Welcome to Valentine

Yes this is a Hallmark movie, and there are rules to Hallmark movies: There is the small town with a big heart, the icy business man who needs a small-town makeover, the parentless protagonist etc, but this movie felt playful. I appreciate the sense of humor throughout- it was very refreshing. Mickey is the cutest child ever- he was so sweet! My heart melted for him and his valentine for his dad! The woman who played Miss Hackey is perfect.

"The parade is nigh" is a hilarious line. There is good dialogue cracking through. I want more movies like this! More funny Hallmark movies! More writing like this!

Boy, I hated to give a movie like this a 5 rating. I'm usually a little more generous. This movie tried hard - too hard! At a certain point, it struck me: "WHY is there so much overacting in this movie?" Except for the fairly appealing male lead (Markian Tarasiuk) most of the actresses need to tone it down a great deal. Gestures too big, facial expressions too big, emotions too big... Then I realized several of them have a lot of stage experience, or maybe they've done a lot of emotion-fraught dramas. Whatever. In a big theatre, an actor HAS to be "big" or the audience can't see what's up. These actresses seemed not have have learned how to "bring it down" for the camera. It got to the point that I had to start skipping through the movie.

Also, the writing was just a little too self-conscious, too "New York," too "Neil Simon-esque" to be enjoyable in a small-town romance Hallmark movie. It sounded unnatural. As I said at the beginning, trying too hard - and it just didn't work. Beautiful faces, for sure, but...no.

Those of us that are Hallmark fans and viewers appreciate a good story, decent acting, and likeable characters. Most of the movies fit the bill. But once in a while there is a movie that has a weak story, unlikeable leads, no chemistry, confusing plot points, and not much to like. This movie definitely falls into that category, and it didn't even have some lovely scenery to add to the story. The lead female had such odd facial expressions and way of speaking. She might want to consider a few more acting lessons. I have seen the male lead in other movies and quite liked him, but he missed the mark in this one. The last few minutes wrapped up several story lines, but left us wondering how all of that could happen in such a short time. All in all it was just a disappointing effort from Hallmark. This year has not been their best.

Terrible acting, terrible writing and zero chemistry between the main leads. He is a jerk, she is clueless and no amount of Hallmark magic is going to save this. I have been a huge Hallmark fan for years, but this past year or two has been a major disappointment. Hallmark is trying new faces, but the casting crew is doing a poor job of finding compatibility. I appreciate the effort, because it was getting tiresome of 40 year old single gal or guy meeting up with their former lover/high school sweetheart 20+ years later, both still single and stuck in bad relationships. Hallmark has needed fresh faces for years. So here's hoping they can find some who can also act.

I'm a huge Hallmark movie fan but this movie was too weird and unsatisfying for me. I didn't have a problem with the leads, but their story was uninspiring.

As the movie opens, Olivia is a struggling artist who's been in New York City for two years but is still crashing on her friend's couch (??). She has a job at a catering company with that friend but she's a terrible employee. After being fired (shocker), she finds out that she's losing the couch that she's been crashing on (her friend is suddenly moving and tells her she only has the place for another week).

So she catches a ride home with George, a high flying "40 under 40" golden boy and future Big Company CEO who, bizarrely, is driving an old car 2,800 miles across the country during the winter. Huh? He agrees to drop off Olivia in her hometown of Valentine, Nebraska but his old car breaks down once they get there (shocker). After the town's only mechanic incompetently fried the entire electrical system of his car (by putting the jumper cables on the wrong battery posts), George becomes understandably frustrated and calls the town "Nowhere, Nebraska".

But that town is, in fact, literally located in the middle of nowhere and only has a population of 2,603. I love how Hallmark has become more diverse and inclusive but the real town of Valentine only has one Black person. Just one. And yet virtually everyone featured in the movie (Olivia, her sister Vanessa, Vanessa's son, the restaurant owner, the town's only mechanic, and some random people in the parade) were all people of color. It came across as well intentioned but unrealistic.

When I watched this movie's premiere in February when the movie supposedly takes place, it was literally 24 degrees in Valentine, Nebraska. But some little old lady name Mrs. Hacky spent most of the movie sitting on a little stool outside in the freezing cold, staring at a barn.

Everyone was acting like the annual Valentine's Day parade in this cold tiny town was a huge event. Really?

I hated George's unnecessary lying about Olivia's "success" .

I thought her art was unimpressive.

I thought George's career crisis was poorly set up ("I don't want to spend my time making money for my company, I just want to spend my time giving its money away").

It wasn't as though he had some other clear path or passion that he wanted to follow like Olivia.

Nothing in the movie rang true for me and it was hard to root for anybody in a movie that just didn't make any sense, especially the fantasy ending.