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

[twoods]

I liked Mingle All the Way because of the concept and chemistry between the characters, but they threw in too much angst towards the end to make it enjoyable. It felt rushed, but I did like that they spent a good amount of time together and that the didn’t confess the “L word” so quickly. I also liked her business partner and best friend.

[LexieLily]

I don't remember Karen Kingsbury's The Bridge being Christmas-y so I'm not sure why it's on this month, and there's only part one, not the second half.

[Jaded]

15 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I don't remember Karen Kingsbury's The Bridge being Christmas-y so I'm not sure why it's on this month, and there's only part one, not the second half.

They aired the first movie in Dec. 2015 originally and planned to air the second movie a year later until Hallmark fans got pissed on their social media accounts. They ended up airing the second movie a few months later. I remember creeping on Hallmark's Facebook pages during that time and being surprised at the amount of anger that was coming out of their fingertips. I think they've aired the first one a few times by itself. I remember thinking it was weird when looking through the TV listings. 

[MissyPoo]

Another thing that's kind of lame is that they have two different titles. Karen Kingsbury's The Bridge and The Bridge Part 2. So when I go to check it On Demand, they aren't even next to each other much less aired one after the other. Bah.

[anniebird]

10 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Totally agree about Christmas Connection.  I like the two leads individually but wow, they had zero chemistry.  Their vibe seemed more like colleagues or siblings!  Tom Everett Scott is an endearing actor but as a romantic lead, he wasn’t convincing at all.  

The thing that bothered me most about that movie is that the flight attendant is supposed to be prepping the flight before the passengers get on and she goes down the aisle closing all the overhead bins. Have none of the people associated with this movie ever been on a flight?  Sometimes, with these hastily thrown-together movies, things like really bad grammar or misspellings take me right out of the movie - one movie, a guy is sitting in front of a coffee shop window that advertises "Christmas Expresso" - in another, a young astronomer opens a card from her mentor that says, "Congradulations." I find it amazing that not one single person ever catches these fairly obvious errors.

[MissyPoo]

Here's another article on Hanukkah movies planned. Something else popped out to me while reading:

Quote

In an interview earlier this year, Crown Media C.E.O. and president William J. Abbott said that Hallmark is trying to evolve its programming to remain authentic in the the current cultural climate. "We work very hard to stay out of that stereotypical dialogue and situational behavior because it’s just not reality, and it’s not authentic,” Abbott told Glamour.“We really try to empower women. We really work hard to ensure that our women are strong—while they don’t need a man, they’d love to fall in love. But at the end of the day, that is not what they need to be successful or happy or fulfilled or have a good career. That is something that is very important to all of us to portray.”

Abbott is even open to Hallmark movies in which the main couple do not wind up together. “As we delve into our content and [look for] a more authentic way, we’ll progress,” he said. “Everything is on the table.”

My jaw dropped open. This is definitely going against type! I know there may be meltdowns of epic proportions if this happens, especially if the characters show chemistry. I'm intrigued yet unnerved.

Edited December 2, 2018 by MissyPoo

[LexieLily]

3 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

Another thing that's kind of lame is that they have two different titles. Karen Kingsbury's The Bridge and The Bridge Part 2. So when I go to check it On Demand, they aren't even next to each other much less aired one after the other. Bah.

Even typing in The Bridge Part 2 it doesn't come up as airing anytime soon. Oh well. I remember not liking that one as much as the first, anyway. And that the main girl's dad, the one that tried to keep the two leads apart, looked like/reminded me of Tyler Christopher (Nikolas Cassidine from General Hospital.) Hee.

[MissyPoo]

30 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Even typing in The Bridge Part 2 it doesn't come up as airing anytime soon. Oh well. I remember not liking that one as much as the first, anyway. And that the main girl's dad, the one that tried to keep the two leads apart, looked like/reminded me of Tyler Christopher (Nikolas Cassidine from General Hospital.) Hee.

Hmm. It could've been a Sling catalog thing. Even the website doesn't have any showtimes for Part 2 though it does have two more for Part 1 (really Hallmark?!).

