The Perfect Pairing

Ms Contractor is an appealing, talented actress, who has a terrific Hallmark vibe. It's wonderful to see her again in a Hallmark project. More, please! However, she has no chemistry with the male lead (Mr Elliott, who mails it in). And how does a woman forget her purse?? Plus, ice wine is not grown where Pinot Noir is also grown. Take note, writers: It makes the film feel fake. As does the ice wine cave at 14F where you cannot see their breath. And please tell me who is the zillionaire who can afford a New York apartment like hers! Finally, Hallmark, let's use some fresh names for characters.

I thought this was a sweet enough Hallmark film, with a nice couple of twists on their standard format.

I liked the chemistry between the leads, and felt the story held up well.

Overall a good job and an enjoyable film.

Well done Hallmark.

Cristina (Nazneen Contractor), a food critic with a tendency to accent the negative, loses her memory while out of town. Her identity unknown, she settles into a comfortable situation while she waits to regain her memory.

Separated from her past prejudices and conventions, she learns new attitudes and gets to know Michael (Brennan Elliott), owner of a struggling vineyard.

This Hallmark film is blessed with two likable stars who have an easy chemistry. And the writing is intelligent. You might even learn about ice wines.

Nazneen Contractor was born in Mumbai, India and is one of the best diversity castings on Hallmark. I liked her in The Christmas Ring and A Winter Getaway, but this is the best of the three.

I love Hallmark movies and grade them on a curve. Some of my favorites feature the "less common than you'd think" amnesia trope. The best movie featuring a woman with temporary amnesia was Falling For Vermont with Argentinian beauty Julie Gonzalo, but I also liked Ashley Greene and Andrew Walker in Christmas on My Mind, Ali Liebert in a Gift to Remember, and Oscar winner Mira Sorvino in Christmas to Remember.

Hallmark vet Brennan Elliot has been in something like 20 Hallmark movies and is a reliable lead. Nazneen does a nice job of transitioning from a somewhat distant and removed reviewer to a more caring, involved and aware person (without resorting to caricature). I liked the interaction with the daughter (those pecan butterscotch cookies sound delicious) but who takes over the kitchen of someone they don't know at 3am without asking? But that was a rare flaw (the other one was no one being able to access her phone which, at best, maybe suffered a cracked screen).

The critics that unfairly malign Hallmark movies complain that all their movies are the same. They certainly have perfected a romance formula featuring attractive, career minded women juggling the demands of life while honoring important values like love, family, friendship, and community service. And in the last few years, their casts have become much more diverse and inclusive, thereby better reflecting the world we actually live in. That approach has successfully turned the Hallmark Channel into the most watched channel on cable and it's why I watch and vigorously defend their movies. But they have also done a nice job of mixing it up while staying true to a winning formula. Let's face it, no one comes to the Hallmark Channel looking for an unhappy ending.

Here, there's an interesting story about the making and history of ice wine, which I don't think has ever been featured in a Hallmark movie before. And the amnesia trope shows up a lot less often than the secret prince trope.

Nazneen Contractor has been a nice addition to the Hallmark stable of leading ladies, and Brennan Elliott is turning into one of the top leading men. The story was nice and even tried to drop some knowledge on us about ice wine. If you like amnesia movies, you'll enjoy this one.