Tag: #hallmarkmovies

Movie Review: Fit for a Prince

Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/fit-for-a-prince

Rating: ⭐

If you follow this blog and you’ve read my other Hallmark movie reviews, then you’ll know I don’t normally tear apart Hallmark movies. I accept them for what they are…often repeatable plot lines that have feel good endings. But this movie? It missed just about every mark.

If you’re thinking to yourself, Jamie just doesn’t like Royal movies. Not true! I love Royal movies. I always wanted to grow up, meet a secret Prince and be whisked away to a life of luxury. Just ask my parents.

If I like royal movies, then why did this movie fail to make a passing grade? Lets start with the obvious…

The lead character’s name is Cindy. Cindy – a nickname for Cinderella. Cindy is the head seamstress, who is hired to design gowns for a royal ball. There are even two girls referred to as evil step sisters (Brooke and Julia) who try to sabotage everything Cindy does.

This is setting up to be a cute Cinderella parody. So why not continue the theme? Why not add an evil step mother, fairy god mother, dropped glass slipper, horse drawn carriage, or play with character’s names like they did with If I Only Had Christmas?

While I mostly missed it the first time, If I only Had Christmas was a parody of The Wizard of Oz. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Wizard of Oz, so I noticed a few of the nuances, but the second time I watched it, I noticed a whole lot more. And they were really well done! This movie? *SMH* HALLMARK you need to commit like you did with If I Only Had Christmas or give Cindy a new name.

That’s enough time droning on about Cinderella and The Wizard of Oz.

There were also several scenes that I’m sure were suppose to be funny, but they fell flat. There’s one where Cindy is trying to get into a building and the security man keeps asking her the same questions repeatedly. I’m sure it was suppose to be funny, but it was just ridiculous. He asked the same exact question repeatedly and she was talking perfectly clearly.

Maybe it would have been better if we had heard and saw what the security guy heard/saw? I’m not sure, but I guess he must have heard her eventually, because the next thing we see is Cindy walking down the hallway to meet with Gloria.

And that ending! UGH!! **Spoiler Alert** Partnership? PARTNERSHIP?! Cindy accepts a partnership when she could have her own brand/company?! Why??? I was really lost on that one. Plus, what’s going to happen when she’s whisked away to be with Prince Ronan?

Then there were the nit picky items like fake British accents, bra straps and bras showing way too often, and multiple awkward moments added to my already failing opinion.

Overall, I can’t recommend this movie. If Hallmark had fully committed to a Cinderella parody, it could have been great, but they didn’t. So, here we sit disappointed in what could have been. Hopefully next week’s movie will be better.

In the mean time, here are a few of my favorite Hallmark Royal movies that I hope you can find somewhere to watch: A Royal Christmas, Crown for Christmas, One Royal Holiday, etc. Happy movie watching y’all!!

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Movie Review: It Was Always You

Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/it-was-always-you

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lizzy, I love you! You’re cute, quirky, organized, awkward, and most importantly…you love lists!

My family has often joked that I’ve had a list since the day I was born. They weren’t wrong. The most recent list looked something like:

✅ Graduate college
✅ Find a job
✅ Marry an awesome man
✅ Buy a house
✅ Have Dogs
✅ Have Kids

List making fills my soul with happiness. And yup, I’m doing good with my current list, but that’s not why we’re here…we’re here to talk about this movie!

Lizzy’s list making makes it seem like George would be a good fit. George is Mr. Safety man. He’s risk averse, which makes everything he does predictable and reliable and easy to plan, but also incredibly boring and dull.

I LOVED his reaction to having Oysters! Oh George, so predictable. Of course you wouldn’t eat oysters. Of course you would wonder how many people die from eating raw Oysters per year.

FYI – Google says about 100 people per year die in the US from eating raw oysters.

List makers and organizers DO NOT need Georges in their life. They need people who will help them let go, laugh, dance, be spontaneous, and forget their lists – but only sometimes because sometimes lists are necessary. List makers need someone like David!

David who pretended to pass out due to a peanut allergy. Who tells you you’re a neopolitan sundae. Or takes blame for something he didn’t do to protect Lizzy. Or keeps a rabbit foot as a reminder of the girl he secretly loves. List makers need Davids in their life.