 

But you are correct that was the main conflict for the second part. That and every time the two leads wanted to tell each other how they felt about one another, there was always an interruption or backing out. Yet I still watch it when it's on, er or if I could catch it again this year.

[Irlandesa]

10 hours ago, Jaded said:

They aired the first movie in Dec. 2015 originally and planned to air the second movie a year later until Hallmark fans got pissed on their social media accounts. They ended up airing the second movie a few months later. I remember creeping on Hallmark's Facebook pages during that time and being surprised at the amount of anger that was coming out of their fingertips.

I actually get the irritation about having to wait a year.  It's not like The Bridge 2 was a sequel; it was literally Part 2.  It was written and filmed as a whole with the story not being wrapped up by the end of the first.

1 hour ago, MissyPoo said:

Here's another article on Hanukkah movies planned. Something else popped out to me while reading:

My jaw dropped open. This is definitely going against type! I know there may be meltdowns of epic proportions if this happens, especially if the characters show chemistry. I'm intrigued yet unnerved.

As with The Bridge, once again, I think I'd share my irritation with the Hallmark viewer collective.  I want diversity.  I want new stories.  I want the city to win every once and a while.  But I want happy endings, dammit....just my luck they'll pull that crap with one of their few couples that do have chemistry.

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, MissyPoo said:

Hmm. It could've been a Sling catalog thing. Even the website doesn't have any showtimes for Part 2 though it does have two more for Part 1 (really Hallmark?!)

Hallmark really needs to fix their scheduling. Some of the older movies we like to see are only on once or twice (at inconvenient times) or not at all since the Countdown started, and this year's movies are each all on more than six times. 

[Myrrhine]

23 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Do they have any Christmas Mysteries? I don't watch those holiday shows so it never occurred to me that they might. If not we should write one!

Well, I hear there is at least a little mystery in Christmas at Honeysuckle Lane, but I haven't watched it yet. Maybe they think murders around Christmas are too depressing. (I don't know why; they have no problem with all other kinds of misery, especially in the older films). It's nothing like the stretch of NO HAPPY ENDING FOR THE COUPLE. I can't believe that is going to happen. 

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

Even typing in The Bridge Part 2 it doesn't come up as airing anytime soon. Oh well. I remember not liking that one as much as the first, anyway. And that the main girl's dad, the one that tried to keep the two leads apart, looked like/reminded me of Tyler Christopher (Nikolas Cassidine from General Hospital.) Hee.

I met him at a club signing back in the day! Good times. 

I finally watched Christmas Joy. I decided that overall I liked it. I liked the leads, and I enjoyed them together. And the setting wasn't distractingly cheap. And I thought it was a nice twist that the hero felt intimidated and out of place when he dressed incorrectly for the Christmas gala and was mistaken for a waiter. AND I appreciated that their almost kiss was stopped by one of them hesitating, not an outside distraction. Those interrupted kisses are my number one pet peeve for these movies this season. They are so tired. WE GET IT. THEY WILL NOT BE KISSING UNTIL THE END. Just, forgo the mid movie near-miss and let's all carry on with our lives. It's just such a tease. I hate them. 

A few quibbles with Christmas Joy: I agree that it was not entirely clear what exactly the Cookie Crawl was. I guess that multiple townspeople sign up to create these dramatically themed spaces and bake thousands of cookies of multiple kinds? Why not have each stop have 1 or maybe 2 types of cookies like a progressive dinner of exclusively cookies? Why make it SO onerous for the participants? Also, please Hallmark, stop with the obsession with themed events. Especially when you have no intention of actually bringing them to fruition with set dressing or props. The cookie crawl looked very nice, but the nature theme was not particularly evident. Also, in the vast majority of these films the lead actress looks very lovely throughout the film, and then when she is all dressed up for whatever formal event, her hair, dress, and makeup are remarkably less flattering. The hero always has to look floored by her newly revealed "beauty," while Joy looked much prettier with her hair down in her old high school sweatshirt. 

