Latest / Girls Gone Hallmark | Hallmark Movie Reviews / Countdown to Christmas First Impressions Part 1

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Countdown to Christmas First Impressions Part 1 · Girls Gone Hallmark | Hallmark Movie Reviews

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Girls Gone Hallmark, a Hallmark Review podcast. I'm Megan,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: and I'm a longtime Hallmark fan. I'm Wendy. I'm a
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: former Hallmark hater. Today's episode is part one of our
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Countdown to Christmas first impressions. We'll be running through everything
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: coming to Hallmark Channel for the Countdown to Christmas season
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: and giving you our thoughts based on exactly what we said,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: our first impressions. The best place to keep up with
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: all the information coming to you is in two places. One,
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Girls Gone Hallmark, where we'll be sharing our schedule. We
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: also share weekly posts about the movies that are coming out.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: And then over at girlsgonehallmark.com, we have deep dives into
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: each of the movies. That's where you can find the
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: show notes and links to all of our reviews. I
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: gotta tell you, I'm super excited. I know this came
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: out like last week, but I've been traveling. It's my
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: first time my eyes have seen names Of movies and
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: who's attached to them. It's pretty good, right? At first glance, yes.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: I do, there is, you know, that hater lives in me.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: So there's a part of me that's like, hmm, interesting.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: So we'll get to it. Okay. Well, as mentioned, we
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: are going to break this down into a few parts,
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: but we're going to jump right into it. The synopses
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: for these movies are quite long. So we are reading
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: some paraphrased synopses for you. Because otherwise, I think you'll
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: get lost in all of it. We're snappy over here sometimes.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: That's right. That's the goal today. Keeping it snappy. You
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: want to kick it off, Megan? Sure. Kicking off Countdown
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: to Christmas on Friday, October 16th, tis the season for setups.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: This stars Amanda Schull and Victor Webster alongside Barbara Niven.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: And the movie is about a party planner who is
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: hired for a ski lodge's holiday bash. She can't stand
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: the owner's son, a laid-back ski instructor. Then they both
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: notice their single parents hitting it off, and a matchmaking
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: scheme keeps pushing the two of them together, too. Ooh,
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: double romance. Double romance. This is directed by the one
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: and only Jeff Beasley. Oh, hey! Who you will hear
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: throughout this episode. He has four movies in the countdown.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: It is a banner year for Jeff, and of course
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: he directed... the spirit of Halloween as well. So five
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: movies in this entire season. He just like keeps it
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: all bottled up until the end of the season, huh? Apparently.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Man's been busy. Man has been busy. So I always
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: look forward to a Jeff Beasley directed movie because I
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: know he puts a lot of care into those movies.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: I know the packaging of the movie is going to
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: be done well. Yeah, some of his projects have been
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: my favorites over the last couple of years. So I'm
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: always excited to see what he's going to bring. I
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: like this cast a lot. I love me some wowie
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: zowie Webster. It's been a minute since we've seen Webster.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Indeed it has. Are you glad to see him back
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: in the countdown? Back in the countdown? You sounded like
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: Casey Kasem right there for a second. Oh, no. I am.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: What's he been off doing? Hanging with his dog. Yeah,
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: I guess. And then, of course, we have Barbara Nevin.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: our one and only mature maven. That's right. You know,
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: a second chance romance starring Barbara Nevin. I'm not surprised.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: I love Barbara. I love her. But I complained about
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: this a couple of weeks ago. Like, can we get
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: a deeper roster? Indeed. Now, Barbara Niven's love interest in
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: this movie is played by John B. Lowe. And whether
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: or not that's a name that you recognize, it's definitely
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: a face that you recognize. He's been in a number
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: of Hallmark movies, actually. Christmas on Call, A Carol for Two,
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: Haunted Wedding. Those are all Jeff Beasley movies. Indeed. The
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: Magic of Lemon Drops, Miracle in Bethlehem, also a Jeff
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: Beasley movie. Oh, he was in Acting Good, which is
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: a series that I believe Erica Tevle is in. Yes.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Holiday Hotline, The Holiday Shift, The Spencer Sisters, The Girl
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: Who Escaped, The Kara Robinson Story. Now let's talk Amanda Shule.
