Hallmark For All Seasons

I’m going to start this write-up by stating that I know this movie will be considered controversial for many people.  And while I’m okay with people expressing their opinions in the comments, I will remove any comments that contain inflammatory language. You are free to express opinions but keep it civil and polite, please. As the owner of this site, I reserve the right to unpublish any comments I deem uncivil, impolite and derogatory.

“Love, Classified,” starring Melora Hardin, Katherine McNamara, Arienne Mandi, and Max Lloyd-Jones, originally aired on April 16, 2022 on Hallmark Channel as part of it’s Spring Into Love series of movies. Stacey Harding (Christmas Sail) directed from a script by Lynn Sternberger. This was Sternberger’s first script for Hallmark. It was filmed in Victoria, Canada.

Music: The last song of the movie is an amazing song called Head on Fire (affiliate link) by Griff x Sigrid.

In a nutshell

This movie didn’t feel like Hallmark to me.  I initially couldn’t put my finger on it, but near the end of it, I realized this felt more like a streaming service movie to me.  It clearly had a bigger budget than regular Hallmark movies, and enjoyed a quirkier, modern sense of humor, along with a heavier story (but not so heavy that it required being on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries).  Having said that, while it had some headscratcher moments, I thought it was a good movie.  Great?  No.  But still much better than most of Hallmark movies that have come out thus far this year.

The Plot of “Love, Classified”

Romance novelist, Emilia, returns home after a long absence to reconnect with her children, Zach and Taylor.  Emilia left Pennfield five years prior after the loss of her husband, leaving her adult children behind to deal with the loss of not just one, but both parents.  Unbeknownst to Zach and Taylor, Emilia has returned home due to some health problems she has had in the past.  While trying to make sense of their mother’s return, Zach and Taylor are also diving into the dating waters and seeking connection.

Actors & Chemistry

I’m a huge Melora Hardin fan and she was wonderful in this movie.  And while a lot of people will make a big deal about the Taylor storyline, the fact is that this movie was actually about a mom attempting to reconnect with her children after five years of estrangement.  Hardin played Emilia as self-involved but still incredibly likeable and fun.  Her scene in the bar when she’s talking to the bartender was great, including her son’s reaction to realizing that he’s there to meet HER after a bit of anonymous conversation on the Classifie app.  She also did well with the emotional moments trying to connect with her kids, despite their initial reticence and downright rudeness at response to those attempts.  The movie, secondary plotline aside, belonged to Melora Hardin.

But that’s not to say the rest of the cast wasn’t great.  They were. Katherine McNamara, as Taylor, was mostly great in the part.  At times her vitriol against her mother seemed overblown – especially since she sometimes would storm out of the room without giving her mother a chance to explain.  On the other hand I appreciated that Max Lloyd-Jones’ character, Zach, after his initial distance to his mom, opened up and they began to repair their broken relationship.

Speaking of Zach, his mild flirtation with bookstore manager Margot (adorably played by purple-haired Louriza Tronco) was sweet even if it took a major backseat (along with his mural storyline) to the other characters in the movie.

I wasn’t so sure that Steve Bacic’s bookshop owner character was needed, although it was nice to see Emilia move on after grieving the loss of her husband for so long.  I suppose Hallmark still needed to put a bow on every character’s story.

But the big story in this movie is the one that got the most publicity leading up to airing.  Taylor chats up someone on Classifie, agrees to meet for coffee, and is surprised when the person she expects to meet is a woman, not a man.  She’s not adverse to it, and decides to continue to meet up with Dr. Franki, who just so happens to also be Emilia’s cardiologist.  I really liked Arienna Mandi as Dr. Franki and I hope she gets cast in more Hallmark movies.  McNamara was good as well, although Taylor’s constant tantrums drove me crazy.  As for chemistry, I did like their talk during scene at the waterline – albeit with some issues (see below).

For the most part, the entire cast played well together and were probably one of the best ensembles since the “Christmas House” cast were put together.

Tropes

City skyline drone shot opened the movie. Empty coffee cups.  Again.  Were there any others?

Did I Hear/See That Right?

I did not have issues with the same sex relationship.  What I did have issues with is that they spent 3 hours chatting in a coffee shop the first time they met and the second time they met (the walk along the water) they kissed.  And while I know that happens in real life, and I know Hallmark is trying to become more modern, I was very surprised that Hallmark would go that hard in their first same sex romance.  Not even in regular Hallmark movies over the past 3-4 years do we get many middle-of-the-movie kisses, and certainly not after the characters have only met ONLY ONE TIME BEFORE THAT.  Is this Harlequin or Hallmark?  And again, I know kisses can happen after only a few hours if the chemistry is there (been there, done that), but it was weird to see on Hallmark, which only approves of dry, closed mouth kisses after the characters declare their love for each other (c’mon – you know you’ve seen that trope where characters profess love BEFORE they ever kiss).

I didn’t quite understand why Taylor was so, so angry with her mom about leaving.  Given their ages (Emilia even confirms for us at some point that Zach and Taylor were already adults when their father passed), I would think that the kids would have at least a little bit of sympathy for their grieving mom – just a little bit of grace.  But I get it – I would imagine it would be hard to lose a parent only to lose another one that is still alive but yet completely unavailable.  But at what point do you move on?  At what point do you forgive? During this movie, I didn’t understand why Taylor refused to even be in the same room as Emilia once she came home trying to make amends.

So this Classifie app – is it just for the fictitious town of Pennfield?  Because all of the messages people saw were only responded to/seen by other people in Pennfield.  How does that work?  How big or small is Pennfield that this app can be that specifically local?

Feelgoods

I appreciated the direction and editing of this movie – and it was those things that made it feel more Netflix than Hallmark.  The fast-slow pace that opened the movie was fun, and the bubble pop-ups were unexpectedly expensive looking (compared to other Hallmark movies that attempt bubble pop-ups that end up looking like they were designed in 1990). And the movie also used appropriate slang like “ghosted” from time to time.

We had two unbilled Hallstar cameos in this movie!  Did you catch both of them? The most obvious one was Paul Campbell as the bartender near the beginning of the movie! YAY!  The other one may have been harder to spot, but if you looked closely at the heroine on Emilia’s book covers, you’d see Ashley Williams!

Taylor’s childish stubbornness notwithstanding, the script was concise, clear, and filled with mature conversations.  I appreciated that tremendously.

Re-watchability of “Love, Classified”

I would watch this again mainly due to the magnificent Melora Hardin.  She is the clear winner of the movie.  The scene in the bar with bartender Paul Campbell was my favorite of the entire movie.

The Ranking

“Love, Classified” has a pretty good score for now although it’ll probably end up as a middle of the pack movie as the year goes on.  But still, a better than normal movie!

1. Just One Kiss (air date: Apr 2) – 660 pts – weighted score: 111.2 (78.0%)
2. Love, Classified (air date: Apr 16) – 624 pts – weighted score: 106.1 (74.4%)
3. A Royal Runaway Romance (air date: Apr 9) – 617 pts – weighted score: 105.9% (74.3%)
4. The Perfect Pairing (air date: Jan 15) – 563 pts – weighted score: 92.7 (65.0%)
5. Don’t Forget I Love You (air date: Jan 22) – 508 pts – weighted score: 85.8 (60.2%)
6. The Wedding Veil (air date: Jan 8) – 508 pts – weighted score: 83.3 (58.4%)
7. Where the Heart Belongs (air date: Jan 1) – 435 pts – weighted score: 74.5 (52.3%)

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

What did you think of “Love, Classified”?  Comment below and let me know!