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

[kirinan]

18 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

Also, how are we supposed to find the re-broadcasts of the newer ones I've seen mentioned here (Ruby Herring, Mystery 101)?  Looking at the Hallmark Channel daily schedule, for every day, on the off chance that one of them will be shown, isn't working.

If you go to the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries site and do a search on the title of the movie (in this case, I used Ruby Herring), and go to the movie's main page, there's a link up in the upper right that says "Showtimes." If you hover over that, it'll drop down and show upcoming showtimes on the channel (it works that way on both channel sites).

Or am I misunderstanding what you're looking for? 

[Scarlett45]

On 2/3/2019 at 6:32 PM, Irlandesa said:

Too funny.  I didn't know you were referring to Double Wedding the movie when you mentioned it.  I thought you were talking about Valentine In The Vineyard where there was a double wedding.  Speaking of Valentine In The Vineyard, if Autumn In The Vineyard was the two of them getting together and Valentine In The Vineyard was the two of them getting engaged and getting married, then what the hell happened (or was the need) for Summer In The Vineyard?

I thought this too!

I am currently watching Valentine in the Vineyard, and I have to say Rachel Leigh Cook is a woman that just gets prettier with age. She was a “cute” teen but a very pretty woman. 

[Happywatcher]

Snowcoming. I usually like the lead actress, and the support actresses were really selling her.

However, I didn't believe the lead actor was a football guy, didn't believe the dad was a pro football coach (and I watched Ed Marinaro die in the first Hill Street Blues epi, only to be brought back to life, and allowed it because he and bobby hill were such great characters), and didn't believe the leads were sexually interested in each other.

My favorite part was the firepit with leg blankies.

[EyewatchTV211]

1 hour ago, Happywatcher said:

Snowcoming. I usually like the lead actress, and the support actresses were really selling her.

However, I didn't believe the lead actor was a football guy, didn't believe the dad was a pro football coach (and I watched Ed Marinaro die in the first Hill Street Blues epi, only to be brought back to life, and allowed it because he and bobby hill were such great characters), and didn't believe the leads were sexually interested in each other.

My favorite part was the firepit with leg blankies.

I don't think the dad was supposed to be a pro football coach. I think he was his high school coach who had a huge, positive impact on his life. So once the lead made it to the pros, he still admired him and flew him out to games and thanked him in interviews, etc. And still called him "coach" as a lifelong title, not that he was his current coach. Kind of like how we call former presidents "President _______" still.

[mikeb]

HMM announced at their TCA event that they are branding their Sunday night Mystery premieres as "Signature Mystery" and showed the scheduled air dates for rest of year (which given their track record will likely change).  There are 4 new Garage Sale Mysteries and 3 new ones each for Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Morning Show Mysteries, and Hailey Dean Mysteries.  For new series, there will be 4 Crossword Mysteries starring Lacey Chabert, 3 Chronicle Mysteries starring Alison Sweeney, and 1 Picture Perfect Mysteries starring Alexa and Carlos PenaVega. 

There are a couple open months on the schedule, so there may end up being more, but no mention of Darrow and Darrow or Emma Fielding (suggesting tonight's new movie may be it's last).  Also no mention of additional entries for the Taylor Cole and Jill Wagner/Kristoffer Polaha movies that aired in January - maybe they just haven't had enough time to make a decision on their futures.  Also no mention of the Danica McKellar Matchmaker Mystery or the Susan Lucci movie, both of which were announced last year.

Here is link to their "press room", which includes link to the Mystery announcement among the 02/09/19 press releases.  https://www.crownmediapress.com/?SiteID=142&NodeID=144

Edited February 10, 2019 by mikeb

[sistersledge]

The Story of Us started out strong but fizzled out. I liked the leads, Sam Page is adorable. It was refreshing how there was no annoying misunderstanding that could have been resolved by email 15 years prior, just a mutual break-up before college. Also that both moved away from the hometown and it was only the female that had decided to move back. Slightly ridiculous that the architect would be tasked with convincing the town for a week but okay.

The annoying: I feel like I recently watched the same exact storyline in another movie; build-up to some kind of ex returning story only to have him show up and be pretty wimpy with zero surprises since we knew she wasn’t interested. The storefront graphic signage and interior decoration of the bookstore was laughable. I can’t with the cheap fake flowers everywhere. And finally, the ending had a huge build-up (candlelit walkway again?) only to end with a pretty chaste peck on the lips from about 3 ft apart. Did she even know he would be moving there? The almost-kiss on the porch felt more heated than the one at the end.