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: She's in like one of my favorite movies ever of
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: all time. Indeed. Center stage. I'm like, the name escapes
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: me right now, but I sure love it. It's got
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: a Jimmer Kwai or what's his name? Remember that? Remember,
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: do you know what I'm talking about? That artist, Jimmer?
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. I know who you're talking about. Are
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: you talking about a song that's in it? Yes. And
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: she dances to it at the end in the red dress.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: It's so good. I just remember the Michael Jackson song.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: There's no Michael Jackson song in that movie. Are you sure?
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: The way you make me feel. Yeah, it is. Sorry. Anyway,
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: what am I? She was like a teenager in this
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: movie or early 20 year old. One of the best, though.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: One of the best. Anyway, how do you feel about
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: this movie being the kickoff to CTC? I feel perfectly
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: fine about it. We've got a holiday bash. We've got
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: a double love story. We've got solid performers. I feel
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: good about it. Okay. How do you feel about it?
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: Not that excited, actually. Okay. It's not bringing the fireworks
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: for you? No, I kind of wish they kicked off
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: Countdown to Christmas with the next movie. Well, tell me
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: about it. Saturday, October 17th, holiday touchdown, a Bears love story.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: I mean, we've known about this one for a long time, guys.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: This is the third film in Hallmark's NFL franchise. They
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: head to Chicago this year. A freelance reporter home for
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: Christmas lands a profile of a Bears superfan about to
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: attend her 500th game. The one problem is, that she
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: knows nothing about football. The fan's firefighter grandson gets drafted
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: to teach her. This movie stars four-time Oscar nominee Marsha Mason.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: It also stars Robert Buckley, as well as Lindsay Fonseca,
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: Barbara Allen Woods, and Carrie Payton. And tons and tons
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: and tons of cameos from the Chicago Bears, including Stanley DeBeer.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Stanley DeBeer. We also have some Hallmark cameos in the
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: form of Tamara Mowry-Housley and Mary Lou Henner. That's random.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: Is it because Cheers had Andrew Walker in a cameo? Remember,
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: he was like the bartender. So is that what we're
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: doing now? I have absolutely no idea. Okay. Well, I'm
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: really excited about this movie. Are you? It's been a
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: little bit of a mixed bag in the Holiday Touchdown
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: universe for me. The first one I thought was just okay.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: Like it had a lot of great pieces, but I
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: wasn't in love with the movie itself. I'm talking about
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: the Chiefs movie. And then last year... We had The Bills.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Bills Mafia, baby! Which I actually really liked. Loved last year's.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: So I'm super excited about this cast, particularly Robert Buckley,
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: Knott Jr. and Lindsey Fonseca. I love the two of them.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: I think this is a great pairing chemistry-wise. Robert Buckley
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: does so great with the humor. So I am really
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: looking forward to this in 2021. in that regard. And
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: I do think they've set the bar high. Like they
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: want to deliver on this NFL partnership. Obviously the NFL
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: must be happy with it because they keep coming back
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: for more. Yeah. Giving them access. Right. Who are you,
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: who are you hoping is next? Do you have any,
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: do you care at all? Like in terms of NFL? Wait,
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: hold on. You know, I think Arizona Cardinals would be fun. Really? Let's,
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: let's do it in a city where it's not. Snowy. Oh.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: Let's go out to the desert. Cincinnati Bengals would be fun.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: I think so. Maybe if we could get a Carson
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: Palmer to come back out. I know you don't know
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: who he is. I don't. Oh, my God, you guys.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: You really don't know who Carson Palmer is? I mean,
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: the name's familiar. I'm sure there are things that I
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: know that you don't have a deep bench about. Don't
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: shame me about my lack of football knowledge. I think
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: it would be fun. Yeah. Cincinnati Bengals would be fun.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: And I don't really care about like the L.A. teams.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: I'm like, would it would I be excited if they
