Autumn in the City

This was fairly watchable despite a few troublesome aspects. One of which was the mismatch in the casting. Aimee Teagarden is an attractive and relatively youthful Hallmark leading lady and Evan Roderick as her love interest was a fresh new face and did well. Unfortunately, together, the pair didn't work. Aimee is in her early 30s playing an almost 30 year-old. Evan Roderick is 6 years younger and could pass for 17. So, for me the chemistry was off.

Piper has escaped from her hometown and her over-protective parents to pursue her dreams in New York City. Unfortunately, she doesn't have any dreams other than escaping from her dead end life in Iowa or Omaha or whatever. This leads to a series of temp jobs where she hopes that her destiny will hit her "like a bolt of lightening." She is almost 30 years old. Honey, if lightening hasn't struck by now, it's not going to. She is pretty oblivious because her future career is right in front of her and is obvious to the alert viewer. Big Clue: she never goes anywhere without her sketchpad and she sketches and colors non-stop. She meets cute Austin who is an aspiring Children's book author, despite his egomaniacal world famous journalist mother who relentlessly badgers him to become a world famous journalist just like her.

After throwing amazing opportunity after amazing opportunity back in the faces of all of the nice New Yorkers so anxious to hand out cool jobs, Piper finally gets struck by lightening, figuratively. She hooks up professionally and personally with Austin, who has shockingly landed a publishing deal for a whole series of books with Piper as the illustrator. After a lot of ups and downs, Piper and Austin have their dream careers and a relationship. There were a lot of fallen leaves in this one, but no pumpkins unless you count pumpkin spice lattes. The couple's career trajectories were fantastical and should probably come with a disclaimer lest New York becomes invaded with aspiring Midwesterners hoping to be just like Piper.

This Hallmark romance takes place in New York City. Piper (Aimee Teegarden) moves from the Midwest to NYC to find herself. She doesn't know what career path to follow (though viewers can discern her eventual career immediately), so she temps at various jobs. When she meets her neighbor, Austin (Evan Roderick), things are not very cordial, but we know where this is going. Austin's dream is to write children's books, but he has put that option on a back burner.

The problem with this film is the script. The dialogue is stilted and unrealistic, particularly in the early going. If you can get past that, the rest of the story is endurable. Just don't expect any great plot twists.

Aimee Teagarden was great in Friday Night Lights and has been in some very good movies lately (Once Upon a Christmas Miracle, New Year's Resolution, My Christmas Family Tree). She's a perfect fit for Hallmark (which is why they signed her to a new multi-film deal). Here she's cast as a wholesome, adorable, relentlessly upbeat and idealistic woman who shows up in NYC looking for a career. But she's only given herself two months to find an inspiring job (wildly unrealistic).

She tries out a remarkably wide array of seemingly decent jobs that would likely have supported her (Including one that seemed like a wonderful opportunity to travel) but none stirs her passion ("I'm not just looking for a job, I'm looking for a fulfilling career and, when I find it, it's going to feel like a lightning bolt."). And yet she spends a lot of her free time sitting on park benches and drawing. When asked why she doesn't pursue that as a career, she insists that it's impractical and would be a betrayal of her parents who "scrimped and saved" to pay for her college.

Austin (played by Evan Roderick) doesn't create the same good first impression as Piper. He's called a "curmudgeon" and "grumpy" and grudgingly takes a job that anyone with a journalism degree would kill for (writing "features" for the Chronicle). But he shows up late, when he shows up at all, makes no effort to do his job properly and demonstrates a complete lack of integrity (as he does again later in the movie). There's also a pathetic early scene where he let his mother veto his chicken sandwich lunch order and, instead, lets her order him HER favorite kale salad. Ugh.