[Suzysite]

When did Maggie Lawson have time to put a zillion candles out in a perfect path, plus cook dinner for two when she was just at the same town meeting as Sam?  (Sorry, I can't be bothered to remember the character names.)  That whole scene was just ridiculous.  Who has that many candles?  And why did he have to walk through her store when she was in the back yard anyway?   Couldn't he walk around?    Ugh.  

[Happywatcher]

3 hours ago, mikeb said:

HMM announced at their TCA event that they are branding their Sunday night Mystery premieres as "Signature Mystery" and showed the scheduled air dates for rest of year (which given their track record will likely change).  There are 4 new Garage Sale Mysteries and 3 new ones each for Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Morning Show Mysteries, and Hailey Dean Mysteries.  For new series, there will be 4 Crossword Mysteries starring Lacey Chabert, 3 Chronicle Mysteries starring Alison Sweeney, and 1 Picture Perfect Mysteries starring Alexa and Carlos PenaVega. 

There are a couple open months on the schedule, so there may end up being more, but no mention of Darrow and Darrow or Emma Fielding (suggesting tonight's new movie may be it's last).  Also no mention of additional entries for the Taylor Cole and Jill Wagner/Kristoffer Polaha movies that aired in January - maybe they just haven't had enough time to make a decision on their futures.  Also no mention of the Danica McKellar Matchmaker Mystery or the Susan Lucci movie, both of which were announced last year.

Here is link to their "press room", which includes link to the Mystery announcement among the 02/09/19 press releases.  https://www.crownmediapress.com/?SiteID=142&NodeID=144

Yea! Garage Sale, Teagarden, Jill Wagner

Okay: Crossword, Picture Perfect, Emma Fielding

Meeh: Morning Show, Darrow, Taylor Cole, 

[Irlandesa]

I hope we get more Mystery 101s.  

I forgot to record The Story of Us so I won't be able to watch until tonight...if then.

[kirinan]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get a few more Mystery 101s. The other mystery movies — Garage Sale, Aurora Teagarden, Morning Show, Hailey Dean, Emma Fielding — I just can't get into. I will at least try the first Chronicle Mystery since I like Alison Sweeney, might try the Crossword Mysteries (although I run hot and cold on Lacey Chabert), and I just can't sit through an Alexa-Carlos movie to save my life. I did make it through that one he was in alone about the event planning business, but I've never made it through more than 15-20 minutes of anything else with either or both of them.

The Story of Us ? It was okay. My Favorite Wedding didn't endear me to Maggie Lawson because I hated her character, but at least she was less high-strung and uptight in this one. I like Sam Page very much, but my favorites in this movie were actually Rick the Italian Trattoria chef and Eric the councilman (the latter of whom wasn't in it very much). They were both extremely cute, and I would like to see more of them.

[Koalagirl]

The Story of Us was just so/so.  I hope the actor who played Matt, the ex boyfriend, asks for a refund from whatever acting school he may have gone to.  A cardboard cutout would have shown more emotions than he did.

[GaT]

17 minutes ago, forumfish said:

Re: the link to Hallmark's press releases --

"Hallmark Drama is developing another installment of the fan-favorite movie franchise, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” created by “Touched by an Angel” executive producer Martha Williamson."

This may have been posted in the SSD topic but thanks to the new layout, I can't find it. Anyway, Yay!

I second your Yay!

Here's the SSD topic https://forums.previously.tv/topic/89122-signed-sealed-delivered/?tab=comments#comment-4942355, I don't know why they vaulted the old one & started a new one.

[Irlandesa]

19 minutes ago, forumfish said:

"Hallmark Drama is developing another installment of the fan-favorite movie franchise, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” created by “Touched by an Angel” executive producer Martha Williamson."

Well I guess that was inevitable.  IIRC, Signed, Sealed, Delivered started on Hallmark with a movie and the series.  Then it moved to the relatively newly created Hallmark Movies & Mysteries when that was rebranded.  And now it'll kick off Hallmark Drama starting to do new movies.  I wonder how long it'll be before they enter the Christmas game too.

I'd be happy but I don't think I have Hallmark Drama.

Edited February 11, 2019 by Irlandesa

[GaT]

46 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I'd be happy but I don't think I have Hallmark Drama.