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: were like filming at SoFi? Maybe because I would want
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: to go. But other than that. What if they did
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: the Las Vegas Raiders? I mean, the Raiders carry such
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: like a stigma about them. Sure. But, you know, I
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: don't know if you know this, but the number one
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: draft picked was Fernando Mendoza from IU. And he's not
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: a starting quarterback over there, but he's like so wholesome
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: and sweet. It could be real fun. They need a
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: reputation rehab over there with some Hallmark Channel treatment. Yeah.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: I think so. Hey, I don't hate that at all.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: In Las Vegas, can you see? There's a story there.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: There absolutely is a story there. Anyway. Well, rounding out
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: our kickoff weekend, on Sunday, October 18th, we have Mr.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: and Mrs. Christmas starring Brendan Penny and Pascal Hutton. A
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: single dad who designs holiday displays moves his kid to
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: a new town and gets paired with a practical accountant
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: to revive the local Christmas market. Oh, my God. I'm
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: super excited about this one. Tell me why. First of all,
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: Brendan Penny is a single dad. Love it. And then
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: we're going to have Pascal Hutton, who's going to be
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: like the buttoned up practical accountant. And she's great and funny.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: So it's checking a lot of boxes for me. I
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: always think of Pascal Hutton in When Calls the Heart,
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: and I often forget that Pascal Hutton is also Nellie
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: of Nellie Knows, who I adore. Yeah, she's so great
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: in that role. Yes. She's going to be great in
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: this role. Yeah, I think that's a good combo there.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: That's fun. Yeah. Penny brought so much heat in that
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: Texas two-step movie. Oh, boy, did he. I just kind
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: of love that he's a single dad. Now, is this
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: doing anything special? Single dad, Christmas market, move to a
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: new town? I mean, not really. No. Right? Opposites attract.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: But sometimes... We don't need to rewrite the formula. Sometimes
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: we just need to do it really well. Exactly. Exactly. Friday,
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: October 23rd, we have Winter Wonderlanes. Oh, it is about bowling.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: Of course it is. Starring Ashley Newbrow and Franco Lopresti,
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: a globetrotting pop-up restaurateur. learns her late grandfather's bowling alley
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: is being sold. She stays for one final season to
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: bring back its youth bowling tournament, and she reluctantly teams
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: up with her high school boyfriend, now a local reporter,
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: to promote it. They're going to go viral, guys. I
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: just know it. Okay. First of all, the movie poster
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: for this is so freaking cute. I love it so much.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: It's just vibrant and colorful and fun. The other thing is...
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: Y'all know I used to have a competitive bowler for
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: a child. Do they? I mean, I know that. I'm
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: very curious to see how this plays out because we
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: went to many a youth bowling tournament. And let me
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: tell you, it's a whole world unto itself. If there
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: aren't moms sitting in the back on the fold-out chairs,
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: are you going to be pissed? Look, people buy these
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: not fold-out chairs. I know. Tall fold-out chairs. Like the
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: kind you would see on the soccer sideline. No, no. Tall.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: Not soccer. I mean, like, taller than a bar stool
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: so that you can see over the other tables. Oh,
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: that's next level. Yes. I never pictured that in my head.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: That's why it's so annoying. I have so many thoughts
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: about the youth bowling circuit. And while I love watching
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: my kids do things that they love, I'm not sorry
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: that we're not attending those tournaments anymore. A globe-trotting pop-up restaurateur. Yeah,
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: I don't know what that is. For me, I am
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: picturing like the Saved by the Bell pop-up, the Peach
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: Pit pop-up. Oh my gosh, that's a deep cut, Megan. Which,
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: by the way, those two things were not created equal.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: Saved by the Bell was done so much better than
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: the Peach Pit, y'all. This was like 15 years ago.
