Found myself liking the first film a lot, actually was not expecting to and certainly not to the extent it turned out. It is a perfect example of the equivalent of not judging a book by its cover as it did turn out to be more than the typical Hallmark film that was in all honesty expected. Actually do like a number of Hallmark's films, though they certainly did a lot of average films and misfires, and the 'Finding Father Christmas' sequels proved that they could do sequels well.
'A Gift to Cherish', or 'Cherished Memories: A Gift to Remember 2', sadly is not near as good as the first and shows that there were Hallmark sequels that were not good or necessary. It is a long way from being among the worst that Hallmark has ever done, but it has almost all the common flaws of Hallmark's films that the first film on the most part avoided and is devoid of what made the first work as well as it did. It was almost as if in places that the first never existed.
Is it an entirely bad film? No. The production values still manage to be pleasing. It's not too drab or garish in photography, the editing didn't seem rushed or disorganised and the scenery has a real charm to it. Some of the music has some pleasant nostalgic moments.
While they were better in the first film, with more of a natural chemistry, Ali Liebert and Peter Porte are still engaging in the lead roles and bring everything to the material without trying too hard. The ending was quite nice.
Sadly, the rest of the film isn't so much. One of its biggest problems is that it's pointless. The ending of the first film actually had finality, a sequel would have been necessary really only if there were still loose ends and if it was abrupt which was not the case. The sequel felt too much like a tack on, and like Hallmark feels like every film of theirs at some point should have a sequel. It is further pointless when it bears very little correlation to the first, almost like the first had not happened and like the sequel was starting from the very beginning. Most of the time the music could have been used less and toned down in volume and the direction is routine at best.
Hallmark have a lot of recurring flaws, and 'A Gift for Christmas' corrected most of those flaws (other than the predictability) and one of the few Hallmark films to do so and avoided them. That is not what 'A Gift to Cherish' did, instead it was like watching another average at best standard Hallmark film. The dialogue here is too cheesy and full of sentimental mush and awkwardness. The story is not just very predictable, it is also pretty paper thin with the slower stretches being uneventful and very dull until the end. Also found it lacking the charm and heart of its predecessor and that it needed a lighter approach to its material. The chemistry between Liebert and Porte was very winning in the first, it was far too distant here and almost like they didn't know each other.
In conclusion, disappointing and below average sequel to one of Hallmark's hits. 4/10
