Spring is right around the corner... ⚘
You can see Natalie Hall (pictured above) in the March movie premiere of "Fit for a Prince." (This is not a Spring Fling movie.) See details here. Look for Ryan Paevey and Cindy Busby (also pictured above) in new Hallmark Spring Fling movies below...
Hallmark Channel
"Spring Fling" New Movies - 2021:
Chasing Waterfalls
SPRING FLING MOVIE
Premieres: Saturday, March 20, 2021 at 9pm/8c
Starring: Cindy Busby and Christopher Russell
Story-line via Hallmark: Photographer Amy travels to a remote lodge to find mythical waterfalls and falls for handsome guide, Mark. They adventure to find the mystic waterfall and discover their true feelings.
Review:
☀"Maybe it was just my mood, but the script for Chasing Waterfalls seemed a bit lacking in depth. Give it a try for yourself, though, because, happily, it was basically family-friendly and had beautiful forest scenery to enjoy! Cindy walking on a rainbow-painted crosswalk during the intro had me wondering if objectionable same-sex content was coming, but there wasn't any of that, thankfully. The only caution for families is at very, very end. It caught my ear when the two leads, who are alone, briefly talk about staying by the waterfall and sharing a tent that night instead of being taken back to the lodge by a helicopter before dark. Most non-Christians would likely assume that doesn't mean just sleeping, and it felt slightly off-key for the Hallmark we're used to." ~Alicia
☀"Chasing Waterfalls. It was cute. I liked it but it's not a keeper for me. Cindy is not one of my top favorite actresses, although I really liked her in the Godwink movie she was in. I like Christopher but the role he played in this movie seems like deja vu. Also, I'm not sure I really felt great chemistry between them. The little girl actress in this movie was great but her character was supposed to be eleven years old yet it felt more like thirteen year old stuff (maybe?). The scenery was absolutely beautiful. Miranda Frigon (Captain Lynn in Aurora Teagarden movies) played another tour guide who had dated Christopher in the past and still wanted to be dating him. She was the best actor in the whole movie even though her part wasn't huge. She also has a beautiful voice and we got to hear her sing a bit along with Christopher, so that was a nice addition.
Overall, it was a family friendly movie until...
*!*!*SPOILER ALERT*!*!* .....
at the very very end when "Mark" finds/rescues "Amy" in the wilderness and radios in for a helicopter to come get them before it gets dark. He mentions that he has one tent in his backpack and she asks if there's "room for two", so he cancels the helicopter and they kiss." ~~Jane
☀"Chasing Waterfalls review - what a fun movie! I loved the romantic chemistry between Amy Atwater (Cindy Busby) and Mark North (Christopher Russell). Their character names really stood out me as being spot on - Amy Atwater photographed waterfalls and Mark North was the tour guide. So clever! Also, since these two (Cindy and Christopher) have worked together before, it was easy to tell they already had a comfortable camaraderie with one another. The outdoor setting of this movie was also stunning - blue skies, tall trees, streams and hikes through the mountains to see the most gorgeous views and waterfalls. One hilarious moment is when Amy, Mark, and his daughter, Kyra, run into a bear on one of their hikes. Instantly Mark and Kyra start banging on things and yelling with their arms and hands stretched up in the air. Amy is shocked, at first, but joins in and the bear leaves. After this, (there is a little bathroom humor) Amy says she just peed her pants. Later on, she tries to say she really didn't, but they all just laugh it off. This movie is delightful and family friendly, but as others mentioned, there is talk of sharing a tent at the end. This also raised my eyebrows, but thankfully nothing is shown beyond that. I really enjoyed Cindy Busby's joyful, lighthearted personality in this and Christopher Russell made the perfect, ruggedly handsome outdoor man tour guide. This is definitely a movie I look forward to watching again!" ~Net
☀"CHASING WATERFALLS It was alright. Honestly, Cindy Busby is not my favorite Hallmark actress. She is hit/miss for me. I've been trying to figure out why I'm not a big fan of her, but I just can't pinpoint it exactly. Also i'm not sure about the chemistry between the leads. It was a little flat. I do like the little girl actress playing as Mark's daughter. Her acting is great but, (Call me old fashioned) i just felt that the romance issues she had should probably be for older age than 11 years old. I have a 10 years old son who is a 3rd grader and I can't imagine him going through these issues soon. This is more middle school ages, in my opinion. Overall, it was an okay movie. I loved the poster and the title and I guess I expected it to be "more" but it didn't quite measure up to my expectation." ~CH Mom
Don't Go Breaking My Heart
(Previously: Breakup Boot Camp)
SPRING FLING MOVIE
Premieres: Saturday, March 27, 2021 at 9pm/8c
Starring: Italia Ricci and Ryan Paevey
Story-line via Hallmark: Miranda runs a boot camp for the recently broken hearted. She begins to form a connection with new client Ben who is also a reporter, investigating whether her boot camp is a fad or a phenomenon.