I didn't even notice that it was Hallmark Drama, crap, I don't think I get it either.

[Jaded]

I'm hoping they air that SSD movie on the Movies & Mysteries channel too. Hallmark Drama is available on quite a few of the streaming live TV options unlike it's availability when it comes to cable companies. When I used the channel finder on HD's site it said the channel is now available through DirecTV and DISH too. I'm sure the last two options depend on what tier of channels people have. I know with U-Verse Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is in a lower tier and the two higher ones but it's unavailable in the middle priced option while regular Hallmark is available in all of the ones I mentioned.

Edited February 11, 2019 by Jaded

[kirinan]

10 hours ago, forumfish said:

"Hallmark Drama is developing another installment of the fan-favorite movie franchise, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” created by “Touched by an Angel” executive producer Martha Williamson."

I was happy for about two seconds until I saw "Hallmark Drama." Our cable company doesn't carry that channel, and when I called a couple of months ago to ask them about it, they said they had no plans as of that moment to add it in the future. 

[ShelleySue]

On February 10, 2019 at 9:33 AM, Suzysite said:

When did Maggie Lawson have time to put a zillion candles out in a perfect path, plus cook dinner for two when she was just at the same town meeting as Sam?  (Sorry, I can't be bothered to remember the character names.)  That whole scene was just ridiculous.  Who has that many candles?  And why did he have to walk through her store when she was in the back yard anyway?   Couldn't he walk around?    Ugh.  

And when she went to that town meeting she thought that Sawyer was still going with the original plan and that she was going to lose her bookstore.  So she couldn't have even prepped before she went to the meeting.

I understand that Hallmark movies can't be examined too closely, but I have some logistics problems with this one.

I'm not an architect or contractor so I don't know what's involved in building a whole building on top of an existing building.  Wouldn't that mean that the bookstore (and florist, Olga's dance studio, the craft store, pizza place, etc) would have to be closed for some a considerable amount of time?

How were the box of Valentine's cards hidden behind the piano for, supposedly, years.  I didn't see any dust or cobwebs, so someone must have been cleaning behind there.

Speaking of the box.  Maggie Lawson did the whole newspaper interview about the cards.  Then later she went through the box and found the love letters.  Wouldn't any normal (curious) person have looked at everything in the box before doing anything else?

It was a cute move, but I was actually more interested in the story of the co-worker and restaurant owner.

[Guest]

A free trial of a streaming service could be a way to watch the SSD movie.  I know that Philo has Hallmark Drama included and I think it is a add on option for Sling. 

[Kaoteek]

Didn't hate The Story of Us, but it felt flat and very been there, seen that.

And as much as I like Maggie Lawson & Sam Page, I felt the movie's tone was, every now and then, slightly too broad for its own good - the acting, some reaction shots, and the non-stop overenthusiastic background music... it sometimes felt kinda forced. And at other times, it felt too serious, and almost Hallmark Movies & Mysteries-like.

I liked the cat, though.

[Happywatcher]

An hour into the new Emma Fielding movie. Like it. The lead's ex is just enough manly for him to be an ex, and douchey enough to be an ex. The secondary couple is cute.

The sheriff was a little much. The victim/society president was the most likable secondary character, so good job, movie. The red headed bitchgrrl prof is a little too much red herring, but that is on the director rather than the actress.

[LuvMyShows]

Admittedly I almost never watch the romance movies, since I'm just in it for the mysteries.  But I watched Snowcoming because I'm a lifelong Washington Redskins fan and I wanted to see Joe Theismann.  Sure all the overboard winter-romance cliches in it were hokey, and there were multiple plot holes large enough to drive a truck through, but I guess in a way those go with the territory.  What really bothered me was something very disturbing about the perceived lack of emotional intelligence of women, and since this is a channel primarily watched by women, I was genuinely mystified. 

To get ready for watching Snowcoming, I had the TV already on the Hallmark Channel, and it was showing a movie about two authors on a book tour (Winter Love Story?).  I wasn't really paying attention, but sort of checked in every now and then as the time approached for Snowcoming to start.   I happened to check in about 20 minutes before the end of Winter Love Story, and saw that our heroine was listening to a speech given by her plot-has-kept-them-apart-so-far love interest, and he said something in his speech that she interpreted in a negative way about their relationship.  So she left the venue very upset and emotional, and he had to come find her, and patiently explain what she had misunderstood and jumped to a negative conclusion about.  OK, annoying, but done, and moving on to Snowcoming.

