My wife and I both really enjoy just about anything Colin Ferguson is in--always a friendly, engaging character and excellent actor, one of the best in the Hallmark stable.
Unfortunately, he's stuck in this snooze-fest with Alicia Witt, who is one of the worst. The irritating contortions of her mouth, along with so many silly and inappropriate facial expressions, are enough in themselves to ruin any chance she might have for a convincing performance. But add to it the fact that her character is a Negative Nellie who cries, pouts, smarts off, etc. throughout the movie, and by the end you're wondering--as my wife cried out--"why on earth would any man have anything to do with her??"
Ferguson's character is left with little to do but keep apologizing to her, which becomes eye-rolling because she should be the one doing so, pretty much every time. Most of the 'emotional' moments end up feeling manufactured and even silly, which steals any genuine emotional arc from the script.
And one more ingredient that probably does more than anything to crush everything else down to an emotional flatline--the boring, ever-present, do-nothing music that drones on continuously for two solid hours. It sounds just the same in the 'high' moments as in the 'low', doing nothing to really enhance a particular moment or separate it from the one that preceded it or follows.
I'm giving it two stars instead of one, only because of 1. Colin Ferguson's presence and 2. the gorgeous house, which in the end was the only real shining star in the whole thing.
Unfortunately, he's stuck in this snooze-fest with Alicia Witt, who is one of the worst. The irritating contortions of her mouth, along with so many silly and inappropriate facial expressions, are enough in themselves to ruin any chance she might have for a convincing performance. But add to it the fact that her character is a Negative Nellie who cries, pouts, smarts off, etc. throughout the movie, and by the end you're wondering--as my wife cried out--"why on earth would any man have anything to do with her??"
Ferguson's character is left with little to do but keep apologizing to her, which becomes eye-rolling because she should be the one doing so, pretty much every time. Most of the 'emotional' moments end up feeling manufactured and even silly, which steals any genuine emotional arc from the script.
And one more ingredient that probably does more than anything to crush everything else down to an emotional flatline--the boring, ever-present, do-nothing music that drones on continuously for two solid hours. It sounds just the same in the 'high' moments as in the 'low', doing nothing to really enhance a particular moment or separate it from the one that preceded it or follows.
I'm giving it two stars instead of one, only because of 1. Colin Ferguson's presence and 2. the gorgeous house, which in the end was the only real shining star in the whole thing.