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“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights...”
~ James 1:17

Monday, December 29, 2014

Hilarie Burton and Paul Campbell star in Hallmark Channel Movie: SURPRISED BY LOVE

MOVIE REVIEW

MOVIE: SURPRISED BY LOVE

Network: Hallmark Channel

Original Air Date: January 3, 2015





 



CAST:

Hilarie Burton ... Josie
Paul Campbell ... Gridley
Malcolm Stewart ... Joseph
Wanda Cannon ... Claire
Leanne Lapp ... Mindy
Aaron Craven ... Richard
Tim Conway ... Granddad




PLOT:

via Hallmark: As a young businesswoman tries to convince her uptight parents to approve of her current boyfriend, she finds herself questioning her own life choices and falling for an old high school flame. Over her parents' 40th anniversary weekend, she must decide which direction her life - romantic and otherwise - is going to take.





Movie Review:


It was no surprise... I fell instantly in love with Surprised by Love!


This was the first movie out of the gate for the Hallmark Channel in 2015, and I wasn't surprised, at all, that this movie was a hit! Once you hear the leads in this film, Hilarie Burton (Naughty or Nice) and Paul Campbell (Window Wonderland), you just know their quirky, lighthearted, personalities will work great together in a movie, and you have that winning combination. The next focus is on the story, which was equally as wonderful!

Josie (Hilarie Burton) has never been lucky in love. She tends to keep bringing home the same type of guy. Ones who are exactly like here. Smart. Boring. Career Driven. Although, her latest boyfriend, Richard Wright, (who Gridley calls Mr. Right) is all those things, Josie's parents still don't like him. To trick her parents into liking him, Richard devices a scheme for Josie to take home her old high school friend Gridley, an unaccomplished drifter, in Richard's eyes, who creates sculptures out of driftwood. Drifting now into Josie's life, seems like perfect timing to Richard who thinks he'll come out smelling like a rose next to Gridley, in her parents eyes. So, the plan, although deemed crazy at first, is set.

During the weekend, at Josie's parents home, they will be celebrating her parents 40th Anniversary. Gridley arrives just in time to ruin Josie's sister hair (by turning it green) and the anniversary cake. In spite of that, Josie and Gridley remember the good times and have fun reconnecting, re-creating a new cake out of twinkies, no less, and visiting their old high school, reliving some great memories, all while making great new ones.

At the party, the family is somewhat tense and divided, at first, with various little tiffs, including a nosy reporter, a power outage, and an outburst from Josie's sister Mindy... but a clever idea from Gridley, by way of the song, "Won't you come home Bill Bailey", brings the family back together again.

In the end, Josie must decide who Mr. Right is for her.


Don't be surprised... when you fall instantly in love with Surprised by Love!



See or Skip:

See! This is a very sweet fun movie.

It's no surprise, that I absolutely loved it!



--

23 comments:

  1. Was he in the movie 'The Memory Book'? I really liked that movie. I hope they show it on the regular Hallmark Channel for more people to see it. I doubt they will put on DVD. :(

    Misty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The lead male character, portrayed by actor Paul Campbell, was actually in the Christmas movie: 'Window Wonderland'. It's an absolute favorite of mine... And I love Hilarie Burton, the female lead, in the Hallmark Christmas movie 'Naughty or Nice'! So, it's fun to have these two actors in the first non-holiday movie of the year!

      Delete
    2. I liked 'Winter Wonderland' too, but it doesn't seem to be viewer fav.

      Misty

      Delete
  2. I'm looking forward to this one~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too, Susan! I love both actors - so it should be fun to see the together! :)

      Delete
    2. Oops, it should say see *them* together above!

      Delete
  3. Me thinks Hallmark is trying to wean us off Christmas movies gracefully. Looks like I'll have to view a few to see if it works!! LOL!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awe, I know just what you mean, Linda. Christmas will begin on the Hallmark Channel on November 1st! Until then, they plan to have something new every Saturday night! Plus, I think it's rather clever that the first non-holiday movie just so happens to star two quirky fun actors, well-known for their Hallmark Christmas movies!

      Delete
  4. Thanks for sharing all about 2015's upcoming flicks. I'm curious to watch some of these "valentine day" promotional titles. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, me too, Rissi! All the promos look wonderful! It's so fun to have many new movies to look forward to after Christmas!

      Delete
  5. Mindy was way cute....loved the green hair and boy, can she belt out Bill Bailey. Other than that, Tim Conway stole the movie with his timeless acting chops. Enjoy the residuals from the movie, Tim, you earned it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I agree, Mindy was so cute and the green hair suited her spirit.

      I couldn't help from thinking of Anne Shirley when she died her red hair green. Guess she should have kept it.

      I agree with you... It was so fun to see Tim Conway, and yes, that "Bill Bailey" song was truly great! Glad you enjoyed it!

      Delete
    2. Yes, Anne of Green Gables! What a perfect match, Net!!!
      Anne could have sung:
      "Won't you come home Gilbert Blythe,
      Won't you come home,
      You can call me 'Carrots',
      I'll break a chalkboard on your head,
      Matthew and Marilla will be full of dread.
      Remember that rainy evening,
      when Diana and I drank that wine,
      we were both quite ill,
      I miss you so much,
      I love you a bunch,
      So Gilbert won't you please come home!"

      Long live Megan Follows!

      Delete
  6. Loved "Surprised by Love". A great start to the new season of movies! Wonderful chemistry between Hilarie Burton (loved her in Naughty or Nice) and Paul Campbell. Reminds me of the wonderful chemistry between Autumn Reeser and Antonio Cupo. They have just have "it". Can't wait to see the rest of the new movies, and of course looking forward to the "Good Witch" series.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I loved it, too, Jill! You are so right, "Surprised by Love" was an excellent start to the Hallmark Channel's lineup of new 2015 movies! I agree - they had excellent chemistry!

      And, since you mentioned Autumn & Antonio, (love them, too!) ...they will be together in an upcoming Hallmark movie "I Do, I Do, I Do". There's a picture of them, in this new movie, above, in my banner.

      Delete
  7. This movie got off to a slow start, in my opinion. I was considering turning it off, but I'm glad I didn't. As the story developed, there were some geniunely funny moments (inevitable with a comic legend like Conway in the cast) and a sweet ending.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I'm so glad you left it on and gave it a chance!

      I thought it was great... Terrific cast, chemistry, and comedy... The movie had it all!

      I agree with you, such a sweet show & ending! :)

      Delete
  8. Where was this movie filmed?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. According to IMDB, Surprised By Love was filmed in Boston and Gloucester, Massachusetts as well as British Columbia, Canada.

      Delete
    2. I figured it was filmed entirely in Vancouver as the bridge seen is in Delta county BC

      Delete
  9. I enjoyed Surprised by Love because it has Paul Campbell starring in it. He was also in Window Wonderland by Hallmark Channel two years ago. He is handsome, and an actor with good comedic timing. He is very natural the way he delivers his lines. I could watch him over and over and still not get tired of his acting. I hope he will be in many more Hallmark movies. I hope he gets noticed because he would be wonderful on the big screen also.

    ReplyDelete
  10. 1st movie of 2015 LOVE IT I have on tape sorry Hallmark & I watch often also like Billy & Hilarie together they work

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just watched this for the first time and really enjoyed it. Great cast, funny, romantic.
    ~~Jane

    ReplyDelete

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