So I was horrified to find that about 20 minutes before the end of Snowcoming, our heroine was listening to a speech given by her plot-has-kept-them-apart-so-far love interest, and someone told her something about his upcoming plans, which she interpreted in a negative way about their relationship.  So she left the venue very upset and emotional, and he had to come find her, and patiently explain what she had misunderstood and jumped to a negative conclusion about.  Really?  This is what women's emotional intelligence has been reduced to?  Additionally, I didn't like that although our heroine was so devastated about what the football player had done to her back when they dated in high school, she kept agreeing over and over and over again to be in intimate one-on-one settings with him, without ever once using her voice to explain how he hurt her before.

Sorry if this is a bit of buzz kill in what is supposed to be a fun diversion, and I'm actually not much of a 'feminist' in action, but it's been bothering me ever since the broadcasts, and I really was wondering if this plot device was a horrible coincidence, or if it's a typical/occasional occurrence...and how other women feel about Hallmark's apparent demeaning of women and their intelligence/emotional intelligence.

[Jenniferbug]

I took a bit of a break from Hallmark movies to catch up on other shows, so am now watching some recently aired movies. Valentine in the Vineyard - I'm about halfway through and already know where this is going, but it's ok for background noise anyway. I am impressed that the other couple at their table during the compatibility seminar part were both men. Small progress, but positive progress. 

Sling carries Hallmark Drama in the same package as their other Hallmark channels, if anyone has been thinking of switching. 

[twoods]

When did Love, Of Course with Cameron Mathison come out? I saw it today and it wasn’t half bad. I liked his chemistry with Kelly, and it wasn’t a bad movie to have in the background while I was cleaning.

[LuvMyShows]

2 hours ago, forumfish said:

@LuvMyShows -- the misunderstanding thing is typical for Hallmark, and it's not only women who do it. Usually, the woman's soon-to-be-ex boyfriend will show up and propose. New guy will watch from a distance and take off, only to have the woman find him later and explain that she declined the proposal.

Not defending the gimmick, just explaining that "misunderstanding" is one of the plot boxes that frequently gets checked off in a Hallmark romance.

Interesting...that does make me feel a little better!

[AnnaRose]

2 hours ago, forumfish said:

@LuvMyShows -- the misunderstanding thing is typical for Hallmark, and it's not only women who do it. Usually, the woman's soon-to-be-ex boyfriend will show up and propose. New guy will watch from a distance and take off, only to have the woman find him later and explain that she declined the proposal.

Not defending the gimmick, just explaining that "misunderstanding" is one of the plot boxes that frequently gets checked off in a Hallmark romance.

I was going to post the same thing, so thanks for saving me the trouble. 🙂

I watched Valentine in the Vineyard the other night and enjoyed it.  I like the first of the series, but didn't care for the second because of all the secret-keeping nonsense and the idiotic behavior of the male protagonist in never actually checking himself whether the wine was actually ready before signing up their fledgling vineyard to host the big event.  I like the cast of the series though and the scenery is beautiful... so it was nice enough to watch for an hour and a half.

I haven't posted here for a while, and I've watched quite a few older Hallmark movies recently.  Here's a quick synopsis:

I liked All of My Heart, with Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott who each inherit half of the same house in Bucks County PA.  It was quite amusing and had some nice secondary characters - i.e. the tall guy at the hardware store who was funny.

Love at First Glance - Amy Smart did the best she could in the role, but I hated that the love interest was presented to be a ridiculously perfect person, and she falls in love with him to the point of having a break down when she was late for their first meeting because she loves him so much!  And the ridiculousness of Perfect Guy being in love with her too even though they never even met and he barely knew anything about her.

I also hated The Convenient Groom starring David Sutcliffe (who was fine) and Vanessa Marcil who drove me crazy with her horrible vocal fry and bad acting.  (There was some other very bad acting in the movie too, so perhaps the director bears some responsibility too.)

I did however really enjoy Valentine Ever After with Autumn Reeser, whose character was forced to perform community service at a horse ranch in Montana.  Autumn is a very dependable, likable actress and she had nice chemistry with her co-star Eric Johnson.  (I liked the mom in that movie too.)

Anything for Love, with Erika Christensen and Paul Greene, was pretty good, except for the disparaging attitudes toward and about male R.N.s which was just silly.  I don't think I had ever seen Paul Greene before in anything, but he was very likable.  Plus we got Ali Liebert as Erika's character's assistant, which was fun.

