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

[bankerchick]

5 minutes ago, Ele said:

There is a scene near the beginning where she sees him shirtless and it’s pretty funny. 

I froze this scene on my tv and carried it around on my phone for a while.

[norcalgal]

21 hours ago, luvthepros said:

Too bad about your dislike for Lacey Chabert. It's just the opposite for me. I keep her movies on my DVR for weeks at a time and replay them all the time. I don't sit and watch them, just have them on in the house as I'm doing other stuff. I've got my favorites such as Love, Romance and Chocolate and The Christmas Waltz, both with Will Kemp. I also enjoyed their latest movie, The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango.

Hi @luvthepros I think you mistakenly quoted me as one who dislikes Lacey Chabert. I’m agnostic about her (neither like nor dislike) but veering a little towards like because of Party of Five and Mean Girls. For Hallmark, I don’t watch or not watch based on whether Lacey is in the movie, but watch based on the story.

[Orcinus orca]

55 minutes ago, norcalgal said:

Hi @luvthepros I think you mistakenly quoted me as one who dislikes Lacey Chabert.

Her posting was in response to my stating my dislike of Chabert. Which hasn't changed.  She plays the same character in every movie.

[luvthepros]

On 7/2/2023 at 7:31 PM, norcalgal said:

Hi @luvthepros I think you mistakenly quoted me as one who dislikes Lacey Chabert. I’m agnostic about her (neither like nor dislike) but veering a little towards like because of Party of Five and Mean Girls. For Hallmark, I don’t watch or not watch based on whether Lacey is in the movie, but watch based on the story.

I went back to check and you are correct. I don't know how that happened but I quoted you in error about Lacey. Sorry about that.

[Scarlett45]

On 7/2/2023 at 5:46 PM, Ele said:

I kind of want Rachael Leigh Cook and Joy Lenz to do a movie together since they were popular around the same time when they were younger.

That would be cool. Maybe they could play rivals. My fav of Rachael’s hallmark movies is Autumn in the Vineyard. 

[DanaMB]

I thought here was a separate thread for Hallmark Christmas movies, but couldn’t find it. Did anyone watch last night’s new one, A Royal Christmas Crush? The commercials made it look bad (terrible accent for one thing) so I’m not sure I want to even check it out. 

[chitowngirl]

There’s a thread for Hallmark movies (this one) and a thread for Christmas movies. There is overlap!

11 minutes ago, DanaMB said:

I thought here was a separate thread for Hallmark Christmas movies, but couldn’t find it. Did anyone watch last night’s new one, A Royal Christmas Crush? The commercials made it look bad (terrible accent for one thing) so I’m not sure I want to even check it out. 

 

[CAM]

38 minutes ago, DanaMB said:

I thought here was a separate thread for Hallmark Christmas movies, but couldn’t find it. Did anyone watch last night’s new one, A Royal Christmas Crush? The commercials made it look bad (terrible accent for one thing) so I’m not sure I want to even check it out. 

I watched it and I wasn't impressed...the progression of the romance felt weird (for a Hallmark vid). It felt like some of the scenes should have been switched around a bit...for example the ice slide happens early on but the scene feels so weird for two complete strangers to just be like sure we just met but sure i will sit behind you on this ice slide. This would have made more sense in the middle or at least after some build up.

The King and Queen were the Prince's parents right? Every time they all shared a scene together I kept thinking that they looked a bit younger or at least the same age than the Prince. 

[Irlandesa]

The movie was pretty terrible but I'm not a fan of royal movies to begin with.  The accent was terrible.  And there wasn't even good scenery.  It looked liked they filmed it in a big warehouse with lights.  Not even good scenery.

The only interesting thing about this is that apparently, the leads started dating while filming it.

Edited July 10, 2023 by Irlandesa

[ECM1231]

49 minutes ago, CAM said:

The King and Queen were the Prince's parents right? Every time they all shared a scene together I kept thinking that they looked a bit younger or at least the same age than the Prince. 

