The Magic of Lemon Drops

Lolly gets a once in a lifetime chance when her Aunt gives her 4 magical lemon drops. The first 3 lemon drops to be taken right before bed with her announcing a regret or a path not taken, but if she takes the 4th and last gum drop she has chosen one of her other 3 life paths. With each her life is both great and challenging, and she must decide the path she would like to go, one of her 3 other live's, or her current reality.

Different than the average Hallmark movie. I loved the story and the perspective of Lolly realizing and choosing her bliss.

Wonderful acting by both leads, I adore Ian & Lyndsy. But the supporting cast was just as amazing. This one is a win for Hallmark!

The review -- friendly, polite, somewhat sterile story about parallel realities, choices, roads not taken, consequences, and appreciating what is right in front of you, right now. Everything about the production is perfect. Which is both a blessing and a curse ...

Bonus Notes -- this is a Canadian film pretending to take place in the US. Something that was very common in the early days of Canadian film-making, but quite rare today. It suffers from all the common telltales and giveaways -- lighting perfect in every shot, like the Director just graduated film school. Everyone's clothing is fresh out of the laundry or dry cleaner. Not a smudge or spot anywhere. No recognizable actors, not one, very usual for a production supposedly taking place in the US. Dialog not very "natural," especially for the wisecracks and snappy rejoinders. Accents that don't quite ring true.

Conclusion -- Friendly, and includes useful Life Lessons. The inherent sterility of the Canadian production values blunts much of the impact and audience connection. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Lolly Blanchard (Lyndsy Fonseca) is trying to make the family diner healthy, but her dad refuses to change anything. They have IRS problems. Lolly has many regrets. Her Aunt Gert gives her four magic lemon drops which allows her to experience her life with differences.

I like the idea of this premise especially for lighter fare that is Hallmark. At least, it is a little different. The problem is that the story keeps resetting back to reality. We have to wait for Lolly to make a choice. I like Lyndsy and her character. It is not really for the romance even though the guy is perfectly nice. It is Hallmark at a slight different angle.

The story is just a little bit different following the almost magic that has been part of several stories on Hallmark lately. The alternate reality is not unusual in a rom/com, but in this one there is more than one. I especially liked that those alternate realities didn't get overly hung up on the difficulties of the protagonist being dropped into a situation she has no memories of life leading up to that moment. There is a little bit, but Lolly isn't made to look like a total fool not knowing those things.

I especially like the second drop, but I won't describe it.

Lyndsy Fonseca and Ian Harding are great and have chemistry. It is easy to identify with them. The acting is good and so is the dialogue even without it being unusually sparkling. Instead both acting and dialogue seem natural. Ian Harding is growing on me.

There isn't a lot of heavy negative tension. And I like it that way. There was something about the ending I really liked. Was it because it was shorter and more to the point, less drawn out?

I recognized Lindsay Fonseca from Next Stop Christmas. The two movies are similar in their exploration of life choices and "what ifs". I feel the Christmas movie is better - more natural and funny - but this one has good moments too. Both movies are metaphors for believing in ourselves and following our dreams. That's not an easy thing to pull off in real life which isn't glossy and sentimental like a Hallmark movie. There are no surprises, but the movie is as comforting as the homemade pies that keep appearing. Watch it when you're in a sentimental mood with your significant others. Recommended!