Marry Go Round

No great highs or lows or big surprises in the plot itself. The getting-married-but-not-divorced premise is not unusual, but it isn't used every week either. The reason for the original split is similar to a lot of teen break-up stories, but slightly different.

Amanda Schull and Brennan Elliot have a quiet chemistry which is appropriate for two leads who are in their 40's. Their time on screen together is good to watch. Zak Santiago does a nice job also. Santiago has a role which doesn't involve the extremes or silliness some of his characters have (or maybe just the one on Sign, Sealed, Delivered).

This story presents an impossible situation. Edward is cheated on, but Abby doesn't really cheat. Figure that out. The previous statement is not so much a technical statement as an emotional one. And the actors all do a good show showing all the feelings involved. That gives the movie slightly more depth than just saying no highs or lows.

The climax is cheesy. I often say I love sappy. There is a difference and to me this was cheesy.

Abby is on the verge of moving to France and marrying her fiancé Edward. In the process of filing her paperwork for the legal marriage in France, she discovers that she is not technically divorced from her high school sweetheart who left her. The only way for her to resolve this in time for the wedding is to appear in court in her hometown before a judge and this means seeing Luke again.

Back home things do not go smoothly in front of the judge and Abby ends up having to stay over the weekend. The mom finally confesses a big secret that makes Abby think differently about her breakup with Luke. Is she making a mistake?

This film started a little awkwardly, but smoothed out with these two veteran Hallmark movie actors, Brennan Elliott and Amanda Schull. My favorite character was actually the step dad Leo! I loved Abby's dress at the dance...it was gorgeous.

Classic hallmark romance that romantics will enjoy. The final scene is beautiful and satisfying.

Did someone cut Hallmark's lighting budget? Why is half this movie filmed in the dark? It's the oddest thing I've ever seen where half the movie takes place at night in the dark. Important scenes where you can barely read facial reactions. It's like they were given two weeks to film so they shot late in the night after cutting the lights and thought "just roll with it".

All that aside, this is still a hard pass. The mom is truly awful from start to finish. Her character is manipulative and clueless. It's actually the main reason this movie is just bad. The rest is typical Hallmark formula. You know what you're going to get so no surprises there.

A good Hallmark movie tugs at your emotions and makes you feel good inside. This one tugged at your emotions alright, but it churned you up inside and left you angry and hurling things at your TV.

Amanda Schull and Brennan Elliott are two of my favorites, and they do their best to make this watchable, but in the end both of their characters come across as selfish and insensitive. The mom is an absolute self-absorbed monster, and the forced use of a Merry-Go-Round is head-scratching. At the end, when it would've made sense to use the Merry-Go-Round, they don't.

One of the worst of the year. Won't watch again. Would've been better off as a horror movie.

Not sure why this movie is receiving such low ratings. It seems sometimes that those reviewing these movies expect big budget theatrical releases instead of made for TV movies. Most of us know what to expect going in. I really enjoyed this movie and have watched it twice now. It was well acted by the two leads and had a strong supporting cast. Hallmark should use Amanda Schull more than they do. She had a couple emotional scenes that were great. I liked the story and the new twist to the usual plot.

I watch Hallmark movies as a two hour escape from the messed up world we're in and this one fit the bill.