[Jaded]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

I actually get the irritation about having to wait a year.  It's not like The Bridge 2 was a sequel; it was literally Part 2.  It was written and filmed as a whole with the story not being wrapped up by the end of the first.

As with The Bridge, once again, I think I'd share my irritation with the Hallmark viewer collective.  I want diversity.  I want new stories.  I want the city to win every once and a while.  But I want happy endings, dammit....just my luck they'll pull that crap with one of their few couples that do have chemistry.

I got their frustration too. I had DVR'd the first part and had to go back to make sure I heard the next year mention at the time. My frustration was what sent me to their FB page to see other's reactions to it all. I just found it funny and ironic that with the type of movies shown on Hallmark that their FB page wasn't a very Hallmark type of environment. I get that it's social media though and people act on it in ways they wouldn't offline. They come at anyone who even suggests that Hallmark could air all their Christmas movies on one station and leave the other alone or have a mix of movies on one of their two main channels for their viewers who don't want to see 25 hours (intentional error) a day of those movies. 

I've watched one Hallmark Christmas movie so far and that was Christmas Everlasting and one Lifetime one which was My Christmas Inn. I liked that they each had some diversity and quite a few familiar faces from outside of Hallmark. I overloaded on the Hallmark Christmas movies after my Mom died at the end of 2015 since they were safe viewing which is one of the reasons I find it hard to watch a whole bunch of them at a time. I've also decided to try and watch the movies that are more diverse even if my viewing may not be counted in the ratings. 

I had trouble sleeping last night and was surprised to see some of the older Hallmark Christmas movies from 2006 and 2008 listed during the early morning late night hours as @LexieLily mentioned. I thought they had all been send to the app for good. 

 

23 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Do they have any Christmas Mysteries? I don't watch those holiday shows so it never occurred to me that they might. If not we should write one!

That's a great idea. I'd definitely watch them all though I'm not sure how well mixing Christmas and murder would go over with some of their more vocal fans outside of PTV.

[LexieLily]

21 minutes ago, Jaded said:

That's a great idea. I'd definitely watch them all though I'm not sure how well mixing Christmas and murder would go over with some of their more vocal fans outside of PTV.

They wouldn't even have to hire outside actors! They already have Lori Loughlin and CCB for both Christmas movies AND their mystery series'!

[Irlandesa]

On 12/1/2018 at 2:13 PM, catrice2 said:

Do they have any Christmas Mysteries? I don't watch those holiday shows so it never occurred to me that they might. If not we should write one!

The last true mystery they had was a Murder She Baked entry.  I can't find any ratings information about it, though. 

[Happywatcher]

Just saw The Godwink Christmas on DVR. Women gets engaged but on a trip to Martha's Vineyard meets a guy.

Painful for two reasons. She wouldn't tell her current guy, even when pressed, and that is iffy. More seriously, the camera shots were pretty lame. They were in Martha's Vineyard and they could have been filming in the shopping district and small airport of any rust belt mid sized midwestern city. The best scenes were shot in a nice living room with a window looking over some seashore somewhere

[Wishywashy]

8 hours ago, anniebird said:

The thing that bothered me most about that movie is that the flight attendant is supposed to be prepping the flight before the passengers get on and she goes down the aisle closing all the overhead bins. Have none of the people associated with this movie ever been on a flight?  Sometimes, with these hastily thrown-together movies, things like really bad grammar or misspellings take me right out of the movie - one movie, a guy is sitting in front of a coffee shop window that advertises "Christmas Expresso" - in another, a young astronomer opens a card from her mentor that says, "Congradulations." I find it amazing that not one single person ever catches these fairly obvious errors.

Another funny (most likely intentional) error was when she was in her hotel room packing up and her computer program for learning Italian was playing. I did a double take and had to rewind the part when I heard the computer voice say, “Vuoi andare al manicomio?” That translates to “Do you want to go to the insane asylum?” And she answered, No, I don’t want to go to the market today.” Haha

Edited December 3, 2018 by Wishywashy

[Bronx Babe]

Does anyone know when they're going to run "Snowmance"?  I've read that it's one of the very worst so I don't want to miss it.

