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

WendyCR72
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Notabug

Notabug

(edited)
25 minutes ago, Clawdette said:

My husband's renal cell carcinoma was Stage 4 when diagnosed.  He continued to work for three-plus years, including international travel. We were thankful he felt well enough to continue moving because it took his mind off the inevitable.  So, I never even thought it was unrealistic for the mom to travel.

It depends so much on the type of cancer and the options available to treat it.  For example there are now multiple drugs available for advanced-stage lung cancer that are letting people live for years and years in relatively good health.  I have a friend who has lived an essentially normal life with Stage IV lung cancer for almost a decade, thanks to Opdivo.  Another friend with Stage IV ovarian cancer diagnosed almost 6 years ago, still working full-time, on maintenance chemo with no major symptoms.  The 5 year survival of her type of ovarian cancer is less than 5% in Stage iV.  She got lucky, considering, that her tumor responded unusually well to chemo.  She'll never be cured, but she's gotten many good years since her diagnosis.

Even with the statistics provided by the NIH, about 5% of people with Stage IV liver cancer live longer than a year and many of them have good quality lives with minimal problems.  1 in 20 people isn't much, but it's not nothing, either.

The reason it would've been unrealistic for this woman to travel is because advanced liver cancer is virtually always accompanied by jaundice, nausea and vomiting and ascites (swelling of the abdomen due to excess fluid).  They're not usually not physically able to carry on with every day activities, let alone long trips..  Those individuals who do survive long term without disabling symptoms are generally doing so on chemotherapy/immunotherapy or a combination of the two.  Those regimens would generally preclude extensive trips abroad.  

I had an aunt diagnosed with Stage iV renal cell cancer in the mid 1970's who survived 4+ years.  It's a very different cancer than hepatocellular cancer and longterm survival rates are better.

Since the movie's premise seemed to be that the woman was terminal; I presume she had looked at options for therapy and either wasn't able to tolerate it or chose not to pursue it for personal reasons.  If she was undergoing some sort of therapy, surely she would've informed her daughter prior to traveling with her and perhaps made arrangements with a specialist in Scotland for necessary follow up.

The storyline was not realistic, but, then, it's a Hallmark movie; they're not going for realism.

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anniebird
anniebird
Kohola3
Kohola3

Sorry, couldn't help myself.  

Crs97
Crs97

You know what movie I want Hallmark to make? Girl gets engaged to seemingly nice guy at the beginning, then goes home to the small town that she grew up and left years ago. She runs into her high scho

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Chippings

Chippings

I also watched the Betty's Bad Luck movie and liked it.  I agree that the word "cute" kind of covers it -- attractive couple and their attraction sort of made sense.  He wasn't the usual hero and it was a different initial conflict between them.  So that was all good

I think I recognized the hall of their apartment building from another Hallmark movie.  Watching too many of them, maybe?  

But, thumbs up for this one.  And, I hope it gets a few more of us posting here -- It's been really quiet!  

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GeorgiaRai

GeorgiaRai

Betty's Bad Luck had potential. The lead actors were good and the story line was fine.  I didn't even mind the fake "curse" and how it was resolved.  But Betty's behavior didn't just cross the line between quirky and unacceptable, it plowed right over it at full speed.  So much cringe at the rugby game and camping trip.  Had the writers dialed it down about 8 notches, it could've been a fun ride.  

If I ever find myself wanting to experience a good dose of second-hand embarrassment, I know what to re-watch.

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Bronx Babe

Bronx Babe

On 1/22/2024 at 12:58 AM, Chippings said:

I also watched the Betty's Bad Luck movie and liked it.  I agree that the word "cute" kind of covers it -- attractive couple and their attraction sort of made sense.  He wasn't the usual hero and it was a different initial conflict between them.  So that was all good

I think I recognized the hall of their apartment building from another Hallmark movie.  Watching too many of them, maybe?  

 

That hallway seemed familiar to me as well in two other productions, but the titles escape me.  One was I think where the title character moves to New York City and gets involved with the gay couple who run a bakery, and she seems to spend more time with them than with the lead actor.  The other one had a Hanukkah theme.  Also, all those hallways and even the apartments had an odd "look" to them, lol.  Hard to describe.  As though my beloved Hallmark space aliens had been the designers.  

Probably the explanation is more Earth-like:  they are all Canadian abodes.  (said with respect)

They could be Autumn in the City and Hanukkah on Rye, but not sure.

