Hallmark For All Seasons

“Love Strikes Twice” aired on October 2, 2021 and starred Katie Findlay and Wyatt Nash, with an assist from Marshall Williams. It was filmed in Winnipeg, Canada.

The screenplay was penned by C. Jay Cox, whose biggest project in the past is creating the screenplay for Reese Witherspoon’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” The Dobrofskys, a well known Hallmark screenwriting couple, were also listed as contributing to the screenplay.

Jeff Beesley directed, having previously directed Snowkissed, Project Christmas Wish and The Christmas Club (to name a few).  Technically we should be seeing Fall Harvest movies at this point, but this one did NOT feel like a fall movie at all.

Music: Maggie’s parents’ song is Bryan Adams’ Heaven (affiliate link).

In a nutshell

I’m not sure what I expected with this movie, but I LOVED IT.  Even with the GIANT gaping time travel issues at the end, I loved it.

The Plot of “Love Strikes Twice”

Workaholic lawyer Maggie is having marriage issues. She wishes for a do-over and awakens 15 years in the past. Will Maggie choose college boyfriend Rick or will she stay with husband Josh?

Actors & Chemistry

The winner for me was Katie Findlay.  I was not too familiar with her heading into this movie other than her appearances on “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,”, but she completely won me over almost immediately.  Do I believe that a 31-year-old can play a 37 year old?  Absolutely not.  But I completely believed her as a 22 year old who knows more than she’s letting on.  I sincerely hope that Hallmark brings her back for more movies.

I thought Wyatt Nash as Josh Turner was fine.  Admittedly, he didn’t have to do much in the story although he was really fun to watch during the country club heist scenes.  And it was interesting to see Marshall Williams as the bad boyfriend this time around.

As for chemistry, the pairing I liked the most was Katie Findley and Matthew Lupu (Maggie and Ash, respectively). I absolutely believed those two were siblings in every scene they had together and that pairing was fantastic and fun.

Tropes

Almost none, which was very disappointing!  A big city drone shot opened the movie. And then we had a mean developer threatening to tear down the old library.  That was IT.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

I’m not sure a library being torn down would change a whole town for the negative.  I mean, yes, books are important, and libraries can offer a lot of great programs and resources for the community, but towns don’t live or die because they do or don’t have a library.

So Josh and Maggie’s friend go on a first date and she sees them holding hands at the restaurant.  I don’t care how good the chemistry is, I don’t see near strangers holding hands at dinner during a first date.

I’m not sure a big wig financial investor would bring a briefcase to a round of golf.  I’m also not sure the lockers of a private country club would be so easy to break into.

Let’s talk about the end, when she wakes up.  Now, this is an issue with all of these time travel type movies.  She hits her head, travels back in time, CHANGES everything, and wakes up in her new world with everything being different.  Maggie doesn’t know that her own law practice has taken over the old library.  So does this mean come Monday morning she won’t know any of her current clients?  She lives in town just ten blocks from her parents.  Is she going to remember her neighbors?  I know the general rule of time travel movies is that you are not supposed to ask those kinds of questions, but I’m asking them anyway.

Feelgoods

Despite the fact that the actor playing Maggie’s brother Ash so clearly should have been played by an older teen once she traveled back in time, the scene in his basement lair had me laughing.  Game of Thrones references, broken Legos, Dungeons & Dragons – it all worked for me.

I also loved the pep talk Maggie gave Ash when he asked what HIS future was like, and she implied that he was super successful and full of confidence.  When she said that, I was excited to see how his future changed due to this one small conversation.

The meeting Maggie and Josh had in the lawyer’s office made me laugh, with the attorney doing the long walk across the table sliding the money offers with him.

General Thoughts

Growing up, my sister and I bickered about everything under the sun.  My own kids do the same.  And as much as the bickering in my own family drives me CRAZY, it was fun to see on screen – it made me feel seen. *lol*

Adding the heist music at the country club was fun, as was the old timey text on the screen when they texted each other.

Lastly, I was glad that Ash was successful at the end of the movie, but I was hoping that it would be more obvious that he was successful versus just being with the hacker girl.  Maybe wearing a snazzy suit at the anniversary party?

Re-watchability

This is one I’ll watch whenever it airs.  I enjoyed it that much.

The Ranking

“Love Strikes Twice” came so close to making the top 10 for the year thus far! If it had more tropes it most definitely would have scored higher.  Nonetheless, it was a fun, enjoyable movie that I hope people take the time to watch!

1. Crashing Through The Snow (air date: July 10) – 705 pts – weighted score: 118.1 (82.8%)
2. It Was Always You (air date: Feb 27) – 668 pts – weighted score: 114.2 (80.1%)
3. You Had Me At Aloha (air date: June 5) – 675 pts – weighted score: 111.4 (78.1%)
4. Sweet Carolina (air date: May 15) – 648 pts – weighted score: 110.1 (77.2%)
5. Taking a Shot at Love (air date: Jan 2) – 641 pts – weighted score: 108.9 (76.4%)
6. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (air date: Mar 27) – 636 pts – weighted score: 108.5 (76.1%)
7. Right in Front of Me (air date: Apr 18) – 637 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
8. As Luck Would Have It (air date: Apr 10) – 638 pts – weighted score: 107.7 (75.5%)
9. Her Pen Pal (air date: June 19) – 636 pts – weighted score: 107.1 (75.1%)
10. The Baker’s Son (air date: June 13) – 637 pts – weighted score: 106.3 (74.6%)
11. Love Strikes Twice (air date: Oct 2) – 608 pts – weighted score: 105.2 (73.8%)
12. A Winter Getaway (air date: Jan 23) – 620 pts – weighted score: 104.4 (73.3%)
13. Love, For Real (air date: July 31) – 607 pts – weighted score: 103.6 (72.7%)
14. Mix Up in the Mediterranean (air date: Feb 20) – 590 pts – weighted score: 102.5 (71.9%)
15. Two For The Win (air date: Jan 16) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
16. Chasing Waterfalls (air date: Mar 20) – 570 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
17. Roadhouse Romance (air date: Sept 11) – 571 pts – weighted score: 100.2 (70.3%)
18. Sweet Pecan Summer (air date: ) – 576 pts – weighted score: 97.3 (68.3%)
19. Sand Dollar Cove (air date: June 26) – 557 pts – weighted score: 96.8 (67.9%)
20. Hearts Down Under (air date: Apr 24) – 547 pts – weighted score: 95.2 (66.8%)
21. Fit for a Prince (air date: Mar 6) – 546 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
22. A New Year’s Resolution (air date: Jan 9) – 516 pts – weighted score: 90.5 (63.5%)
23. A Little Daytime Drama (air date: Aug 21) – 511 pts – weighted score: 87.7 (61.5%)
24. Baby, It’s Cold Inside (air date: May 8) – 495 pts – weighted score: 85.6 (60.0%)
25. Playing Cupid (air date: Feb 13) – 466 pts – weighted score: 82.6 (58.0%)
26. Beverly Hills Wedding (air date: Feb 6) – 431 pts – weighted score: 80.6 (56.5%)
27. Snowkissed (air date: Jan 31) – 402 pts – weighted score: 76.0 (53.3%)

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 Strikes Twice”?  Comment below and let me know!