A Maple Valley Christmas (2022 TV Movie) User Reviews

Maple Valley Christmas

[allmoviesfan · 7/10 · 13 November 2022]

A Hallmark movie where the two lead characters kiss before the last 1-2 minutes? That's a rarity!

What isn't a rarity is Andrew Walker's performances. He is as good as there is in the Hallmark universe, and I don't think there's a movie - at least not that readily springs to mind - of his that I didn't enjoy. No wonder Crown Media signed him up to a long-term deal.

Walker plays the son of a cutthroat businessman sent to close a real estate deal - a well-used trope in the Hallmark universe, especially Christmas movies - and he ends up becoming entwined with the family next door, a maple farm that is going through some changes in management, as the family that owns it (and has owned it for decades) is going through some other changes, too. Peyton List as Erica is his love interest, and their chemistry is pretty good.

Nice Christmas elements (especially the music - really enjoyed it!) and decent performances by all involved. Not necessarily one I'll watch again, but a nice film nonetheless. Hard to give anything less than seven stars to Andrew Walker.

Bad reviews almost made me skip this

[VetteRanger · 7/10 · 15 December 2022]

This movie has a lot more meat to it than most of the Hallmark Christmas films. On the one side a believable division between two sisters, and on the other side a believable division between father and son. Then there is the surprising decision from the mother, ready to retire and let her daughters take over the business.

While some viewers didn't see a connection between the romantic leads, we did. They had plenty of screen time together doing the types of things that build friendship which can transition to more than friendship.

So despite some of the reviews, we do like Andrew Walker in most of the stuff we've seen him in, and that gave us a reason to check it out. I'm glad we did.

Started great, but Erica was an unpleasant character and that made this hard to enjoy

[MichaelByTheSea · 6/10 · 19 December 2022]

I loved the way this movie started. A horse ride through maple trees, sap buckets and candy canes, a warm loving family, a handsome stranger who returns a lost horse and... a very un-Hallmark early kiss between the two leads (and a bold and surprising kiss at that). I loved it. I'm so tired of the "almost kiss" that gets interrupted and isn't attempted again until the end of the movie. Ugh. It's easily one of the most annoying Hallmark tropes. But here, they tried something different. The boldness of that early kiss was very modern and a wonderful change of pace.

The handsome stranger was played by Hallmark all-star Andrew Walker. He's a sure thing. But I didn't recognize Peyton List, who played Erica. Although bold and interesting in the beginning, Erica is revealed to be rather unpleasant. She's quick to unfairly judge Aaron, disrespectful to her own sweet sister, acts like a bully, and is beyond thoughtless with her loving mother.

And it all goes on way too long. She comes across as a spoiled brat and that makes it hard to root for her to find love with Aaron.

There are also a few lines that cut like a knife:

Erica: "You're a rich kid who's lost and thinks he'll find himself by putting on a Stetson hat and playing cowboy." Aaron: "Maybe you don't pick the wrong guys. Maybe you pick the right guys, and just drive them away." Erica: "Maybe so, but like I said, I don't date tourists"

Ouch.

Her mother actually expressed what I was thinking when she told Erica to "pull it together". And the whole plot about turning over the business to her daughters, to the point where one talks about buying out the other? What's mom going to live off of? It's not like she sold the business to a third-party and banked the proceeds. It sounded like she just gave the business to her kids, without taking anything, not even a salary. That's all too typical in Hallmark movies- a complete disregard for financial realities. In real life, mom might leave her kids in charge but they'd have to wait until she passed before taking ownership.

Erica's sister Heidi was played by Ella Cannon. In contrast to her sister, Heidi comes across as sweet and kind. And she's in a healthy marriage to a good guy. And she's even more beautiful than Erica. I wish the movie had starred Ella Cannon as the lead (and as a nicer character than Erica).

Aaron's father was played by Paul Jarrett and he nailed that horrible character.

I did like the running gag about "the hat" (which looked good on Erica, less so on Aaron). And though unearned, the ending was lovely. But I really didn't like the way Erica was written and Peyton List couldn't make her more likable (in fairness to her, it's not within her power to change her lines).