Also another one set in "New York" where two (deceased) mothers play matchmaker for their children.   I seem to recall the same weird hallway and apartments.

Bronx Babe

Bronx Babe

Unfortunately I found the actress playing the terminally ill mother in A Scottish Love Scheme very annoying.   In true Hallmark OCD fashion she produces a detailed list of places and activities to share with her daughter but ironically the script gives the two very short shrift as all this sad bonding occurs roughly five minutes before the movie ends.

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coffeebean

coffeebean

(edited)
On 1/25/2024 at 2:40 AM, Bronx Babe said:

Also another one set in "New York" where two (deceased) mothers play matchmaker for their children.   I seem to recall the same weird hallway and apartments.

Just One Kiss..........I LOVED that movie. At the end, I was shocked to find out the two Moms were deceased. I was not intuitive enough to figure that out before the end.

Edited by coffeebean
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norcalgal

norcalgal

1 hour ago, Ele said:

Looking forward to the February Jane Austen themed lineup of movies. I like the male leads in the movies. The only movie not in that theme is Erin Cahill’s. It looks boring and like a different version of other hallmark movies with a cooking theme.


https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/an-american-in-austen

Funny how one of the actresses in a *Jane Austen* film is named Eliza Bennett!!!  Weird coincidence. 

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Chippings

Chippings

15 hours ago, coffeebean said:

Just One Kiss..........I LOVED that movie. At the end, I was shocked to find out the two Moms were deceased. I was not intuitive enough to figure that out before the end.

Yes, that's the one!  Even though they're filming mostly in Vancouver or nearby, this is the first time a few of us have recognized a specific area.  

I still watch Just One Kiss when it comes on.  Thanks for remembering the name, you guys!  

 

Irlandesa

Irlandesa

He was a bit of a jerk in the beginning but they dropped it.  I really like the female lead.  I liked her in her previous movie too. 

Overall, I appreciated that this was about something different--aerial acrobatics--and was pleasantly surprised that it looked like the stars did a lot of the work themselves.  The actress was a ballet dancer and the actor actually did aerial acrobatics in Cirque du Soleil.  So that was pretty cool.

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BuckeyeLou

BuckeyeLou

12 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

He was a bit of a jerk in the beginning but they dropped it.  I really like the female lead.  I liked her in her previous movie too. 

Overall, I appreciated that this was about something different--aerial acrobatics--and was pleasantly surprised that it looked like the stars did a lot of the work themselves.  The actress was a ballet dancer and the actor actually did aerial acrobatics in Cirque du Soleil.  So that was pretty cool.

I did not care for the male lead's character, he was a jerk pretty much thru the whole movie.  But I did like the young actress and yes, I was impressed that they did their own aerial work...the Best part of the movie was the end when the 2 of them did their final performance...that was very cool to watch. 

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FunnyFace

FunnyFace

43 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

He was a bit of a jerk in the beginning but they dropped it.  I really like the female lead.  I liked her in her previous movie too. 

Overall, I appreciated that this was about something different--aerial acrobatics--and was pleasantly surprised that it looked like the stars did a lot of the work themselves.  The actress was a ballet dancer and the actor actually did aerial acrobatics in Cirque du Soleil.  So that was pretty cool.

I appreciated the take -aerial acrobatics -- and agree it was different. But I was so underwhelmed.  I've seen Cirque du Soleil and enjoyed the choreography of the performers' routines. Unfortunately, I found the acrobatics -- if they can be called that --  in this movie to be no more than climb and pose. Between the lack of a strong dramatic pull -- will the lead couple get together or not -- and the static acrobatic choreography -- I agree with the poster above that this movie became yet another Hallmark background noise.

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BuckeyeLou

BuckeyeLou

And we are back :)  I enjoyed "Paging Mr. Darcy"...Will Kemp is so charming & always elevates every movie he is in.  He & the young actress had good chemistry, I enjoyed their banter, I enjoyed the humor of the overly dramatic younger sister(shades of Lydia Bennett),  and the whole concept of a Jane Austin conference was fun.

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kirinan

kirinan

11 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I enjoyed Paging Mr. Darcy because of Will, Mallory and Jane Austen.  I could barely stand when the little sister Mia was on screen and I know there’s a parallel with the silly sisters in P&P, but I just couldn’t take her.  

