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Paging Mr. Darcy (2024)

February 10, 2024 Cassandra Morgan

The first movie in Hallmark Channel’s Jane Austen series is titled Paging Mr. Darcy. Yes, most of these movies are “Pride and Prejudice” themed. Hopefully this won’t be too bad.

Eloise Cavendish (Mallory Jansen) is a literary professor who specializes in Jane Austen. She is the keynote speaker at this year’s Jane Austen League of America conference. While at the conference, she plans on visiting her sister, Mia (Lillian Doucet-Roche), and meet Dr. Victoria Jennings (Carolyn Scott), a member of the hiring committee at Princeton. After her plane lands, she meets Sam (Will Kemp) dressed as Mr. Darcy. Much to Eloise’s dismay, he is to be her guest liaison for the entire conference. She would rather not partake in the romanticism of Austen’s works. But she does need to impress Dr. Jennings…

I will admit that I’m not a big Jane Austen fan. It’s possible that most of these movies will go right over my head. With that noted, Paging Mr. Darcy is rather boring. Eloise is against all of the costumes and the ball and the general party vibe of the conference. But from what I saw, all of that barely took place. Sure, Sam was dressed as Mr. Darcy most of the time but that was his job. And even then, he took some pictures with some attendees in the beginning then he was busy crafting bonnets with Dr. Jennings, who happens to be his aunt, or hanging out with Eloise - teaching her how to dance, making desserts for the ball, or just randomly chatting. If I was an attendee, I might think this was the worst conference ever. Especially with a keynote speaker that didn’t even want to be there!

Since this is the first movie in the Loveuary series, I’m really hoping the other movies will be better. Hallmark has this weird tendency to put the worst movies in the beginning of the season and the really good ones either smack dab in the middle or at the very end. Cross your fingers the rest of these are better.

Rating: C-

In Movies Tags Hallmark, Hallmark Channel, Mallory Jansen, Will Kemp, Lillian Doucet-Roche, Carolyn Scott, romance, romantic comedy, movie, movie reviews
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Betty's Bad Luck In Love (2024)

February 9, 2024 Cassandra Morgan

Hallmark is pulling their weight with the February romance movies. Be warned - while I have Betty’s Bad Luck In Love right now, Hallmark is doing a “Loveuary” thing featuring movies about Jane Austen. There will be 4 movies, one each week. But let’s see what Betty is up to first.

Because Betty (Laci J. Mailey) chose to talk to the cute boy at school, a rival girl cursed her with bad luck in love for the rest of her life. As an adult, every time Betty gets close to a guy, she immediately shuts down the relationship, fearing the worst will happen to him. Can she find a way to break the curse and find love?

I’m not going to lie. Betty’s Bad Luck In Love is kinda terrible. Our title character spends almost the entire movie freaking out at every little thing her current beau, Alex (Marco Grazzini), does then complains to her best friend, Mya (Meghan Heffern), about it. Keep in mind that these are all adults. Alex plays rugby in his free time. Betty literally goes to one of his scrimmage games and storms into the field to stop the game so he doesn’t get hurt. And somehow Alex forgives her atrocious behavior. Even if you are worried about a loved one getting hurt, that is part of life. Especially when we’re talking about adults that can make their own decisions. Does she think that Alex doesn’t know the risks of playing a game like rugby?

Then there’s her relationship with Mya. Mya is getting married to Raul (Daylin Willis). As Mya plans the wedding (with very little help from her best friend, by the way), she is running into snags. Her florist can’t get the flowers she wants, the reception venue she booked is double booked, her soon-to-be mother-in-law demands Mya invites her friends to the wedding. All things that can be very big problems. Betty helps a little with the flower issue (by looking up flowers on her phone) but kinda shrugs off the other problems with an “Oh, I’m sorry” then goes back to complaining about her love life. She really is an awful friend.

I was hoping that this was going to be more entertaining. Instead, it’s mostly whining. They could have gone with a magic theme…that would have been cool. They could have gone with a Murphy’s Law type of theme. Nope, they chose a hysterical woman upset over absolutely nothing. This should not be on the Hallmark channel.

