An Easter Bloom

I enjoyed this movie but could not give it a high rating. Same old same old plot of misunderstanding The two leads are very good , nice chemistry and believable. It was a little slow to develop and the ending was a little predictable but overall a cute movie. I do feel here again Hallmark writers could have done do much more. Excellent cast beautiful scenery and not enough substance. There was very little development of the CB cast and could have done more with the two leads. I hope Hallmark can get out of theses predictable plots because they are wasting good acting and not developing their cast parts. There are no spoilers but than again it's the same old story.

7.4 stars.

A woman and her mother are about to lose their flower farm. They need an early spring for any chance of saving it. The father and husband passed away last year. The woman needs money in order to save the farm, and she can obtain it if she wins a contest. There is a man in the picture as well, he's a pastor. Maybe he can help her.

Wonderful and beautiful and charismatic actors don't always amount to a good film. We have a plethora of cream-of-the-crop performers here. To me they are the best of the best for wholesome family genre movies. The leads are among my favorites and the two women at odds with one another, are very recognizable. Some of the other supporting cast are semi-regulars.

There is so much missing with this story, yet all the ingredients are present. 'An Easter Bloom' is what I would flag as "too familiar". In other words, this is one of those stories that has every single repetitive aspect that every movie of its kind has shared over the past 10 years. The only problem with this, is that it's been overdone. Last year (2023) there was an obvious trend of new ideas, fresh plots, and a variety of other small changes and nuances that have helped the genre move into the next phase. This movie is stuck right in the middle of 2020.

Either way, I don't get a lot of satisfaction from this particular style of telling this story. Had they kept up with the times, maye it would be more relatable. Not sure what's missing, but certainly the the lead female is miserable, and too good at it. The lead male's attempt at enthusiasm and encouragement is insufficient to bridge the gap.

This movie sounded like something I'd enjoy watching, especially because it's Hallmark romance so by design, I'm at least guaranteed some kind of happy ending. The movie started out well with a clear story. Then, it all struggled to flow and click together.

Let's start with the good. I like the emotional touch to the story, it's more meaningful than the classic colleagues vying for a promotion or Christmas reindeer games we've already seen so much of in this genre. I also like the actors a lot individually. None of the main actors seem fake nor does their performance feel forced so in terms of acting talent, this one is of the better quality amongst soft romance tv movies. Additionally, I love the flower farm theme. We usually see the flower thing in wedding movies so I like that this is a little more rugged.

Now, the bad. Although I never struggled to understand the story as a whole, it does seem to be a bit bare throughout the middle. It's a story that starts out at the right pace and then just gets rushed a bit. Along with what I assume to be mediocre directing, this all waters down the connection and relationship development aspect of the couple. By the end of the movie, it sort of felt like they'd hardly talked. In reality, they have about as much interaction as in any other movie of the kind but in reality, it felt rushed. I think this is probably on the director and perhaps the writer.

Lastly, I must admit that I found the heavy religious focus quite uncomfortable. If you are a devoted Christian, you'll probably like this aspect but as an agnostic person, the whole thing was quite preachy. I can normally handle mildly Christian movies just fine but in this one, it almost seems as though the only thing the couple talked about to each other was the preachy part, which ruins the romance a bit for me. It is an Easter movie so I'm okay with a little Christian touch but I don't like it when it feels like I'm being preached to.

Aimee Teagarden is one of my favorite actors committed to Hallmark. She has done several movies for them that go beyond the simple rom/com and I think they have been something special. This movie, also, goes beyond the simple rom/com. It is more focused on Amanda's relationship with Lori, but the romance with Derrick is at least a close second if not equal in significance to the story.

I always cringe at two things especially when they are linked. The premise is to save the family farm by winning a contest. Amanda is a complete novice at floral arranging, which seems a little odd given that her farm is the source of flowers for arrangements. The movie takes a shot at explaining this and is mostly successful in that regard. But for the novice to even hope to complete with contestants with years of experience, especially Constance who has won several, is the prime example of why I cringe at this premise. However, that hail-Mary hopefulness is not that unusual with this premise.

But, viewer, don't lose hope. Instead of the usual plot line where the romantic interest helps prepare for the contest (or competes against her, or both), Derrick has nothing to do with teaching her the craft. Instead, his mom, Lori, is the sensei and Amanda is, not the grasshopper, but the ladybug. There is some definite creativity in the writing despite the overly common premise.

There seem to be a few subtextual themes. The most dominant themes are love and forgiveness. I think I will need to watch this again to explore the interplay of those different themes and see if there really are more than just the two.

Teagarden and Benjamin Hollingsworth have some romantic chemistry despite their relationship not getting the majority of the screen time. Actually, Teagarden and Frances Flanagan have good chemistry in a mentoring relationship. In short, the acting is good. The dialogue is good but not quite sparkling. The issue of the farm's financial future is the central tension, but it is not overplayed as is sometimes the case. This movie is more about relationships than financial problem solving.

Two secondary criticisms. One is the ending. All I can say is that it is overdone, but so are most Hallmark movies. The other is a question. Is that view looking out at the farm in bloom live or a mural, or perhaps a green screen? The appearance was idyllic and had a fake feel to it. It looked like a painted wall about 10 feet past where the actors were standing.

I am so happy that Dayspring has teamed up with Hallmark! I loved the message behind this movie. It was perfectly spring filled while also having a deeper message of love and forgiveness and renewal. I loved that each of the characters had to grow and change-it wasn't just the main character struggling while everyone else had the perfect life. I loved the pastor's story and how he even opened up about making mistakes and growing from them.

The only complaint I would have is the pastor sometimes had a southern accent and sometimes didn't. Other than that it was the perfect Easter movie, just beautiful.