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

[Mountainair]

All these movies are running together but I did watch the Christmas at Holly Lodge movie. It would help if they all didn’t have the same title! I assumed the cable guide got it mixed up with another movie but the movie description totally fit only the actresses were different. 

[twoods]

On 12/16/2017 at 7:52 PM, VMepicgrl said:

The lead is definitely super perky, but she and Jesse worked together better than I thought. And it actually wasn't her trying to force Christmas on others - at least not the decorations. That ended up being 

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one of his male buddies.

I was glad they went that route instead of it being her or I would have been annoyed. She only really helped out when he asked for it to please his niece and nephew. I enjoyed this movie more than I expected to. 

Jesse's overly slicked hair bugged me, though. Who does that with their hair, particularly if he is spending most of his time home trying to write a book on a laptop?

Also, that spray snow they use is ridiculous. I get so distracted by how it gets all over the actors' footwear and even pants. And Jesse went sliding in it twice. 

I also liked Christmas Next Door more than I thought I would. The lead actress toned it down as the movie went on, and I liked the chemistry between her and Jesse. Plus, the kids weren't annoying! The commercials made it seem like she was forcing Christmas on him when that wasn't the case, and I liked the music. It doesn't help that Jesse Metcalfe is very nice to look at- I don't think he's aged in the past decade. Will probably rewatch it again.

[In2You]

I just think I'm over Hallmark's offerings this year. They're all feeling like the same paint by numbers story .

[TVFan17]

13 hours ago, Kaoteek said:

Christmas at Holly Lodge was originally produced/announced as Reindeer Lodge (and before that, Evergreen Inn), if i'm not mistaken.

The originally announced title for Christmas at Holly Lodge (the first one to appear in print, with a corresponding synopsis) was, indeed, Evergreen Inn.  It stuck for quite a while, but I suppose Hallmark ultimately figured that it would be too similar to the Ashley Williams movie title, Christmas in Evergreen (which was originally titled Snow Globe Wishes).    

So then Evergreen Inn mysteriously changed to Reindeer Lodge for just a brief period of time, before quickly changing (like one or two weeks later) to Christmas at Holly Lodge.     I suppose Hallmark figured that Reindeer Lodge might be too confusing, since they were also premiering the Nicky Whelan movie, which was called Reindeer Games and then ultimately ended up being changed to Romance at Reindeer Lodge!   lol

When Christmas at Holly Lodge was in production, the actors sometimes referred to it as just "Holly Lodge," so, for a moment, I thought the title was going to change yet again, but I realized they were just shortening it for the purposes of tagging it quickly in social media posts.

 

Of course, these title changes (and rampant schedule changes) aren't confusing in the least bit, are they?  lol
 

Edited December 19, 2017 by TVFan17

[Sara2009]

I’m not ashamed to admit that I love A Very Merry Mix-Up. It’s cheesy and predictable, but the leads have such good chemistry that I forgive it.

[AnnaRose]

3 hours ago, Sara2009 said:

I’m not ashamed to admit that I love A Very Merry Mix-Up. It’s cheesy and predictable, but the leads have such good chemistry that I forgive it.

It was one of my favorites and kind of reminded me of While You Were Sleeping.

I finally watched Coming Home for Christmas last night, with Danica McKellar, and enjoyed it a lot.  For some reason, Robert (played by Neal Bledsoe) reminded me of Chris Lowell off and on throughout the movie, depending on camera angle.  Anyway... you guys weren't kidding about the poor choice of location/sets for what was supposed to be a huge and grand historic mansion.  Robert's bedroom was tinier than any bedroom in any house I've ever lived in, and such a tiny dining room too!  So odd for what was supposed to be a 20,000 square foot home.

Edited December 19, 2017 by AnnaRose

[EyewatchTV211]

Wow! I barely recognize Thomas Beaudoin (hot ghost from The Spirit of Christmas) in the pictures from his upcoming Hallmark movie. http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/love-on-the-slopes

[TVFan17]

AnnaRose mentioned Coming Home for Christmas... which reminded me of another perplexing series of titles...