Sap Valley

[crosemnnc · 7/10 · 16 November 2022]

It was not awful, but not great. Peyton List is a beautiful actress. But her character or her was sooo fake. Who passionately kisses someone they barely know. If the roles had been reversed and he had kissed her out of the blue, the law would have been called, and charges would have been brought up. She stomped around being mad all the time. How does someone that works on a farm have beautiful hair all the time? Had she really worked on the farm, it would have been put up most of the time. The story might have worked if the characters had been developed better, or a better actress. Andrew Walker was fine. The sister and her husband were fine. I liked the brother-in-law.

The same, only different

[mbiv777 · 6/10 · 7 November 2022]

This is the first movie I've watched so far this year, and it's pretty much the usual Hallmark fare: boy meets girl, boy and girl lose their minds, everything falls apart, and then...well I won't spoil the end.

One thing that is a tried and true part of the Hallmark formula is turned on it's head early on.

The sub-plots/conflicts are nothing new: guy and dad, girl and sister. Ms. List is very pretty, and Andrew Walker is the same as always.

This being Hallmark, it should be noted that there is an absence of mixed race (unless you count European) or homosexual relationships. That is important to some. Indeed it's chased half of Hallmark's audience over to GAC.

Being the first movie I've watched this year, I don't really have much to compare it to, but it does seem like an ok Hallmark Christmas movie.

I do really hate that hat though.

A bit too stressful for a hallmark movie

[GalFromSheol · 6/10 · 16 June 2023]

Like someone said above, Erica was a bit too much when it comes to wanting things going her way. It almost felt like by the end everyone just conceded to keep her happy and she finally had her cake and ate it too. I found also that there were more misunderstandings and stressful moments that I'd expect from a hallmark movie. I found it a bit hard to relax to it honestly, but I still enjoyed it, it's not a bad movie, especially for those who enjoy a bit more racier or spicier hallmark movies. I found this one to be too much about bonding over negative stuff between two characters which isn't something I usually like.

Underwhelming

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 4 February 2024]

'Maple Valley Christmas' (2022)

Opening thoughts: There is always at least one reason for wanting to see a film etc with me, in 'Maple Valley Christmas' case it was Andrew Walker. He is one of Hallmark's most regularly used actors and very popular, and to me the appeal is more than understandable. As he is one of the better and more consistent regulars, despite his filmography being very up and down. The premise did intrigue, could feel myself relating to the issues that were being explored, and had real potential to work.

'Maple Valley Christmas' however is another one of those films with a premise that sounds good but the execution underwhelms, for reasons that have been summed up already very well. It is not one of the worst 2022 Hallmark films, neither is it quite one of the worst 2022 Miracles of Christmas films (it is certainly better than 'Christmas Bedtime Stories'). It is unfortunately not good and is a waste of potential. Walker comes off quite well, but he really is well above this.

Good things: He is the best thing about 'Maple Valley Christmas', making a conscientious effort in bringing charm and heart as well as nuance. Actually did think that the male cast did well, with Francisco Trujillo bringing some welcome vim.

It is a nice looking film, with beautiful scenery that the photography doesn't waste. The music is also pleasant enough and fits.

Bad things: On the other hand, quite a lot doesn't work. The female cast are poor, Peyton List doesn't inject much personality, while also trying too hard. Frances Flanagan and even more so Ella Cannon overact dreadfully, the latter being a whiny spiteful cartoon. Absolutely agree with all regarding the complete absence of characters worth rooting for or liking, exaggerated character flaws with little to no growth has been a major problem in Hallmark films in the past few years and this is one of the worst cases of the 2022 output. List's character's constant rudeness, disrespect and over-bearing-ness became exhausting fast. List and Walker indeed have no chemistry together, very cold, distant and awkward.

Furthermore, the ending is very unrealistic, the pacing is rushed from trying to cram in a lot in too short a space of time and what happens is too convenient and not warranted. The dialogue is not natural and can be too soapy. The pace is erratic, sometimes fine, sometimes draggy from over stretching and then too hasty in the over-stuffed final quarter. Pretty much all the character decisions and motivations are at best vague, and that is whenever effort is made to explain, and wildly improbable, so much making no sense.

Concluding thoughts: Overall, very underwhelming.

4/10.

Probably the best opening kiss I have seen in a Hallmark film.

[cgvsluis · 8/10 · 5 December 2022]

Yes, these two have some smokin' chemistry. Very early in this film there is a kiss, then it takes the whole rest of the film to get back to the kiss. Different than other hallmark films in which you wait the entire movie until the final scene where there is a kiss. This film has a kiss early on...and it's a great kiss. It kept me engaged and watching the film. I wanted it to happen again.