It’s no surprise then that David and Lizzy wind up needing to plan her and George’s wedding and in doing so, Lizzy realizes what she’s missing in her relationship.

There were so many cute jokes and scenes in this movie! Oh, and the music! Hallmark has really upped their music prowess this year. You are So Beautiful is one of my favorite songs. Jeff and I sing it to our dog Ella all the time.

Overall, this movie is really good and sweet. The ending had a little “Arg! Why’d you do that?!” moment, but I’m going to forgive it. I get why they did what they did. Even though it wasn’t how I wanted to see it play out, it still had a Hallmark happily ever after. Give this movie a try y’all! Happy movie watching!!

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Movie Review: Mix Up in the Mediterranean

Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/mix-up-in-the-mediterranean

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Twin switch movies have held a place in my heart since It Takes Two and The Parent Trap were family night movies in my family den in the 90’s . Some of my favorite quotes come from these movies! I fell in love with Diane’s description of love, “…that can’t–eat, can’t–sleep, reach-for-the-stars, over- the-fence, World Series kind of stuff.” Maybe that’s where my love of romance movies started…?

As an adult, I was begging for Hallmark to do a twin switch movie. In 2017, I was lucky to catch Switched for Christmas with Candace Cameron Bure and I LOVED IT! So, I had high hopes for this movie too.

Let’s do a quick overview, then I’ll give you my two cents.

Julian is a French trained NYC chef, who is scheduled to compete in a culinary competition. He invites his twin chef brother Josh to the competition. While getting ready for the competition, Julian goes to Josh’s luggage and tries to pick it up, but accidentally throws his previously injured back out.

Josh decides to go sign in for Julian in hopes that will give Julian’s back some extra time to recover. However, upon signing in, Meg Wescott puts a bracelet on his wrist that will cause disqualification if it’s removed. Now Josh is trapped pretending to be Julian for the length of the competition.

Will Josh and Julian be able to pull off the twin switch? What will happen with Meg and Josh? Watch to find out! In the mean time, here’s my two cents 🙂

I struggled with this movie from the beginning. I think I’ve mentioned before that I have an issue with jerks and Julian the jerk meets Meg in a restaurant and treats her like something he scraped off his shoe until he finds out who she is. How rude! But I suppose, we need brothers who are slightly opposites in order to make the movie more interesting.

It’s these opposite personalities that out Julian and Josh to their friend, Chester. By the way, I loved Chester! He was probably my favorite character in the whole movie. I especially loved when Chester helps Meg and Josh procure some black diamond truffles. He makes it sound like a super secretive black market drug deal.

Random fact…did you know they use pigs to locate truffles?! I saw it on a TV show once. It was awesome.

My second favorite character was Julian’s husband, Henri. He was supportive and sweet and everything anyone would want in a significant other. Yay for Henri! But if my two favorite characters were side line characters, what does that say about this movie? Hmmm…

Anyhow, after getting caught by Chester and some standard twin switch issues, came the big turning point where Julian realizes he hasn’t been the supportive brother he thought he is. Julian runs into Etienne – or “Frenchie” as I nicknamed him – who points out how Julian keeps pushing Josh to be like him instead of supporting him on his journey. This was Frenchie’s best moment. Other than that, he was a jerk too.

The inevitable happens and Meg finds out Josh is Julian and Julian is Josh. She storms off without letting Josh explain. Ugh! Impulsive woman! What does Josh do? Obviously he stands stock still and yells, “Meg! Wait! Wait!” Really Josh? You’re just going to stand by while your girl runs off hurt and confused? Weak, man. Just weak.

But this is Hallmark and we get our happily ever after for everyone, which was a nice way to end the movie, but it wasn’t good enough for me to raise the star count.

This is a solid romance movie, but it isn’t anything special. I’d rather watch Switched for Christmas again than this, but if it’s on and you’re bored, maybe you’ll want to watch it. One thing is for sure, it’s not making my favorites list. Happy movie watching y’all!

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Movie Review: Playing Cupid

Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/playing-cupid

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tré harsh to break-up with your boyfriend while celebrating your one year anniversary, but that’s what Kerri does! She realized her relationship with Adam wasn’t what it once was and she cut ties.

