Junebug

Juniper (Autumn Reeser) is stuck in life. Her boyfriend is a dud. Her children's book publishing workplace is under threat. She's a great editor, but her writing dreams have been sidelined. She's turning 40 and her parents gift her the wish box from her childhood. When she starts digging into the box, her eight year old inner child self Junebug (Mila Jones) appears to her and Junebug has issues with her 40 year old self. She has a meet-cute with hot mural artist Alex (Aaron O'Connell) and sees him as her illustrator.

This is very cute. Adding the little girl to the standard Hallmark romance is a great move. He's super hot and Autumn Reeser has always been great since the O. C. In the end, they can't get too far from the Hallmark of it all. There is very limited drama. She really needs to give him the book much sooner, but they leave it to the midway point. Give it to him at the end of the first act and drum up more drama. I am reminded of a commentary where the filmmaker says that every scene is an opportunity to add drama. Hallmark is usually missing that and this is no different.

I always enjoyed Autumn Reeser in her movies on Hallmark. She always brings a freshness and realness to her characters . This movie was no exception . And Aaron O'Connell has a naturalness on camera and he's very handsome to look at.

This movie was very enjoyable. The two leads had a wonderful chemistry and the young actor playing the child Junebug was adorable and talented. I also love the actor playing the café employee. I have seen them in a few other roles on Hallmark. They really need to be included in many more.

The scenery was beautiful. The whole movie gives you a warm, cozy feeling, and puts a smile on your face.

7.5 stars.

I enjoyed several portions of the movie, but some were a bit slow and underwhelming. The story is average.

Interestingly, there are several kisses instead of the usual single kiss that most Hallmark films provide.

We are hit with a bit of an unexpected turn, which explains a few of the other uncharacteristic components 'Junebug' has. Now it all makes sense.

As always, if you've read any of my reviews on Reeser movies, you know that she has a magical presence. Everything is just right with her acting, style, body language...

I recommend this film because it's endearing and the chemistry is good, but the director could have made a few subtle changes to make this a more entertaining and fun story.

I initially thought the kid was going to be a real turnoff, but she ended up being more endearing than I expected. The film is really saved by the chemistry between Autumn Reeser and Aaron O'Connell. The overall story is ok, but the romance is the reason to watch.

A shout out to the parents in this film...I kind of liked their kooky and cohesive unit.

Now my Seattle rant, while I love that Hsllmark wants to set these films in Seattle and uses some stock footage along with a couple name drops to solidify their "location"...it is so blatantly obvious that it isn't actually Seattle. As someone who lived on Capital Hill for more than two decades, I can spot a fake from a mile away. Why not set the film in Canada if you are going to shoot it there? Would anyone really care? Or...and here is a novel concept why not actually set it in Seattle if you are going to say it is Seattle, pay the money, bite the bullet and film it in Seattle.

This is a straight up chick flick. Meaning its cast is nearly all women, the story is mostly about the woman, the women dominate the screen time and the men are just props. There isn't much here for a regular guy even if he likes these types of movies.

Given that, it's not a bad movie just not for everyone. The story is fine, the main character goes on a journey and changes the course of her life and there aren't a ton of really bad holes in the writing.

However, the local barista gets as much screen time as the "leading man". That guy is physically perfect (except for his ears) but is an emotional flower and is as delicate as a daisy. The father figure is just your typical father prop and offers nothing to the movie. The best friend has two kids but apparently no husband.

I'm not ripping on the movie but if you're a regular dude I would let your wife watch this one on her own.