Hallmark For All Seasons

“Holiday Hearts” aired on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel on Saturday, November 23 at 9 p.m. This was the first weekend where the two main Hallmark channels were in direct competition with each other.  I opted to Tivo both, and at 10 p.m. started watching “Holiday Hearts” and then watched the Graceland movie right after.  I have my Hallmark movie-watching priorities straight!  This is the movie I looked forward to all week.  “Holiday Hearts” starred two of my favorite Hallstars, Ashley Williams and Paul Campbell.  Those with eagle eyes will have noticed that the setting of the Canaday Inn is the same hotel used in the Wedding March Hallmark movie series, Rowena’s on the River in British Columbia, Canada.

In a nutshell

I’ll admit I had tremendous bias heading into this movie, thanks to my love for the two lead actors.  I adore Paul Campbell and readers know from my recent interview with Ashley Williams, I’m a huge fan of hers as well.  Hallmark FINALLY putting them in a movie together meant this movie already got a lot of love from me before the opening credits rolled.  Thankfully, my pre-destined love remained intact, as I thoroughly enjoyed this movie from beginning to end.

Plot

When a mutual friend unexpectedly goes into the hospital around the holidays, former daters Peyton (Williams) and Ben (Campbell) are forced together to help care for the friend’s daughter.  At the same time, Peyton is planning the big Christmas Eve gala at her parents’ Inn, while Ben, a physician, is contemplating a job relocation to Honduras.  As Peyton and Ben reconnect, what is to become of their growing feelings once the holiday is over?

Actors

You guys.  I have almost nothing critical to say about my two favorite leading actors in this movie.  Ashley Williams shines in screen and her glee and joy are downright infectious.  Paul Campbell is a solid leading man, oozing charm and extreme likeability every minute he’s on-screen.  On top of that, but Payton Lepinski, who starred as the little girl, Lily, was delightfully good and carried her own up against two actors who tend to take over the spotlight in their movies.  There were notable secondary actors as well, from Lisa Durupt as Peyton’s sister to Andrew Airlie as Peyton’s dad who rounded out a very good cast for “Holiday Hearts.”

As for Six Degrees of Kris Polaha, I opted to go for Payton Lepinski this time around.  And she is connected by three steps despite her limited acting experience!  She co-starred with Anna Faris in the 2018 remake of “Overboard.” Faris made a movie in 2008 with Billy Zabka called “Smiley Face,” and Zabka went on to share a screen with Polaha in “Where Hope Grows” in 2014.

Chemistry

So here’s the thing.  As much as I adore Williams and Campbell, and as much as their energies were 100% in sync on this movie, I don’t know that I necessarily felt any romantic chemistry from this pairing.  Was their chemistry?  ABSOLUTELY.  They are a great pair, for sure.  But it didn’t read as romantic from where I sat.  It almost seemed more like romance-as-nostalgia, which is a totally valid option.

Am I happy Peyton and Ben got together?  I sure am!  But I definitely got the feeling these were two people who once dated, went 10 years without seeing each other, and then came back together and became FRIENDS again.  And in that friendship decided that they actually loved each other.  Am I making any sense?  I hope I am because I totally appreciated that kind of chemistry in this movie.

Feelgoods

Knowing how much I disliked “Northern Lights of Christmas,” I felt a special bond with the reindeer popping up in this movie.

The other major feelgood moment came near the end of the movie, at the Inn’s Christmas Eve party.  Peyton’s sister had been depressed because her pilot husband was snowed in and unable to fly home. Peyton asks her sister about getting some more bacon appetizers, and when the sister asks her why, Peyton says, “I thought your husband might want to try one.”  Then the sister looks over to the other side of the room and sees her husband standing there.  Despite knowing he’d get home from the minute he left at the beginning of the movie, it was Peyton’s line that got me.

Tropes

Tropes abounded in “Holiday Hearts.” There were two homes with covered front porches in this movie, and Peyton wore a big scarf through most of the movie.  Not only that, but the movie was filled with plenty of holiday activities such as building a snowman, decorating a Christmas tree, baking, and a snowball fight.