After doing so, she poured her heart out to David. Little did she know, David is the father of a student (Clara), the head of the PTO, and owner of the restaurant Kerri was in when she broke up with Adam. Feeling like she can’t get rid of David, what else does she do? She winds up trading services with him so he assists with a student project and she assists with a PTO project.

Two single adults spending a lot of time together while David’s daughter is playing Cupid…what do you think will happen? Watch and see!

Here’s my two cents on it. Warning there are a few minor spoilers.

I love strong women and Kerri definitely has a strong center. Sure, she’s a little unsure about herself due to circumstances in her life recently, but deep down, she has an inner strength.

I also really enjoyed a lot of the raw emotions in this movie. Kerri questions her previous choices and David questions his parenting. There’s a lot of realistic feelings we witness. Especially when they both start questioning if they’re ready for a new relationship.

Beyond all the mushy gooshy stuff was the CANDYGRAMS!! We had these as a kid. I remember getting them in middle school. It was great when your crush sent you one. It was equally great seeing the role they played in this movie. 😊 

I can almost hear you asking. All this good stuff, why did I only give it 4 stars? It’s always the little things.

  • Kerri wakes up in bed with a full face of obvious make-up.
  • They cut to a commercial on a scene with Eva showing up and return to a completely new scene.
  • Clara’s date for the dance. I don’t care if this was explained later, I still wasn’t happy that happened.
  • The awkward scene at David’s house with Kerri announcing the finalists for the ABC award. I mean why is Eva staying at the same house? They’re divorced!
  • and many more…

Don’t let my little things stop you from watching this great movie! It’s still worth watching and enjoying. Especially the beautiful ending. I loved all the lights!! Happy watching y’all!

Movie Review: Beverly Hills Wedding

Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/beverly-hills-wedding

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lost loves/second chances. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before…I have a thing for lost loves and second chances. I didn’t know this was going to be one of these movies! What a happy surprise!

Childhood sweethearts galore! Jordan + Sofia and Cory + Molly were all childhood sweethearts, but Cory and Molly grew apart as they grew older. Over the years, Jordan and Sofia grew closer and become engaged in the beginning of the movie. Molly, a photographer and Sofia’s sister, offers to be their wedding planner.

Molly knows Sofia and Jordan are on a budget, so she enters them into a free wedding contest in Beverly Hills, and she wins! This earns a free planning trip to Beverly Hills for the foursome. The catch? The wedding is pre-scheduled to be on Valentine’s day, which is only 6 weeks away. Will the shortened engagement pull Jordan and Sofia apart? Or will being in close quarters bring Cory and Molly together? Watch and see!

Here’s my two cents. Fair warning, there will probably be a few spoilers.

First, lets talk about the leads.

Brandan Penny isn’t one of the leads that typically makes me drool or fantasize about being stranded on a deserted island with (sorry Brandan!), but dang – I could get lost in those blue eyes! Do they do extra touch-ups on his eyes during his movies or are they that beautiful? I could lose myself in them for days.

Equally as impressive as Brandan’s eyes was Brooke’s hair. I wish I had her stylist! In the era of COVID hair, Brooke is my idol! Plus, her outfits were adorable. She always looks so classy!

I think we’ve established that both leads are beautiful in their own right, but together, they’re fantastic. This was a great Hallmark pairing. They had beauty, chemistry, and bantered very well. Plus, you found yourself wanting them to be together. I think I actually moaned at one point when they almost kissed, but at the last minute, Molly pulled away shouting, “Seating charts!” Ugh! Molly!

Don’t worry though folks, because this is Hallmark. And in being Hallmark, of course there are happy endings for everyone. BUT…I did need a few tissues. Maybe I’m just hormonal or maybe the ending was that good. You can be the judge. Either way, I definitely had tears during the speeches at the end of the movie. They were so sweet and perfect.

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Movie Review: Snowkissed

Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/a-winter-getaway

Rating

I was really excited to watch this movie from the first preview I saw a few weeks ago. I adore Jen Lilley. Although I need to say that I prefer her with darker hair instead of blonde. But regardless of hair color, she made this movie something special.

I love quirky women and Jen’s character, Kate – or as I call her – always play it safe Kate is definitely quirky. See, Kate is scared of living, so she stays in New York and never ventures outside city limits. In fact, she doesn’t like being country quiet, being outside, and her version of rock climbing is in a temperature controlled building with ropes and safety precautions abound.