The original title for the Christmas Keepsake Week/Christmas in July Hallmark Channel movie, The Christmas Cure (with Brooke Nevin and Steve Byers), was Home for the Holidays.  (It was also said to be a Lifetime movie at first, and then Hallmark snapped it up.)

I suppose that Hallmark couldn't keep the Home for the Holidays title for that one, because it might confuse people who were also going to be watching the Gold Crown Christmas Week July premiere of Home for Christmas Day (with Catherine Bell and Victor Webster) on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.  Home for Christmas Day was originally called Love Finds Its Way -- which is not Christmasy in the least bit.

But.... are any viewers getting Home for Christmas Day confused with the Danica McKellar/Neal Bledsoe movie, Coming Home for Christmas?  Or... is anyone mixing up Home for Christmas Day and Coming Home for Christmas with the other movie called Christmas Homecoming (starring Julie Benz and Michael Shanks), which was originally titled Welcome Home Warrior?

And what about the three 2016 Hallmark Channel movies, My Christmas Love, My Christmas Dream and A Dream of Christmas?   Do you think anyone was confused?

I keep thinking that Hallmark will eventually just run out of Christmasy titles and will be forced to start going with some non-Christmasy titles for Christmas movies.

On 12/11/2017 at 9:05 PM, TVFan17 said:

It's hard to believe there are only about 3 weeks left of Christmas movies, and only a handful of new movie premieres remaining.  Time has zoomed by at lightning speed.

Looking ahead to some of what is coming up in Hallmark Land in the first part of 2018....

The January/Winterfest event has some interesting options:

--Love on the Slopes - starring Katrina Bowden and Thomas Beaudoin (they are each making their Hallmark debut)

--Frozen in Love - with Rachael Leigh Cook and Niall Matter

--One Winter Weekend (also known as Snowbound) - with Taylor Cole and Jack Turner (who are reuniting after starring together in last year's My Summer Prince)

--The Heart of the Mountain - with Kristy Swanson and Dean Cain (Update - 12/19/17 -- the title is now Winter's Dream)

The Countdown to Valentine's Day (although I saw something in a Wall Street Journal article to make me think that Hallmark might be renaming the Valentine event to something else in 2018?) is supposedly going to include these movies (these are working titles, which could change):

--Room for Romance --with Lacey Chabert and Andrew Walker

--Valentine's Gala -- with Danica McKellar and Cameron Mathison (Update - 12/19/17 - Damon Runyan is also in this movie)

--Cooking with Love -- with Ali Liebert, Brett Dalton and Kimberley Sustad

--The Wedding March 3:  A Valentine Wedding -- with the same cast from the first 2 Wedding March movies

--*Untitled* (and not yet filmed) movie starring Rachel Boston and Daniel Lissing

There are 3 other movies that have been filmed -- supposedly for Hallmark -- but it's unclear if they will premiere during the Valentine/February event, or carry into March, or air at some other time.  They might even end up on the Hallmark Movies Now streaming app if not on one of the main channels.   They are:

--Valentine's Again -- this one stars Nicky Whelan, Greg Vaughan and Marina Sirtis;  it was filmed in Bulgaria one full year ago and was mysteriously removed from the Countdown to Valentine's Day 2017 line-up, even after it was announced by Hallmark.  It has, apparently, been shown in Europe, however.  Now that Nicky is starring in the upcoming Romance at Reindeer Lodge, I wonder if Valentine's Again will finally premiere in America in 2018.

--Family Royal - with Cindy Busby, Andrew Cooper and James Brolin (filmed in Romania several months ago)

--Royal Matchmaker -- with Bethany Joy Lenz and Will Kemp (filmed in Romania in the last few weeks)

In January, Holly Robinson Peete's new movie mystery series (Al Roker's project), The Morning Show Murders (co-starring Rick Fox), is premiering on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, if I am not mistaken.    And in February, Holly's reality series, Meet the Peetes, is premiering on the Hallmark Channel (on the same night When Calls the Heart returns for its next season, which is a curious programming choice).

March is a pretty slow month for Hallmark movies on the main/original channel.   It's in between the Valentine event and the Spring Fling event in April.   After 5 straight months of new movie premieres every weekend, it might not be a bad idea for them to take those 2 royal movies and premiere them in March as some sort of "Royal" mini-movie event just to fill in the gap a bit.  Otherwise, they lose a lot of momentum in the transition between Valentine's Day and early April.