While a lead character was not a single dad, the friend in the hospital was the single dad asking for Peyton and Ben’s help caring for his daughter around the holidays. Peyton wore a circle pendant necklace in many scenes, including the one when they got hot cocoa (and drank with two hands). At some point, Ben wipes some glitter of Peyton’s cheek, and they danced twice.

Not only that, but Peyton made a homemade gift – a snowglobe for Lily.  And finally, the last scene of the movie featured a kiss in front of the house.   Much like the Graceland movie that aired at the same time as this one, this movie went crazy with Hallmark tropes.

Bingo Card Score for “Holiday Hearts”

Ten spots covered on my bingo card, but no bingo.  When a movie with this many tropes does not result in a bingo?  I’m not having much hope that I’ll get a single bingo this Christmas movie season!

Did I Hear/See That Right?

I had issues with a few things.  First, the friend in the hospital – he needs surgery on his leg.  I didn’t write down what was wrong with him, but what kind of surgery requires 2 days PRE-surgical hospital stay, as well as a couple of days post-surgery?  My husband had knee surgery in 2014 and he went in that morning and was home recuperating on the sofa that afternoon.

Peyton’s sister was testing recipes 5 days before the party. My husband and I throw a huge Christmas party every year.  We’ve been hosting it for over 20 years.  It’s considered the event that ushers in the holiday season for many of our friends.  We are nearly pros at hosting this party.  Having said that, we start testing potential hors d’oeurves recipes in JULY.  And if she was prepping food for the actual party, five days in advance is a bit extreme.  My husband and I make 15-16 custom hors d’oeurves every year, and we begin food prep the day before the party and put it all together the day of.  Not five days in advance.

Lastly, similar to the empty coffee cup situation, we had another “weight distribution” issue when Ben was building that snowman.  Folks, snow is heavy.  Especially snow that has been rolled into a 3-foot circumference ball.  I don’t care how strong Ben might be, there is NO WAY he is going to pick up that giant snowball and put it on the top of the upside-down snowman.  We had a rare snowstorm in my area a couple years ago during which my son made a snowball about that same size as the one Ben picked up in “Holiday Hearts.”  My son AND my husband could barely push it once it got to that size, much less hoist it to the top of a snowman.

Re-watchability

I’m totally going to watch “Holiday Hearts” again.  How is that even a question?

The Ranking

“Holiday Hearts” has made it into the top 10 for the year! This one pushed Paul Campbell’s other movie, “The Last Bridesmaid” down into the 11th spot for the year.  I’m sure he won’t mind.