However, Kate needs to travel to Canada to visit with an Author for an article she’s writing. While there, she makes plans to stay at Noah’s B&B. Unfortunately, Noah’s business isn’t doing well, so he’s decided to expand into giving tours. He asks Kate and Jen to take a 3 day adventure tour and provide feedback on his tour giving abilities.

Boy oh boy does Kate give Noah feedback! She’s ruthless. LOL. Now granted, Noah did need some serious help. He was horrible, but with Kate’s help, he finds his stride in being a tour guide and Kate finds her stride in living life.

I loved this movie for several reasons. If you want to analyze this movie, it had many life lessons. One of the biggest being not to waste life. Don’t be afraid to experience life and don’t be closed off to new opportunities. Sometimes we put blinders on and forget to take them off to see what else is out there. GIVE NEW EXPERIENCES A TRY! You never know what you might end up liking.

Another reason I loved this movie was that it made me laugh…A LOT. Noah’s ridiculous jokes even had my husband laughing (shhhh…don’t tell him I told you all that he was watching this with me or that he ENJOYED IT!).

I was just reminiscing about the beautiful herb garden I had when I was growing up. Good thymes.

Why do melons have weddings? Because they cantaloupe!

What do sprinters eat before a race? Nothing, they fast!

I only picked 3, but if you click them, they’ll take you to another 100+ jokes I found on bestoflife.com. Hehe. Check them out! Also, check out this movie! It was definitely worth watching. For those of you who like sales, you’ll love this! It’s like a two for one, because Kate’s photographer also has a little romance going on. Happy movie watching y’all!!

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Movie Review: A Winter Getaway

Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/a-winter-getaway

Rating:

Do you have kids? If so, I think you’ll appreciate this. I’m not quite sure why, how, or even when, but somehow I wound up with two kids and a dog in my bed Friday night. The dog is expected, but the kids…not so much. Luckily, my wonderful husband took each child back to their bed and I was able to go back to sleep quickly. Unfortunately, when your sleep is disrupted, it can leave you dragging the next day.

Combine the middle of the night wake-up with my two on-call wake-ups this week and I was really dragging by Saturday night. I really really wanted to watching this movie though!

So, I stayed up just for this movie and boy am I glad! This movie had so many wonderful scenes!

Have you ever traveled on a private jet? If not, I hope you get a chance some day! The first time I was on one, I was just like Joe! Actually, I was worse. I moved the chair every direction it could go, opened every cupboard, grabbed the free drinks and snacks, and took pictures of myself (and the plane) every 5 minutes. It’s a fantastic experience and Joe’s reaction was perfect. The helicopter ride though? No thanks! I’d pass on that experience.

After the helicopter ride, the outdoor lunch looked amazing. Did anyone else notice the beautiful charcuterie board Courtney and Joe didn’t touch?! Oh man, I wanted to eat that whole board!

What about Joe’s reaction to the squab? LOL. This cemented my love for his personality. He gave it a try and when he didn’t care for it, he covered his distaste, because he knew Courtney went through the trouble of organizing the special meal.

I really enjoyed Joe’s reactions to everything. Olga was scary, but Joe gave her a try and loved the experience. We could all learn a little from him. It was wonderful watching Courtney loosen up and learn from Joe.

Overall, this movie was soooo cute! I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cry at the end. It was ridiculously sweet. Give this one a try folks. Happy movie watching y’all!

Movie Review: Under the Autumn Moon

Hallmark Romance Movie: Under the Autumn Moon

I have a soft spot in my heart for ranch romances. Especially ranches that are going under and a woman comes in to help save the day.

In this case, Alex is the savior. She is a career woman who comes to the ranch to scout it for a development opportunity. While on the ranch she meets Josh. Alex agrees to stay longer on the ranch to get to know the ranch better. While there, she rediscovers her love of the ranch and everything that comes with it, including Josh.

This was one of those sweet movies that makes you say “aaaaahhhhh….” It isn’t one that you absolutely love, but it’s a solid three out of 5 stars and you’ll find yourself agreeable to watching it again when it’s on.

In some ways this reminds me of A Summer Romance with Ryan Paevey. I liked that one a little more. So, if you like these ranch romances too, you might want to check out A Summer Romance too.