The next Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, The Beach House, stars Andie MacDowell, Minka Kelly and Chad Michael Murray, and is supposedly premiering in April.

VMepicgrl's comment about Thomas Beaudoin just reminded me that another Winterfest movie title has changed (actually, 3 out of 4 of them have changed at some point or another), but I can no longer edit my original (above-quoted) post from a couple of pages back to reflect the change. 

So I will just say here that The Heart of the Mountain is now being called Winter's Dream (because they have to make sure we know it is a Winterfest movie!).

Also, Damon Runyan is in Valentine's Gala with Danica McKellar and Cameron Mathison.

The Rachel Boston-Daniel Lissing movie is the only known, remaining Valentine movie that has not yet been filmed, nor is it set to film before the end of the year, from what I can tell so far.  So I suspect that production will begin in January, making it another 'get-it-on-the-air-in-record-time' endeavor, much like Rocky Mountain Christmas. Christmas Connection and Romance at Reindeer Lodge.

Rachel said in an interview that the movie with Daniel Lissing (written by the same person who wrote Coming Home for Christmas with Danica McKellar) is about two people who have been together before -- they were a couple, and then they broke up, and now they have gotten back together.  She said that Daniel gets to speak with his authentic, real accent instead of trying to hide it like he does on When Calls the Heart.

[VartanFan]

Quote

She said that Daniel gets to speak with his authentic, real accent instead of trying to hide it like he does on When Calls the Heart.

Oh, momma.....

[twoods]

He used his real accent in an episode of Blindspot and I was drooling. 

Wow, you weren't kidding @VMepicgrl with Thomas looking unrecognizable in the Hallmark movie. He looks so much better with facial hair.

[EyewatchTV211]

1 hour ago, twoods said:

He used his real accent in an episode of Blindspot and I was drooling. 

Wow, you weren't kidding @VMepicgrl with Thomas looking unrecognizable in the Hallmark movie. He looks so much better with facial hair.

He still looks really good in some of the pictures. It is definitely a different look, though. Generally I'm not a fan of guys with facial hair, but he did look good. 

[twoods]

You're right. After going through the pictures he does look really good in some of them- the one you posted is a weird angle. I'm not familiar with the female actress but hope it's good. I like the sports themes to the winter fest movies because of the Olympics. The Julie Berman ice skating movie from last year (or was it this year?) was decent.

Currently watching Every Christmas Has a Story and I still like it. I tried watching My Christmas Love and it annoyed me so turned it off after 10 minutes. The lead wasn't as annoying on the Lifetime movie last year.

[dcinmb]

3 hours ago, twoods said:

He used his real accent in an episode of Blindspot and I was drooling. 

Wow, you weren't kidding @VMepicgrl with Thomas looking unrecognizable in the Hallmark movie. He looks so much better with facial hair.

 

The actor I find unrecognizable from role to role is Peter Porte:

 

 

 

 

ETA: Daniel Lissing was especially droolworthy on Last Resort: 

 

Edited December 20, 2017 by dcinmb

[Kaoteek]

Not a huge fan of Christmas Next Door. I didn't hate it, and it was perfectly watchable (mostly because i've always liked Fiona Gubelmann & Jesse Metcalfe), but overall, it just felt lacking. The supporting cast was mostly on the bland side, the kids weren't particularly likeable, the clichés were there (as usual), and there wasn't enough plot to keep me interested all the way through. Meh.

[TVFan17]

So, it appears that not only will Ali Liebert, Brett Dalton and Kimberley Sustad be starring in the upcoming Cookin' With Love (or Cooking With Love), but we will also be treated to an appearance by the long lost Antonio Cupo (whose last new Hallmark role was in Anything for Love, in 2016).
 

 

 

 

 

Edited to add:   Antonio has since indicated on Instagram that he was only visiting the set and is not in the movie.

Edited December 21, 2017 by TVFan17

[MissyPoo]

Finally! Antonio Cupo on my screen again! Happy day!

I hope they show Recipe For Love before this new premiere.

