Hallmark For All Seasons

“Love Unleashed” aired July 6, 2019 on the Hallmark Channel and starred the every delightful Hallstar, Jen Lilley, and Hallmark regular, Christopher Russell.  It was filmed (as most Hallmark movies are) in and around Vancouver, Canada.

In a nutshell

This movie was strictly middle of the road for me.  I didn’t love it (despite sunny Jen Lilley) but I didn’t hate it either.  I wasn’t bored by it, but I wasn’t glued to the screen.  What it was, was decent filler for a couple hours over the holiday weekend.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Plot

While hosting a puppy party, business owner Hailey meets single father Ryan. She is anxious to get a dedicated dog park in town, and he’s the city planner that can help her get it done.  And in the meantime, she helps him discover the value of adopting a shelter pup, and teaches him that there’s more to life than work.

Actors

I love Jen Lilley and will watch her in anything, so that’s always a plus for me.  Christopher Russell has been the leading man in many Hallmark movies over the years, but this is the first one where I will remember that he was the leading man. And not just because Jen Lilley is only 5’2″ and he is 6’4″.  It was refreshing to see him finally take a front seat and portray a lead character that was memorable.  As for connections to Kris Polaha, this time we’re going a different route.  Jen Lilley starred on “Days of Our Lives” for a few years, as did Julianne Polaha, whose spouse is?  Kris Polaha, of course.

Chemistry

The chemistry was good between Lilley and Russell, although it was comical seeing some of their scenes together given their extreme height differences. I LOVED the scenes with Hailey’s puppy business co-owner, Dana, portrayed by Donna Benedicto with great humor and fun.  Hope she ends up in more memorable roles like this one.  She has apparently been in a few other Hallmark movies, but she made her mark in “Unleashed” for sure.

Feelgoods

Duh.  PUPPIES!  The dogs were adorable and I’d have wanted to adopt Otter, too.  My favorite feelgood was when Otter was asleep in Ryan’s arms while they were grooming the puppies on the sofa.  So adorable.

Tropes

The marble laptop cover popped up again and I DO think it is the exact same laptop from “Sister of the Bride” last week.  Time to start documenting it on Instagram – look for #HallmarkLaptop in the next week or so, along with #HallmarkLobby.  We almost had a baking scene but we got denied when Ryan opted to take Hailey and his daughter to a bakery after burning his batch of cookies.  We got our first “wipe the food off her face” moment in a very long time.  And of course, the implication of the evil of land development over small town goodness (although this was a soft trope because the city planners were never seen as being evil, but rather willing to work with Hailey and her desire for a dedicated dog park.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

There were a couple curious moments.

I doubt anyone noticed, but at one point when they were walking down the street, there was a random potted plant outside a store.  And I don’t mean a pretty, decorated tree near the entrance door.  I mean it was literally a tall plant/tree thing in a tiny pot, just sitting on the sidewalk up against a building.  I should have taken a picture of it because it was so poorly placed that it distracted me completely from the scene I was supposed to be watching.

In another scene, when Ryan leaves the house to go pick up takeout it is still light outside, and upon his departure Hailey advises Ryan’s daughter to make a presentation about why she’d be a good dog owner.  “Do you have a pen and paper?” Hailey asks.  They go off to make the presentation, and in the very next scene Ryan walks in, it’s now very dark outside, and the presentation Ryan’s daughter gives is now on heavy card stock and uses NO pen whatsoever, but ornate shiny lettering and stickers.  So apparently Ryan and/or his daughter is a scrapbooker and has an entire closet of crafting supplies in the house.

Lastly, while some may think Ryan’s presentation to Hailey at the end of the movie might be considered romantic, I considered it to be WAY TOO MUCH, WAY TOO SOON.

Re-watchability

I likely will not watch this one again, but would not begrudge it if it was on tv and there was nothing else to watch.

The Ranking

So where does it fit in the rankings?  Strictly middle-of-the-road, even with puppies galore.

1. Winter Love Story (air date: January 19) – 685 pts – weighted score: 115.8 (81.2%)
2. Love to the Rescue (air date: March 23) – 679 pts – weighted score: 115.4 (80.9%)
3. Mystery 101 (air date: January 27 (HMM)) – 454 pts – weighted score: 94.2 (80.5%)
4. Love on the Menu (air date: February 23) – 642 pts – weighted score: 113.8 (79.9%)
5. Bottled With Love (air date: April 13) – 649 pts – weighted score: 112.2 (78.7%)
6. Love Takes Flight (air date: April 27) – 670 pts – weighted score: 111.0 (77.9%)
7. Love, Romance & Chocolate (air date: February 16) – 627 pts – weighted score: 110.2 (77.3%)
8. The Last Bridesmaid (air date: June 22) – 643 pts – weighted score: 109.2 (76.6%)
9. Paris, Wine & Romance (air date: May 4) – 638 pts – weighted score: 108.3 (76.0%)
10. My Boyfriend’s Back: Wedding March 5 (air date: June 8) – 635 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
11. Flip That Romance (air date: March 16) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
12. Mystery 101: Playing Dead (air date: June 23 (HMM)) – 425 pts – weighted score: 86.5 (73.9%)
13. True Love Blooms (air date: April 6) – 598 pts – weighted score: 103.1 (72.3%)
14. The Story of Us (air date: February 9) – 605 pts – weighted score: 101.3 (71.1%)
15. A Brush with Love (air date: March 30) – 563 pts – weighted score: 97.7 (68.6%)
16. Ruby Herring: Silent Witness (air date: January 20 (HMM)) – 357 pts – weighted score: 79.5 (67.9%)
17. Love, Unleashed (air date: July 6, 2019) – 559 pts – weighted score: 96.2 (67.5%)
18. Love Under the Rainbow (air date: March 9) – 581 pts – weighted score: 96.0 (67.4%)
19. One Winter Proposal (air date: January 12) – 535 pts – weighted score: 95.8 (67.2%)
20. Just Add Romance (air date: March 2) – 548 pts – weighted score: 95.6 (67.1%)
21. From Friend to Fiance (air date: May 25) – 555 pts – weighted score: 94.8% (66.5%)
22. Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (air date: March 10 (HMM) – 354 pts – weighted score: 74.1 (63.3%)
23. Sister of the Bride (air date: June 29) – 516 pts – weighted score: 89.8 (63.0%)
24. Valentine in the Vineyard (air date: February 2) – 503 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
25. Love, Take Two (air date: June 15) – 507 pts – weighted score: 87.8 (61.6%)
26. Snowcoming (air date: January 26) – 485 pts – weighted score: 87.3 (61.2%)
27. The Winter Castle (air date: January 5) – 475 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.2%)
28. Sailing Into Love (air date: May 18) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.0 (54.7%)
29. A Winter Princess (air date: January 18) – 380 pts – weighted score: 70.5 (49.5%)
30. A Feeling of Home (air date: May 11) – 386 pts – weighted score: 69.7% (48.9%)
31. 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 “Love, Unleashed”?  Comment below and let me know!