I don’t think that Hallmark has ever had two more beautiful lead actors in a movie. Sure, they have a lot of really attractive people in their movies. But man, oh man, Kat Graham is very beautiful and Kendrick Sampson is very handsome. And on screen? These two were perfection. “Fashionably Yours” aired on Saturday, April 11, 2020. This time around the movie was set in Seattle and acted as a love letter to the city. And while some of the movie was indeed filmed at some iconic locations including Pikes Place Market, the movie also shared locations with Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada.
In a nutshell
I had high hopes for this movie, and was not disappointed. A good portion of this movie was the “walk and talk” method of storytelling, but I didn’t mind that at all. I liked the characters, I liked how the story unfolded, and I appreciated that it was not a typical plot either.
Plot for “Fashionably Yours”
Fashion organizer Lauren (Graham) decides to move back home after missing out on a promotion at her job in Seattle. Rob (Sampson), the owner of the moving company she hires, attempts to help her see the beauty of Seattle and all it has to offer before she leaves town. He becomes her tour guide for the next two weeks leading up to her move and Lauren discovers there is a lot to fall in love with in Seattle.
Actors/Chemistry
It’s clear that Kat Graham and Kendrick Sampson have crazy chemistry together. I loved every moment they shared on screen in this movie.
I remember watching the movie “Say Anything” when it came out. There’s a scene where Diane’s mom asks her daughter to smile because her mouth naturally turns down into a frown. That scene stuck with me, and I tend to notice people’s mouths when I meet them. Weird, I know. For the record, mine turns down naturally as well. Kat Graham’s? She is a natural smiler. Even when her face is at rest, her mouth curves up. It’s remarkable and lovely.
And don’t get me started on Kendrick Sampson. While watching the movie I was so vocal about how handsome he is that at some point my son (who was in the adjacent room) censured me, saying, “Mama, you’re MARRIED. Stop it.” *lol*
image: Hallmark Crown Media
I also really loved how Graham and Sampson approached their dialogue. I don’t claim to be a pro when it comes to dialogue delivery, but I know when it’s off, or forced. In the case of these two, they completely took in their characters and as a result their back and forth was natural and organic. It was an absolute pleasure to watch them on my tv screen.
Six Degrees of Kris Polaha: Kat Graham is three degrees away from Kristoffer Polaha. She was in a 2017 movie called ‘Where’s the Money,” which also featured the delightful Terry Crews (whom my daughter and I ADORE on “Brooklyn 99”). A year later, Crews had a role in the darkly funny “Sorry to Bother You.” The baddie in “Sorry” was none other than Armie Hammer, who co-starred back in 2008 with Polaha in “Billy: The Early Years.”
Tropes in “Fashionably Yours”
I only noticed two. First, the obligatory big city drone shot as the movie opens. This time it was of Seattle, so I didn’t mind. The second was when Rob had coffee ready for Lauren. Those cups were empty, y’all.
Did I Hear/See That Right?
I was worried by the very opening scene in Lauren’s apartment. Why? Well, we had a shot of her bullet journal, which in and of itself is not an issue. This is what her open journal looked like:
I’ve seen fancier bullet journals, but that’s not my issue. My ISSUE is LOOK AT FRIDAY:
GET? MINTS? Who writes that as a to-do for a specific day? Does anyone PLAN to buy mints? No, they check out at the register and on a whim grab a container and scan it, then throw it into their purse. I’ve never made a plan to buy mints. No one has.
Secondly, when Lauren is helping Rob’s client move, with a goal of shaving off 2 hours of time, she tells the client to pick only three things in the room that he definitely wants to keep, and forget the rest. As I watched this scene unfold, I looked around my TV room and easily spotted at least 20 things I would definitely take with me if I had to move. It reminded me of this scene from 1979’s “The Jerk” starring Steve Martin:
On their first “date” during which they take a long walk all over the city, she’s clearly in high heels. That was either poor planning on her part, or rude on his to expect her to aimlessly walk around for a couple hours in high heels.
Lauren realizes she needs more boxes and hops in a cab to go get some at Rob’s warehouse. And promptly lets the cab leave. Exactly how was she planning on getting home with the dozen or so boxes she was picking up? Was she going to call another cab, or just assuming that she could get Rob to take her home?