Agreed about the sister, but it was worth sitting through her to see Will Kemp and Mallory Jansen, who I thought were fabulous together. I just enjoyed the whole movie, and will definitely catch it again. 

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Maelstrom

Maelstrom

Love on the Right Course: 😴😴😴 Couldn't even make it through this one. Why was it even filmed in Hungary? Couldn't they have saved that for a better movie?

Betty's Bad Luck in Love: Yikes, this one was a giant miss, not even Marco Grazzini could save this one for me. I think, maybe, with a better lead actress it could have worked, or at least have been tolerably silly - maybe someone like Sara Rue who can pull off quirky and sweet. But I kept telling Marco throughout the entire movie to run while he could, lol.

Romance With a Twist: I really enjoyed this one, I liked both leads (I didn't mind the male lead's assy-ness, since I figured he'd get taken down a peg or two by the end) and I really appreciate Hallmark trying something different with the acrobatics. I'm a big fan of dance, which is nearly impossible to find on US tv in any form, so I always enjoy dance-adjacent things.

Paging Mr Darcy: I really wasn't sure what to expect from this one beyond Will Kemp being his usual delightful self, but I loved it! I'm not even an Austen fan, but I thought this story captured the essence of a lot of Austenian themes. Mallory Jansen was great as usual (even though I always think of her as evil Queen Madalena from Galavant) and I didn't mind the sister since she made for an interesting counter to Mallory's character. I will say though that Hallmark didn't do itself any favors with that giant mashed-up ad featuring all of its Austen movies, since I honestly couldn't figure out what any of them are about. But I went into this not expecting much, and I really enjoyed it! For me, best of the year so far.

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GeorgiaRai

GeorgiaRai

Probably due to the fact that my granddaughter and I have watched "A Cinderalla Story: Christmas Wish" hundreds of times (at least!), I love Lillian Doucet-Roche and was happy to see her in Paging Mr. Darcy.  Overall, I felt the movie had a great cast and story line. 

I didn't care for the golf movie, Betty, or the scarf dancers, so Mr. Darcy has been my favorite of the year so far.  

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Chippings

Chippings

I'm sharing with you all the enthusiasm for Paging Mr. Darcy, and continuing appreciation for Will Kamp, and Mallory Jensen - 

I wanted to come here and note that Bridal Wave was on this afternoon, one of my top five Hallmark movies ever.  The characters are so very specific, and delightful to spend time with, and then it's so well cast.  'Georgie's entire family are so much fun (including her mother with the really awful hairdo).  It's all in the writing.  (I even enjoy watching Matty Finocchio, seen in so many of these movies, in his smallest role ever.  I think he had one sentence to actually say, but as an actor he's actually present whenever he's on camera.)

Credit for the writing to the Dobrofskys, by the way. (applause emoji)  

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norcalgal

norcalgal

5 hours ago, Chippings said:

I'm sharing with you all the enthusiasm for Paging Mr. Darcy, and continuing appreciation for Will Kamp, and Mallory Jensen - 

I wanted to come here and note that Bridal Wave was on this afternoon, one of my top five Hallmark movies ever.  The characters are so very specific, and delightful to spend time with, and then it's so well cast.  'Georgie's entire family are so much fun (including her mother with the really awful hairdo).  It's all in the writing.  (I even enjoy watching Matty Finocchio, seen in so many of these movies, in his smallest role ever.  I think he had one sentence to actually say, but as an actor he's actually present whenever he's on camera.)

Credit for the writing to the Dobrofskys, by the way. (applause emoji)  

❤️ 👏  my emoji’s are for the comments about Bridal Wave, one of the few Hallmark movies I’ve watched over and over and over again. My one teeny tiny nitpick about the film was the mom’s wedding dress: Georgie would be swimming in the dress without alterations, but the movie didn’t allude to any alterations. And it obviously wasn’t altered for Georgie since the mom was wearing the dress at the end of the movie. 

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coffeebean

coffeebean

21 hours ago, Chippings said:

I'm sharing with you all the enthusiasm for Paging Mr. Darcy, and continuing appreciation for Will Kamp, and Mallory Jensen - 

I wanted to come here and note that Bridal Wave was on this afternoon, one of my top five Hallmark movies ever.  The characters are so very specific, and delightful to spend time with, and then it's so well cast.  'Georgie's entire family are so much fun (including her mother with the really awful hairdo).  It's all in the writing.  (I even enjoy watching Matty Finocchio, seen in so many of these movies, in his smallest role ever.  I think he had one sentence to actually say, but as an actor he's actually present whenever he's on camera.)