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: Not that long. 10. It was pre-2020. Yes. Well, 2020
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: was six years ago. It could have been three years.
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: It was like 10 years. It could have been 10
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: years ago. Sure. Interesting. I was thinking more like, you know,
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: sometimes like food trucks will have like a pop up situation.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: But isn't every food truck instance a pop up in
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: that sense? Yeah, you would think. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. Well, wow. Wow.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: A pop-up restaurant. Now, is this a thing that happens
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: all the time? Like a pop-up restaurant? Like a pop-up shop,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: I can understand because you can just bring in the stuff, right?
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: Like you just need a space. But a restaurant, you
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: need restaurant materials. I think it's a harder thing to execute.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: But maybe I'm just not in on the pop-up restaurant scene.
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm getting too far into the weeds.
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: Do you know who wrote this? No. That information is
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: always slow to come out. It is. It is. It is.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: It was directed by Max McGuire. Okay. Look, if these
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: bowling tournament kids don't come rolling in with their multiple
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: ball bowling bags, I'm going to be really disappointed. I'm
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: going to know someone did not do their research. Okay.
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: Because y'all, some of these kids bring like three to
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: eight balls to a tournament. You know, they're good at
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: their sport. They absolutely are. I mean, baseball players, don't
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: they bring more than one bat? I would have to assume. Yes.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: You know what? I'm looking forward to it. You are
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: looking forward to it. Why not? All right. Up next
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: on Saturday, October 24th, Forgotten Holiday. Starring Janelle Parrish and
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: Danielle Lissing. Catherine's an antiques buyer for her father's store
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: and has been happily dating Rob for nearly a year.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: When he surprises her with a pre-Christmas proposal, her fear
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: of a failed relationship sends her dashing away without giving
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: him an answer. Then a car accident erases his memory
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: of the past year, including her. Now she has to
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: recreate their whole romance to bring him back. Oh, so
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: she's kind of like a runaway bride, but then he
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: gets in a car accident and then she realizes like, oh,
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: I love him and now I have to recreate everything
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: so he remembers me. Well, the longer synopsis says following
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: the unconventional orders from his doctor, Catherine agrees to help
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: trigger Rob's memory by retracing their romance and reintroducing him
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: to the holidays. Catherine must face the painful truth that
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: bringing Rob back to himself may mean losing him forever.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: Unless she can finally fight the courage to fight for
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: the love she was too afraid to claim. Yeah. So
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: perhaps by reliving their love story, she realizes all along
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: what she really wanted. He's the one. Now look, Daniel
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: listening at Janelle Parrish, bring it on. Yeah, I love it.
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: Super into this. You know, off topic, Janelle Parrish split
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: from her husband. You knew that, right? Yes. And then
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: she had a Dancing with the Stars adjacent relationship. That
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: is now over. Yes. Yeah. Apparently, Sasha Farber is a
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: real player. Indeed. Indeed. Well, that's too bad. I don't
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: want my Janelle Parrish heartbroken. I hope she's not. I
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: hope she's not, too. This is great casting. These two.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: Great pair. Great pair. So pretty to look at, both
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: of them. I hope I love this. I hope I
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: love it, too. I think I might. October 25th, my
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: girl Lori Loughlin, because I'm all in on Garage Sale Murders.
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: I watched the first one, Megan. I watched the first one.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: Did you? What did you think compared to the 17th one?