[Irlandesa]

4 minutes ago, Bronx Babe said:

Does anyone know when they're going to run "Snowmance"?  I've read that it's one of the very worst so I don't want to miss it.

It's an ION movie and will air on 12/15 at 4 p.m.  Now I'm trying to remember what I thought of it.  Hmm. I think I liked it. ;)

I like Jerrika Hinton. I want to see her in another movie. She did have chem with her co-star.  I just wish The Majestic Christmas had a better premise. 

[Bronx Babe]

Thanks @Irlandesa.  I don't know if I get that on my Comcast line-up, though.

There are only two reviews on the imdb board -- both heavily negative but heck, I'm a sucker for a snowman!

[catrice2]

7 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

The last true mystery they had was a Murder She Baked entry.  I can't find any ratings information about it, though. 

Now that you mention it you're right about this. I think the killer was a woman and at the end they were running through some Christmas tree lot or something like that. I forgot about that movie

[Sara2009]

I’m an hour into “ The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” and I really want to slap that nosy neighbor.

[anniebird]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

 

I like Jerrika Hinton. I want to see her in another movie. She did have chem with her co-star.  I just wish The Majestic Christmas had a better premise. 

She was one of the best things in one of my favorite Christmas movies, A Christmas Kiss. She was fine in this, but I agree with you - it needed a better premise or better writing or something.

[dcinmb]

WSJ - This Season’s Guilty Pleasure: Binge-Watching Hallmark Christmas Movies (requires a subscription so I've included the text below)

 

This Season’s Guilty Pleasure: Binge-Watching Hallmark Christmas Movies

Super fans keep track with spreadsheets, stay up all night to watch; ‘Romance at Reindeer Lodge’

By Katherine Bindley

Nov. 29, 2018 1:04 p.m. ET

Every weekend around this time of year, the living-room TV in Tim Gates’s Pittsburgh home is tuned to the Hallmark Channel. His wife and teenage daughter watch the network’s original Christmas movies all day long.

Mr. Gates usually sits down and teases them about the movies, which feature predictable plotlines and tropes. “Next thing I know, I’m sucked in for a half-hour, 45 minutes,” he says.

A few weeks ago, after the Steelers game ended, he watched “Romance at Reindeer Lodge”—by himself. “Nobody else was around,” says Mr. Gates, 45 years old, a regional vice president of a staffing firm. Then, while traveling for work, he fell asleep in his hotel room to “Switched for Christmas.” 

Mr. Gates isn’t ashamed to admit it: He is starting to like them.

Seasoned fans go a few steps further. They find Hallmark Christmas movies to be amazing, best watched in bulk and worth staying up all night for. Some say a steady routine of Hallmark Christmas movies is part of self-care, a bit like meditation.

Crown Media Family Networks, a subsidiary of the greeting-card maker, is the company behind more than 150 original Christmas movies that have run on its Hallmark-branded channels over the past decade. There are 22 new ones airing on the main Hallmark channel this year—they started Oct. 27—and another 15 new ones on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Together with past years’ movies, they run practically round-the-clock, 10 to 12 a day. Some fans have found the best way to keep track of what they’ve watched is with a spreadsheet.

“I am often asked, when will Hallmark hit a ceiling on how many Christmas movies it produces every year?” said Michelle Vicary, the company’s executive vice president, programming and publicity, in an email. “So far, we are not there. There are viewers who tell us that Hallmark holiday on TV is something they wait for all year long.”

Devoted watchers acknowledge that similar events unfold in each movie: Inclement weather tends to strand people in idyllic towns with names like Evergreen. There tends to be a scene where the characters bake Christmas cookies. The town’s Christmas festival tends to be a do-or-die event that stresses out the planners.

In the end, the two leads fall in love while relishing in the spirit of Christmas—at least the more secular parts. And it always snows, even when the stories are set in North Carolina or Tennessee.