Rating: D

In Movies Tags Hallmark, Hallmark Channel, Betty's Bad Luck In Love, Laci J Mailey, Marco Grazzini, Meghan Heffern, David Epstein, Daylin Willis, romance, romantic comedy, movie, movie reviews
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Romance With A Twist (2024)

February 6, 2024 Cassandra Morgan

Unsurprisingly, Hallmark has some romance movies to get us ready for Valentine’s Day this year. And it’s starting with Romance With A Twist.

Luna (Jocelyn Hudon) was a dancer before life cancelled her plans. Now she works for her family’s construction company. As acts are getting ready for the town’s new arts festival, aerialist Bennett (Olivier Renaud) is suddenly without a partner. Bennett’s sister, Gabby (Candice Lidstone) suggests Luna. Begrudgingly Bennett agrees to train the former dancer to use aerial silks. But will she be able to learn them in time for their show at the festival?

Going into this, I fully expected the half-hearted attempts at reality that we get with the Christmas movies. However, I found out that Renaud was actually a circus perform and Hudon was actually a ballet dancer. Yes, Hallmark has cast actors that really have the same skillset as their characters! It definitely gave the movie a more realistic feel.

While the acting and the stunts were very good, the script was a little thin. We didn’t quite get to see Luna and Bennett falling in love. Luna seemed to have a bit of a crush on Bennett, presumably because she saw his rippling muscles, but we never get the sense that Bennett enjoys being in Luna’s company. He spends a lot of the movie almost brooding about random stupid things.

Despite that, I enjoyed the movie. Moreso for the aerial silks, which I do wish they used more. Of all of the Hallmark-esque romance movies I have watched, this is one of the better ones.

Rating: B+

In Movies Tags Hallmark, Hallmark Channel, Romance With A Twist, Jocelyn Hudon, Olivier Renaud, Candice Lidstone, Stephanie Herrera, Jamie Champagne, Naomi Gaskin, Tanya Clarke, Darrin Baker, Rebecca Applebaum, Alice Hamid, romance, movie, movie reviews
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Christmas 2023 Wrap-Up | 2023 Christmas Movies

January 4, 2024 Cassandra Morgan

I know you have been looking forward to my 2023 Wrap-Up post. Well, wait no longer. Here are the details!

In 2023, I watched 92 Christmas movies. While this is still more than the 78 movies I watched in 2021, it is a LOT less than the 127 movies I watched last year.

I did banish the terrible UPtv movies from the lineup but I ended up keeping Great American Family. I still don’t feel great watching the channel. It just feels wrong to not include the Candace Cameron Bure and Danica McKellar movies. And if I have the channel for those two, I might as well watch the other 18 movies they aired, right? Thankfully, the MyPillow and Gilmore Girls commercials were absent this year. I’d like to drop the channel next year but that probably won’t happen. Maybe I can find a way to watch it without actually contributing financially to the channel.

Besides GAF, I also covered movies aired on Hallmark, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Lifetime, Netflix, Hulu, Roku, Amazon Prime/Video/Freevee, Disney+, Paramount+, and Peacock. Sadly, I didn’t even check Discovery to see what they offered. I forgot all about it. Maybe their Christmas offerings will still be around in July and I can revisit them.

Plans for 2024? I like the number of movies I covered this year. I will try my best to keep the number of movies around 92. However, I would like to figure out how to get a better list of all of the Christmas movies airing each year. GAF really likes to change their schedule mid-season so that is unavoidable but I didn’t find out about some of the Amazon movies until the middle of December. Having a full schedule would make it easier to get a good handle on my review schedule.

Is there anything you would like me to add or subtract for next year? Is there a channel that you think I should watch? Do you think I should continue watching Great American Family? Leave me a comment and let me know. I need as much help as I can get!

In Christmas movies Tags Christmas movie, Christmas 2023, Hallmark, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Hallmark Channel, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Netflix, Hulu, Roku, Roku Channel, Amazon, Amazon Prime, Freevee, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock, Great American Family, Great American Christmas
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Miracle In Bethlehem PA | 2023 Christmas Movies

December 26, 2023 Cassandra Morgan

I live about an hour from Bethlehem, PA. When I saw that there was a Christmas movie called Miracle In Bethlehem, PA, I was intrigued. It wasn’t actually filmed in Bethlehem, of course. It was filmed in Canada. Ah well.

