Hallmark For All Seasons

“My Boyfriend’s Back: Wedding March 5” aired on June 8, 2019 on the Hallmark Channel and starred no less than four Hallstars: Cindy Busby, Tyler Hynes, Josie Bissett and Jack Wagner.  “Wedding March 5” was filmed entirely in British Columbia, Canada, and more specifically, at Rowena’s Inn on the River, a lovely real inn associated with the Sandpiper Resort east of Vancouver and due north of Chilliwack (which is also the name of a Canadian rock band who had the hit “My Girl” in the early 1980s (I love that song)).

In a nutshell

I liked this one more than I thought I would. Admittedly, I have not seen any of the previous Wedding March movies since I’m not into the Hallmark wedding movies at all. I tend to skip the June movie offerings entirely, but since my Hallmark fave Tyler Hynes was in it, I knew I had to watch. In the end, I really really liked it. If all Hallmark wedding movies were this good I could be convinced not to avoid their programming each June!

Plot

Wedding planner Annalise (Cindy Busby) is spearheading a Very Important Wedding (investors are looking at supporting her company) but is shocked to discover the best man is actually the ex-boyfriend who broke her heart five years earlier (Tyler Hynes). Not only that but Olivia (Josie Bissett) and Mick (Jack Wagner), the co-owners of the wedding location, are each planning surprises for each other on the eve of an important anniversary.

Actors

Everyone in the cast was likeable – from the supporting actors to the leads.  Cindy Busby was very expressive and engaging, and Tyler Hynes was rocking his Henleys and practically-perfect hair.  We got to hear Jack Wagner sing for a bit, and Josie Bissett appears to have not aged a day since her time on “Melrose Place.”  The couple being married in the movie was adorable, as was the clearly recurring character Duke, played by Aaron Pearl, a “that guy” actor with a solid, consistent iMDb page of work since the mid-1990s.

Aaron Pearl is only two degrees away from Kris Polaha.  Pearl was in 2011’s “Lloyd the Conquerer,” which co-starred Harland Williams.  Polaha then co-starred with Williams in 2014’s “Back in the Day” which also featured the likes of Michael Rosenbaum, Morena Baccarin, Emma Caulfield and Isaiah Mustafa.

Chemistry

Yes, yes yes. They all had it! After working so much together in other projects, Jack Wagner and Josie Bisset were so natural and perfect together – it was clear that these two actors are genuine equals on the set, and each given moments to shine together. Hynes is quickly becoming one of my favorite Hallstar actors – he is just so laid back and casual in his roles, which equals natural chemistry with anyone he’s paired with on screen. Cindy Busby has been in several Hallmark movies in the past, and I think “Wedding March 5” is my favorite of all the stuff I’ve seen her in. She was very expressive and open and vulnerable – and the perfect foil for Hynes. His character was laid back, and hers was tightly wound – he challenged her to relax, she challenged him to be more invested in life. It was great.

Feelgoods

I would be a heartless fool if I did not love Mick and Olivia’s final scene together, despite not knowing their full backstory from the previous four movies. But that set – it was beautiful. So glad they went with the Edison light bulbs versus a flammable old wooden barn full of lit candles this time around. I also broke into a huge smile at Brad’s effortless “I love you” at the wedding reception. It lacked hesitation and therefore was earnest and heartfelt, and fantastic.

There were other little throwaway feelgood moments – when Brad convinced the investor to go on river raft trip for the day so that Annaliese could focus on the final details for the wedding she as planning, when Brad offered her “Apologade,” when he went to help build the birch arch for the ceremony, and their entire scene discussing the fonts for the wedding schedule. That scene was another one that established well the fact that these two characters had known each other for a very long time and were able to fall back into their friendship despite the bad breakup five years earlier.

Tropes

I took no notes during this movie, so I can’t speak to the tropes too much. There was definitely a deadline (the wedding), a promotion on the line (with the investors), and a bit of “they hate each other but really like each other” in the beginning.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

No big question marks came up. Well, a few. Who on earth would let TEN PEOPLE crash the wedding? And how rude are those family members for deciding to come to the wedding RIGHT BEFORE the big day.  As someone who is married and had a traditional wedding, those ten people equal a LOT of inconvenience.  It’s not just finding another table/chairs/place settings, but it’s paying the caterer for their food, hoping there’s enough cake, and (in the case of a destination wedding) finding a place for them to stay.  If I was the bride in this movie, I’d have told my husband-to-be that he needs to figure it out or tell them it’s too late to come.  And I don’t think I’d have been a bridezilla to feel that way either.

What investor shows up uninvited to a destination wedding at a small resort inn and expects to find 1) a room, 2) a wedding planner with nothing but time on her hands to give him a tour and talk about her company? Bad form, investor, even if you are played by Nelson Wong, a Hallmark favorite known for playing the character”Kenny Kwon” in several HC movies.

Lastly, the one big false note was trying to salvage the lake-dunked handwritten wedding schedules with hairdryers. C’mon, Brad and Annaliese. Get it together. Even a ten-year-old knows that won’t work.

Re-watchability

Absolutely.  And because I enjoyed Mick and Olivia’s story so much, I may go watch the older chapters as well.  This was a fun, sweet entry into this year’s Hallmark batch of movies, and one worth watching again.

The Ranking

So where does it fit in the rankings?  Pretty high, folks, which is a surprise considering I had no intention of watching it until I found out Tyler Hynes and his Henleys were in it.  It’s in the Top 10 for the year thus far!

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 points – 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 points – weighted score: 111.0 (77.9%)
7. Love, Romance & Chocolate (air date: February 16) – 627 pts – weighted score: 110.2 (77.3%)
8. Paris, Wine & Romance (air date: May 4) – 638 points – weighted score: 108.3 (76.0%)
9. My Boyfriend’s Back: Wedding March 5 (air date: June 8) – 635 points – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
10. Flip That Romance (air date: March 16) – 597 points – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
11. True Love Blooms (air date: April 6) – 598 points – weighted score: 103.1 (72.3%)
12. The Story of Us (air date: February 9) – 605 pts – weighted score: 101.3 (71.1%)
13. A Brush with Love (air date: March 30) – 563 points – weighted score: 97.7 (68.6%)
14. Ruby Herring: Silent Witness (air date: January 20 (HMM)) – 357 pts – weighted score: 79.5 (67.9%)
15. Love Under the Rainbow (air date: March 9) – 581 pts – weighted score: 96.0 (67.4%)
16. One Winter Proposal (air date: January 12) – 535 pts – weighted score: 95.8 (67.2%)
17. Just Add Romance (air date: March 2) – 548 points – weighted score: 95.6 (67.1%)
18. From Friend to Fiance (air date: May 25) – 555 points – weighted score: 94.8% (66.5%)
19. Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (air date: March 10 (HMM) – 354 pts – weighted score: 74.1 (63.3%)
20. Valentine in the Vineyard (air date: February 2) – 503 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
21. Snowcoming (air date: January 26) – 485 pts – weighted score: 87.3 (61.2%)
22. The Winter Castle (air date: January 5) – 475 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.2%)
23. Sailing Into Love (air date: May 18) – 455 points – weighted score: 78.0 (54.7%)
24. A Winter Princess (air date: January 18) – 380 pts – weighted score: 70.5 (49.5%)
25. A Feeling of Home (air date: May 11) – 386 points – weighted score: 69.7% (48.9%)
26. Love in the Sun (air date: June 1) – 361 points – weighted score: 62.5 (43.8%)

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

What did you think of “My Boyfriend’s Back: Wedding March 5”?