Repetitive? More like reliable, says Camille Culbreath, 26, a flight attendant from Boston who watched five Hallmark Christmas movies one recent Saturday.

“I sat on my couch. I made breakfast, and then I made lunch, and the next thing I know it’s dinner time,” she says.

Ms. Culbreath started out much like Mr. Gates, making fun of her mom’s love of Hallmark movies, until about five years ago, when she “just got invested,” she says. She realized she actually likes cheesy, romantic stories about a big-city girl who goes to the country and finds a fiancé.

“I was, like, wait, that’s me,” she says. “I’m a big-city girl. I want to go to the country. I want to find an innkeeper to call my husband and we celebrate Christmas.”

Ms. Culbreath, who is biracial, says she notices the lack of diversity in Hallmark movies. “I always joke there’s one black person in the whole movie,” she says. “Either there’s one black lady or black guy who is in it who has a big role, or there’s one or two in the background that you don’t really pay attention to.”

The network recognized the need for more diversity and inclusion in its original movies and has created new partnerships to do so, company officials say. One result is “Christmas Everlasting,” which debuted last Saturday night and starred Tatyana Ali (“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”), Dennis Haysbert (“24”) and singer Patti LaBelle.

Aly McGuire and her roommate, Rachel Rompala, both 19, say they discovered their shared love for Hallmark Christmas movies one night during their freshman year at Iowa State University. “I don’t think we stopped until 3:30 or 4 a.m., and we basically tried to do that as much as possible,” says Ms. McGuire.

This year, the pair made a spreadsheet to document the movies they had watched and to rate them. There are 11 different categories that affect the movies’ ratings, including: Does the movie make you want to cry, or throw up, or both? Several categories are reserved for evaluating male leads.

“We rate them based on their Christmas spirit, can he pull off a sweater, and his romanticness,” says Ms. Rompala. “We haven’t made a spreadsheet for the women yet.”

Their favorite so far has been “A Gift to Remember.” Former “The Young and the Restless” regular Peter Porte stars as a man who loses his memory after a collision with a bookstore worker—with whom he later falls in love.

“We rated that one off the charts,” says Ms. McGuire. “Our scale is 1 to 10, and I rated it a 16 out of 10, and Rachel rated it a 15 out of 10.”

Adriana Allegri, 52, a freelance writer from Chandler, Ariz., says she has been watching Hallmark Christmas movies for about 10 years, but things have really accelerated in the last two years. She has been waking up five mornings a week at 3 a.m. and watching Hallmark movies for two hours while she exercises. She has many saved on her DVR. 

The movies take her back to a simpler time, and help her decompress when the news feels like too much. “It’s definitely escapist,” she says. “I can’t say that they’re high drama or they’re fantastic pieces of film.”

What happens after New Year’s Day when the Christmas movies no longer air regularly? Hallmark has plenty of other original films.

“Once Christmas is over, there’s going to be the Valentine’s ones, so that’ll be great,” she says. “I tend to do them year round.”

Appeared in the November 30, 2018, print edition as 'What Yule Watch: More Hallmark Christmas Movies.'

[In2You]

There's more than enough cozy mysteries for Hallmark to adapt that take place at Christmas. I'm shocked they don't do Christmas mystery movies. 

Lol they work very hard to portray strong women? Not in the majority of their movies. The woman is usually the one who has to consider giving up her career to be in a small town with a man.

[sistersledge]

Mingle All the Way. Well that mom was a real pain and I honestly thought in the beginning that something had happened to the dad and he never challenged his rude wife. Was it the same actress as the mom under reunited movie? They both had very low energy and seemed odd. I’m not buying the complete 180, and her non-apology. I just wanted to spend time with you! Holly needed some boundaries. I also didn’t love the lead male, thought he seemed more like a friend.

[MissyPoo]

On 12/1/2018 at 12:13 PM, catrice2 said:

Do they have any Christmas Mysteries? I don't watch those holiday shows so it never occurred to me that they might. If not we should write one!

 

16 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

The last true mystery they had was a Murder She Baked entry.  I can't find any ratings information about it, though. 