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: I didn't like the first one as much. The cast changes, obviously,
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: a little bit. No Steve Basics. Not as hot. No.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: So I'm excited to watch episode. Oh, you're going to
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: keep going. Yeah, it's a great throw on. It is. Yeah.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: But let's get back to Lori Loughlin. This is What
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: If Christmas stars Lori Loughlin and Tom Cavanaugh. Guys, this is,
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: we're talking A-League here. A surgeon's wife who gave up
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: her fashion design dreams is given a heart-shaped ornament and
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: wakes up in a life where she became a famous designer.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: It's a classic what-if Christmas movie. Fun fact, the teleplay
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: was co-written by our girl, Julie Sherman-Wolfe. Oh, yay! Julie,
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: it's been too long. Yes. This is her one and
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: only movie in the countdown. Oh, wow. And I like
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: these what-if stories. Oh, me too. You know, I'm looking
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: at a photo, a press asset photo from... Uh-huh. real
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: 90s and I don't think it's supposed to be I
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: don't know if it's just the lighting of it the
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: decor like what Lori's wearing oh well maybe maybe it
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: is though oh maybe it is when they go back
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: in time or not back in time yeah She looks
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: stunningly beautiful. I think that photo you're looking at, are
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: you looking at the vest? They're taking like a selfie. No,
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: it's not back in time because they're taking a selfie
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: with an iPhone. The house is giving definitely 90s. I'm
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: not sure. Who knows? Maybe that's just her style. Yeah,
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: I don't know. Look, this one tops my list because
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: it includes Lori Loughlin and Tom Cavanaugh. Tom Cavanaugh is
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: real silver fox in these photos. Mm-hmm. This is going
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: to be great. I'm calling it right now. This is
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: going to be great. The following weekend, we have Friday,
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: October 30th, Who's Coming for Christmas, starring Rhiannon Fish, Jake Foy,
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: and Mila Morgan, who is a child actor. A newcomer
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: plans to fill her late grandmother's dining table with eight
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: guests on Christmas Eve. Her new neighbor and his daughter
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: help make it happen until a storm threatens the whole
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: guest list. So Rhiannon Fish did not have to travel
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: for this movie. I was just thinking the same thing.
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: Same thing. Jake Foy, of course, from Ride and the
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: Birthday Wish movie. Real cutie. It's been a while since
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: we've seen Jake Foy. Well, he was in the first
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: season of Chicken Sisters, too. Oh, you're right. He was,
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: but he was not in season two. Maybe he was
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: making this movie. The story? I'm kind of interested in...
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: I did like Rhiannon Fish in Aussie at Heart. So
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: I hope that maybe we can continue that path. The
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: Wish Swap. I apologize. The Birthday Wish is a different movie.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: He was in the Wish Swap. Yeah. I agree with you.
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: Rhiannon Fish with the right partner is really fun to watch.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: I think my biggest problem with Rhiannon Fish in Aussie
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: at Heart was the scripts. It has two listings on
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: IMDb right now. It was directed by David eyestrosser it
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: was originally called christmas for eight well david eyestrosser is
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: just so fun to look at have you ever seen
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: him he's got real fun hair cute glasses no but
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: directed the nelly nose mysteries are you looking at imdb
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: yeah does it have a full like listing on there
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: no Okay. I thought, is this an acquisition? No, it
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: does not have a full listing. Morgan, though. Where is
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: she in? Hope Valley? Oh, maybe. Yes. Yes. Exactly. Good job. Aw,
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: she's so cute. She is so cute. Where are you
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: landing on this movie? Could go either way? Yeah. Yeah. Hey, Halloween, Saturday,
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: October 31st. Adopting Saint Nick stars Amy Groening and Michael Rady.