The story follows the older sister and co-owner of a family run maple farm. Together with her sister, Erica Holden has successfully diversified their business and made it successful. Which is good timing as their neighbor wants to retire and sell their land and at least one sister wants to expand the business to include more maple trees. In walks Aaron Davenport to scout the land for Davenport Development under his father's request. After Aaron meets Erica and learns why she wants their old family land back he tells her they won't make an offer...only his father has other ideas.

This is a sweet romance that builds and has some side stories about love, family and adapting to change.

Aaron Davenport is almost too good to be true, but this is fantasy and I am not complaining. Great escapism and I highlighted recommend it to romantics out there. The leads in this film had gorgeous eyes. I appreciated that the casting team picked sisters with similar colored eyes.

Sorry... didn't work for me.

[esskayjayiii · 2/10 · 8 November 2022]

I really wanted to like this movie, but I just didn't. I LOVE Andrew Walker, and I really like the gorgeous Peyton List going back to her soap roots, but I just didn't see ANY chemistry between these two. It was almost painful to watch and hope for a spark that didn't happen. Geez, Andrew Walker can usually generate chemistry with a telephone pole, but it just didn't happen here! I'm certain there are opinions contrary to mine... a testimony to our different reactions to the same movie. So, it's only my opinion on this one as I go forth to more Hallmark Christmas movies. I'm only one person in a vast fan pool of Hallmark Christmas-movie fans, but this is one movie I just can't endorse.

I Recommend!

[mywtchy · 8/10 · 12 November 2022]

I really enjoyed this movie and will 100% watch again. I truly don't get why so many felt there was no chemistry between the leads. Perhaps having a female that is atypical is what turned them off?

The story starts with a successful (a nice change from the usual fare, to be honest) family-run maple syrup business looking to buy the property next door when it finally goes on the market. But lo and behold, a developer from a large city arrives to outbid the heroine. Our heroine and protagonist, almost from the start, works and grows with her love interest to try to keep the deal from happening. There aren't any big misunderstandings or hidden secrets here. It's just honest communication and two people being surprised about their feelings and healing from their past broken hearts. Our female lead is guarded, but I found her relatable and likable.

The meet-cute was finally not a ridiculous over the top trope, but original, without the female lead being unnecessarily rude or snapping to judgment or having that "You" moment when they run into each other later. There weren't any eye-rolling misunderstandings to get past; everyone was fairly honest from the start. There wasn't the overdone scene of an interrupted kiss: it happens spontaneously in the first 10-15 minutes. There wasn't some widower's/divorcée's kid trying to move the plot forward with an overly sweet and far-too-old-to-be-acting-as-babyish-as-they-typically-do act. The scenery was realistic and what wasn't winter or Christmas-y was overall well-hidden. And finally, I didn't find this with any of the usual cheesy professions of love that generally make me cringe with embarrassment for the actors who have to do them. Again, I will 100% watch this in the future.

Make decisions spontaneously and emotionally and then be stubborn

[Jackbv123 · 3/10 · 6 November 2022]

We have the often repeated premise of dad sending his son to close a development deal. One part of that we don't have is that the family farm is not in trouble here. But the deal is about what was once family land.

So many things in this movie make no sense unless it fits my title. Crazy things happen spontaneously. Erika kisses Aaron passionately after knowing him for part of a day. After that they are destined for love despite all the obstacles. It doesn't matter that Andrew Walker and Peyton List have no chemistry. In fact, List's Erika is an extremely unlikable romantic lead. She argues over everything. She's rude and disrespectful to her sister and her mom. She doesn't really listen to either one.

This is Hallmark, so it is axiomatic that everyone is going to kiss and make up. Trouble is, based on the personalities, I just don't buy that any of these people really changed. And they still make emotional decisions.

Maybe it was how I was already feeling about how shallow everything was, but there were two symbolic gestures that you know are coming from a mile away and for me, they were just cheesy.

The acting is decent, but the dialogue lacks any flair. Most Hallmark movies have good scenery, sometimes dazzling but not here. What stuck out to me were the muddy horse trails and not in a positive way.

Note to self - make sure you don't ever watch this one again.