 

So many name changes. Even my mom gets confused when I mention the titles. I have to tell her "the one where the chick works as a..."

[kirinan]

1 hour ago, TVFan17 said:

So, it appears that not only will Ali Liebert, Brett Dalton and Kimberley Sustad be starring in the upcoming Cookin' With Love (or Cooking With Love), but we will also be treated to an appearance by the long lost Antonio Cupo (whose last new Hallmark role was in Anything for Love, in 2016).

Happy, happy, I'm so happy!!!!!!!!! Just when I think I'm ready to move on from Hallmark movies, they suck me back in with Antonio. I cannot WAIT, because that is an adorable photo of him.

[Irlandesa]

I'm happy too.  I wonder who he is playing.  I'd get a kick out of him playing Ali's love interest considering she played the best friend of his love interest in Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade.  But he's not the male lead so he's either barely in it, the obstacle, or he's for Kimberly Sustad.

[TVFan17]

I knew that there were at least a few Antonio Cupo fans in this thread, so I wanted to be sure to come back here to post the info about Antonio being in the Ali LIebert movie as soon as I saw his picture!

I, too, am wondering what kind of role he will have.    As Irlandesa said, he won't be the lead (because we are assuming Brett Dalton is the leading man).  So.. Antonio could be playing someone vying for Ali Liebert's attention (in other words, the guy she doesn't choose by the end of the movie).   Or, he could be someone paired up with Kimberly.  Or... they might be going in a different direction with Antonio, and he might not be a romantic partner for anyone.  Instead, he could be playing a small role as an eccentric chef/TV host/instructor or something.

I have not seen any kind of plot synopsis for this Cookin'/Cooking With Love movie -- in fact, Hallmark has not even announced it yet, as I suppose they are waiting until Winterfest begins in January to roll out the Countdown to Valentine's Day press releases -- but, if we are to assume by the title that there is some sort of food/restaurant/cooking element to the story, then they might have a scene with an over-the-top Italian food TV personality or instructor, who has a heavy accent and is very lively and animated, played by Antonio.  I hope that's not the case, but I can picture that sort of thing happening.

Edited December 20, 2017 by TVFan17

[anniebird]

On 12/12/2017 at 9:00 AM, Qoass said:

An interesting critique of the franchise. Full disclosure: I agree completely.

I agree with the sentiments in the piece but I've seen The Christmas Kiss approximately 823 times and there's no mistletoe anywhere in that movie.

[anniebird]

On 12/18/2017 at 0:10 AM, twoods said:

I agree on Christmas Connection. It was pleasant but the chemistry wasn't there with Brooke and Tom. I would have squeed if Liv Tyler was the lead and there was a That Thing You Do reunion. I did like that Sydney was a flight attendant- they changed it around with at least one of the leads.

Except that, when she's on the plane before any of the passengers board, she goes down the aisle and closes all the overhead bins. Hasn't anyone associated with this film ever flown before?

[twoods]

Cookin' With Love keeps getting better and better. This movie better not disappoint.

Saw that Bridget Reagan was going to be in a movie this weekend. It's going to be strange seeing her in a romantic movie when I'm used to seeing her play a crazy psychopath on Jane the Virgin.

[MissyPoo]

45 minutes ago, twoods said:

Cookin' With Love keeps getting better and better. This movie better not disappoint.

Saw that Bridget Reagan was going to be in a movie this weekend. It's going to be strange seeing her in a romantic movie when I'm used to seeing her play a crazy psychopath on Jane the Virgin.

Huh. Is that what she's been up to? Other than that Magic Stocking movie that one year and an ep or two on Agent Carter, I'm used to her being Mother Confessor on Legend of the Seeker. Man, I miss that show. 

[TVFan17]

Well, it looks as though Cookin'/Cooking With Love just got a bit less interesting.   Sometime after I posted the photo in this thread earlier in the day, Antonio Cupo responded to someone's comment next to the Instagram photo to say this:

 

"Good morning beautiful people. I only visited set, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t see me in this one. If you would like to see me in more, you’ll have to ask Hallmark channel! Merry Christmas to all. Xo"

 

I just happened to see his comment right now, when I went back to his Instagram page.

