A Maple Valley Christmas

This is the first movie I've watched so far this year, and it's pretty much the usual Hallmark fare: boy meets girl, boy and girl lose their minds, everything falls apart, and then...well I won't spoil the end.

One thing that is a tried and true part of the Hallmark formula is turned on it's head early on.

The sub-plots/conflicts are nothing new: guy and dad, girl and sister. Ms. List is very pretty, and Andrew Walker is the same as always.

This being Hallmark, it should be noted that there is an absence of mixed race (unless you count European) or homosexual relationships. That is important to some. Indeed it's chased half of Hallmark's audience over to GAC.

Being the first movie I've watched this year, I don't really have much to compare it to, but it does seem like an ok Hallmark Christmas movie.

I do really hate that hat though.

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.

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.

We have the often repeated premise of dad sending his son to close a development deal. One part of that we don't have is that the family farm is not in trouble here. But the deal is about what was once family land.

So many things in this movie make no sense unless it fits my title. Crazy things happen spontaneously. Erika kisses Aaron passionately after knowing him for part of a day. After that they are destined for love despite all the obstacles. It doesn't matter that Andrew Walker and Peyton List have no chemistry. In fact, List's Erika is an extremely unlikable romantic lead. She argues over everything. She's rude and disrespectful to her sister and her mom. She doesn't really listen to either one.

This is Hallmark, so it is axiomatic that everyone is going to kiss and make up. Trouble is, based on the personalities, I just don't buy that any of these people really changed. And they still make emotional decisions.

Maybe it was how I was already feeling about how shallow everything was, but there were two symbolic gestures that you know are coming from a mile away and for me, they were just cheesy.

The acting is decent, but the dialogue lacks any flair. Most Hallmark movies have good scenery, sometimes dazzling but not here. What stuck out to me were the muddy horse trails and not in a positive way.

Note to self - make sure you don't ever watch this one again.

I loved the way this movie started. A horse ride through maple trees, sap buckets and candy canes, a warm loving family, a handsome stranger who returns a lost horse and... a very un-Hallmark early kiss between the two leads (and a bold and surprising kiss at that). I loved it. I'm so tired of the "almost kiss" that gets interrupted and isn't attempted again until the end of the movie. Ugh. It's easily one of the most annoying Hallmark tropes. But here, they tried something different. The boldness of that early kiss was very modern and a wonderful change of pace.

The handsome stranger was played by Hallmark all-star Andrew Walker. He's a sure thing. But I didn't recognize Peyton List, who played Erica. Although bold and interesting in the beginning, Erica is revealed to be rather unpleasant. She's quick to unfairly judge Aaron, disrespectful to her own sweet sister, acts like a bully, and is beyond thoughtless with her loving mother.

And it all goes on way too long. She comes across as a spoiled brat and that makes it hard to root for her to find love with Aaron.

There are also a few lines that cut like a knife:

Erica: "You're a rich kid who's lost and thinks he'll find himself by putting on a Stetson hat and playing cowboy." Aaron: "Maybe you don't pick the wrong guys. Maybe you pick the right guys, and just drive them away." Erica: "Maybe so, but like I said, I don't date tourists"

Ouch.

Her mother actually expressed what I was thinking when she told Erica to "pull it together". And the whole plot about turning over the business to her daughters, to the point where one talks about buying out the other? What's mom going to live off of? It's not like she sold the business to a third-party and banked the proceeds. It sounded like she just gave the business to her kids, without taking anything, not even a salary. That's all too typical in Hallmark movies- a complete disregard for financial realities. In real life, mom might leave her kids in charge but they'd have to wait until she passed before taking ownership.

Erica's sister Heidi was played by Ella Cannon. In contrast to her sister, Heidi comes across as sweet and kind. And she's in a healthy marriage to a good guy. And she's even more beautiful than Erica. I wish the movie had starred Ella Cannon as the lead (and as a nicer character than Erica).

Aaron's father was played by Paul Jarrett and he nailed that horrible character.

I did like the running gag about "the hat" (which looked good on Erica, less so on Aaron). And though unearned, the ending was lovely. But I really didn't like the way Erica was written and Peyton List couldn't make her more likable (in fairness to her, it's not within her power to change her lines).