is one of those guys that I like when I watch him, but he's never on my list of guys I want to watch and not enough to keep me watching a movie if I don't like the actress.

I think the comments were posted in the Mystery Movies thread, which I mostly avoided to prevent spoilers, but to me (and Canadians with no Hallmark networks) it's a tv movie, so I am just going to say that finally!!! the Paul Campbell movie is airing this weekend.  I don't even care if it's good, I'm just happy to see him in a movie.  Having said that, I am desperately hoping the female lead is watchable.

 

PC Is always worth watching. I mentioned before that this movie had a strange mood.  I first thought campy, but that’s not it. Still can’t identify it, almost dark in some ways. PC had no role in writing or even directing. Might have been better if he had. (I loved Starlight, and he plays a similar character here).

[bankerchick]

On 4/20/2023 at 9:08 PM, Ele said:

If the plot is bad, at least the location will be pretty!

Well, the lead actor is pretty cute, so that's a good start.

 

On 4/21/2023 at 7:48 AM, Daff said:

PC Is always worth watching. I mentioned before that this movie had a strange mood.  I first thought campy, but that’s not it. Still can’t identify it, almost dark in some ways. PC had no role in writing or even directing. Might have been better if he had. (I loved Starlight, and he plays a similar character here).

Paul Campbell is my Hallmark husband and I can watch him in (almost) anything - Sun Sand and Romance with the world's worst actress Tricia Helfer is an exception - and I agree that Christmas At Starlight is really good.  I think that movie confirmed for me what Wedding Every Weekend had started me thinking, that this guy is not only cute, but funny and charming and someone you could easily fall in love with.

I did enjoy The Cases of Mystery Lane.  I agree that it wasn't a standard, formulaic Hallmark movie, I guess that's the mystery genre.  I wasn't a fan of the glasses, but he was sweet and I could understand both why his wife was attracted to him, and why she was frustrated with him.  I would watch this as a series if Paul was a regular, but probably not if it were another generic Hallmark guy.

There is a promo for another upcoming movie with Erin Cahill.  What the hell?  Is she someone's daughter?  Does she have dirt on a Hallmark bigwig?  She is unequivocally unwatchable to me.  Fingers crossed she's never in a movie with Paul.

[MerBearHou]

I could not agree with you more @bankerchick — Erin Cahill is 100% unwatchable for me; Paul is a Hallmark love.  I still haven’t seen The Cases of Mystery Lane but will do my best to find it — I liked Aimee Garcia so much on Lucifer.  Don’t really see her as the best match for Paul so I’ll be curious to see how that pair works out.  

Edited April 22, 2023 by MerBearHou

[voiceover]

Shallow end of the pool dweller here, ready to add to my list of “Things I never found attractive in a man until…”

Previous examples:

1. Two earrings?  Rob Thomas (“Smooth” video)

2. Tattoos on the face?  Oded Fehr (The Mummy)

And now:

3. Man bun?  Luke Mitchell (A Pinch of Portugal)

This was lovely all ‘round: scenery porn, supporting cast, unexpected twist, terrific leads.

And — despite my conversion — when Luke walked out with his hair *down, I slid right off the sofa.

[Irlandesa]

Heather Hemmens is becoming my favorite Hallmark lead actress.  I enjoy her movies and she tends to have chemistry with her leads.

Food was nice.  So was the scenery. 

[formerlyfreedom]

43 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Heather Hemmens is becoming my favorite Hallmark lead actress.  I enjoy her movies and she tends to have chemistry with her leads.

I was just coming here to say this! I really enjoy her performances. Add to this that she wore flats or sneakers through most of the entire movie - I’m so over watching characters wear highly impractical footwear (renovation projects should not be an opportunity to show off the cute 3 inch heeled booties you have).

And Luke Mitchell is adorable.