Agreed.

I tuned in as I've enjoyed Stephen Huszar in Chesapeake Shores, but gee, this one was a stinker. His accent was atrocious, his parents had none, and there was one cast member whose accent sounded more like a Scandinavian person speaking English. I'm assuming the kingdom was supposed to be near the North Pole what with the caribou, etc.

The 1 interesting thing about this movie is that Stephen and Katie Cassidy, his co-star fell for each other on set and are now dating.

Jinx, @Irlandesa. Great minds....lol

[twoods]

Awww that’s very cute- I’m a sucker for costars falling in love. I liked Katie Cassidy in Arrow so bummed her movie sucked, but happy she found love. 

[CAM]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

even good scenery

Yep, the scenery was definitely missing, that is one thing I look for, with these royal Hallmark vids, is even if it is filmed on a sound stage they still manage to add the stock footage to help make it feel like they really are in this imaginary kingdom.

I tend to watch all of the royal vids, but I was definitely interested in seeing Katie Cassidy in this after watching her in Arrow.

[luv2lurk]

I think it was filmed at the Ice Hotel in Quebec - the scenery looked similar to a couple of other movies filmed there.

[bankerchick]

Ice-hotel Hallmarks are becoming as overused as pumpkin farms or bookstores or bakeries.  And the other ones were better.  Even Kevin McGarry and Emilie Ullerup on the ice slide were more interesting than these two.

[Dr.OO7]

On 10/29/2022 at 1:29 AM, MollyMelrose said:

Will any of this season's movies better than this one?  

Those poor dogs!

[Laura Holt]

It's Christmas in July on our local channel that features Hallmark movies.  Always the last to know.  Anyway today I caught one with Lacey Chabert called Christmas in Rome.  I thought it was pretty good - not in my top ten or anything but watchable.  I thought Lacey and the supporting cast were excellent, the guy playing her love interest though seemed like his heart wasn't really in it.

[Ele]

15 minutes ago, Laura Holt said:

It's Christmas in July on our local channel that features Hallmark movies.  Always the last to know.  Anyway today I caught one with Lacey Chabert called Christmas in Rome.  I thought it was pretty good - not in my top ten or anything but watchable.  I thought Lacey and the supporting cast were excellent, the guy playing her love interest though seemed like his heart wasn't really in it.

I haven't watched this movie, so I looked up the cast. Sam Page is the love interest, and he is one of my favorite Hallmark leads. He's usually excellent!

[MerBearHou]

Christmas in Rome is a good one.  I always enjoy Sam Page.  It’s a lovely setting and Lacey / Sam do well together.  

[Door County Cherry]

There have been some recent posts that have come close to or have violated the site's inclusion policy.

Quote

Posts containing slurs or insensitive language about a (real or fictional) person’s race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, capacities, age or body type will be removed and the member issued moderation measures, up to and including a ban.

Please take a moment to refresh your knowledge of the policy which can be read in full here. 

Specifically, take note that body type was added last year; it refers to all body types.  Saying someone is too skinny is as much of a violation as saying they're too big. 

Thank you!

[greekmom]

So. Watched Make Me a Match and just like Love's Greek to Me, they rolled out all the East Indian Stereotypes and threw them into a movie. 

Also watched Wedding Contract. Becca Tobin and Fiona Gubelmann from The Good Doctor, look like they can be twins.  It was a snooze. 

[greekmom]

Well.. Not something I would do but others might be interested.

https://people.com/hallmark-channel-announces-first-ever-christmas-cruise-7558855?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article&fbclid=IwAR0EYVBo6VmUHuksNrjHd2zcOlxt7C6KLxce8NxuV6xFMPMttNIBHhGI314

[Orcinus orca]

1 hour ago, greekmom said:

Well.. Not something I would do but others might be interested.

OMG, hard pass.