Everyone Was Annoying

[SidlumCB5 · 3/10 · 10 November 2022]

Honestly, I don't generally review movies, especially Hallmark, because you know what you're signing up for. But every character in this one was aggravating, except for Andrew Walker, the brother in law, & poor Leo.

Firstly, zero chemistry between the leads. The initial "passionate" kiss within hours of knowing the man was ridiculous, moreso since it was followed by Peyton List's character flouncing off & attacking Andrew Walker's character with zero justification.

Secondly, the mom was horrific! Who suddenly announces a retirement, a new boyfriend, & a permanent trip to Italy on her kids - during Christmas - & then is annoyed that her oldest daughter is taken aback & is emotional about it!? I would be livid.

Third, Peyton List's character annoyed me just in general (the above paragraph notwithstanding) & her sister was a whiny baby.

I'm only finishing it because I "must" cross these off of my list, but never again.

Erica and Steve both want the land, and everyone else is caught in the middle.

[rebekahrox · 8/10 · 11 November 2022]

Any Hallmark movie aficionado who has ever rolled their eyes at the "almost kiss" that is usually a fixture about midway in the course of the romance might want to check this one out. 10 or 15 minutes in and before the sun has set on the day they meet, the girl launches herself at the guy and plants one on him. He was very surprised, but not half as surprised as I was. It was a jawdropper.

Andrew walker, Aaron, is sent by his property developer father, Steve, to Maple valley to buy a piece of land that he has had his eye on for years. The land adjoins the tree farm and maple syrup business of the Holden Family. The mother has recently given equal control of the operation to her two daughters. The older daughter, Erica is determined to buy back this land that once belonged to them. The younger daughter wants to use the money to expand their syrup business and maybe "go retail". Which left me scratching my head. Their syrup business seems to be their source of income and is apparently thriving (shocker!) Yet they only seem to sell it at festival booths.

There is lots of conflict in this one. Aaron and his father are at odds because the father perceives Aaron as lazy and unambitious. Aaron does not like his father's business practices and putting his company over family his whole life. When Aaron gives up the land for Erica, Steve is irate and hot-foots it to Maple Valley himself.

There is conflict between the two sisters. The younger, Heidi, does not want to buy the land and feels Erica is running rough-shod over her when they are supposed to be equal partners. She feels discounted.

The mother is retiring because she is moving to Italy with her boyfriend and wants no part of the sisters' dispute. Erica is upset that her mother is leaving home and putting love and companionship over family and business. She is at odds with her Mom, her boyfriend, and even the Christmas tree and what to have for Christmas dinner. Erica is a piece of work, but somehow I didn't hate her. At least she communicates, which is a nice change in a Hallmark movie. She's also upset with Aaron when the father shows up to buy the land afterall. Aaron quits his father and the company he is heir to in order to start his own company. Erica's sister quits the family business. Erica and Steve, the ultimate antagonists, both seem to be in the same boat.

How all of these people come together in love and understanding bowing their heads in prayer at Christmas dinner makes for a pretty interesting journey. What I don't get is what happened to the Fernandez land? Did the Holden's buy it, or was Mister Fernandez left in the lurch? And did Aaron stay in his father's business or strike out on his own? But one thing's for sure. Andrew Walker looked weird in that Cowboy hat.

Is it wrong that I hate everyone?

[nfobare01 · 4/10 · 12 November 2022]

My wife and I watch every darn movie these channels put out and this is one of worst. I genuinely don't like any of the characters and especially hated all of the lead characters. Yes I expect the ones on the movies and mysteries channel to be more dramatic and schmalty. But this one has presented very two dimensional characters with no redeemable qualities. I normally like Andrew Walker but his stunted development and lack of warmth is terrible. Honestly I have not even finished watching the movie yet but I had to get this off my chest. I'm sure everyone will live happily ever after but in the meantime I feel like yelling at the tv every two minutes.

Measuring up to unrealistic expectations

[MickyG333 · 8/10 · 10 December 2022]

7.7 stars.

Peyton List has that face for me. My imaginary soulmate has a visage very similar. I know many would probably disagree saying her face is flawed somehow, who knows, it's just my opinion. She is one of my favorite actresses mainly because she's decent overall, at least in specific roles, this being one. So now this review will be skewed in proportion to the angelic nature of her appearance and presence. Ok, I'll keep it real for the sake of consistency. The movie is not bad, it's laid back, has a nice slow pace. All the actors are good as usual these days for Hallmark. Back in the 2016 and prior movies, sometimes it would be hit and miss, but the last several years I feel the acting in general is of higher quality.