 

So... it was a false alarm.  Antonio was just hanging out on the set.   :(  Boo!    The people who follow his page got excited and he probably figured he'd better clear up the confusion so no one was baffled when he did not appear in the movie.

Drat!!!   No Antonio in any new Hallmark movies in all of 2017, and apparently not in the first part of 2018 either.   Well... we still have Spring Fling, June Weddings, Summer Nights and Fall Harvest, and he could pop up in one of those events.

Edited December 21, 2017 by TVFan17

[AnnaRose]

I watched Window Wonderland last night and I think it will end up being one of my favorites.  Paul Campbell is such an appealing actor.  He was so cute, funny and charming in this movie.  For some reason, I didn't realize he was also the lead in Once Upon a Holiday which was released two years later.  (I'm not sure if it's because he looked different or because I've just been watching way too many of these movies to remember it all.) 

Chyler Leigh was very good in Window Wonderland also, and Naomi Judd was adorable as her mother. 

My only real negative was that they decide to fix Naomi's character up with the window washer who is played by someone 24 years older (who looked more like 34+ years older because Naomi looks so much younger for her age.)  He looked a lot more like her father than an appropriate date for her. 

The upside was that he was a super sweet person who the character liked.  But it still annoyed because of that tendency in television and movies to pair males with female actresses who are so much younger and usually much more attractive. 

Spoiler

Of course it helped that the window washer turned out to be the owner of the department store. ;)

[TVFan17]

4 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

I watched Window Wonderland last night and I think it will end up being one of my favorites.  Paul Campbell is such an appealing actor.  He was so cute, funny and charming in this movie.  For some reason, I didn't realize he was also the lead in Once Upon a Holiday which was released two years later.  (I'm not sure if it's because he looked different or because I've just been watching way too many of these movies to remember it all.) 

Chyler Leigh was very good in Window Wonderland also, and Naomi Judd was adorable as her mother. 

My only real negative was that they decide to fix Naomi's character up with the window washer who is played by someone 24 years older (who looked more like 34+ years older because Naomi looks so much younger for her age.)  He looked a lot more like her father than an appropriate date for her. 

The upside was that he was a super sweet person who the character liked.  But it still annoyed because of that tendency in television and movies to pair males with female actresses who are so much younger and usually much more attractive. 

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Of course it helped that the window washer turned out to be the owner of the department store. ;)

 

Paul Campbell is one of my favorites from the general crop of Hallmark lead actors.  I think he is a gem and a breath of fresh air, but, depending on which project he ends up in, he might be able to shine a bit more than in some other projects.   Sometimes they let him ad lib a little (like in Surprised by Love, co-starring Hilarie Burton), and he can show off his humor a bit more, and other times it seems like he has to suppress his humor somewhat for a more dramatic tone.  

Sometimes I think that I'd like to see Paul Campbell starring in more Hallmark movies.   And then I think, "Hmm... if he were in more movies, maybe I would end up getting tired of him."   So I haven't figured out what a happy medium should be.  I feel like I would like to see him more often, but that it could be a bad thing if he showed up too much.

I was just listening to a podcast interview with Paul Campbell a few weeks ago (if I can remember whose podcast it was and where I found it, I will come back and link it here!).   It was interesting, as he gave a lot of insight into how these movies come together.   I guess he had taken a bit of a break from Hallmark movies when he and his wife welcomed a baby boy (after Once Upon a Holiday), but then he jumped back in this past summer, when he starred in (and co-produced) Sun, Sand and Romance with Tricia Helfer.  He said that, originally, SS&R was supposed to be shot in Georgia (which is where Peter Porte's Love at the Shore and the recently completed Andie MacDowell movie, The Beach House, were filmed), but that it didn't work out, so Mexico was kind of a last-minute alternative for filming.  Paul said he didn't even realize that Mexico was an option, so he was fully on board with that decision.

Paul said that the actors might get the call to be in a movie about 3 weeks before production begins (Andrew Walker has indicated that sometimes he might get a call just a couple of days before production begins).  Paul was told that Tricia Helfer was being considered for the leading lady in SS&R, and he already knew her so he thought it would be a good choice.   (Sometimes the leading ladies can choose their leading men, or they can at least have a say in who is considered for the role, but I don't know if the leading men have the same leeway.)