[Lugal]

5 hours ago, greekmom said:

Well.. Not something I would do but others might be interested.

Are they just doing this to shoot a cruise-themed Hallmark movie?

[BuckeyeLou]

On 7/9/2023 at 11:04 PM, ECM1231 said:

Agreed.

I tuned in as I've enjoyed Stephen Huszar in Chesapeake Shores, but gee, this one was a stinker. His accent was atrocious, his parents had none, and there was one cast member whose accent sounded more like a Scandinavian person speaking English. I'm assuming the kingdom was supposed to be near the North Pole what with the caribou, etc.

The 1 interesting thing about this movie is that Stephen and Katie Cassidy, his co-star fell for each other on set and are now dating.

Jinx, @Irlandesa. Great minds....lol

Christmas Crush was boring for me, and I was surprised to read that Katie & Stephen began dating during the movie...I felt like they had No On-Screen chemistry at all!

[Orcinus orca]

Take Me Back for Christmas - a rererererun of the same story for the umpteenth time. 

Spoiler

Couple in doldrums, magic elf, woman in dead end job - falls and hits head and wakes up as CEO of multi-million dollar corporation. Enormous apartment in New York, fabulous wardrobe. Has to make husband fall back in love with her.  Pulls off amazing deal to save the day.  Elf intervenes.  Wakes up.  All is well.

The only difference is the dead mother (alive in the dream) which is kind of a bummer for a holiday movie.

 

[GeorgiaRai]

I loved Take Me Back to Christmas, rererererun and all!  

[Irlandesa]

I thought Take Me Back to Christmas was pretty good and half way through I wished it had made the regular lineup instead of being stuck in the summer.

Sure, the story was one that had been told before, with a few modifications, but the leads were strong and had above average chemistry for Hallmark movies. 

 

[Notabug]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

I thought Take Me Back to Christmas was pretty good and half way through I wished it had made the regular lineup instead of being stuck in the summer.

Sure, the story was one that had been told before, with a few modifications, but the leads were strong and had above average chemistry for Hallmark movies. 

 

I agree, I was pleasantly surprised.  The leads had some chemistry and, although the basic story has been done many times, I thought it was just different enough.

[EyewatchTV211]

I think what made it different from the others is that the focus seemed to be split between the romantic relationship and the one with her mother. It seemed a big part of the storyline was her having to come to terms with her mother's death, which was helped by getting to spend that little bit of extra time with her in the "alternate" universe. 

[Ele]

Looking forward to Taylor Cole’s new movie, Aloha Heart, airing June 29. Her love interest is new to Hallmark, I think.

Edited July 20, 2023 by Ele

[kirinan]

I know Haul Out the Holly wasn't everyone's cup of hot chocolate, <whispers> but to my surprise I really liked it a lot, so I'm kind of excited by this news. <end whisper>

[MerBearHou]

2 hours ago, kirinan said:

I know Haul Out the Holly wasn't everyone's cup of hot chocolate, <whispers> but to my surprise I really liked it a lot, so I'm kind of excited by this news. <end whisper>

I find this to be great news — Haul Out the Holly is one of my favorites.  Loved the humor; Lacey and Wes were terrific together; the supporting cast was fantastic; unique story and just fun.

[voiceover]

Thx to the schedulers for recognizing my birthday by scheduling Crown for Christmas today.

And I didn’t get them nothin.

[Ele]

I like when Hallmark Channel goes deep into the Christmas movie vault. Snow Bride is airing this week.

Also, Brittany Bristow and Andrew Walker have a safari-themed movie airing in August. I’m sure the setting will be gorgeous. 

[bankerchick]

On 7/21/2023 at 9:11 PM, voiceover said:

Thx to the schedulers for recognizing my birthday by scheduling Crown for Christmas today.

And I didn’t get them nothin.

I know!  They played a Travis Van Winkle movie ('Tis The Season To Be Merry - not my fave but not Christmas Getaway bad - and it did feature a shirtless scene) for my birthday last week.