I am pleasantly surprised in her sister's performance, she's a real heart stopper that one, lovely, and beautiful, charismatic, and a good actress. We have the privilege of two leading ladies in this movie.

There are many old wounds that need healing in this story, and everyone is ready and able to mend each others hearts. A son has difficulty measuring up to his father's impossible standards, and a daughter is hard on herself, needs perspective and the ability to cope with failure. Together they help each other improve, and as a bonus they fall madly in love. The anticipation, friction, and tension is palpable, and really adds to the passion. I'd recommend this inspiring tale for anyone who also likes horses, outdoors, farms, and lots of trees and snow.

The end was well crafted with forgiveness, closure, good food and Christmas joy.

Did not like the female lead or her sister characters

[Sorcerersbroom · 3/10 · 9 November 2022]

Really was looking forward to watching this, but it was disappointing. The female lead was overbearing, but I thought the sister was a witch so I didn't care about either one or for the ultimate outcome of the story. They couldn't work together because of their personalities and their mother did nothing to help the situation.

The premise was slightly different for a Hallmark movie, but it just didn't have any holiday magic or romance for that matter. I think that after so many years of pumping out Christmas movies, the well is running dry. The impressive Gold Crown movies of long ago with the quality acting and stories is sadly in the past. I find I like some of the Lifetime and GAC movies more.

Geez, what a nightmare!

[buella-32809 · 2/10 · 21 November 2022]

Look, I enjoy the Lifetime/Hallmark Christmas movies and I watch a lot of them. I understand that they are cheesy and fluff, but fun.

That being said, this one was excruciating! The main reason is the female lead. Her character is just awful. She is negative, self-centered, has no humor, no chemistry with the male lead, rude to her family - I could keep going.

She talks about loving her life and being so into the Maple farm, but shows no actual emotion or affection to anyone in her life. How are we supposed to care??

There's no fun in watching if the protagonist is so ... unlikable. Skip this one.

I felt this Christmas movie was a cut above most of the recent offerings.

[wwaigl · 9/10 · 5 February 2023]

My family and I found the movie held our attention, which many of the Christmas movies of the last 2 yrs failed to do. There are good dozen over the season we attempted to watch and we were unable to get through any of them, even including some with past stalwarts of the Hallmark lineup.

We recognized Andrew from past movies and he was a good fit for this role. We had no familiarity with Peyton List, but she is extremely beautiful and really holds the screen in her moments well. We don't agree with the review that Erica was an unpleasant character and made it a hard watch but a variety of opinions is the spice of life. The character was deliberately a closed and stead in her way type of individual and the movie was about that rigidity being challenged (at least that was one of our takes).

The script was not bad, and I felt the actors made the best of the material they were given. The chemistry was very good between Peyton and Andrew and that gave the movie a good boost. The supporting cast was also good and contributed rather then detracted to the movie. Some sideplots were a bit rushed (that is the writing) but I suppose budget and time were the usual foils for these factors.

We feel most adults will relate to more then a few of the themes in the movie. We rate it a watch. The score of 8 is context of how we feel it stands vs other recent Christmas fare in this niche of Christmas movies.

Just plain bad!

[DesertIsle-60019 · 2/10 · 4 December 2022]

As it's been said Hallmark movies follow a very predictable pattern: good looking boy/girl conveniently both single run into one another in picturesque towns, chemistry is established, slight drama ensues and it's quickly resolved and they live happily ever after. This formula works because despite the B movie vibes there's usually cheer and humor that keep the audience engaged.

