Marry Go Round

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.

Another "Fall in Love" movie that doesn't take place in the fall (even the B roll has all green trees so why bother calling it a fall movie?) Lackluster, plodding, boring, dragging and predictable, again because the plot is a ripoff of a popular movie. Some scenes feel less story related than they are time filler because there just is no heart and no charm. Even the acting feels like it's only half-hearted. Not all Hallmark movies are. Some have actual decent writing and unexpected twists, but this is a just a lazy rewrite of something we've already seen. I would rather Hallmark sacrifice quantity over quality if this is the caliber they have to lower themselves to simply to fill a timeslot.

I really like the actors. The scenery is beautiful. There is an unpredictable twist in the story. The story has my attention notwithstanding my predisposition to want to make fun of Hallmark Romances because of their predictable tropes.

I just never see people express themselves in real life like they do in these movies. This is life, polished. It is refreshing to see people willing to affirm past friendship and to forgive willingly. Real life seldom unfolds this way as far as I know it.

With all that said, Marry Go Round is an engaging and enjoyable Hallmark Movie so long as you enjoy fantasy movies without wizards and dragons. Great eye candy. Enjoy it. Just don't expect it to reflect on real life. But that's why we watch these movies isn't it?

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.

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.