Review:
☀"I started watching Don't Go Breaking My Heart. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to continue watching but I just thought I'd stop and share some content that, so far, I wasn't thrilled about. At around the 15 minute mark we meet one of the female participants in the breakup boot camp and she says "I'm scared to be on my own. And I can't move on since I have to see Bethany and her new girlfriend every other week, because of Ruth... we share custody." So, obviously, her character is a lesbian. My guess is that Hallmark won't put anything else about it in the movie since they want to gradually get us all accustomed to accepting it before they start being more bold. But I'm inclined to just hit the delete button on principal, which is a shame because I quite like Ryan and Italia. Also, earlier in the movie Italia's character was interviewing for a new employee and the interviewee was talking about how we all have trauma from our past lives and she thought Italia should incorporate something about past-life regression into her program. She was portrayed as a crazy, nut-job, but I just thought other viewers might want to know about it before watching with young family members." ~Jane
One Perfect Wedding
SPRING FLING MOVIE
Premieres: Saturday, April 3, 2021 at 9pm/8c
Starring: Taylor Cole, Jack Turner, Rukiya Bernard, Dewshane Williams
Story-line via Hallmark: With Cara (Cole) leaving on an international book tour in two weeks and Ben's (Turner) business expansion keeping him busy, the couple decides they won't let work commitments postpone their nuptials any longer. So, they book the Clara Lake chalet and head back to where their romance began for a small, intimate wedding with friends and family... just 10 days away. With the help of their best friends Megan (Bernard) and Sean (Williams), Cara and Ben feel nothing can stop them from having the perfect wedding.
Review:
☀"One Perfect Wedding – Family friendly. It was nice to FINALLY see the third movie in this series, which I'm guessing is the final chapter we'll see in this love story. There had been rumors this movie was coming for a while now, but time after time, it seemed to be delayed. I’m sure they wanted to work it out so it would also be a Winter movie, like the original two, but they must’ve settled for Spring, even though the movie still looked like Winter with all of the snow. Cara (Taylor Cole) and Ben (Jack Turner) lead busy lives, but they are ready to finally say I do and be married, even if neither have time to plan a wedding, which is mostly left to Cara’s friend, Megan (Rukiya Bernard). Ben’s best friend Sean (Dewshane Williams) is working as a doctor overseas; they speak to him remotely over an IPad throughout the entire movie. I was hoping he might appear somehow at the end, but it never happened. At one point, Cara wasn’t sure if she could trust Ben, there was a mix up with the bride gown and maid of honor dress, and a massive snowfall kept the caterers, DJ, etc… from being able to make it - so it definitely wasn’t perfect in theory, but it was a perfect wedding day after all for the couple. The most interesting part of the story was a mystery romance from the past with the owners of the Clara Lake chalet. Cara is determined to unravel their story and write about it for her next book. If you’ve seen the first two movies, One Winter Weekend and One Winter Proposal, you’ll most likely want to complete the story and see One Perfect Wedding." ~Net
As Luck Would Have It
SPRING FLING MOVIE
Premieres: Saturday, April 10, 2021 at 9pm/8c
Starring: JoAnna Garcia Swisher and Allen Leech
Story-line via Hallmark: Lindsey (Swisher) travels to Ireland to acquire land that is perfect for a resort. She decides to enter the town's world-renowned matchmaking festival to prove her investment in the community and win over a handsome local (Leech). Filmed on location in Ireland.