But, thankfully, Piper has a positive effect on him. And their chemistry is great. But one of the more frustrating aspects of Hallmark movies is their rather chaste approach to romance. These are two attractive, single, 30 year-olds, living across the hall from each other in New York City. In real life (and on Netflix) they'd be in bed together (or at least making out like teenagers) the night the candles came out. I counted about two dozen pumpkin colored candles. Heck, that setting called for a kiss at least. Or even one of Hallmark's famous (and ridiculous) "almost" kisses. But no. Nothing. And yet, in this particular movie, it may actually have made sense for them to wait given the circumstances.

Also, in a laudable continuation of Hallmark's commitment to diversity and inclusion, the movie features a gay couple who own a nearby coffee shop. Initially, Piper's "efforts" (asking if a stranger has tried a pumpkin bread sample) somehow earns her a "coffee on the house". And then Austin waltzes in and also gets a coffee without paying. And then the coffee shop owners offer to plan Piper a party after knowing her for just a couple of weeks. Those were some rather unrealistic moments, but I liked the characters. They were kind, good-natured, and provided sympathetic ears and support for Austin and Piper. And they set up a really sweet surprise in the park.

There's a question of "who will 'champion' who?" that played out in a way I initially thought reflected poorly on one of the characters, but I was pleasantly surprised by how that was eventually handled by the writers (Joey Elkins and Blake Silver). Another reviewer fairly criticized the desperate "fight for yourself or yell" scene but I liked it; it reminded me of the old classic Bob Dylan song with the lyrics "when you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose."

Random observations:

The "hostess" mix up was beyond improbable. There's no way that happens.

Temp agencies make their money when a temp is offered and accepts a permanent position. They certainly didn't make any money off Piper.

Pretty good fake view of Washington Square and the Brooklyn Bridge. I wish they had filmed on location in New York City but Hallmark is famous for keeping their filming costs low by filming in Vancouver.

I agree with those who spotted very little evidence that it was autumn which was a shame because in certain locations, fall colors can really be spectacular (and "autumn" is literally in the movie title).

Although running into someone you know in NYC seemed to another reviewer like it would "literally never happen" it actually happened to me when I visited Manhattan and bumped into somebody from my hometown in California, even though I had no idea they were even going to be there. And Piper and Austin don't actually run into each other unexpectedly except for the planned park set up and their run ins at their favorite coffee shop by their apartment (I run into people I know all the time at my favorite coffee shop). That said, it's a familiar technique to have lead characters get into the elevator at the same time, or walk out of the building at the same time, or bump into each other at a local business. That just drives the story along. You have to suspend your disbelief to some extent when you watch a guaranteed happy ending Hallmark movie. They're not documentaries (which, sadly, can be stranger than fiction).

Good use of the song "A Night Like This" by Carmi Esta towards the end. I've noticed that the background music in Hallmark movies has really improved over the years.

Realism in this one is catastrophic. Why would they set the story in autumn while you can tell the set isn't really in that season? I mean, let's be real: in fall New York, you wouldn't go out with a light dress and a light jacket like it's warm outside. Plus, Central Park looking nothing like Central Park.

Besides, if the girl has only two months, it would make sense for it to be summertime. I guess jobs wouldn't be that easy to get in summer. But again, how unrealistic is it that you can find as many interesting jobs through a temporary work agency. And who I would have the luxury to refuse a job in this economy?

As for the relationships, I don't live in New York but I do know big cities, and characters are really too one-dimensional, starting with the coffe shop owners.

The actors are good though, so it compensates.

My expectations aren't that high for a TV movie but it's like they shoot themselves in the feet with all these.

Aimee Teegarden always brings a lot of young fresh energy to her roles. Evan Roderick is great as her love interest, they have chemistry which doesn't always happen in Hallmark rom-coms. They should be matched up again, maybe a Spring movie set in the country. Or a winter film since Roderick is a former hockey player. The supporting cast is good, especially the bakery couple Toby and Will. Strong Canadian supporting actors.

The script isn't that good, there are some funny parts but it's clunky, it doesn't seem to fit together smoothly. As with most of the rom-coms it's filmed in BC with exterior shots of NYC. Vancouver can be made to look like almost any North American city.