1. Two Turtle Doves (air date: Nov 1) – 742 pts – weighted score: 123.7 (86.8%)
2. Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses (air date: Oct 26) – 719 pts – weighted score: 121.0 (84.9%)
3. Love to the Rescue RE-RANKED (air date: March 23) – 708 pts – weighted score: 120.6 (84.6%)
4. Winter Love Story (air date: January 19) – 685 pts – weighted score: 115.8 (81.2%)
5. Mystery 101 (air date: January 27 (HMM)) – 454 pts – weighted score: 94.2 (80.5%)
6. Love on the Menu (air date: February 23) – 642 pts – weighted score: 113.8 (79.9%)
7. Holiday Hearts (air date: Nov 23) – 663 pts – weighted score: 113.0 (79.3%)
8. Bottled With Love (air date: April 13) – 649 pts – weighted score: 112.2 (78.7%)
9. Love Takes Flight (air date: April 27) – 670 pts – weighted score: 111.0 (77.9%)
10. Love, Romance & Chocolate (air date: February 16) – 627 pts – weighted score: 110.2 (77.3%)
11. The Last Bridesmaid (air date: June 22) – 643 pts – weighted score: 109.2 (76.6%)
12. Love, Fall and Order (air date: Oct 12) – 636 pts – weighted score: 109.0 (76.5%)
13. Paris, Wine & Romance (air date: May 4) – 638 pts – weighted score: 108.3 (76.0%)
14. My Boyfriend’s Back: Wedding March 5 (air date: June 8) – 635 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
15. Over the Moon in Love (air date: Oct 5) – 613 pts – weighted score: 106.3 (74.6%)
16. Flip That Romance (air date: March 16) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
17. My One and Only (air date: Aug 31) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.6 (74.1%)
18. Mystery 101: Playing Dead (air date: June 23 (HMM)) – 425 pts – weighted score: 86.5 (73.9%)
19. A Summer Romance (air date: Aug 17) – 577 pts – weighted score: 103.7 (72.7%)
20. True Love Blooms (air date: April 6) – 598 pts – weighted score: 103.1 (72.3%)
21. Forever in My Heart (air date: Sept 14) – 560 pts – weighted score: 102.4 (71.8%)
22. The Mistletoe Secret (air date: Nov 11) – 585 pts – weighted score: 102.2 (71.7%)
23. Christmas Under the Stars (air date: Nov 16) – 576 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
24. The Story of Us (air date: February 9) – 605 pts – weighted score: 101.3 (71.1%)
25. Holiday for Heroes (air date: Nov 8) – 566 pts – weighted score: 99.8 (70.0%)
26. A Brush with Love (air date: March 30) – 563 pts – weighted score: 97.7 (68.6%)
27. Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays – 558 pts – weighted score: 97.7 (68.6%)
28. A Godwink Christmas: Meant for Love (air date: Nov 17) – 548 pts – weighted score: 96.9 (68.0%)
29. Ruby Herring: Silent Witness (air date: January 20 (HMM)) – 357 pts – weighted score: 79.5 (67.9%)
30. Love, Unleashed (air date: July 6, 2019) – 559 pts – weighted score: 96.2 (67.5%)
31. Love Under the Rainbow (air date: March 9) – 581 pts – weighted score: 96.0 (67.4%)
32. One Winter Proposal (air date: January 12) – 535 pts – weighted score: 95.8 (67.2%)
33. Just Add Romance (air date: March 2) – 548 pts – weighted score: 95.6 (67.1%)
34. Christmas Scavenger Hunt (air date: Nov 3) – 561 pts – weighted score: 95.4 (66.9%)
35. From Friend to Fiance (air date: May 25) – 555 pts – weighted score: 94.8% (66.5%)
36. Picture a Perfect Christmas (air date: Nov 10) – 529 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
37. Write Before Christmas (air date: Nov 17) – 529 pts – weighted score: 94.1 (66.0%)
38. Christmas Camp (air date: July 11) – 530 pts – weighted score: 93.9 (65.9%)
39. Love and Sunshine (air date: Aug 3) – 504 pts – weighted score: 91.7 (64.3%)
40. Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (air date: March 10 (HMM) – 354 pts – weighted score: 74.1 (63.3%)
41. A Christmas Miracle (air date: Nov 14) – 494 pts – weighted score: 90.1 (63.2%)
42. Sister of the Bride (air date: June 29) – 516 pts – weighted score: 89.8 (63.0%)
43. Valentine in the Vineyard (air date: February 2) – 503 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
44. Love, Take Two (air date: June 15) – 507 pts – weighted score: 87.8 (61.6%)
45. All Summer Long (air date: Aug 24) – 512 pts – weighted score: 87.7 (61.5%)
46. Snowcoming (air date: January 26) – 485 pts – weighted score: 87.3 (61.2%)
47. The Winter Castle (air date: January 5) – 475 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.2%)
48. Merry & Bright (air date: Nov 2) – 483 pts – weighted score: 84.4 (59.2%)
49. Nostalgic Christmas (air date: Oct 31) – 446 pts – weighted score: 79.2 (55.6%)
50. A Merry Christmas Match (air date: Oct 25) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.3 (54.9%)
51. Sailing Into Love (air date: May 18) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.0 (54.7%)
52. Rome in Love (air date: July 27) – 436 pts – weighted score: 76.7 (53.8%)
53. A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas (air date: Nov 7) – 398 pts – weighted score: 72.3 (50.7%)
54. A Taste of Summer (air date: Aug 10) – 403 pts – weighted score: 70.9 (49.7%)
55. A Winter Princess (air date: January 18) – 380 pts – weighted score: 70.5 (49.5%)
56. A Feeling of Home (air date: May 11) – 386 pts – weighted score: 69.7% (48.9%)
57. Love in the Sun (air date: June 1) – 361 pts – weighted score: 62.5 (43.8%)

To see where this movie lands in my overall rankings of Hallmark movies, visit my Hallmark Movie Rankings page!

What did you think of “Holiday Hearts”?  Comment below and let me know!

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