That was such a good one. I was hoping they would show that but I haven't spotted it this year. I may have to check the site.

I remember looooong ago, there was a movie called Deck the Halls with Kathy Najimy about a detective and an amateur sleuth trying to find the kidnapped father. Details are sketchy in my mind, but it premiered on the HMM channel in the early 2000s and now it seems to be relegated to the app. I thought I also spotted it around the streaming sites like Hulu and Tubi and such. Here is the trailer:

 

Ion had a strange one a long time ago with that Ryan B....er, something. He always plays the uptight guy in the suit that the girl dumps but ended up getting the girl in the end. I haven't seen it in a while but they may show it this year.

[Bronx Babe]

@Irlandesa, Well it appears I actually do get ION.  Not that that's a fortunate thing after watching "A Prince for Christmas".   I swear all these Hallmarky, Lifetimey things are written by the same person, lol.

Prince Duncan travels to Western New York to escape his impending royal marriage.  The actor playing this guy is very homely and frankly reminded me of Stan Laurel.  Dad the King is none other than Maxwell Caulfield who even at -- what? 60 plus years I'm guessing -- is way hotter than sonny boy.  Kelly LeBrock is just embarrassing.  She looks more like a Kardashian relative than Queen.

Duncan immediately falls head over heels for a struggling diner owner named Emma, and a week is hardly over when they both realize their love.  Amazing, lol.  She's raising a younger sister and pestered -- some might say stalked -- by a persistant, douchy, hometown boyfriend who is giving her marriage ultimatums.

This time it's the mythical kingdom of "Balemont".  When his beloved asks where he's from, Duncan merely has to say "Somewhere in Europe" for her to be satisfied with that answer.  She never questions him again.

The actress playing Emma is constantly referred to as "beautiful" but to me she bears an uncomfortable resemblance to QVC's Kerstin Lindquist.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Bronx Babe

[llewis823]

On 12/1/2018 at 5:23 PM, Wishywashy said:

I am a man who enjoys Hallmark Christmas movies. It’s a real bonding time with my lovely wife as she loves these movies. I

My husband loves watching them with me too. Everytime a couple kisses, he goes "Umm!" like a little kid on the playground. lol

[StaceyNotStacie]

I’m a little disappointed that Hallmark Drama isn’t showing Christmas movies. Surely there are enough older movies in their collection that they can do without marathons of Little House on the Prairie and their other shows. 

[Scarlett45]

After thinking about it my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies are 

Christmas in Conoway

Naughy or Nice

A Christmas Detour

Let it Snow (RIP Alan Thicke!!)

Marry Me at Christmas. 

 

Question- I’ve been trying to get through Christmas Everlasting, but I am not catching what exactly happened to Alice after her accident? I wanted to like this one, but there was no story arch! The set was pretty and I liked the cat, that’s it. 

[anniebird]

Did anyone watch Once Upon a Christmas Miracle? I was fully prepared not to like it (the word "Miracle" in the title made me think it was going to be a different movie altogether) but I think it might be my favorite movie of this season.  The two leads are both charming, they had chemistry, and it's based on a true story. Other than the fact that the real story probably didn't take place at Christmas, it seems to be pretty true-to-life.

Edited December 5, 2018 by anniebird

[Sandiscot]

5 hours ago, anniebird said:

Did anyone watch Once Upon a Christmas Miracle? I was fully prepared not to like it (the word "Miracle" in the title made me think it was going to be a different movie altogether) but I think it might be my favorite movie of this season.  The two leads are both charming, they had chemistry, and it's based on a true story. Other than the fact that the real story probably didn't take place at Christmas, it seems to be pretty true-to-life.

 

I loved this! I didn't know it was a true story until the end. Here's the true story (you're right, not really at Christmas):

https://heavy.com/entertainment/2018/12/once-upon-a-christmas-miracle-true-story-meet-heather-krueger-chris-dempsey/

[VartanFan]

Quote

Dad the King is none other than Maxwell Caulfield who even at -- what? 60 plus years I'm guessing -- is way hotter than sonny boy.  