Paul indicated that he has been pitching ideas to Hallmark, including for Christmas movies, so at least he is still in the mix and is trying to find a project that they like and want to make.

 

Edited to add:  I think this is the same podcast I listened to a few weeks ago, which I referenced above -- https://player.fm/series/hallmarkies-podcast/hallmarkies-actor-paul-campbell-interview

Edited December 21, 2017 by TVFan17

[tvchick]

Apparently Saturday Night Live had a sketch about Hallmark Movies the week that James Franco was hosting, but it was cut.

SNL does Hallmark

[In2You]

19 minutes ago, tvchick said:

Apparently Saturday Night Live had a sketch about Hallmark Movies the week that James Franco was hosting, but it was cut.

SNL does Hallmark

That Elaine chick in the comments was clearly hurt by how accurate that sketch was. 

[TVFan17]

37 minutes ago, tvchick said:

Apparently Saturday Night Live had a sketch about Hallmark Movies the week that James Franco was hosting, but it was cut.

SNL does Hallmark

That's hilarious!   It's too bad it was cut.  I usually record SNL, but I have been getting bored with it this season and I have only tuned in to a few episodes, so I probably would have missed that segment even if it hadn't been cut.  

I was just recently thinking that it had been a while since SNL did a Hallmark movie parody sketch (I seem to recall that they did one maybe 2 or 3 years ago), and I cannot remember who hosted that show, but this one with James Franco is much better -- and some of the details are more accurate -- than the one they did before.

Whether people love or hate the movies, it can't be denied that most of the points they make in this sketch are spot on.    I'm a fan of the movies in general and I can certainly see the humor in it!

[MissyPoo]

6 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

Paul Campbell is one of my favorites from the general crop of Hallmark lead actors.  I think he is a gem and a breath of fresh air, but, depending on which project he ends up in, he might be able to shine a bit more than in some other projects.   Sometimes they let him ad lib a little (like in Surprised by Love, co-starring Hilarie Burton), and he can show off his humor a bit more, and other times it seems like he has to suppress his humor somewhat for a more dramatic tone.

1

I so agree! It was so weird seeing him on Hallmark since I was used to his president's asst's role in the new Battlestar Galactica (with Tricia!) but he's become a new fave of mine also. I didn't think they'd really interact since they never really had any scenes together, but then again I wasn't on the set to see everything hee hee. I'm noticing a lot of former sci-fi faves popping up on Hallmark and Pixl. It's kind of cool.

I notice in Once Upon a Holiday, he was more toned down so I guess they didn't let him go "full Gridley' on that one. Bummer. I think Window Wonderland and Surprised By Love are my fave works from him.

 

 

1 hour ago, tvchick said:

Apparently Saturday Night Live had a sketch about Hallmark Movies the week that James Franco was hosting, but it was cut.

SNL does Hallmark

Oh, I am so all over this! Dashing off to watch! Thanks for linking!

[Jaded]

Here’s What Happens When You Watch 7 Days Of Made-For-TV Christmas Movies...Rediscovering holiday spirit through low-budget seasonal entertainment is, well, it’s OK.

[oakville]

I just finished watching Snowed Inn. It was awesome. I love these movies. The set decorators do a great job of making the Inn looked wonderful for Christmas.

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, In2You said:

That Elaine chick in the comments was clearly hurt by how accurate that sketch was. 

No, I don't think she even realizes how freakin' accurate it is.  And she's not the only one.  So much defensiveness there for only ten responses.

I'm surprised they cut that skit.  It would have been the best of the night, IMO.  I bet Lorne is one of those secret butthurt Hallmark watchers.

[twoods]

Wow, that sketch was hilarious. When they said "black co-worker with no backstory", I couldn't stop laughing. Elaine's comment made me laugh harder. People really take Hallmark seriously- I wonder if that was Candace in disguise. "Don't you find Christmas so MAGICAL!" 

[MissyPoo]

4 hours ago, Jaded said:

Here’s What Happens When You Watch 7 Days Of Made-For-TV Christmas Movies...Rediscovering holiday spirit through low-budget seasonal entertainment is, well, it’s OK.