[bankerchick]

Wow, Luke Mitchell is really good looking.  Hair up (also not a fan of a man-bun until today,) hair down, hair hanging over his eyes, doesn't matter.  He reminds me of Travis Van Winkle, my Hallmark hottie who has not been in a movie in a long time.  I guess absent him, I can hope Luke is scheduled again.

[DanaMB]

I, too, typically hate man buns, but this man is so good looking. Then I heard the accent. Swoon. 
 

I really liked the movie, too. The leads had great chemistry. 

Edited April 23, 2023 by DanaMB

[Ele]

13 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Heather Hemmens is becoming my favorite Hallmark lead actress.  I enjoy her movies and she tends to have chemistry with her leads.

Food was nice.  So was the scenery. 

Agree with all of this! Although, I tuned in right when she took the ice cream cones they were eating and threw them right into the trash can so they could go dance. I wish Hallmark had approached that a different way. Food waste is a big NO for me; minor critique, but one that stuck out!

[bankerchick]

3 hours ago, Ele said:

Although, I tuned in right when she took the ice cream cones they were eating and threw them right into the trash can so they could go dance.

Who does this??  I would finish the cone then dance, as would most people I think.  Not to mention, who eats an ice cream cone with a spoon?

[MerBearHou]

Watching A Pinch of Portugal now.  Luke reminds me of Chris Hemsworth.

[twoods]

Luke is so good in Blindspot that I’m always happy to see him on my screen. He’s such a great actor and has so much screen presence. Same with Heather- I first saw her on the CW show Hellcats and thought she was so talented. Hope we see more of these two in the future.

Edited April 24, 2023 by twoods

[Guest]

Given my complaints about The Wedding Cottage, A Pinch of Portugal was much appreciated because the main character wasn't acting overly driven/perky/work-obsessed at the beginning. She wasn't someone who needed "fixing" with the help of the right man or change of scenery/attitude. She was perfectly nice and capable and had her shit together from the jump...she just needed to find her own way out from under the shadow of her boss.

And, the eventual love interest was someone already established in her life, so we didn't have to go through the whole "meeting under awkward circumstances and it seems like we hate each other but it's really Sparks Flying!" bit. And when the third act crisis happened, it didn't revolve around their relationship - he wasn't involved in the crisis, he supported her through it.

A nice change of pace.

Edited April 24, 2023 by tracyscott76
Added some bolding

[luvthepros]

On 4/23/2023 at 9:29 AM, bankerchick said:

Wow, Luke Mitchell is really good looking.  Hair up (also not a fan of a man-bun until today,) hair down, hair hanging over his eyes, doesn't matter.  He reminds me of Travis Van Winkle, my Hallmark hottie who has not been in a movie in a long time.  I guess absent him, I can hope Luke is scheduled again.

First time I ever saw Luke Mitchel was in Big Sky on ABC.

[norcalgal]

4 hours ago, luvthepros said:

First time I ever saw Luke Mitchel was in Big Sky on ABC.

I knew that I saw this actor before somewhere and thanks to IMDB, I realized he was on the defunct show The Tomorrow People.  Man, I loved that show (it was a remake of an old British tv show) and Luke’s character was my favorite character on TTP. 
As for A Pinch of Portugal, it was kind of boring so I stopped watching about half way in. 

[DearEvette]

On 4/24/2023 at 12:47 PM, tracyscott76 said:

And, the eventual love interest was someone already established in her life, so we didn't have to go through the whole "meeting under awkward circumstances and it seems like we hate each other but it's really Sparks Flying!" bit. And when the third act crisis happened, it didn't revolve around their relationship - he wasn't involved in the crisis, he supported her through it.

A nice change of pace.

I liked it for all the reasons you state.  Also, mainly because I am a sucker for food based,well, anything.  And the food porn was great. Also the scenery was lovely.  I also read Heather Hemmens is actually a trained chef.  So that must have been nice for her.

But yeah, I liked how the relationship played out and also how the crew all liked her and had her back.  And even how the Boss wasn't unremittingly evil just ego-trippy but decent in the end.

