In Merry Measure

Patti Murin stars as Darcy, former pop sensation who is a bit down and out. Brendan Penny is Adam, her high school rival that now heads the music department of the high school. He has also led the choir to six consecutive wins of the state choir competition. And he's a bit of a hard ass. We know where this is going.

Darcy's niece Megan tried out for the choir but doesn't even get to finish her audition. When Darcy gets wind of this, she is rightly outraged for Megan and all the other kids not given respect and consideration during the audition process. She goes on to rally the other "outcast" kids and they form their own choir and challenge the resident champions to a sing off.

Also in the mix is Darcy's sister Gretchen, the always wonderful Jennifer Robertson (Schitt's Creek). She lost her husband earlier in the year and is facing her first Christmas without him while still trying to make it special for her daughter.

I honestly thought this movie would be cheesy and not worth my time. I stand corrected. It hooked me from the start. This movie is just filled with such talented people and the singing.....I just loved it. So heartwarming and such a great message of going for your dreams and being brave. An unexpectedly beautiful movie and I really hope you all check this one out.

In a nutshell, this is your standard cookie cutter made for TV Hallmark movie - with a lot of singing.

Everything about In Merry Measure is generic and unremarkable. The acting, set design, musical score, script writing and direction...it's all right in the middle of the "Hallmark movie bell curve"

Nothing objectively terrible but nothing memorable or worth rewatching for either.

The endless singing from the high schoolers and lack of notable chemistry between the lead actors make this one I wouldn't rewatch.

If you're more musically or vocally inclined, this might be more appealing to you. Watching teenagers sing for a cumulative 20 minutes of the 80 minute runtime was just too much for me (though to their credit, they sang well).

This movie was adorable and had such sweet and genuine family values embedded.

I loved the way they discussed grief and loss in a way that wasn't horribly depressing but it was still very realistic and done in a way that many people can identify with, myself included.

The way the relationship came together in this movie was so sweet. I always love the predictability of a good Hallmark movie and this one did not disappoint. For the majority of these movies, we tend to see the male character make such big changes or sacrifices to be with their new loved one in the film and this was great to see the roles reversed.

As always, the acting and many of the scenes were incredibly campy/cheesy/corny but I loved this movie and would watch it again!

I was so ticked off at the gross unprofessionalism which obviously stemmed from professional jealousy by Adam, that I was very tempted to turn this movie off at the start. Fortunately, I try to avoid that knowing that so often in this genre, the tone of the movie and some character personalities change dramatically by the first commercial or shortly thereafter. I'm very glad I stuck with it.

For one thing, I enjoy Christmas movies that feature extended musical performances usually at the end, but sometimes also along the way. This is such a movie and the last performance is almost worth waiting for strictly by itself.

There are several common themes in the story. Fading musical star, Darcy, goes home for a break. She encounters an old beau, or in this case an old rival, Adam. She gets thrown together with him to produce an act for a contest.

Patti Murin's Darcy has a couple of nice performances and some mild chemistry with Brendan Penny's Adam. But for me the real surprise is Cassidy Reichman as Darcy's niece Megan. Reichman has no other credits listed on IMDb yet her intentional performances were excellent and she was a decent actor as well. I hope this is a rising star for Hallmark much like Joceyln Hudon and Kayla Wallace became.

This one rates in the middle of the pack so far with the 2022 lineup. My favorite thing about this movie was the chemistry between the sisters I would love to see them in another movie together. It felt like they really were sisters. Their banter and expressions were great. I also liked the friendship between the coach and the music teacher. The romantic chemistry felt a little forced but by the end I was rooting for them. I think the ending left something to be desired The whole movie built up to the big performance but I felt like it fell short. Maybe I have just watched Pitch Perfect too many times!