OMG, the accuracy! I died at "Holiday Achievement Unlocked"

[kirinan]

16 hours ago, tvchick said:

Apparently Saturday Night Live had a sketch about Hallmark Movies the week that James Franco was hosting, but it was cut.

SNL does Hallmark

I loved this! My favorite part of it was the calendar with all the soundalike titles. Hallmark's bland, say-nothing titles are the worst, so this wasn't far off. 

[In2You]

10 hours ago, twoods said:

Wow, that sketch was hilarious. When they said "black co-worker with no backstory", I couldn't stop laughing. Elaine's comment made me laugh harder. People really take Hallmark seriously- I wonder if that was Candace in disguise. "Don't you find Christmas so MAGICAL!" 

I've come across a few folks who take Hallmark very seriously. Especially the people on the Its a Wonderful Movie blog. Hallmark is life for some of them and they dedicate alot of time to find details about new movies being filmed and when they'll air. And don't you dare say anything about those movies other than calling them family friendly masterpieces. 

12 hours ago, oakville said:

I just finished watching Snowed Inn. It was awesome. I love these movies. The set decorators do a great job of making the Inn looked wonderful for Christmas.

Tha movie was Lifetime not Hallmark but I agree.

[oakville]

1 minute ago, In2You said:

I've come across a few folks who take Hallmark very seriously. Especially the people on the Its a Wonderful Movie blog. Hallmark is life for some of them and they dedicate alot of time to find details about new movies being filmed and when they'll air. And don't you dare say anything about those movies other than calling them family friendly masterpieces. 

Tha movie was Lifetime not Hallmark but I agree.

The Hallmark & Lifetime movies play on the W network in Canada. It's hard to tell them apart.

[In2You]

1 hour ago, oakville said:

The Hallmark & Lifetime movies play on the W network in Canada. It's hard to tell them apart.

Lifetime isn't afraid to have the characters talk like normal adults and don't have that chaste feel to them usually. 

[Kaoteek]

2 hours ago, kirinan said:

Not nearly enough "Christmas xxxxxx" titles. ^^

[Irlandesa]

26 minutes ago, Kaoteek said:

Not nearly enough "Christmas xxxxxx" titles. ^^

And too many Saturdays and Sundays without a movie even though there are usually two.  #soinaccurate

[Shanna Marie]

A few pages back either on this thread or the Holiday Movies thread, someone mentioned how calm the breakups with Mr./Miss Wrong are in these movies, and now I can't help but notice it, and it's freaky. For one thing, there were maybe two movies I watched all year (and I don't think they were Hallmark) that didn't have one of the main characters with an obviously wrong significant other that they have to break up with not long before the happy ending. And nobody has a hissy fit or cries or gets angry. It's all, "Are you sure? Well, okay, have a good life."

I guess if it's the significant other who breaks up, it happens at the beginning of the movie and it's what spurs the main character to go do something that leads to her (it's usually the woman) going and doing something different that leads to her meeting and falling in love with Mr. Right. If it's the main character doing the breaking up, it happens at the end, after having done all kinds of romantic things with someone else. As in that SNL skit: "He works too much, so it's okay if I cheat on him." In fact, you can almost set your watch by the time the Mr./Miss Wrong will show up to throw a monkey wrench in things. If Mr. Wrong broke up with the heroine at the beginning of the movie, this is the point where he returns, having changed his mind and wanting her back. Strangely, she doesn't throw anything at his head. She just smiles and says, "No, I want something else now."

And the other person is always just plain wrong and awful, with totally different interests and values than the main character, working too much, too impressed with status. The main character is groaning at the things the other person wants to do. I always have to wonder why they're with that person to begin with.

The craziest breakup had to be in that Christmas Train movie, in which the guy's girlfriend willingly takes the "job" to come get on the train and pretend that she's decided she wants to get married to help him get back together with his ex, and she breaks up with him by spilling the beans and revealing that she was just pretending and he's so obviously meant for his ex.

[AnnaRose]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

...If Mr. Wrong broke up with the heroine at the beginning of the movie, this is the point where he returns, having changed his mind and wanting her back. Strangely, she doesn't throw anything at his head. She just smiles and says, "No, I want something else now."