 

[twoods]

Figures she was a trained chef since they were actually seeing her cook and cut veggies, unlike other hallmark movies that show just the hands doing the cooking.

[luvthepros]

Goof that I noticed right away while watching A Pinch of Portugal........

Heather holding the pineapple drink with a straw in the pineapple. As she is saying her lines, conversing with Luke Mitchel, the straw drops out of the pineapple and falls out of camera shot. As the conversation continues between Heather and Luke, the straw miraculously appears back in the pineapple.

Anyone notice this goof?

[Ele]

I noticed that goof with the straw as well. 

I looked at the new movie lineup for May. Rhiannon Fish is one even though she was just in A Picture of Her. The new one for May has her meeting an old flame at at a B&B; not interesting! 

[MerBearHou]

Quick comment on Hearts in the Game — could they be more obvious that they’re aiming for Jax to be a clone of Susie on Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  Including Jax’s fashion, the personality and quippy vibe, her manner of fast speaking — it’s just so darn obvious.  I love Susie, but I don’t love seeing an obvious rip-off.

Came back to finish my thoughts after watching the whole movie.  I enjoyed it and I liked what the movie included about owning your story, especially his.  Marco is a favorite and Erin did a great job.  The assistant Jax was actually a nice addition character-wise, but she was absolutely a cheerful Susie from MMM.  

Edited April 30, 2023 by MerBearHou

[Mittengirl]

I missed part of Hearts in the Game - did they explain what exactly happened when he froze during game 7?  Did he choke and give up many hits?  Or was he unable to pitch?  Why didn’t he take himself out if he was aware of what was bothering him?

I didn’t care for Erin’s NYC look early on in the movie, especially that bright pink.  She looked too made-up.  

[MerBearHou]

She definitely looked very, very NYC PR / publicist.  But I actually thought the outfits were pretty gorgeous.  

He froze on the mound during a playoff game because he had a panic attack — it was the 15th anniversary of his mother’s death.  He was ashamed to talk about it.  

Updated to fill in what happened:  he froze on the mound in the ninth inning of game seven of the World Series, and they lost. 

Edited April 30, 2023 by MerBearHou
Updating what happened in the game

[GeorgiaRai]

I'm usually a hard no on Erin Cahill but watched this one (Hearts in the Game) anyway and was pleasantly surprised.  Not blown away by any means, but I watched to the end and liked it - the leads, the supporting characters and the storyline - overall. I'm more likely to watch this again over Picture of Her, The Wedding Cottage, or Love in the Maldives.

[Clawdette]

The June schedule is out and includes both mysteries and romance offerings.

Hallmark new summer movies

[GeorgiaRai]

As a former Gleek, I'm happy to see Becca Tobin on the roster! 

[twoods]

Rushi Kota is a Hallmark lead? He was great on Never Have I Ever (and very easy on the eyes), and it’s nice for a change to have an Indian lead.

[kirinan]

When I saw the plot of this Saturday's movie, When Love Springs, I didn't think I'd watch it. Then I realized that the male lead is James O'Halloran, aka James the Australian male model on The Price is Right, and darn it, I had to at least set it to record so I could zip through it on the DVR if I couldn't handle the plot.

Rhiannon Fish is in it, too, and I liked her in that last movie with Tyler Hynes. So I'll try it. 

[bankerchick]

Bueller?

Has everyone left this page?  I haven't watched any of the recent movies, but have been checking in here to see if they were good.  Guess they weren't good enough to get anyone to post about them.

[DanaMB]

41 minutes ago, bankerchick said:

Bueller?

Has everyone left this page?  I haven't watched any of the recent movies, but have been checking in here to see if they were good.  Guess they weren't good enough to get anyone to post about them.

I’ve been waiting to see everyone’s thoughts, too. I did try last night’s but gave up on it. I got sick of the song and awkward dancing. 

[Guest]

Regarding the Dream Moms movie, I thought it was a realistic touch that

Spoiler

they didn't win the competition. Of course everything else worked out nice and pat, but I appreciated that they didn't go all in with the fairytale ending.

