Fairfield Road (2010 TV Movie) User Reviews

Pretty People in Pretty Settings

[boblipton · 5/10 · 11 September 2010]

Noah MacManus is a rising young politician, but when the Boston politician he is an aide to melts down in the middle of an election, the U.S. Senator he is set to work for gets caught in a scandal and the woman he has been engaged to for eight seconds cheats on him, he winds up on Cape Cod with his dog and finds love and purpose.

There's little that's wrong in this by-the-numbers TV romcom, except for a lack of good jokes. Everyone is good looking, everyone speaks their lines and does a decent job acting, and Toronto in Canada stands in nicely for a picturesque small town in Massachussetts. The whole effect is a decent enough time-waster for the Hallmark Channel, if little more. Still, visually it's pleasant enough and if your attention wanders for a minute or two, you won't be terribly confused when you start watching again.

Fairfield Road Hits An Ending Bumper **1/2

[edwagreen · 6/10 · 12 September 2010]

Let's roll out mom and apple pie. This is the typical feel-good movie which is ripe from clichés.

Noah, 32 and a rising star has everything going for him. Suddenly, it's downward even faster than Lillian Roth's life in "I'll Cry Tomorrow." Without illness, his senate job fizzles when the senator is forced out due to corruption and his fiancée has been cheating on him-big time.

He finds happiness in a small town off Cape Cod while getting into local politics. At home, he is needed to come back and manage the faltering campaign of the female mayor, who seems to have lost touch with the voters.

The story is interesting; however, you can predict quickly what's going to happen. The ending is so contrived when he makes his pitch for the elderly candidate running against someone who wants to expand the town for his own personal gain. A groundswell of support earns him the nomination for the job of town supervisor. He did this even faster than Loretta Young in 1947's "The Farmer's Daughter." Of course, there is the young girl in the town who immediately becomes his new romantic interest.

It's all so nice, but too sugary for our tastes.

The character of the town

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 27 November 2014]

Jesse Metcalfe stars in Fairfield Road and revives the Frank Capra idea of the small town idealistic hero. Jimmy Stewart never did a better job with Bedford Falls than Jesse does in saving a small Massachusetts coastal town in this made for TV film.

Things really go out from under Metcalfe as the film opens. He leaves his job working on the campaign of Maria Ricossa the Mayor of Boston and then a prospective job working for a US Senator blows up in his face. Adding insult to injury his engagement to his fiancé Natalie Brown also goes South when he finds her cheating on him.

With wedding ring in hand he goes off to where they were going to spend their honeymoon, a small New England Cape Cod village at Derek McGrath's small inn. He's persuaded to stay both by the charm of the place and the bookstore owner Natalie Linska.

Since politics is his bag, Metcalfe gets intrigued also by the current election for town supervisor. McGrath is a candidate, but he's a heavy underdog against Brandon Firla, one alpha male type developer who wants to build a strip mall there. The whole character of the town would be changed if that came to pass. And Firla is also a truly hateful being.

Metcalfe's speech to the town at their meeting where they personally choose their supervisor is right out of Frank Capra. But that's something that never goes out of style. Need I tell you the result.

Fairfield Road was a truly pleasant viewing experience. Jesse Metcalfe brought some of this same idealism into playing Christopher Ewing in the unfortunately canceled Dallas. I hope he does more roles of this type.

Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart would be proud.

really liked it

[jewelch · 6/10 · 3 March 2021]

I don't care what anyone says this is a very good movie and me and the wife loved it, even though it did have a few flaws. Still well worth watching. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 3/2/2021

Not Cape Cod

[appletire · 5/10 · 24 April 2020]

How can you make a movie, claiming to take place in Cape Cod, when clearly it was shot elsewhere? Only one character actually has a New England Accent! The movie is likable and so are the characters in it, but a little more attention to detail and continuity, would have gone a long way. If you're looking for a movie that involves Cape Cod, this is not it.

Better than average TV movie

[katiespitfire · 7/10 · 20 September 2016]

I'd only seen Jesse Metcalfe in Desperate Housewives which didn't really flex his acting muscles, so I was a little wary of watching a film with him in the lead role. I was pleasantly surprised, he's a cracking actor and really rather wasted in lesser roles. He has bags of screen presence in this little film which is visually stunning in terms of scenery, certainly a great advert for the area. Someone already drew comparisons with the Capra-esque ideals of little man against the big corporation and this definitely has the charm and heart of a much older film. A sweet supporting cast of quirky characters make this a nice cosy watch for a Sunday afternoon.

Same old story - lack of chemistry between leads

[phd_travel · 4/10 · 1 March 2019]

Big city political assistant ends up in a small town after finding his gf is cheating and his job tanks. He gets involved in a development issue in a small town.

Is a small town better off without big business? Hallmark's movies always promote no development.

Anyway this predictable movie with Jesse Metcalfe doesn't offer anything new. He has no chemistry with his costar. Still it's okay for one watch but not memorable.

To Be Or Not To Be In A Hamlet By The Sea

[atlasmb · 8/10 · 27 January 2021]

I found this Hallmark romance to be quite charming, and I recommend it for anyone who likes an understated love story.

Noah McManus (Jesse Metcalfe) is a young man whose life goes off track when his job and his engagement both disintegrate on the same day. He travels to a small town on Cape Cod and checks into the cozy B&B where he was to have stayed with his fiancée. There, he becomes involved in the politics of the town and the lives of its residents.