What I got them was the fact that I check their channel every single day (W Network here in Canada) and quite often tune into whatever they're offering, even though they only have 4 commercials and play them ad nauseum.  I for one will be glad when Amy Schumer finally hits menopause and I can stop watching her stupid Tampax commercials.

[Laura Holt]

I've been enjoying the Christmas in July movies but my two favourites were Hanukah themed ones.  Hanukah on Rye and the Eight Gifts of Hanukah.  Definitely up there in my top 10.

[Guest]

RE: Aloha Heart:

Is this the first Hallmark movie that started with the male lead, establishing his backstory and situation (with a flashback and everything!) before the female lead even showed up? It's the first time I remember this happening, but I'm not anywhere near as versed in the lore as you all.

[Ele]

12 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

RE: Aloha Heart:

Is this the first Hallmark movie that started with the male lead, establishing his backstory and situation (with a flashback and everything!) before the female lead even showed up? It's the first time I remember this happening, but I'm not anywhere near as versed in the lore as you all.

I agree with you on this. It was nice to see the male lead have his backstory explained in the beginning. I just watched the rerun and enjoyed it. I like Taylor Cole in anything, but I thought the male lead was solid. I thought the actors who played the engaged couple were solid too. The plot held my attention.  I'm interested in conservation, and I also liked some of the Hawaiian culture explained, and the story of what it takes to run a resort. Of course, the scenery was beautiful. I appreciated it wasn't the usual plot of a character going to rescue a resort she inherits and falls for a developer who wants to buy it and turn it into something else or tear it down, ha ha!

[kirinan]

An article about Hallmark's fall movies. I'm definitely all in for the Antonio Cupo/Sarah Drew one, but not sure about the others yet. 

Edited July 31, 2023 by kirinan

[Ele]

4 hours ago, kirinan said:

An article about Hallmark's fall movies. I'm definitely all in for the Antonio Cupo/Sarah Drew one, but not sure about the others yet. 

Yes! Plus, Eric McCormack is I. It! The rest of the movies do look underwhelming. Another article shows Ariel Kebbel in one and she hasn’t made a Hallmark Movie in forever. It is one of several movies in the fall line-up of a girl reconnecting with an old flame. Boring!

There is one with Warren Christie and Rachel Boston that could be promising. 

[Irlandesa]

The Venice one looks interesting to me.  In fact, all of the mystery movies look interesting to me. 

I'm a little surprised by all the wilderness themes for the Hallmark movies in the fall.  They aren't my faves. 

[Ele]

7 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

The Venice one looks interesting to me.  In fact, all of the mystery movies look interesting to me. 

I'm a little surprised by all the wilderness themes for the Hallmark movies in the fall.  They aren't my faves. 

I forgot about the Venice one. I’ve never heard of either of the leads, plot does look promising. The mystery movies look more promising than the hallmark channel ones. 

[norcalgal]

5 hours ago, kirinan said:

An article about Hallmark's fall movies. I'm definitely all in for the Antonio Cupo/Sarah Drew one, but not sure about the others yet. 

Here's what the article says about Love in the Great Smokey Mountains:

Love in the Great Smokey Mountains: A National Park Romance
Premieres: Saturday, September 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Synopsis: Former sweethearts (played by The Vampire Diaries’ Zach Roerig and 9-1-1′s Arielle Kebbel) reunite at an archeological dig in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While working alongside each other and competing for the same research grant, they discover they might still have feelings for one another.

I don't know if Arielle is best known for the show 9-1-1 but she was also on The Vampire Diaries.  But Zach & Arielle's characters never interacted on TVD that I recall.

  

[Scarlett45]

4 hours ago, norcalgal said:

Here's what the article says about Love in the Great Smokey Mountains:

Love in the Great Smokey Mountains: A National Park Romance
Premieres: Saturday, September 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
Synopsis: Former sweethearts (played by The Vampire Diaries’ Zach Roerig and 9-1-1′s Arielle Kebbel) reunite at an archeological dig in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While working alongside each other and competing for the same research grant, they discover they might still have feelings for one another.