I'll always love Maxwell Caulfield.  So underappreciated in Grease 2. 

[emjohnson03]

23 hours ago, anniebird said:

Did anyone watch Once Upon a Christmas Miracle? I was fully prepared not to like it (the word "Miracle" in the title made me think it was going to be a different movie altogether) but I think it might be my favorite movie of this season.  The two leads are both charming, they had chemistry, and it's based on a true story. Other than the fact that the real story probably didn't take place at Christmas, it seems to be pretty true-to-life.

Oh LOVED this! The first movie I have watched on Hallmark this season and it was just as charming and sweet as I thought it would be. The leads were perfect together and had just enough angst to touch upon that didn't seem fake. It was wonderful that it was based on a real story. This one I will watch every year I think, it's just that wonderful. 

[Silver Raven]

The two leads of Mingle All The Way are both former Days of Our Lives actors.

[twoods]

Reunited at Christmas was a decent background movie. Not much happened, but I liked how the main couple started together. I was worried there would be some old “hometown flame” to cause angst because the lead boyfriend seemed like a nice guy. Probably won’t watch it again but it was pleasant enough.

[dalek]

I think Christmas Everlasting wins the prize for tearjerker of the Christmas movie season.  It was a pretty good movie.  I kind of figured Maeve had to be a secret child, since there's no way a secret girlfriend was going to show up in a Hallmark Christmas movie.

[mikeb]

Homegrown Christmas premieres Saturday and stars Lori Loughlin and Victor Webster as reunited high school sweethearts. It seemed like a  stretch so I googled their respective ages and turns out Lori is 9 years older (54 vs 45).

[EyewatchTV211]

Has anyone else here stumbled upon the Deck the Hallmark podcast? It's three guys reviewing Hallmark's Christmas movies, along with some of their movies from other times of the year. One guy loves the movies, one generally likes them, and one guy had never watched them but hates every single one so far. It's hilarious. I recommend. They first started earlier this year with the idea of reviewing every Hallmark/HMM movie this Christmas, but they got a head start with some of the earlier Christmas movies and the ones from other times that I mentioned. They've even gotten to interview some of the actors from the movies, which was fun. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, VMepicgrl said:

Has anyone else here stumbled upon the Deck the Hallmark podcast? It's three guys reviewing Hallmark's Christmas movies, along with some of their movies from other times of the year. One guy loves the movies, one generally likes them, and one guy had never watched them but hates every single one so far. It's hilarious. I recommend. They first started earlier this year with the idea of reviewing every Hallmark/HMM movie this Christmas, but they got a head start with some of the earlier Christmas movies and the ones from other times that I mentioned. They've even gotten to interview some of the actors from the movies, which was fun. 

Thank you for posting about this. I am listening to the one on Crown for Christmas and it is great. I can’t wait to hear them talk about some of the really bad ones and the ones I couldn’t finish. I love when they are talking about how bad the snow usually is in these movies. 

I really want to listen to the Andrew Walker one. 

[EyewatchTV211]

1 minute ago, Dani said:

Thank you for posting about this. I am listening to the one on Crown for Christmas and it is great. I can’t wait to hear them talk about some of the really bad ones and the ones I couldn’t finish. I love when they are talking about how bad the snow usually is in these movies. 

I really want to listen to the Andrew Walker one. 

You're welcome. It's fun to listen to them on my long walk with my dog. I probably look silly cause I'm usually laughing or smiling a ton. I was disappointed that the one guy wasn't there for Crown for Christmas ("Panda," I think), because they referenced him liking it, so it would have been him and Bran talking positively about it. With the other guest they had instead with Dan, it ended up being not as fun. I like when they make fun of most of the movies, even those that some of them like, but since CfC was one of my favorites, I had been looking forward to the good stuff more. 

[twoods]

I’m struggling with Shoe Addict’s Christmas solely because Candace seems extra shrieky in it. I adore Luke McFarlane but can’t understand why his character would like her at all.