Last but not least was Love by Chance, which I just watched last night.  I think I liked it more than I probably should have - because of Brenda Strongs' performance as the meddling mom, and because Benjamin Ayres was pretty awesome as the smitten pediatrician.  The only big negative was that the idiot lead female character was willing to dump her perfect match, who is a wonderful guy, just because her mother arranged for them to both be at a gallery event so they could meet.  Way to blow things out of proportion!  Other than that though, I enjoyed it.

Edited February 12, 2019 by AnnaRose

[catrice2]

Forgot about Emma Fielding, I will have to give it a try. I didn't like the first two. So far the mysteries this year have not been great. I am hoping Alison Sweeney can change that. 

[LuvMyShows]

On 2/6/2019 at 7:21 PM, kirinan said:

If you go to the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries site and do a search on the title of the movie (in this case, I used Ruby Herring), and go to the movie's main page, there's a link up in the upper right that says "Showtimes." If you hover over that, it'll drop down and show upcoming showtimes on the channel (it works that way on both channel sites).

Or am I misunderstanding what you're looking for? 

Thank you so much Kirinan...that was a big help!  I still wish they would make the episodes available for replay on demand, since it's hard to see the older episodes. So many other channels/networks do it, so I don't know why Hallmark won't.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, LuvMyShows said:

Thank you so much Kirinan...that was a big help!  I still wish they would make the episodes available for replay on demand, since it's hard to see the older episodes. So many other channels/networks do it, so I don't know why Hallmark won't.

I have noticed that HMM has been showing some of the earlier mysteries on weeknights.  Tomorrow night two Mystery Woman movies with Kellie Martin from 2005 are airing starting at 5pm.  On Sunday there is a Murder, She Baked marathon leading up to the new Alison Sweeney mystery. 

Edited February 13, 2019 by Guest

[LuvMyShows]

10 hours ago, Dani said:

I have noticed that HMM has been showing some of the earlier mysteries on weeknights.  Tomorrow night two Mystery Woman movies with Kellie Martin from 2005 are airing starting at 5pm.  On Sunday there is a Murder, She Baked marathon leading up to the new Alison Sweeney mystery. 

Ooh, you're right....I'll probably start checking on a daily basis to see what I can cross off my list...thanks!

[mikeb]

On 2/10/2019 at 5:49 PM, Koalagirl said:

The Story of Us was just so/so.  I hope the actor who played Matt, the ex boyfriend, asks for a refund from whatever acting school he may have gone to.  A cardboard cutout would have shown more emotions than he did.

I just caught up with The Story of Us and completely agree with you about the actor who played Matt.   I wonder what Maggie Lawson, an experienced talented actress, felt having to act in scenes with him.

[MerBearHou]

 I just re-watched Murder 101 with Jill and Kristoffer and I came here to reiterate that I think of all the Hallmark duos, they have the most natural, genuine, easy chemistry. I really like their acting “methods” and they both seem real.  I get the feeling that there is a tiny bit of ad-libbing that goes on.  Kristoffer is such fun and Jill is fantastic too. I hope to see several more of this Murder 101 series. C’mon on Hallmark, are you listening?  Film more but don’t change their vibe.  

[mikeb]

Hallmark has already announced a sequel to Christmas at Graceland, which was their most watched Christmas movie.  It is Wedding At Graceland and will air this summer and also star Kellie Pickler and Wes Brown.   https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2019/02/11/christmas-graceland-sequel-wedding-kellie-pickler/2839083002/

[Happywatcher]

Just listened to the Deck the Hallmark on Winter Castle. They really ripped the editing in addition to the issues many of us noted with the Other Woman character being likable and correct to think she was the love interest. They blamed the writers for the male lead's actions and the pacing for the relationship.

They liked the ice hotel and got into how it really works, but they ripped the movie's issues harder than we did here..

Interesting

[twoods]

Good for them, but I couldn’t last more than 10 minutes with that movie. Kellie’s voice was grating.

Trying to watch the V day movie with Lacey and Andrew Walker and it’s pretty boring. 

[kirinan]

I watched two movies I’ve never had the chance to before, Elevator Girl and All Things Valentine. I really liked them both. The couples were both cute (I like Sam Page the more I see him), and the story lines weren’t typically contrived. I’m glad I finally saw them.