And one thing that cracked me up was during the "Take Two" preview special, at one point they cut to the host and he was perched up on the table, half sitting, half lying down, with his arm perched jauntily on his bent knee as he read his spiel. It was so random and unexpected that it made me laugh.

Edited May 14, 2023 by tracyscott76

[Irlandesa]

11 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Guess they weren't good enough to get anyone to post about them.

Or bad enough? People have come here to praise, criticize and be meh about the movies.

But I liked Dream Moms a lot.  It was different than a lot of Hallmark movies.  I liked the friendship that developed, and even if the musical performances seemed pretty silly, I enjoyed the rest. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Irlandesa

[norcalgal]

On 5/14/2023 at 10:28 AM, bankerchick said:

Bueller?

Has everyone left this page?  I haven't watched any of the recent movies, but have been checking in here to see if they were good.  Guess they weren't good enough to get anyone to post about them.

 

On 5/14/2023 at 11:10 AM, DanaMB said:

I’ve been waiting to see everyone’s thoughts, too. I did try last night’s but gave up on it. I got sick of the song and awkward dancing. 

😜  Looks like more than one of us had the same strategy. Count me in as another (at least lately) who waits to see the comments here before deciding if I should watch.

[Orcinus orca]

I have given up watching since quantity vs quality will never change. I stop by here just in case but mostly ignore the formulaic drivel they continue to pump out.

[Chippings]

Y'all are so right, and I'm also not drawn to any of the recent movies.

Thought I'd mention one of my handful of all-time favorites, which was "One Royal Holiday" with Laura Osnes, Aaron Tveit, Victoria Clark, Krystal Joy Brown  &c.  The story was very good (I thought) altho it was the Prince in America thing; the writer kept it different enough, and the actors were just so strong.

It was such a nice break to see this cast, very distinguished stage performers, working.  I can only see the usual troupe (even Andrew Walker, whom I love) find True Love for the 12th time just so often.

The actress who played the queen, Victoria Clark, is on Broadway now in "Kimberly Akimbo" and already has won awards for it.  

This is one I watch now & then when I have the time, and always love it and their work.

Any other long-time favorites from earlier seasons ?  

[MerBearHou]

20 minutes ago, Chippings said:

Y'all are so right, and I'm also not drawn to any of the recent movies.

Thought I'd mention one of my handful of all-time favorites, which was "One Royal Holiday" with Laura Osnes, Aaron Tveit, Victoria Clark, Krystal Joy Brown  &c.  The story was very good (I thought) altho it was the Prince in America thing; the writer kept it different enough, and the actors were just so strong.

It was such a nice break to see this cast, very distinguished stage performers, working.  I can only see the usual troupe (even Andrew Walker, whom I love) find True Love for the 12th time just so often.

The actress who played the queen, Victoria Clark, is on Broadway now in "Kimberly Akimbo" and already has won awards for it.  

This is one I watch now & then when I have the time, and always love it and their work.

Any other long-time favorites from earlier seasons ?  

Oh, Chippings, I absolutely agree -- love One Royal Holiday -- even though I run the other direction from almost all other royal-themed movies.  The cast is so strong and beyond talented plus Aaron is so dreamy.  The story was sweet with a little humor tossed in.

I'll watch anything with Marc Blucas so I really like The Irresistible Blueberry Farm -- he has great chemistry with Alison Sweeney and the background cast is terrific.  

Wedding Every Weekend is another one I'll happily re-watch -- can't beat Paul Campbell and Kimberly Sustad together plus the delightful supporting cast.  

I love Godwink Christmas with Paul and Kimberly -- charming true story about the owners of the amazing Charlotte Inn on Martha's Vineyard.  I've had the good fortunate to stay at the Charlotte Inn and it remains a favorite visit to this day, so it's great to see Paul and Kimberly tell a bit of their lovely story.  

Edited May 18, 2023 by MerBearHou