Mary Ann (Laura Vandervoort) is a lawyer who is waiting to adopt a baby. After months of waiting, a baby in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania becomes available. Mary Ann drives to pick her up but gets stranded in Bethlehem due to a severe snowstorm. With no room in any of the local hotels, the new mom and her baby end up staying with Joe (Benjamin Ayres), a mechanic who has lost direction in his life since his father’s death.

While I understand that this movie was supposed to be an analog to the story of Jesus, it was a little offensive that a white woman so intent on adoption was insisting on adopting a baby. There are a lot of children in the system and, as they get older, it’s harder and harder for them to get adopted because people only want to adopt babies. Maybe we don’t normalize only adopting babies.

Obviously, since this is the story of Jesus, it is very heavy handed with its use of God and church. It’s a little annoying but, considering Jesus was the point of the movie, it’s understandable. It does make it a little less appealing to certain demographics though. Or maybe this was Hallmark’s way of saying they haven’t completely dumped God for LGBTQ+ stories.

Rating: At least it’s not a manger

In Christmas movies Tags Hallmark, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Miracle In Bethlehem PA, Laura Vandervoort, Benjamin Ayres, Amy Groening, Teryl Rothery, Angela Narth, Darcy Fehr, Kate Trotter, Lauren Cochrane, John B. Lowe, Braden Blair, Christmas movie, Christmas 2023
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Friends & Family Christmas | 2023 Christmas Movies

December 25, 2023 Cassandra Morgan

This year, Hallmark has given us their first ever lesbian Christmas movie, Friends & Family Christmas. I am so glad that Hallmark has increased their diversity in Christmas movies. I’m tired of seeing the same thing over and over.

Daniela (Humberly González) is a budding photographer living in New York City. When she tells her parents that she will not be home for Christmas, they take it upon themselves to come to her for the holiday. Her father, Luke (Christopher Shyer), has been talking to his old college roommate, John (Barclay Hope), to try to set Dani up with John’s daughter, Amelia (Ali Liebert). After their initial meeting, Dani and Amelia decide to pretend to be girlfriends for the holiday season to appease their parents.

For the most part, this was a sweet original take on Christmas romance movies. No one came into someone’s hometown and wooed them off their feet. There wasn’t a family business about to close forever without someone’s help. Instead, this was just two women who made an arrangement then found themselves falling in love with each other. Yes, there was the usual lack of communication that caused the big romantic conflict but I’m pretty sure that writers don’t know how to end a movie without the lead actors avoiding conversations. I dream for the day that Christmas movies have people that actually talk to each other falling in love. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Rating: Not picture perfect but good enough

In Christmas movies Tags Hallmark, Hallmark Channel, Friends & Family Christmas, Humberly González, Ali Liebert, Gabriela Reynoso, Christopher Shyer, Samantha Cole, Barclay Hope, Jeremy Hoffman, Kyle Toy, Belinda Metz, Christmas movie, Christmas 2023
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Sealed With A List | 2023 Christmas Movies

December 22, 2023 Cassandra Morgan

Sealed With A List is another Hallmark movie that I couldn’t tell what it was about from the commercials. They really are bad at trying to convey the plot in a 30 second clip. Well, let’s see what we got.

Carley (Katie Findlay) has settled into a life that she isn’t very happy with. She makes a pact with her best friend, Jamie (Kelcey Mawema), that she will change her life in the next year. However, next December rolls around and she has done nothing. On a whim, she gets fired from her job - thanks to taking the blame for a problem caused by her inept boss, Wyatt (Evan Roderick). That is when she makes a list of things she wants to accomplish by the end of the year. And she makes Wyatt help her achieve them.

I thought this was a rather cute movie. Instead of focusing on a blossoming romance, the story focused on trying to make both Carley and Wyatt better people. Carley needed to get out of her comfort zone and Wyatt needed to stop relying on his father’s money to do everything for him. Sealed With A List could have easily gone the wrong way but I think Findlay’s portrayal of Carley was just what the movie needed. She was able to pull off competent yet shy but still outgoing when the situation needed. She was easily my favorite part of the whole thing.