The acting of the two leads, McManus and Natalie Lisinska, feels genuine and appealing. Their relationship grows organically out of their interactions. And the film's incidental music greatly contributes to the tone of the story.

Like many Hallmark stories, it champions small-town virtues and the value of personal interactions. The people who inhabit the coastal town feel like part of a hospitable landscape.

It needed a female lead.

[richy-782-441259 · 4/10 · 22 June 2018]

Love Jesse Metcalf, but this was one of the worst Hallmark movies. No chemistry at all with the frumpy, plain Jane with no personality who looked old enough to be his mother. One of the most stupid plots ever. Sure, run for office in a town you just visited for 2 days. Get the poor guy a script and a leading lady, for heaven's sake.

Fairy tale love tale is Fairfield Road; romance fans will love it

[inkblot11 · 8/10 · 28 December 2015]

Noah (Jesse Metcalfe) is experiencing a high point in his life. A recent aide to the mayor of Boston, he has just garnered his dream job as a senator's right hand man. Not only that, he has purchased a ring and plans to propose to his girlfriend at a lovely bed and breakfast on Cape Cod. But, alas, its soon a reversal of fortune. He finds out his fiancé has been cheating on him and his new boss-senator has been cheating everyone else. Unsure of what to do, Noah takes his dog and goes to the B and B in Hartfield, the tiny Cape town. Its lovely and the landlords are very kind to him. Planning only to stay the night and get his head back together, Noah soon learns that a hotshot developer is running for a town office that will give him carte blanche to bring big business to the village, ruining its character. Then, too, he glimpses the town's bookstore owner, Halley (Natalie Lisinska) and likes her beautiful face and active mind. Although the Boston mayor tries to pull Noah back into helping her, Noah may have found a new direction in aiding Hartfield's quest to stay unspoiled by big box stores. Will the high that went to low go back to high again, in Noah's life? What are the odds? This lovely Hallmark romance will be great viewing for fans of the genre. Although the cover of the DVD makes him look 14, Metcalfe is a very handsome charmer and the rest of the cast quite nice as well. Add on a beautiful coastal setting, great costumes, a winning script, and a sweet direction and, well, what are you waiting for love story fans? Walk or drive up the nearest road and grab this one wherever its available.

Yuck

[teebear817 · 1/10 · 20 April 2021]

Jesse metcalfe is fine. The female lead i did not like. Zero chemistry between them.

Fairfield Road

[rustyrails · 8/10 · 16 January 2017]

A pleasant, harmless story in which a good-hearted young political campaigner abandons a faltering relationship to spend time in a small, friendly New England town where everyone knows everyone - and ends up finding everything he needs and wants there, and stays - and the town is glad to have him. Another satisfying tale in which the 'ordinary people' and conservation, come out on top, over 'development' and the interests of 'big business'. Just one very small point from the film - some scholars now think Christopher Columbus (name anglicized) was not 'Italian' (ie Genoese) at all, but was originally Catalan, hailing from Aragon in NE Spain.

i like it a lot

[beyondi-94741 · 8/10 · 25 June 2022]

I like feel good movies like this. Jesse Metcalf is always easy on the eyes. I'll watch anything with this dreamy man. A movie I would recommend and watch again and again. I like all hallmark films in general but I'll try anything.

Love Jesse metcalf

[ylopez-23794 · 10/10 · 24 July 2023]

Ok love Jesse Metcalf. Always have he's cute as a button. Very easy on the eyes. However he has. Such charisma that you can see him wash clothes and not get bored... I have to say I don't agree with another reviewer the female lead in the movie is quite pretty and no she does NOT look like his mother that's completely incorrect. If anyone looking can easily tell she's young. She is just naturally pretty. Anyhow I love this movie. And I can watch it over and over and not get bored. So I suggest if You are not doing anything Would highly recommend you watch this movie. It does have a jimmy Stewart thing going. ....

A feel good movie, but...

[jeanettekearley · 8/10 · 6 April 2019]

A good little feel good movie to forget the day's problems. But, if the setting is going to be on Cape Cod, then film the movie somewhere on on Cape Cod, not in Canada! This little southern Alabama girl has been to Cape Cod in the Fall and it is gorgeous, more beautiful than the scenes in this movie. I always enjoy seeing if I recognize scenery when I watch movies. I was so disappointed to find out this was not even filmed on Cape Cod!

Was ok-

[ts-0000 · 22 January 2021]

Basic story of someone- Who has a life,falls apart & rebuilds a new one quick. A typical Hallmark theme,except it has a guy dealing with it. The ending felt rushed.. Again,Hallmark! At least give us a bit of realism. Nobody gets elected into a position like that,etc.. etc. I have lived in small towns,it just doesn't work that smooth. The town & cinematography was nice,the acting was ok but leads felt a bit mismatched from a chemistry standpoint. Fills time on a night you are looking,for something to watch.

We've heard the title song before

[estabansmythe · 8 March 2016]

I'm just starting to watch Hallmark's "Fairfield Road" (2010). I only got to the credits before one thing became obvious: I've heard this title song before.

"Fairfield Road's" composer is listed as Ian Thomas and this film is his only IMDb credit.

However, it must be noted that the music to his instrumental theme song is, in fact, "Durham Town (The Leavin')," a 1969 written and performed by Kenyan/British singer-songwriter and musician Roger Whittaker. The song hit #12 in Great Britain when it was first released in 1969. When it was re-released in 1976, it hit #8 in Canada and #23 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart (now called the Adult Contemporary chart).

What gives?