Reviews:
☀"As Luck Would Have It. Loved this movie!!!! Keeper; and will buy the dvd someday. Family friendly. One note: if anyone dvr'd the first airing on Saturday, 4/10/21 at 9pm, be warned that the dvr might cut off the very end of the movie so you miss the ending kiss (well, I'm assuming a happily-ever-after kiss is what happened right after the dvr cut off!!). Same thing happened with some of the Christmas movies last year (I remember having to re-record Picture a Perfect Christmas in 2019 because it went over the allotted 2hr&56minutes). I loved this Irish movie, so I'm going to dvr the next repeat showing on either 4/13 or 4/18 and, hopefully, that will get me the full movie with ending." ~~Jane
☀"AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT Oh I loved this one. What a charming movie with a marvelous location. It's funny and entertaining, has a little bit of history and culture, with really sweet romance. This is my first time seeing the 2 leads in Hallmark movie, but they grew on me. Love it and will watch it again!" ~CH Mom
Right in Front of Me
SPRING FLING MOVIE
Premieres: Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 9pm/8c
Starring: Janel Parrish and Marco Grazzini
Story-line via Hallmark: Carly (Parrish) gets a second chance at romance with her college crush but isn't sure how to impress him until her new friend Nick (Grazzini) starts giving her advice. Soon she learns who the right man for her really is.
Reviews:
☀ "Right in Front of Me--family friendly! I enjoyed the movie and thought the leads were adorable together." :-) ~Alicia
☀ "Really enjoyed this movie, one of the best this year and I think this was because the pairing of Janel Parrish and Marco Grazzini was enchanting, they were so perfect for each other. I was pleased to see Janel because while I enjoyed her performance in Holly And Ivy the movie was a bit fraught with the emphasis not fully on the romance. Marco Grazzini has been a secondary character in a number of Hallmark movies and to be honest I can't say I particularly remember him. He did star in a Lifetime movie Lonestar Christmas in 2020 but since the plot is a stryline which I personally don't like it was one of the few we didn't watch during the Season. He certainly came up trumps here. You could really feel the connection between the two leads and enjoy the deepening feelings growing between them and Carly become self-confident. The secondary cast were excellent as well and for regular viewers it was lovely to see several faces from previous Hallmark outings. I felt there was a lot of time wasted at the start that had no bearing on the main thrust of the movie and I was a bit puzzled at the end at the amount of time they had been apart without Nick in particular making any attempt to contact Carly. But the actual ending was lovely and it seems a long time since I've said Awwww! at the end. A really lovely movie and decidedly family friendly." ~Anonymous
☀ "RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME I love that the story is incorporating Marco Grazzini's real ethnicity as half Filipino. I would never imagined the Filipino culture to appear in the dishes cooked on this movie. Being originally from South East Asian myself, it was such a delight! I loved the progression of the relationship between Marco's character and Janelle's character. The starting of the movie was a bit slow and I was actually unsure of where it was going, but it was a fun, easy watch, and the ending was lovely." ~CH Mom
☀ "I agree with everyone else, Right in Front of Me was a super cute movie. And family friendly." ~~Jane
Please note: Be sure to check out reviews for the movies above. If you'd like to post a review on whether a film is family-friendly, please share in comments.
"Chasing Waterfalls" was such an enchanting movie! Cindy Busby and Christopher Russell starred together in this Spring Fling movie; they were also delightful together in last year's movie premiere, "Love in the Forecast."
Which of these new movies did you like best? Please share in comments below...
Blessings! Net