Credit for the writing to the Dobrofskys, by the way. (applause emoji)  

I second everything you said about Bridal Wave. One of my all time favorite Hallmark movies.

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Badsamaritan

Badsamaritan

I've gotta be honest, I've never really been a fan of Jane Austen, and I'm for sure not a fan of period rom coms so I've been underwhelmed by this month's movies. I kinda liked Paging Mr. Darcy simply because of Will Kemp and Mallory Jansen, and it was set in current day. I'll be happy when they're over. 

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Ele

Ele

I thought Paging Mr. Darcy was solid. Kemp and Jansen had good chemistry. It isn’t a rewatch for me but it was engaging enough. 
 

Sweeter than Chocolate is on right now and I usually watch when it is on and I’m home. Jeannette and Mumford had great chemistry. 
 

I’m looking forward to next Saturday’s An American in Austen mainly because one of the leads is named Eliza Bennett! Also, Nicholas Bishop is in it and he was great in the Paris movie with Alexa PenaVega.

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voiceover

voiceover

So tonight’s feature, and next Saturday’s An American in Austen, are a bit of homage (eh, I’m going to call it that) to a 2008 ITV miniseries: Lost in Austen.

Jemima Rooper is Amanda, who’s such a huge Austen fan (specifically of Pride & Prejudice) that she can practically recite the book from memory.   One day, she investigates a noise in her bathroom.  A door in her shower — that was never there before — has opened! and Elizabeth Bennet is peeking through it.

The two end up swapping places, and Amanda finds herself in the Bennet household, right before new neighbor Charles Bingley pays a call.

From there, she blunders through the new storyline, trying to change it back to the old storyline.  She ends up making it all worse when (big surprise) she falls for Mr Darcy (a wonderful, swoon-worthy Elliot Cowan).  The most surprising angle of this fan fictionesque romance is the character who turns from villain to misunderstood hero, helping Amanda mend her mistakes…

Yup.  It’s Wickham.  10/10, recommend!

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anniebird

anniebird

1 hour ago, voiceover said:

So tonight’s feature, and next Saturday’s An American in Austen, are a bit of homage (eh, I’m going to call it that) to a 2008 ITV miniseries: Lost in Austen.

Jemima Rooper is Amanda, who’s such a huge Austen fan (specifically of Pride & Prejudice) that she can practically recite the book from memory.   One day, she investigates a noise in her bathroom.  A door in her shower — that was never there before — has opened! and Elizabeth Bennet is peeking through it.

The two end up swapping places, and Amanda finds herself in the Bennet household, right before new neighbor Charles Bingley pays a call.

From there, she blunders through the new storyline, trying to change it back to the old storyline.  She ends up making it all worse when (big surprise) she falls for Mr Darcy (a wonderful, swoon-worthy Elliot Cowan).  The most surprising angle of this fan fictionesque romance is the character who turns from villain to misunderstood hero, helping Amanda mend her mistakes…

Yup.  It’s Wickham.  10/10, recommend!

I agree - Lost in Austen is a great watch  - the one you DON'T want to watch is Austenland  with Keri Russell- truly terrible. I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks of Austen. 

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DanaMB

DanaMB

16 hours ago, Badsamaritan said:

I've gotta be honest, I've never really been a fan of Jane Austen, and I'm for sure not a fan of period rom coms so I've been underwhelmed by this month's movies. I kinda liked Paging Mr. Darcy simply because of Will Kemp and Mallory Jansen, and it was set in current day. I'll be happy when they're over. 

I am a fan and am not loving these movies. Last night’s Love & Jane has so many annoying tropes I’m having trouble finishing it.  I hope it gets better. 

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MerBearHou

MerBearHou

I’ve always enjoyed adaptations of Jane Austen books (except as mentioned above, not the horrible Austenland), but Jane’s recurring silliness by women is truly annoying to see.  Last night’s Love & Jane was no exception and seeing Alison Sweeney act like a silly middle-schooler was not entertaining — I was embarrassed for her to have to act that way to play out the script.  I’m a fan of Alison and she couldn’t have felt great about that.  All of that absurd running in dumb heels — please…

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anniebird

anniebird

2 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I’ve always enjoyed adaptations of Jane Austen books (except as mentioned above, not the horrible Austenland), but Jane’s recurring silliness by women is truly annoying to see.  Last night’s Love & Jane was no exception and seeing Alison Sweeney act like a silly middle-schooler was not entertaining — I was embarrassed for her to have to act that way to play out the script.  I’m a fan of Alison and she couldn’t have felt great about that.  All of that absurd running in dumb heels — please…

I watched about 20 minutes of this, knew exactly where the rest of the movie was going, and quit. I like Alison Sweeney but isn't it time she gave up the ingenue role?

