While Hallmark Channel doesn’t release as many movies for Valentine’s Day as they do for Christmas, they do have a handful of themed releases in February. Excuse me, Loveuary. The Perfect Setting isn’t one of their four Loveuary releases but it is a romance movie with a Valentine’s Day event in it.

Abby Vandenbrink (Laci J. Mailey) is currently stuck repairing jewelry instead of creating new pieces. When she gets a call that her grandfather’s jewelry store in Belgium is in financial trouble, she flies out to help him get back on his feet. On her way to the shop, she meets Alexander Remy (David Elsendoorn), the son of a rival jewelry-maker. To prove that their store is the best, and to get the much-needed prize money to pay the mortgage on her grandfather’s shop, Abby enters an exclusive contest - the Valentine’s Day Diamond Contest. Unfortunately, Alexander’s father enters him in the contest for the bragging rights. But sometimes there is more to life than jewelry.

I’ll admit that maybe the awfulness of the Christmas movies has tainted my brain a bit. Because I thought this movie was actually pretty cute. First off, Abby and Alexander make an adorable couple. They really complimented each other nicely. Each of them supported the other, even though they should have been fierce rivals. It was quite refreshing to see.

On top of them being great together, they each felt like a “complete” person separately. While Abby’s boss dismissed her when she asked to design some pieces for their store, Abby did advocate for herself and try to prove that she was capable of creating a piece worth selling. Granted, she was a little self-conscious about her jewelry but I think anyone would be after getting shot down so often.

Alexander’s challenge was different but similar. Even though his father wanted him to be a jewelry-maker, Alexander kept trying to prove that he is better at marketing that he is at making. And when his father tried to undermine his entry into the contest, Alexander stood up and did the right thing. I know it’s a low bar but he leaps over it.

I’m happy to say that this is a good start to the Valentine’s Day season. It makes me hopeful for the actual Loveuary movies.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 hearts

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