I don't know if Arielle is best known for the show 9-1-1 but she was also on The Vampire Diaries.  But Zach & Arielle's characters never interacted on TVD that I recall.

  

No I don’t think they did, but I think they could be fun together. 

[Clawdette]

We've frequently mentioned seeing Hallmark actors in other roles but they are generally on recognizable series.  I have started watching Air Disasters on the Smithsonian Channel (sort of glass over the crashes but home in for the investigation) and it's a veritable smorgasbord of "It's that guy/girl."

Hallmark-related:  Christopher Russell has played a pilot and Benjamin Hollingsworth has played the son of a passenger. Mark Brandon and other Hallmark Dad/CEO-types have portrayed pilots.  I should have kept a tally but . . . .

It's amazing where we find our familiar faces.

[mikeb]

The CEO Wonya Lewis who pushed for diversity and inclusion is stepping down.  She is staying on Board of Directors so hopefully this is not a retreat to the Bill Abbott days

https://deadline.com/2023/08/wonya-lucas-exit-hallmark-media-president-ceo-board-of-directors-1235457553/

[Orcinus orca]

2 hours ago, mikeb said:

The CEO Wonya Lewis who pushed for diversity and inclusion is stepping down.

I hope this does not mean a return to Christo-fascist ideals.  Only White, Christian, heterosexual stories allowed.  This is a diverse country and deserves diverse stories. 

[Irlandesa]

Yeah. I was sad to read that she decided to leave.  I do think she overall improved the channel's output.  I'm glad that she's staying on the board. 

[Maelstrom]

Interesting interview with Andrew Walker about A Safari Romance (which was pretty cute with gorgeous scenery - and lions!) and also he talks a bit about the execs behind the scenes and praises how they’ve improved Hallmark. Sounds to me as though the VP in charge of programming has been as instrumental as Wonya Lewis in upping the quality of their movies, so I’m hopeful that the network won’t backslide into blandness with Lewis stepping down.

https://heavy.com/entertainment/hallmark/andrew-walker-first-ever-top-billing-on-movie/

Edited August 14, 2023 by Maelstrom

[DearEvette]

On 7/31/2023 at 1:22 PM, kirinan said:

An article about Hallmark's fall movies. I'm definitely all in for the Antonio Cupo/Sarah Drew one, but not sure about the others yet. 

Ooh, They are doing the Gethsemane Brown mysteries.  This is a really good cozy mystery series that have ... I think 5 books out now.  It was a great discovery for me when I stumbled upon the first one.

Quote

Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major
Premieres: Friday, September 22 at 9 pm ET/PT
Synopsis: Former orchestra conductor Gethsemane Brown (Sister, Sister’s Tamera Mowry-Housley) moves to the Irish countryside to teach music at a boarding school. There, she meets a handsome math teacher (Virgin River’s Marco Grazzini) who helps her professionally, and a renowned composer Eamon McCarthy (The Power’s Risteard Cooper) who is rumored to be behind the death of his longtime love. Oh, did we mention that Eamon’s actually a ghost hot to solve his murder? Supernatural’s Adam Fergus also stars

I'll check it out because I love the books, but not super crazy about the casting. No Shade to Tamera, I like her fine,but she is not the Geth I see in my head.  But that is what you get when you headcast while reading books, LOL.  And this is Hallmark and they have a stable of go-tos all the time.  But I wish they'd branch out a bit.  In my head Gethsemane is more like a Jessica Williams or a Aja Naomi King.

And it is steeped in all things Irish.  I like that they have an Irish actor playing Eamon.  But the guy playing Francis... nope.  Everyone except Geth is Irish.

I am curious to see how they adapt this.  Geth is a really interesting character on page.