holiday movies start now apparently
Nov. 30th, 2022 02:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
impyIt's after Thanksgiving which means I have begun my holiday movie watching. I think I started with a pretty good one, all things considered, but first a word for the fall one I watched beforehand.
Falling for Vermont was pretty much exactly what you'd expect from the little trailer. Big YA author is overwhelmed by her newfound fame, grabs her sister's keys and drives off to Vermont where pretty much as soon as she crosses the state line, a storm rolls in and causes an accident. She's found walking down the road with no memory (or shoes) and winds up in the nearest small town and under the care of dubiously handsome small town doc. As per the rules of the format, she stays at his house (well, guest house) and the two fall in love as she also falls in love with the town and his kids. Back in her real life, her sister/assistant and her boyfriend/manager try to keep her disappearance under wraps so as not to rock the financial boat, but are both alternating between being worried and annoyed that she's run off, again.
It's cute and if not for the super fake pumpkins that make no sense outside the photobooth option, it scratches the fall itch. But it has issues. The kids, for one, aren't great. I always feel like an asshole saying that because it's not a make it or break it thing, but it's also...eh. Could both grow up to be good/great actors? Sure. Is this that movie for them? No. I got distracted by the love interest's eyebrow about halfway through the movie as he always looks like he's arching one eyebrow and I couldn't figure out if I was just noticing it at random times or if he always looked like that or what. In his defense, I wasn't paying 100% attention to the movie at all times so, y'know, there's that.
Biggest issue is that Angela breaks up with her boyfriend at the end, fine, but says she and her boyfriend/manager have the perfect business relationship. Ummmmmm... no? She literally ran away from her life because the two people in her life who should have her back, who should be listening to her, were absolutely not. She told them she felt overwhelmed, that she didn't want to be paraded out for every talk show in the country, that she just wanted a break so she could enjoy the season and maybe recharge her batteries, and neither listened to her. Upon regaining her memory and being found, did boyfriend/manager let her rest or even seem to listen to her? NOPE. He immediately booked her for another interview, at the same place she ran away from, btw, and yet I'm supposed to believe he's a good manager? Mmm, no. And sister ain't much better, honestly.
So, mixed bag. Enjoyed the main actress though, and really that and pretty fall setting are all I really needed.
Holiday movies begin NOW.
Did I watch this movie entirely to see how much I enjoy Janel Parrish outside the confines of PLL? Yes. Yes, I did. And she remains a goddamn delight, okay? Because the HMN app is absolute garbage (it is), I somehow thought this was a case of Janel's character sliding into a premade family and basically Stepmomming it up. But it is not that and I wish they'd leaned into that a little bit more.
Melody moves in to a real fixer-upper of a house nextdoor to Nina, Holly, and Ivy. Nina and Melody immediately become friends and the girls are charmed by Melody as well, as Melody wants more than anything to be a children's librarian. She loves books and honestly, if you told me she moved in with nothing but some clothes, Christmas decorations, and a shitton of books, I'd believe you. Unfortunately for Melody, there's a hiring freeze at every library in the area and she's unable to find a paying job in her field. Luckily for her, she's somehow managed to make a nest egg to allow herself time to fix up the house and hunt for that job, though maybe not as much for the fixing upping as she'd originally hoped.
Because movie's gotta movie, we find out really quickly that Nina's sick and it's a damn good thing the girls love Melody because they have no other family and Nina openly worries that her girls will wind up in the foster system if she loses battle #3 with cancer. Melody announces she'd take the girls if the worst happens and Nina perks up, only to realize how much that would alter Melody's life. Also, Melody's house is a wreck and getting her deemed fit by social services might be a stretch if she doesn't have a job and a house without wiring issues.
Luckily Melody has also made friends with Adam, a contractor who offers to help out. Their dynmanic is cute and all, but I genuinely wish the movie had either been longer or just focused on Nina/Melody and their friendship while maybe leaving the door open for a sequel with Melody/Adam being focused on there. As it is, it's a little disjointed at times. Like we get this big Christmas Eve thing where Adam gathers up various people around town who like Melody and want to help her get her house in order just in case she has to take the girls, but like... she's been in town for MAYBE a month at this point. Nina's lived there how long? Why doesn't she have any friends? I could see not having any that could be counted on to take the girls in, as that is a lot to ask, but seriously, no friends? At all? In this small town that rallies around Melody after less than a month? Weird. No. Don't like it.
That said, I really did love Melody and Nina and their friendship, Holly was sweet, and Betty the dog was cute. I liked Adam/Melody and would've happily sat through them as a sequel if the first had decided to focus more on Melody and Nina's friendship and the family stuff.