This trash heap of a movie, however, abandons all of that and relegates the main characters to the most cold, unlikable people imaginable. Notable exceptions are the very reasonable Italian boyfriend Leo, the stepbrother and Aaron played by Andrew Walker. Yet even AW's typical charm isn't enough to resurrect this movie to watchable status. The main lead, Erica, despite her piercing blue eyes and reddish/brown hair, is dull and irrational, but we soon realize her sister and mother are no better, maybe even worse! These plots with the goofy business drama are so predictable and usually somewhat believable, but this one falls so flat. No person in their right mind believes these three morons could run a lemonade stand, much less a maple syrup farm, which they execute with the same level of enthusiasm as college students after a night of partying. These people are self-absorbed grinches, however even the Grinch is more likable. In defense of the daughters, their mothers behavior was completely bizarre. What lady well into her 60s would move to a foreign country for some man she barely knows, while acting so cold and unconcerned about the disaster she's leaving behind? Poor Leo, step brother and AW are left trying to inject some levity and humanity into these cold-hearted female leads only to be rebuffed at every turn. Erica sends mixed signals with her random kiss and then becomes about as friendly as pit bull at a dog park. Overall, this is just a weird film that lacks any real Christmas joy. Don't waste your time!

Oh and finally when the sister and her boo were playing guitar, singing Silent Night, I was waiting for Bluto from Animal House to emerge and destroy both guitars to spare us all.

regrets

[Kirpianuscus · 17 October 2023]

A pure bizarre film because it real works as problems, references, moments . But not as film. Against the presence of Andrew Walker, saving many Hallmarks , against horses and Christmas atmosphere and hard try to convince.

Unfortunatelly, just nothing works.

The motif is simple - each presumed good or nice point has not roots so, it can not convince.

All becomes formal and pure fake, from the relation father son to the Italian boyfriend and the final Christmas dinner.

And it is not just pleasant because it is a story deserving more attention from its crafters.

But, sure, it is a Hallmark - precise target, specific fans .

Realistic antidote to fun festive films

[SunnyDaise · 10/10 · 11 December 2023]

If like me you've overdosed on fun festive films, this will add some realism. Despite the same upbringing, the three owners of the Maple farm have different perspectives on how to move forward. This family business tension is heightened by two other families and a romance that are all also struggling to mix business and pleasure. The production doesn't necessarily leave you with the warm and fuzzies, but all the characters' perspectives are relatable to me and having two generations means I'll rewatch for twenty years as I won't grow out of it like the many movies aimed at young adults. Maple Valley doesn't necessarily tick all the usual boxes, but offers reality to those of us in a similar situation.

Bad ol' Hallmark

[MIssM19 · 5/10 · 10 November 2022]

Erica meets Aaron after a horse escapes. They feel attracted to each other only to find out the next day they both want the property next door. We've seen it before. However, things that you expect would happen later in the movie, they happen sooner than expected. And that's the only time you will be surprised.

I'm not gonna lie, I did enjoy the movie. However I'm sad to say Peyton and Andrew did not have chemistry. Which is a shame because Andrew has chemistry with all his co-stars.

Now, this movie had it all: a horse ride, the two stars randomly meeting each other, the small town, baking (more like candying, but still), people not admitting the truth, etc.

I liked Peyton and I felt sorry for her character. I have a hard time accepting change as well and being the oldest daughter comes with an extra responsibility so I kind of took pity on her. Her sister was not the best either. I see no future with them as business partners. None of them was willing to compromise. Personally, the lack of chemistry ruined this for me.

And regarding Aaron, did they ever explained why everything was familiar to him, why his father wanted so desesperately to buy the land? Because I was waiting for it and it never came.

I had high expectations and unfortunately they weren't fullfil.

Erica is so mean! What an awful character

[victoriaflemming-26194 · 3/10 · 13 December 2022]

Erica is an adult, and yet she is mean to her mom, her mom's new boyfriend, and her own sister. She is snappy and rude with nearly every other character in the movie.

She throws a fit when there are new ornaments on the Christmas tree, and then wonders why the rest of her family are surprised at her behaviour.

Erica refuses to be anything other than miserable which is constant throughout the whole movie.

I acting by the main character falls flat in comparison to how it could be as it's quite a cute movie it has the potential to be.

She's not believable as a kind sister, daughter or partner.

Terrible lead, no redemption, I was yelling at the tv with my family

[ForcedToWatchHallmark · 2/10 · 13 November 2022]

I truly hated the lead character, Erica. She was a constant contrarian that had to get her way. She had 0, ZERO, redemption but everything of course ends up working out for her. She made terrible life changing decisions behind peoples backs, pushed everyone away, was a terrible family member, horrific to a well-meaning person joining the family and manipulative. My family was literally yelling at the tv with outrage every 5 minutes. This movie would have been better suited as a tragedy and would have been more satisfying that way. Unless your goal is to be outraged save yourself the two hours.