Is it terrible that this made me laugh out loud?

[MissyPoo]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

The craziest breakup had to be in that Christmas Train movie, in which the guy's girlfriend willingly takes the "job" to come get on the train and pretend that she's decided she wants to get married to help him get back together with his ex, and she breaks up with him by spilling the beans and revealing that she was just pretending and he's so obviously meant for his ex.

 

Which rivals my most hated one in Matchmaker Santa. I saw that long ago when I first started watching the channel and although I was annoyed that Santa was deliberately keeping Lacey and her dude apart, I wanted to see how they would resolve things when they got together. When they did, they ended up with different partners: her with, I think, his best friend and him with his old college GF (who his mother preferred). When they finally met up, everything was smiles and handshakes as everyone got to know each other and was introduced. No hard feelings or dude attacking the friend because, you know, friend code and all. I wanted to throw things.

Although I liked The Perfect Christmas Present, the same kinda thing happened there. I thought they were going to get in each other's faces but no, the friend is there helping his buddy get his ex. The Mr. watched it with me and he was like "yeah, that would never happen".

[JAYJAY1979]

23 hours ago, Jaded said:

Here’s What Happens When You Watch 7 Days Of Made-For-TV Christmas Movies...Rediscovering holiday spirit through low-budget seasonal entertainment is, well, it’s OK.

What's wrong with holidays in a big city?... beautiful lights, places open till 2 or 3 am (when in small towns, things seem to close at midnight or earlier), and you get the same  types of gatherings like in a small town.

Also, I'm allergic to most trees.. and my apartment building doesn't allow real trees since they are a fire hazard and all.  If anything, I think Christmas movies try to brainwash people not to think outside the box or evolve... imagine if Charles Dickens were around nowadays... he would be brainwashed into not being creative or writing classic novels, etc.

[EyewatchTV211]

This should be my last post about Thomas Beaudoin (at least until his Hallmark movie airs). I was talking about this movie and the Lifetime one with my mom, who had also liked him in The Spirit of Christmas, and how different he looked. In trying to show her, I found a couple of other clips of him on youtube with a cleanshaven face. First is this previous Lexus commercial, which I remember seeing and thinking the guy was very hot: 

and then an interview before The Spirit of Christmas. He doesn't talk a whole lot, but he looks really great here, too. He actually reminds me a little of Matt Bomer, lookswise, and that is a very high compliment from me. I think Matt is one of the most gorgeous men I've seen.

[Irlandesa]

11 hours ago, In2You said:

Lifetime isn't afraid to have the characters talk like normal adults and don't have that chaste feel to them usually. 

Just recently I was thinking back to a movie I saw a few years ago called Fill The Void.  It's a story about a Hasidic Jewish girl* who is pressured to marry her sister's widow.  It followed, to the best of my [considerable lack thereof] knowledge, all traditional rules of courtship and even that movie had more sensuality than most recent Hallmark movies.

*And actually, when Hallmark forayed into this community, they also created one of their sexier outings with Loving Leah.  Gosh I miss that Hallmark.  And the one who did Follow The Stars Home. 

[In2You]

Hallmark used to have some great movies with depth before they switched over to makingv only rom coms with no comedy and little romantic chemistry.

[JAYJAY1979]

17 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Just recently I was thinking back to a movie I saw a few years ago called Fill The Void.  It's a story about a Hasidic Jewish girl* who is pressured to marry her sister's widow.  It followed, to the best of my [considerable lack thereof] knowledge, all traditional rules of courtship and even that movie had more sensuality than most recent Hallmark movies.

*And actually, when Hallmark forayed into this community, they also created one of their sexier outings with Loving Leah.  Gosh I miss that Hallmark.  And the one who did Follow The Stars Home. 

Those were hallmark hall of fames....they had larger budgets and bigger names...plus used high quality writers.

 

They still do them, but since the hallmark.hall.of f ames moved over to the hallmark channel....the quality diminished

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

They still do them, but since the hallmark.hall.of f ames moved over to the hallmark channel....the quality diminished

Right. I do recognize they were HoF productions but your'e right, even they aren't reliable any longer.