The 27-Hour Day

You know those movies where you see genuine moments and realistic conversations between characters? This movie has very few of those. Every line felt like a scripted line. Every moment felt jarringly unnatural. And worst of all, it felt slow.

It was pleasant though. If you want background filler while you do something else, this will certainly do the trick. I guarantee you won't miss any of the plot because there almost isn't one.

I like the lead actors, but Autumn was miscast here as a Type A personality. Her entire demeanor is too pleasant and calm for that to work. She deserves a role that matches her vibe.

Hallmark is nothing if not a 1920/30s style movie studio machine. They have a formula that works and they STICK to it! They sign actors and writers that fit the machine to long-term contracts and they crank out the product the people want. The Hallmark Channel is one of the only TV channels left that actually makes money year after year. If you observe carefully, you'll notice that Hallmark has different teams of actors and writers/directors that could possibly be broken out into A, B and C teams - the "A-team" projects will get more of the actors that are the bigger "box office" draws and get larger production budgets. That takes us to the recent Hallmark movie, The 27-Hour Day, which is a fairly typical "A-Team" Hallmark. The movie stars one of the biggest male Hallmark stars right now, Andrew W. Walker, as well as newer female leads Autumn Reeser and beautiful, talented Rhiannon Fish (who has played the female lead in other Hallmarks such as Love on the Wings of Eagles) and Brenda Crichlow who's a Hollywood star as well as frequent Hallmark star.

SHE is a NYC workaholic who runs a time-saving blog for women. She's at spin class at 5am and still working at midnight. Her career is amazing but her personal life not so much. When an industry leader (Brenda Crichlow) with the power to propel her career even further tells her she needs work-life balance, she finally listens and books a week at a "no-devices allowed" lodge in Montana (shot in British Columbia). HE is a tall and chiseled western/ranch dude. He and his family run said resort. He loves animals (was going to be a vet) he takes life slow but also wants his resort to grow and succeed. Both need to find some life balance and maybe learn from each other. Watch for an "untypical" Hallmark kiss!

Is The 27-Hour Day a formulaic Hallmark? Of COURSE it is! The RomCom Guy says RELAX, Hallmarks need to be rated on their own quality scale. This one is above average. The wardrobe choices are very good (lots of nice tops for the ladies) the scenery is actually quite stunning, while the acting and writing is decent. I say record, serve wine and enjoy!

Was hoping for more from this movie but I had a hard time putting up with Autumn Reeser's character, Lauren. Her triple A-type personality was a bit over the top. The story line is just OK but at least Andrew Walker is in it.

She is an efficiency expert based in Manhattan, her company is "The 27 Hour Day", and when she meets a famous influencer she is advised to slow down, find some "me" time. So she arranges a week in a get away in Montana. No cell phones, no computer, no watches. Just relax and eat, sleep, arise when you feel like it. And of course the yearly honey festival.

This wouldn't be a Hallmark movie unless there were an attractive, single man to get her attention. He was once a promising Veterinarian student but dropped out when his dad died, going home to Montana to help run the family farm and business.

The "Hallmark Kiss" comes a little earlier than usual but it fits. This story isn't just a romance story, it has good advice about finding time to relax and to appreciate others around you.

My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library. Good movie, entertaining and meaningful.

After the third viewing, I'd like to add that the story line is erratic and seems like a cut and paste for desired messages. Autumn Reeser barely holds this one together with her charm and slight touch of quirkiness. She has a comic and sensitive nuance and is a seasoned pro. Chances for a good laugh were sometimes lost like where the scene Autumn when unloading her bag of tech gear, computer, iPad, etc. Was rushed. In fact, the first few scenes were hurried and the story line was hard to grasp. Autumn and Andrew had zero chemistry in fact it seemed he wished he was somewhere else. What longfull looks between the two came across as empty. The scenery was beautiful. Overall, since the cast and crew had to deal with the constraints of the COVID restrictions including a two-week quarantine for US personnel the production went well.