An Unexpected Valentine

A Hallmark movie that successfully dodges and weaves around the usual tropes that seem to find their way, to one extent or another, into movies from the Crown people.

Lacey Chabert and Robert Buckley are two of the network's most talented stars and they are perfectly cast. Every scene they have together - which is nearly all of them in this imaginative story - are brilliant.

Every now and again, Hallmark gets it right, REALLY right, and this is one of those.

You know how formulate these things can be. A few minutes of heavily expositional dialogue where the characters say things to each other that they already know, strictly for the audience's benefit. A series of contrived events designed to illustrate the quirks of the leads and their apparent incompatibility. Gradual attraction. Then, at 9:35, one of them says something on a phone call that the other one overhears and misunderstands. Followed by reconciliation.

Not this one. This found a fresh path, with reasonable obstacles and a valid payoff. Very pleasant and unexpected. Still, I have one concern: Why did the radio DJ have to pull a 12-hour shift?

7.3 stars.

I would classify this as a laid-back romance that is unusual for Hallmark. I've seen Hallmark produce movies like this but not in many years. This is a tribute to some of the older stuff they did maybe back around 2005 through 2012 give or take. It doesn't fit into the usual formula, however, it still has the same feeling of all the usual movies they produce. They simply inserted a completely foreign storyline, utilizing the hallmark blueprint.

It's the story of a man who delivers things in his large SUV around NYC. He also transports people, somewhat like an Uber driver. The rest of the film is about an adventure between the man and the woman as they try to find the owner of a lost engagement ring. They drive around the city for several hours. They both have prior engagements that they need to attend so they are on a time crunch.

It's a very laid-back and feel good film. The romantic aspects didn't knock me off my feet, but it was original enough to entertain without the usual over used tropes.

I really like both Lacey Chabert and Robert Buckley, who are paired well as Hannah and Finn in this Hallmark Valentine's Day film. The premise is Finn picks up Hannah as her ride share driver. Hannah is the last one picked up and when she's dropped off she discovers that someone left an engagement ring in Finn's car. She proceeds to convince Finn to retrace his day's deliveries to find the owner on this all important day...Valentine's Day. Along the way Finn takes photos, his real passion, and the two get to know one another.

I have always found Robert Buckley to be very genuine in any role he plays, and this was no exception. I enjoyed watching him and Lacey Chabert flirt on screen, the two have smiles that just light up the room. This was an enjoyable and flirtatious film with no villains and no one trying to sabotage two people who seem to be hitting it off in the big city. I think romantics like myself will enjoy this film.

The movie was cute but it seemed kind of long. These are two of my favorite Hallmark actors. And they didn't disappoint. I really liked the fact that there was no tragic incident to make them break apart and then get back together at the last minute as in a typical Hallmark movie. They did, as usual save the kiss for last as in all of their other movies.

One more thing that didn't sit well with me was the fact they both had events to get to, but they sure took their time on their stops on the way. Who would stop and bake cookies.? I did like the fact they played familiar music when they were at the dance club.