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: Been a minute for Michael Rady. Michael was last in
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: Catch of the Day in 2025 on Homework Channel. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: His last Christmas movie was 2023. Maren is a busy
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: single mom who rarely has time for herself. But when
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: her daughter joins a Christmas companions program at a local
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: retirement community, their lives become intertwined with a Santa-like resident
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: named Chris. And Reed, the center's handsome but nomadic director.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: When Marin steps in to help save the program, she
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: and Reed grow closer, forcing them both to consider whether
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: constantly doing everything alone or always on the move is
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: really what they want. It's kind of like a midlife
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: crisis movie. I mean, I think Amy Groening's entirely too
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: young to be having a midlife crisis. Agree. I think
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: it's a little bit more along the lines of like
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: learning to accept help. Yeah. This was directed by Jeff Beasley. Oh,
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: my goodness. Oh, there's that Amy Groening. That's the Amy
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: Groening connection. Indeed. Indeed. Our writer is Susan Brightbill. She
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: is only has a has two previous writing credits. Holiday
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: Hearts starring Amy. Ashley Williams and Paul Campbell and a
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: movie called Sold Out, which is not a Hallmark movie.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: So I cannot say what to expect from that. But
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: I'm so happy to see Amy Groening and Jeff Beasley
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: back together again. Yeah, me too. On Sunday, November 1st,
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: we have a Danish Christmas. Wendy's husband will be tuning
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: in for this one. I can't wait to pick it apart,
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: to be quite honest. It stars Emily Olerup and Corey Sevier.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: Home in Copenhagen to help at her family's inn, a
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: hotel tech executive mistakes a guest for a travel writer.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: She scrambles to give him the perfect Danish Christmas in
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: hopes of some good press. Right off the bat, I
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: can see a picture of Emily. No, that's not how
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: we say it. Amelia. Amelia, that's it. You're right. Amelia.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: I see a picture of Amelia and Corey, and behind
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: them is a Christmas tree, And it is decorated with
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: some Danish Christmas things that I recognize from my family tradition. Hey,
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: perhaps they did their research. I know. Well, I believe
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: that Amelia is a Dane, if I remember correctly. So
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: I wonder if she, like, told them as well. Had
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: some advising. Yes, I want to see, like, you know...
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: I can't even remember what the things are called. A
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: marzipan pig. If you know, you know. I don't know.
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: But I can't wait for you to be the expert
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: on set. This was directed by Colin Thays and written
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: by Juliana Wimbles. So we're at Halloween weekend. So this...
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: For some people, we know that we hear from people
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: that refuse to watch Christmas movies. They're like, no, I'm
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: all in on Halloween. I do not start my Christmas watching.
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: Even diehard Hallmark fans, even some of our, like, regular listeners, right,
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: are like, not until November 1st. And this may be
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: a rough kickoff. It might be. It might be. But,
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: you know, remember Corey Sevier's grumpy movie? Yes. No While
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: Next Door. We were not looking forward to that movie. No,
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: I like that movie. And he delivered. I could watch
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: that movie right now. I could watch that today. Someone
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: in one of our comments on Spotify was like, thank
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: you for reminding me about that movie. I need to
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: rewatch it. It's such a great one. It is a
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: good one. That was a kickoff movie too, wasn't it?
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: I don't recall. It was an early season movie, I think.
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: All right, what's next, Wendy? Friday, November 6th, we have
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: Merry Memories, starring Lindura and Brendan Morgan. Here's the synopsis.
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: Michaela is a by-the-book accountant helping care for her young nephew, Danny,
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: while his military mom is deployed over Christmas. When Danny
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: is assigned a holiday scrapbook, Michaela reluctantly teams up with
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: his free-spirited substitute teacher, Brian... And their very different approaches
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: lead to plenty of mishaps, new traditions, and of course,
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: a little romance along the way. Lindura was just in
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: Much About Love, co-starring Ashley Williams and Niall Mader. What
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: are your thoughts on this movie? Yike, is what I'm
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: going to say. Holiday scrapbook. It's just giving, like, enemies
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: to lovers. I hate it. I hate it. I hate
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: that trope. But. Help a little boy with a Christmas
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: project while his mom is overseas. I mean, that could.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: Here is the line that is killing me. While Brian
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: rethinks his future as a traveling substitute teacher, there is
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: no future as a traveling substitute teacher. That is not
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: a thing. Wow. I mean, traveling nurses, you don't think
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: traveling substitute teachers are a thing? No, I don't. Because
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: like to get into the weeds, every district's got a
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: whole different. I just don't even know how you do that. Interesting. Well,
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: so you're not looking forward to this one. I wish
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: I were. It's because, I mean, it's on a Friday
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: night for a reason. Maybe. It has, it feels potentially schmaltzy. Okay.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: Prove us wrong. Prove us wrong. Yes, please. Please. On
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: Saturday and November 7th, we have Holiday Unplugged starring Nikki
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: DeLoach and Juan Pablo DePace. That is so random to me.