Oh, and Sarah Rafferty is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve seen her in commercials for Suits in the past, but that’s all until today. And she can act. I would love to see her in another Hallmark movie (although she’s probably “graduated” from that now).

[Scarlett45]

On 2/14/2019 at 9:23 PM, kirinan said:

I watched two movies I’ve never had the chance to before, Elevator Girl and All Things Valentine. I really liked them both. The couples were both cute (I like Sam Page the more I see him), and the story lines weren’t typically contrived. I’m glad I finally saw them.

Oh, and Sarah Rafferty is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve seen her in commercials for Suits in the past, but that’s all until today. And she can act. I would love to see her in another Hallmark movie (although she’s probably “graduated” from that now).

I always liked Elevator Girl. Tween stars from my own tweenhood states in it! Lacey Chaubert had just started doing hallmark movies when it came out and the male lead, Ryan Merriman did a lot of Disney channel movies in the late 90s. 

All things Valentine is a favorite of mine too because it’s pretty realistic to life. The fact that she did like the guy in an organic way, and he was dating (but not committed to) another woman when they met and he liked her better- that happens far more than someone having a fiancé and a wedding being stopped mid vows!

 

Side note- WHY are there Xmas movies every Friday now??? It’s not Christmas time!

[sistersledge]

Are we watching this chocolate movie with chabert? What a snoozer!! 

I do want chocolate now though so there’s that.

[kirinan]

Okay, I can't comment on the whole Love, Romance, & Chocolate movie yet because it's not over (although I'm enjoying it so far), but I can comment on the fact that Will Kemp is a whole lotta irresistible. 

[Chippings]

I was waiting for this one with interest, because I suspected Will Kemp could do a lot more than he had to do with the Prince character in the Royal Matchmaker one.  He really brought it !   (Don't know if anybody mentioned that of course he was essentially a ballet dancer, and his first notice by the greater public (in England) was a commercial for Levis in which he danced like a maniac -)   The Matchmaker thing really restricted him in every sense, but this one was delightful.  My IMDB says also he did a period thing where he was Lord Darnley -- so he's got range.     

On top of that the backgrounds were really enjoyable.    And, altho they had to use the "love interest mis-interprets seeing lady with other fellow ..", they at least avoided the "bumping into each other and spilling coffee."  Points for that.   My point is -- really enjoyed Will Kemp.    

[MerBearHou]

I didn’t intend to watch Love, Romance and Chocolate because I’m not much of a Lacey Chabert fan, but I decided to give it a shot, knowing I’d change the channel quickly if it didn’t hook me (my standard Hallmark movie MO).  Surprisingly, I stayed with it and really enjoyed it.  I now want to visit Bruges ASAP!  The lovely scenery, the gorgeous chocolate works and behind-the-scenes cookery, the gorgeous hotel and palace, the charming hotel manager/owner, a winning and un-silly Lacey, and the wonderful Will Kemp.  I didn’t know a thing about him so looked him up — not surprised to learn that he’s a very accomplished ballet dancer because I noticed that “walk” from time to time.  I’d definitely watch again.

[AnnaRose]

32 minutes ago, Chippings said:

I was waiting for this one with interest, because I suspected Will Kemp could do a lot more than he had to do with the Prince character in the Royal Matchmaker one.  He really brought it !   (Don't know if anybody mentioned that of course he was essentially a ballet dancer, and his first notice by the greater public (in England) was a commercial for Levis in which he danced like a maniac -)   The Matchmaker thing really restricted him in every sense, but this one was delightful.  My IMDB says also he did a period thing where he was Lord Darnley -- so he's got range.     

On top of that the backgrounds were really enjoyable.    And, altho they had to use the "love interest mis-interprets seeing lady with other fellow ..", they at least avoided the "bumping into each other and spilling coffee."  Points for that.   My point is -- really enjoyed Will Kemp.    

Do you mean this Gap ad?  Or is there another old commercial featuring Will Kemp dancing?

I looked him up and saw that he was in Kristin's Christmas Past, with Shiri Appleby, and he was very cute in that movie.

I haven't watched Love, Romance and Chocolate yet, but I recorded it mainly for the location stuff... so I'm glad to read that at least some people enjoyed it.

I watched A Harvest Wedding, which was from 2017, starring Jill Wagner as a wedding planner... and I loved this rust colored coat she wore in several scenes.  Are there any websites that list clothes worn in Hallmark movies, like they do for wardrobe items in various television shows?  It's probably too late to find that particular item, or anything else Jill wore in that movie (she had a lot of cute outfits!)... but I've been wondering for a while if there are any Hallmark fashion websites.