When they hang the banner on Rob’s warehouse announcing the upcoming silent auction, they hang it across the closed barn doors to enter the warehouse. Not ABOVE the doors, but ACROSS the doors. How are they going to have people get inside?
Feelgoods
I appreciated seeing food get eaten, considering the fact I recently talked about how the only food people eat in Hallmark movies are cookies, pies and cake. Kat took a small bite of a burger in one scene, as did Maybe Brian in a later one.
Speaking of Maybe Brian, when Lauren took him to Bobby Sox for burgers my first thought was, “Oh no, she didn’t take him THERE, did she?” but then I forgave her because of course she took him there – that’s supposedly the only place SHE’S been in three years living in Seattle.
But the moment that made me laugh out loud was when Lauren was talking to her mom, who was in town to help her move, and decided to go find Rob. Her mom basically says, “Girl, you need to change clothes.” I laughed out loud at that. My mother would have made me change, too.
Re-watchability
Yes, I would watch “Fashionably Yours” again. It was well-written, had two incredibly likeable stars, and was not cheesy in the slightest. I really enjoyed it. It probably would have scored higher than “Bacon” if it didn’t have so many nitpicks. And really, from a raw score perspective it DID score higher than “Bacon,” so there’s that.
The Ranking
Another strong movie this past weekend, with “Fashionably Yours” comfortably in the upper half for the year thus far.
- Matching Hearts (air date: Feb 8) – 640 pts – weighted score: 109.0 (76.5%)
- Winter in Vail (air date: Jan 4) – 623 pts – weighted score: 108.8 (76.4%)
- Love in Store (air date: Feb 22) – 637 pts – weighted score: 108.2 (75.9%)
- The Secret Ingredient (air date: Feb 15) – 617 pts – weighted score: 105.2 (73.8%)
- You’re Bacon Me Crazy (air date: Apr 4) – 591 pts – weighted score: 104.0 (72.9%)
- Fashionably Yours (air date: Apr 11) – 594 pts – weighted score: 102.6 (72.0%)
- A Valentine’s Match (air date: Feb 1) – 562 pts – weighted score: 99.8 (70.0%)
- Love On Iceland (air date: Jan 18) – 563 pts – weighted score: 99.4 (69.7%)
- Hearts of Winter (air date: Jan 25) – 561 pts – weighted score: 98.2 (68.9%)
- Just My Type (air date: Mar 28) – 565 pts – weighted score: 95.4% (66.9%)
- Bad Date Chronicles (air date: Feb 28) – 520 pts – weighted score: 91.0 (63.9%)
- Love in Winterland (air date: Jan 11) – 508 pts – weighted score: 90.7 (63.6%)
- Amazing Winter Romance (air date: Jan 20) – 487 pts – weighted score: 85.6 (60.1%)
- In the Key of Love (air date: Mar 14) – 470 pts – weighted score: 82.5 (57.9%)
To see where this movie lands in my overall rankings of Hallmark movies, visit my Hallmark Movie Rankings page!
What did you think of Hallmark’s “Fashionably Yours”? Comment below and let me know!
Fashionably Yours Share on X
The terrible wig on Kat Graham was so distracting.
I’m glad this is the first black couple on hallmark channel as the lead couple. I have to say this is chemistry between them. For instance the cookie thing, she was walking to kitchen and they were staring at each other checking each other before they talk. Second time, when he was putting his coffee down, ” it was empty at least put hot water and make the heat appear. ” He turned around staring at her. When they were waiting on burgers, he was flirty he was licking his lips and bit his lip. Most of time of the movie, they smile and laugh with each other. He always checking her out, and they have intense way they look at each other. The chemistry is so strong, they look like they were dating throughout movie irl. Remember the beer helmet scene ? They were flirting, they were staring to each eyes. But he stood there, he could do something with his hands, like hold her or touching her hands. Show you are interested who cares if your friend was there. I would like Zoey and Rob have a second love story.
But I didn’t mind the hair, I feel braiding styles will make her too young. Long hair would too much, Usually the African American women’s hairstyle is terrible. If they don’t want they are doing, just put a weave on preferably medium to long. Box braids can really a great alternative.
I love the movie has a black led couple. They look happy with each other. One thing Zoey and the white guy should be a couple.
Also the tall light skin guy, the friend of Kendrick Sampson’s character should date his cousin. He needs to use his hands, they kind of stay still. He sounds like a New Yorker.