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: This is a pairing that I do not understand, although
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: there is a photo of them and they do look
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: pretty good together. A widowed art teacher loses her digital
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: home videos of her late husband. To keep her kids
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: from finding out, she declares a screen-free Christmas while secretly
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: hunting for the original tapes with help from her new
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: dating app, Match. I do think this movie was originally
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: titled Screen-Free Christmas. Oh. I kind of like that idea.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: Of a screen-free Christmas? Yeah. You could never do it. No.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: For my kids. Rules for thee, but not for me.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: That's right. Do as I say, not as I do. Plus,
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: it's our busiest time of year. We have to be
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: on our screens. What will the people do without Girls
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: Gone Hallmark? I'll do it in January, but yeah. Wow. Wow. Okay,
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: first of all... I'm sad that she's like a widow.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: Guess who wrote this? Who? Zach Hug. I freaking love
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: Zach Hug. I know. I'm so excited. Zach was one
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: of the writers on 12 Dates Till Christmas for the listeners.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: He also wrote The More The Merrier. The Five-Year Christmas Party,
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: which is a movie you did not love, but I
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: really liked. Ghosts of Christmas, always. Yeah, this changes everything.
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: And I was already interested. The Juan Pablo DePace casting
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: is a little questionable for me, but knowing that he
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: wrote it, I know it's going to have a lot
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: of heart and humor to it. Absolutely. Yay! Okay, now
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: I'm excited. Cool. Next up, Sunday, November 8th, a season
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: of Promises starring Brooke D'Orsay, Allie Liebert, and James Denton.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: Estranged sisters Heidi and Sophie reunite after a health scare
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: lands their widowed father Ed in the hospital. Wait a minute.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: James Denton isn't playing their dad, is he? Hoping to
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: help him find love again, they put aside their differences
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: and play matchmaker for their dad at Christmas, only to
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: find that the experience brings some unexpected love, healing, and
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: happiness into their own lives, too. Sounds a lot like
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: James Denton is playing their father. Okay. I didn't think
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: James Denton could have adult children... Of their age. Of
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: course he couldn't. Of course he couldn't. It's going to
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: be a real did you see that when they're actually
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: like 11 years apart in age. Yeah. And I wonder
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: who is going to play like his love interest. Barbara Nevin.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: Watch for it, guys. I'm actually really looking forward to
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: this one. Are you? Brooke and Allie as sisters. Yes.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: And I love a second chance romance and two adult
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: daughters that are probably like bickering at each other, but
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: they're really there for their dad. I, yeah, I'm into it.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: What if Terry Hatcher comes back to play? I'll find
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: me dead on the floor. I would love it. Jill Morrison,
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: one of the Beasley players is, you'll recognize her. She's
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: in this. She's entirely too young to play the love interest.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: I guess we'll see. I'm excited about this one. A
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: real heartfelt. This is where we would, this would have
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: been on Movies and mystery back in the day when
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: that was a thing yeah but yeah I'm excited about
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: this one too me too all right that concludes part
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: one of our countdown to Christmas first impression episode we'll
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: be back with part two and potentially part three as
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: we run through our first impressions thanks for listening we'll
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: see you next time goodbye bye All right, friends, before
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: we go, just a quick heads up. You're about to
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: hear some ads. These little gems help us keep the
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: show running and the Hallmark love flowing. So do with
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: that info what you will. Grab a snack, hit the
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: skip button, or maybe, just maybe, listen in and discover
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: your new favorite product. Bye.