Rating: I don’t run but that Christmas 5K looked like fun

In Christmas movies Tags Hallmark, Hallmark Channel, Sealed With A List, Katie Findlay, Evan Roderick, Kelcey Mawema, BJ Harrison, Jai Braithwaite, Jason Asuncion, Ellie Harvie, Christmas movie, Christmas 2023
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The Secret Gift Of Christmas | 2023 Christmas Movies

December 21, 2023 Cassandra Morgan

I think The Secret Gift Of Christmas is the only personal shopper Christmas movie this year. There were a few last year and it makes me wonder if this is going to be an ongoing job trope for Christmas movies or if they will run out of steam.

Bonnie (Meghan Ory) is a professional personal shopper. She gets hired by Patrick (Christopher Russell) to handle all of his Christmas shopping this year. As she learns more about his friends and family, Bonnie gets closer to Patrick himself.

At first, I wasn’t sure what to think of this movie. While Bonnie was a great personal shopper, she did seem a little too into outward appearances. Which is weird because she was able to pick the perfect gifts for her various clients’ recipients and they were all very thoughtful gifts. Once Bonnie got over things like how Patrick dresses, the movie got a lot better. I found myself hoping that Bonnie and Patrick would get together, even though they were definitely going to get together. It wouldn’t be a Hallmark movie if they didn’t.

Rating: I’ll take the Music On Ice tickets!

In Christmas movies Tags Hallmark, Hallmark Channel, The Secret Gift Of Christmas, Meghan Ory, Christopher Russell, Aria Publicover, Ellie Cluett, Jenn Grant, Juanita Peters, Henry Keefe, Christmas movie, Christmas 2023
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Heaven Down Here | 2023 Christmas Movies

December 20, 2023 Cassandra Morgan

We’re back to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel, which isn’t normally very religious. Heaven Down Here has changed that.

Imani (Krystal Joy Brown) is a single mother working as a waitress as a diner. When she gets called in at the last minute on Christmas Eve, she spends the night with a group of lonely people stuck in the diner due to a major snowstorm.

Heaven Down Here was such a slow movie. Since it was about the connections between people and their families, there were a lot of flashbacks. In addition, every person had a story to tell on top of it. Movies that are based on songs really don’t have anything substantial to keep the plot driving forward. Instead, we’re stuck with a bunch of separate stories smashed together in a diner setting. And the stories were so slow that this movie felt about an hour too long. I wanted better for it.

Rating: I might have braved the snowstorm to get away from these people

In Christmas movies Tags Hallmark, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Heaven Down Here, Krystal Joy Brown, Tina Lifford, Juan Riedinger, Richard Harmon, Phylicia Rashad, Christmas movie, Christmas 2023
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Round And Round | 2023 Christmas Movies

December 19, 2023 Cassandra Morgan

Every year, Hallmark releases one Hanukkah movie. This year it is Round And Round.

It is night seven of Hanukkah. Rachel (Vic Michaelis) is going to her parents’ Hanukkah/anniversary party. At the party, her grandmother gives her a dreidel to use in the cousins game. After spinning the toy, Rachel gets stuck in a time loop, reliving day seven over and over.

Frequently, Hallmark’s Hanukkah movies are my favorite of the season. And this year is no different. We’ve seen a lot of time loop movies that use the same tired old tropes. The big difference in Round And Round is that Rachel doesn’t rely on herself to figure out how to end the loop. Not only does she use love interest, Zach (Bryan Greenberg), she also uses his friend, Seth (Amitai Marmorstein). As the nerdy characters, they bring forth all of their pop culture knowledge to figure out which time loop story will solve her problem. It brings a different sort of camaraderie that we don’t see too often. I thought it made the movie quite enjoyable.

Rating: I would live in that time loop. More donuts please!

In Christmas movies Tags Hallmark, Hallmark Channel, Round And Round, Vic Michaelis, Bryan Greenberg, Rick Hoffman, David Attar, David Epstein, Marnie Mahannah, Amitai Marmorstein, Miles Marthaller, Nicole Oliver, Paula Shaw, Morgana Wyllie, Jess Smith, Christmas movie, Hanukkah movie, Christmas 2023
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