[Chippings]

PRE-cisely !!    Levis, Gap, sorry I mixed 'em up, but glad you recognized it.    That's the one I was thinking of.   Thank you for posting it !  

It really makes you wonder why somebody cast him to meander through the Matchmaker movie when he has so much good energy ..  Thanks again for the video !

[sistersledge]

Full disclaimer: I don’t like any of Lacey chabert’s acting so any movie of hers is usually a no for me.  But yes, the actor was delightful and charming - now I see he was in matchmaker and I actually like that movie (and that actress) so that makes sense ha!

[Koalagirl]

Love, Romance and Chocolate - if I see Lacey Chalbert in one more Hallmark movie I’ll scream.  I watched for the Bruges scenery.

[Eagle Woman]

On 2/11/2015 at 8:13 PM, Irlandesa said:

That's one of my favorites.  If "The Magic of Ordinary Days," "Follow The Stars Home" or "Loving Leah" is on...I usually end up watching.

Not used to the changes and my first reply is somewhere in the lost zone, LOL. You just named 3 of the top 4 movies, the other being "Sarah, plain and tall."  These are such classics and "Magic"cries out for a sequel.

Above several posts dissed the rapid falling in love...At 19, I had a checklist of what I wanted in a man. And a friend asked me to double date with her because she was shy. I was engaged to be engaged to a college friend, away at grad school, he said go ahead. Well, this turned out to be Mr. Right x100. On the second date he proposed and I said yes!  A month later we were married and moved to Europe by his parents. We had two beautifull daughters (one now an MD; the other an Atty) within three years and ten years later he died of cancer. So a good thing we didnt waste time. Seven years later, found the love of my life at my cousins wedding, lightening bolt again and now 35 years of  Happiness. It happens.
 

[EyewatchTV211]

Love, Romance, and Chocolate started a little slow for me, particularly regarding the leads' chemistry. And like many here, I am suffering from Lacey Chabert overload and would have preferred another woman. All of that to say that I ultimately enjoyed the movie. It was so nice to have a new setting with them filming in Belgium for real. I'm itching to go there soon after watching the movie. And also wanting to eat all that chocolate. It was nice that most of the background actors were different - I'm assuming they were local to the filming location. Related to that, nice to have them attempting a non-American accent that is not an English accent. Except for Luke. Did they have some sort of explanation for his English accent that I missed? 

[Happywatcher]

Watching Love, Romance and Chocolate off the DVR. The actress playing the B&B owner is from Canada, so nice work with the accent. She is also the most likable character

As commented above, not sure why Luke had an English accent. The meet cute consisted of Luke pretending not to understand Lacey, only to be snarky in their next scene. Then he doubled down by being a dick because Lacey wanted to make the chocolate a little different during the class. Not a great job, script writer.

I know a number of you have expressed Lacey fatigue, the first 20 minutes of the movie she seemed a little tired as well.

Things kicked into gear once the assistant needed to go on baby leave early--except for Lacey wearing drapey white tops to make chocolate.

The stars here are the chocolate and the location shots. The exposition for how different chocolates are made and taste was well handled by the writers and actors. Glad Hallmark sprung for the money to fly the cast and crew out there. 

Side note--they had to give the Other Man/guy with the better chocolate shop bad hair, because otherwise he would have been a better love interest.

Edited February 18, 2019 by Happywatcher

[LexieLily]

Thoughts on the Allison Sweeney mystery?

[AnnaRose]

10 hours ago, Koalagirl said:

Love, Romance and Chocolate - if I see Lacey Chalbert in one more Hallmark movie I’ll scream.  I watched for the Bruges scenery.

Same here.  I loved the Bruges scenery, but the rest of the movie was excruciating.

[MerBearHou]

Alison Sweeney is my favorite of the Hallmark lead actresses so it was great to see her again. I was bummed that the Murder She Baked series stopped filming — loved those movies.  I enjoyed this podcast/small town newspaper reporting set-up and got a kick out of seeing some of the Hallmark regulars in the cast.  For me, it’s just like a comfort blanket and I smile when I see the familiar faces in different roles.  I liked the Editor in Chief and his staffer who was so eager to research (and did it quite well) but always insisted on running things by the “Chief”.