Christmas Everlasting keeps making me cry. I like it so far but it’s so sad.

[Guest]

48 minutes ago, VMepicgrl said:

You're welcome. It's fun to listen to them on my long walk with my dog. I probably look silly cause I'm usually laughing or smiling a ton. I was disappointed that the one guy wasn't there for Crown for Christmas ("Panda," I think), because they referenced him liking it, so it would have been him and Bran talking positively about it. With the other guest they had instead with Dan, it ended up being not as fun. I like when they make fun of most of the movies, even those that some of them like, but since CfC was one of my favorites, I had been looking forward to the good stuff more. 

I have been looking for a podcast to listen to during workouts so I am particularly thrilled to find this. I went back and listened to the first one and I agree that it is better with Panda. I think my opinion is going to be similar to his. 

[Scarlett45]

I’m catching December Bride, for the first time in a long time, and I don’t think the protagonist should’ve been guilted into going to her cousin and ex-finance’s wedding (timeline is she was engaged to the groom that summer and by December he is marrying her cousin). Yeah no. No one is suggesting she spend her life cursing them or hating them etc, but she’s a human being and her own well being matters, she doesn’t need to attend their wedding! “All we have is family.”.....ummm no. 

[Aliconehead]

21 hours ago, mikeb said:

Homegrown Christmas premieres Saturday and stars Lori Loughlin and Victor Webster as reunited high school sweethearts. It seemed like a  stretch so I googled their respective ages and turns out Lori is 9 years older (54 vs 45).

Not unusual, Tatyana Ali and Dondre Whitfield are 10 years apart, for example. It happens all the time. 

[Kaoteek]

Just finished Mingle All The Way. I liked the lead couple, but the nagging, cold mother trope was annoying, and to be honest, I spent the first 30 minutes or so thinking I had already seen the same storyline not long ago... and then I remembered the very mediocre A Perfect Romance, which has a very similar setup, only around Valentine's Day. And just like this Mingle All The Way, I was left quite indifferent to the whole endeavour, which is, in both cases, quite bland. 

[TVFan17]

A couple of quick programming updates.... TWO new (additional) Christmas movies are being added in --

Out of the blue, Hallmark has suddenly added in a 16th Christmas movie to the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel line-up.  It is called "A Christmas for the Books" and it stars Chelsea Kane and Drew Seeley, and it is airing on December 22nd (it bumped the Danica McKellar-Brennan Elliott movie to December 21st).   I remember when this one was filming, but the title was slightly different.  I wondered why it had not appeared on any other channel's line-up.  Hallmark must have just acquired it.   https://www.facebook.com/hallmarkmoviesandmysteries/photos/a.435481080873/10156659822625874/?type=3&theater

And... the movie starring Bobby Campo and (Gregory's daughter) Lily Anne Harrison, "Christmas Camp," which had also not been assigned to any network even though it was referred to as a Hallmark movie back when it filmed in New York, has been added to the Hallmark website -- but it does not yet have a premiere date.  I cannot see a reason for them to add it to the website unless they plan to air it this season, so expect a premiere date to appear before the year is over.  Here is the page for it -- http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/christmas-camp

Edited December 9, 2018 by TVFan17
added some bold and italics!!

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Watched A Golden Christmas (2009) and the lead actress reminded me so_ much of the Claire Dunphy  character of Modern Family in an alternate universe.  I kept waiting for Phil to enter the picture,lol. 

[voiceover]

On 12/7/2018 at 8:09 PM, Dani said:

Thank you for posting about this. I am listening to the one on Crown for Christmas and it is great. 

Eeeeeep!  I just pop in on a whim, and here's news on my movie!!!!

Is there a link to this, or do I need to download the podcast?  I am a tech moron, so please help.

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, voiceover said:

Eeeeeep!  I just pop in on a whim, and here's news on my movie!!!!

Is there a link to this, or do I need to download the podcast?  I am a tech moron, so please help.

I listen through apple podcasts but they are also available on the website. Crown for Christmas was one of the earlier ones. https://www.deckthehallmark.com/