Noël à Maple Valley

Any Hallmark movie aficionado who has ever rolled their eyes at the "almost kiss" that is usually a fixture about midway in the course of the romance might want to check this one out. 10 or 15 minutes in and before the sun has set on the day they meet, the girl launches herself at the guy and plants one on him. He was very surprised, but not half as surprised as I was. It was a jawdropper.

Andrew walker, Aaron, is sent by his property developer father, Steve, to Maple valley to buy a piece of land that he has had his eye on for years. The land adjoins the tree farm and maple syrup business of the Holden Family. The mother has recently given equal control of the operation to her two daughters. The older daughter, Erica is determined to buy back this land that once belonged to them. The younger daughter wants to use the money to expand their syrup business and maybe "go retail". Which left me scratching my head. Their syrup business seems to be their source of income and is apparently thriving (shocker!) Yet they only seem to sell it at festival booths.

There is lots of conflict in this one. Aaron and his father are at odds because the father perceives Aaron as lazy and unambitious. Aaron does not like his father's business practices and putting his company over family his whole life. When Aaron gives up the land for Erica, Steve is irate and hot-foots it to Maple Valley himself.

There is conflict between the two sisters. The younger, Heidi, does not want to buy the land and feels Erica is running rough-shod over her when they are supposed to be equal partners. She feels discounted.

The mother is retiring because she is moving to Italy with her boyfriend and wants no part of the sisters' dispute. Erica is upset that her mother is leaving home and putting love and companionship over family and business. She is at odds with her Mom, her boyfriend, and even the Christmas tree and what to have for Christmas dinner. Erica is a piece of work, but somehow I didn't hate her. At least she communicates, which is a nice change in a Hallmark movie. She's also upset with Aaron when the father shows up to buy the land afterall. Aaron quits his father and the company he is heir to in order to start his own company. Erica's sister quits the family business. Erica and Steve, the ultimate antagonists, both seem to be in the same boat.

How all of these people come together in love and understanding bowing their heads in prayer at Christmas dinner makes for a pretty interesting journey. What I don't get is what happened to the Fernandez land? Did the Holden's buy it, or was Mister Fernandez left in the lurch? And did Aaron stay in his father's business or strike out on his own? But one thing's for sure. Andrew Walker looked weird in that Cowboy hat.

My wife and I watch every darn movie these channels put out and this is one of worst. I genuinely don't like any of the characters and especially hated all of the lead characters. Yes I expect the ones on the movies and mysteries channel to be more dramatic and schmalty. But this one has presented very two dimensional characters with no redeemable qualities. I normally like Andrew Walker but his stunted development and lack of warmth is terrible. Honestly I have not even finished watching the movie yet but I had to get this off my chest. I'm sure everyone will live happily ever after but in the meantime I feel like yelling at the tv every two minutes.

Erica meets Aaron after a horse escapes. They feel attracted to each other only to find out the next day they both want the property next door. We've seen it before. However, things that you expect would happen later in the movie, they happen sooner than expected. And that's the only time you will be surprised.

I'm not gonna lie, I did enjoy the movie. However I'm sad to say Peyton and Andrew did not have chemistry. Which is a shame because Andrew has chemistry with all his co-stars.

Now, this movie had it all: a horse ride, the two stars randomly meeting each other, the small town, baking (more like candying, but still), people not admitting the truth, etc.

I liked Peyton and I felt sorry for her character. I have a hard time accepting change as well and being the oldest daughter comes with an extra responsibility so I kind of took pity on her. Her sister was not the best either. I see no future with them as business partners. None of them was willing to compromise. Personally, the lack of chemistry ruined this for me.

And regarding Aaron, did they ever explained why everything was familiar to him, why his father wanted so desesperately to buy the land? Because I was waiting for it and it never came.

I had high expectations and unfortunately they weren't fullfil.

'Maple Valley Christmas' (2022)

Opening thoughts: There is always at least one reason for wanting to see a film etc with me, in 'Maple Valley Christmas' case it was Andrew Walker. He is one of Hallmark's most regularly used actors and very popular, and to me the appeal is more than understandable. As he is one of the better and more consistent regulars, despite his filmography being very up and down. The premise did intrigue, could feel myself relating to the issues that were being explored, and had real potential to work.

'Maple Valley Christmas' however is another one of those films with a premise that sounds good but the execution underwhelms, for reasons that have been summed up already very well. It is not one of the worst 2022 Hallmark films, neither is it quite one of the worst 2022 Miracles of Christmas films (it is certainly better than 'Christmas Bedtime Stories'). It is unfortunately not good and is a waste of potential. Walker comes off quite well, but he really is well above this.

Good things: He is the best thing about 'Maple Valley Christmas', making a conscientious effort in bringing charm and heart as well as nuance. Actually did think that the male cast did well, with Francisco Trujillo bringing some welcome vim.

It is a nice looking film, with beautiful scenery that the photography doesn't waste. The music is also pleasant enough and fits.

Bad things: On the other hand, quite a lot doesn't work. The female cast are poor, Peyton List doesn't inject much personality, while also trying too hard. Frances Flanagan and even more so Ella Cannon overact dreadfully, the latter being a whiny spiteful cartoon. Absolutely agree with all regarding the complete absence of characters worth rooting for or liking, exaggerated character flaws with little to no growth has been a major problem in Hallmark films in the past few years and this is one of the worst cases of the 2022 output. List's character's constant rudeness, disrespect and over-bearing-ness became exhausting fast. List and Walker indeed have no chemistry together, very cold, distant and awkward.

Furthermore, the ending is very unrealistic, the pacing is rushed from trying to cram in a lot in too short a space of time and what happens is too convenient and not warranted. The dialogue is not natural and can be too soapy. The pace is erratic, sometimes fine, sometimes draggy from over stretching and then too hasty in the over-stuffed final quarter. Pretty much all the character decisions and motivations are at best vague, and that is whenever effort is made to explain, and wildly improbable, so much making no sense.

Concluding thoughts: Overall, very underwhelming.

4/10.

I really enjoyed this movie and will 100% watch again. I truly don't get why so many felt there was no chemistry between the leads. Perhaps having a female that is atypical is what turned them off?

The story starts with a successful (a nice change from the usual fare, to be honest) family-run maple syrup business looking to buy the property next door when it finally goes on the market. But lo and behold, a developer from a large city arrives to outbid the heroine. Our heroine and protagonist, almost from the start, works and grows with her love interest to try to keep the deal from happening. There aren't any big misunderstandings or hidden secrets here. It's just honest communication and two people being surprised about their feelings and healing from their past broken hearts. Our female lead is guarded, but I found her relatable and likable.

The meet-cute was finally not a ridiculous over the top trope, but original, without the female lead being unnecessarily rude or snapping to judgment or having that "You" moment when they run into each other later. There weren't any eye-rolling misunderstandings to get past; everyone was fairly honest from the start. There wasn't the overdone scene of an interrupted kiss: it happens spontaneously in the first 10-15 minutes. There wasn't some widower's/divorcée's kid trying to move the plot forward with an overly sweet and far-too-old-to-be-acting-as-babyish-as-they-typically-do act. The scenery was realistic and what wasn't winter or Christmas-y was overall well-hidden. And finally, I didn't find this with any of the usual cheesy professions of love that generally make me cringe with embarrassment for the actors who have to do them. Again, I will 100% watch this in the future.