Flawed Script, But Some Reviews are Suspiciously Negative

[jazznu · 5/10 · 8 December 2022]

This is not a great movie, but some of these overly negative reviews are too much and quite transparent. Clicking on a few names tells you the story of why some are rating this so poorly and it has everything to do with Hallmark's competition. Some people genuinely didn't like this movie and that's not hard to imagine, but some of these reviews are very telling in what they say about the movie that there's no way they actually watched.

Now, to the movie overall. I rate on a Hallmark/Lifetime/TV Movie scale for these and this is about a 4 or 5 because of execution not acting. Andrew Walker (who plays Aaron) is far and away the best thing about this movie, and the script is by far the worst.

There are some very odd script choices here and it makes the lead actress (Peyton List who plays Erica) come off less likable than she should've. It would appear that she's just negative and complaining a lot, but the truth is, her entire family keeps springing things on her and treating it as if they've given her years to adjust to a new normal, when it has been about 3-4 days that she's been given to adjust to life-changing happenings going on around her.

Some of the biggest problems with the script include -

No conclusion to Aaron's father's obsession with the property in Montana. Presumably it has something to do with his wife and their visit there or something she loved, but did they go into that? No, there is no resolution and this is a major conflict in the movie. This is a common Hallmark trope, so no resolution was definitely odd, could've wrapped it up easily to heal the disconnect between father and son, and yet there was nothing but a small olive branch in their shaky relationship by the end and not a word about why he was so set on buying the land and had kept his eye on for years just waiting for it to become available.

Erica's sister suddenly not being on board with the 30-years in the making plan to re-purchase family land that they had to sell due to financial hardships. She's been involved with the running of the farm the entire time, so there was no need for this to just now be something she brought up, yet it was. And it also seems like she's been researching it for a long time and talking it out with her husband, so truly no need for it to have been sprung on Erica when the land finally becomes available to buy.

Erica's mother is planning to "vacation" in Italy following her retirement from farm life, something that wasn't exactly shocking, but wasn't well planned with her daughters either so that they knew how soon it would happen. Well, she then proceeds thru the movie to suddenly be taking this vacation with a man she's become involved with but never mentioned outside of being her like Italian language tutor, and then it's not a vacation, she's actually moving to Italy for him, "uprooting her life" was the way she put it. Not a vacation, a move. So she went from vacationing in Italy by herself, to doing so with a man she was getting to know better, to having a boyfriend, to then her daughter Erica guessing correctly based on her word choices, she's actually planning on moving to Italy and didn't actually say this to anyone.

This is followed soon by the boyfriend coming for Christmas, but true to form with her other announcements, the mother fails to articulate that he'll be arriving basically that day or the next, and keeps telling Erica at every turn to get on board as if she prepared Erica even remotely for any ounce of these life changing announcements that all occur within about 3 days time. The mom's boyfriend wants to do an Italian Christmas Eve as if he isn't crashing this party the day before the holiday. There are some truly bizarre script choices being made. It feels very rushed, like no editor took a look at it and spotted the holes in the plot to add dialogue to connect the dots better and not make things seem so unnecessarily awkward and jarring.

There are other storyline issues, but those are some of the bigger ones that stand out and help to shape how the characters come across. Erica keeps getting blindsided so it's not exactly shocking that she's coming across negative, but almost none of it feels like it was necessary. For instance, the extremely tight timeline of all these things unfolding seems unnecessary and a poor storyline decision.

There were a few good things about this movie. This is one of the very few Hallmark movies where the chemistry is there from the get go, so much so that the leads share a passionate kiss very early in the movie. There is a connection from the moment they meet and that is central to the movie. Andrew Walker (Hallmark fan favorite) and Peyton List (Mad Men, As the World Turns, Flashforward, The Tomorrow People) make this movie very watchable despite it's many flaws, and it very likely would've been considerably worse with less capable actors. It was not difficult to get thru it even though this was far from a perfect movie. That being said, they could only do so much with the material. And there was also some questionable camera work in this movie as well, too many close ups, some quite odd, and some other shots that just were head scratchers. But if you're a fan of either Andrew or Peyton, I'd suggest watching it because I can imagine others liking this more because the flaws won't be as prominent to others.