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MerBearHou

MerBearHou

1 minute ago, anniebird said:

I like Alison Sweeney but isn't it time she gave up the ingenue role?

I have so enjoyed Alison in the baking and newspaper mystery series and also in her two movies with Marc Blucas and in all of those she was a level-headed businessperson and did a great job, but last night was the first time I had the exact same thought as you said above — it was not a good fit for her to play an ingenue.  

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norcalgal

norcalgal

18 hours ago, voiceover said:

So tonight’s feature, and next Saturday’s An American in Austen, are a bit of homage (eh, I’m going to call it that) to a 2008 ITV miniseries: Lost in Austen.

My two critiques about Lost in Austen, if memory serves are:

  • there was a scene where the main female character excoriated Darcy, telling him “he’s better than this” or some such because he wasn’t acting like the Darcy she had in mind/read in the Austen novel; and 
  • Darcy somehow entered the modern world but didn’t seem awed/flummoxed/even out of sorts with what he encountered. Darcy just seemed stoic and blasé, which struck me as weird and unrealistic.
16 hours ago, anniebird said:

I agree - Lost in Austen is a great watch  - the one you DON'T want to watch is Austenland  with Keri Russell- truly terrible. 

 

2 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I’ve always enjoyed adaptations of Jane Austen books (except as mentioned above, not the horrible Austenland), 

I’m the odd one out because I enjoyed Austenland, to the point I bought the DVD. Also, the BTS stuff is where I learned Keri was 5/6 months pregnant!!! in one of the scenes but she didn’t look pregnant at all. Oh, and that Keri’s IRL husband appeared in a brief scene.

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Acmeproducts

Acmeproducts

1 hour ago, MerBearHou said:

I have so enjoyed Alison in the baking and newspaper mystery series and also in her two movies with Marc Blucas and in all of those she was a level-headed businessperson and did a great job, but last night was the first time I had the exact same thought as you said above — it was not a good fit for her to play an ingenue.  

I wanted to like Love and Jane but it fell apart for the reason you stated. 

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

I recorded Love and Jane this afternoon because I somehow forgot to set the DVR for it last night.  All these reviews are making me not want to watch it.  Normally, I don't make my decision solely because of the reviews here because I know I've like some movies in the past more than others here. 

But as someone said above, Hallmark and Austen haven't been a winning combo for me.  Last week's movie was better for me because I couldn't identify which book they were trying to recreate if they even were.  The festival was just a different kind of festival.

Luckily, Hallmark Drama looked like it was running an Alison Sweeney marathon and I rewatched Love On the Air. That's one of my favorite movies she has done for Hallmark.  She and Jonathan Scarfe had great chem.

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Woopwoopkitty

Woopwoopkitty

I enjoyed Paging Mr Darcy - Will Kemp makes everything  better

i tolerated the Alisom Sweeney movie.  I didn’t like her character, the aforementioned footwear choices, her costuming, Ben Ayers’s hair styling, and lack of chemistry.  The only memorable part for me was the brief recreation of the Colin Firth emerging from the pond in the wet white shirt. Disappointed for Alison and I generally find her delightful.


American in Austen looks like it might be fun.

Sense & Sensibilty looks stupid. 

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kirinan

kirinan

(edited)
13 hours ago, Woopwoopkitty said:

i tolerated the Alisom Sweeney movie.  I didn’t like her character, the aforementioned footwear choices, her costuming, Ben Ayers’s hair styling, and lack of chemistry. 

I was disappointed in this, because I loved Alison and Ben together in The Chronicle Mysteries and was excited about seeing them again. It felt like this one misfired on so many levels. Mostly that I wish Alison's character would have acted like/been written as the 47-year-old woman she is and not like a ditzy teenybopper. Although Ben's character seemed more like an overgrown awkward teenage boy to me, so at least Alison wasn't alone in her miscasting.

The best part of the movie for me, hands down, was Jane.

Edited by kirinan
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