Called out of work because the cramps of doom came back. Ugh.
Falling for Vermont was pretty much exactly what you'd expect from the little trailer. Big YA author is overwhelmed by her newfound fame, grabs her sister's keys and drives off to Vermont where pretty much as soon as she crosses the state line, a storm rolls in and causes an accident. She's found walking down the road with no memory (or shoes) and winds up in the nearest small town and under the care of dubiously handsome small town doc. As per the rules of the format, she stays at his house (well, guest house) and the two fall in love as she also falls in love with the town and his kids. Back in her real life, her sister/assistant and her boyfriend/manager try to keep her disappearance under wraps so as not to rock the financial boat, but are both alternating between being worried and annoyed that she's run off, again.
It's cute and if not for the super fake pumpkins that make no sense outside the photobooth option, it scratches the fall itch. But it has issues. The kids, for one, aren't great. I always feel like an asshole saying that because it's not a make it or break it thing, but it's also...eh. Could both grow up to be good/great actors? Sure. Is this that movie for them? No. I got distracted by the love interest's eyebrow about halfway through the movie as he always looks like he's arching one eyebrow and I couldn't figure out if I was just noticing it at random times or if he always looked like that or what. In his defense, I wasn't paying 100% attention to the movie at all times so, y'know, there's that.
Biggest issue is that Angela breaks up with her boyfriend at the end, fine, but says she and her boyfriend/manager have the perfect business relationship. Ummmmmm... no? She literally ran away from her life because the two people in her life who should have her back, who should be listening to her, were absolutely not. She told them she felt overwhelmed, that she didn't want to be paraded out for every talk show in the country, that she just wanted a break so she could enjoy the season and maybe recharge her batteries, and neither listened to her. Upon regaining her memory and being found, did boyfriend/manager let her rest or even seem to listen to her? NOPE. He immediately booked her for another interview, at the same place she ran away from, btw, and yet I'm supposed to believe he's a good manager? Mmm, no. And sister ain't much better, honestly.
So, mixed bag. Enjoyed the main actress though, and really that and pretty fall setting are all I really needed.
Holiday movies begin NOW.
Did I watch this movie entirely to see how much I enjoy Janel Parrish outside the confines of PLL? Yes. Yes, I did. And she remains a goddamn delight, okay? Because the HMN app is absolute garbage (it is), I somehow thought this was a case of Janel's character sliding into a premade family and basically Stepmomming it up. But it is not that and I wish they'd leaned into that a little bit more.
Melody moves in to a real fixer-upper of a house nextdoor to Nina, Holly, and Ivy. Nina and Melody immediately become friends and the girls are charmed by Melody as well, as Melody wants more than anything to be a children's librarian. She loves books and honestly, if you told me she moved in with nothing but some clothes, Christmas decorations, and a shitton of books, I'd believe you. Unfortunately for Melody, there's a hiring freeze at every library in the area and she's unable to find a paying job in her field. Luckily for her, she's somehow managed to make a nest egg to allow herself time to fix up the house and hunt for that job, though maybe not as much for the fixing upping as she'd originally hoped.
Because movie's gotta movie, we find out really quickly that Nina's sick and it's a damn good thing the girls love Melody because they have no other family and Nina openly worries that her girls will wind up in the foster system if she loses battle #3 with cancer. Melody announces she'd take the girls if the worst happens and Nina perks up, only to realize how much that would alter Melody's life. Also, Melody's house is a wreck and getting her deemed fit by social services might be a stretch if she doesn't have a job and a house without wiring issues.
Luckily Melody has also made friends with Adam, a contractor who offers to help out. Their dynmanic is cute and all, but I genuinely wish the movie had either been longer or just focused on Nina/Melody and their friendship while maybe leaving the door open for a sequel with Melody/Adam being focused on there. As it is, it's a little disjointed at times. Like we get this big Christmas Eve thing where Adam gathers up various people around town who like Melody and want to help her get her house in order just in case she has to take the girls, but like... she's been in town for MAYBE a month at this point. Nina's lived there how long? Why doesn't she have any friends? I could see not having any that could be counted on to take the girls in, as that is a lot to ask, but seriously, no friends? At all? In this small town that rallies around Melody after less than a month? Weird. No. Don't like it.
That said, I really did love Melody and Nina and their friendship, Holly was sweet, and Betty the dog was cute. I liked Adam/Melody and would've happily sat through them as a sequel if the first had decided to focus more on Melody and Nina's friendship and the family stuff.
Called out of work because the cramps of doom came back. Ugh.