"You never know where love might strike."
Hello everyone!
Back with a movie review and, you guessed it, it's another Hallmark channel one.
I know, I know.
I'm starting to get boring over here. I can't help it though!
Hallmark does punch out some really good movies that you and your whole family can enjoy, and recently I noticed that a couple of different channels here have been airing them.
I don't watch everything they serve me - for one, it'd be too many, and two, not every one of them is good, sadly! - but I DO watch a fair amount of them, and I recently ran into an old favourite which I'd watched, but never reviewed on here.
Well, I stand corrected!
Hello, It's Me isn't quite your typical Hallmark channel production.
Yup, you read that one right.
Much like the plot of The Spirit of Christmas, this one attracted me precisely because it was a little bit out of the ordinary and had something that movies don't usually have - in this case, a ghost, and a friendly one at that!
And, let's be honest ... it also has Kavan Smith.
Who else of the Hallmark line-up would I watch out of the blue without prior prompting?
Starring opposite Kellie Martin, Kavan is his usual, lovable self in Hello, It's Me, and I love it.
Our story begins with Annie, her kids Ella and Milo, and Annie's husband Andre, who are enjoying the last day of summer at the beach, filming everything. Andre decides to take their small boat out one last time, while his wife takes the kids home. Unfortunately, a massive storm breaks, and Andrew never returns.
This is two years before our story actually kicks off.
Two years post the traumatic loss of husband and father, Annie and the kids are struggling in their day-to-day lives. Milo misses his dad but in a healthy, open-hearted way, while Ella has closed herself off from the world, something her best friend points out as well, not that she's having any of it. She stopped playing soccer because it was a thing for her and her dad, and mostly just reads comic books nowadays, and argues with her mom.
Annie, meanwhile, is struggling just to keep going, and while on the way to a party she's baking for (she's a professional baker), she takes the kids to the beach like their dad used to, and they watch the last video together before realizing their car won't start.
She has to call a cab, at which point she nearly gets run over by none other than our Kavan.
He's on the phone and in his car, and completely chagrined, although Annie isn't having any of his apologies or attempts to at least make amends.
She also doesn't know he's the super rich guy who the party's for once she gets to said party, although that situation is fixed quickly enough, and they do seem to form a moderately civil relationship then.
James (as his name is) gets whisked off by his mother, however, who is on the hunt to find him the perfect wife so that he can finally settle down at home and not travel as much. James is all for settling down - he feels like travelling is starting to sound overrated - but he kind of doesn't want to date any of the socialites (or in the last case social media influencer) his mother has on her list. He's a bit more interested in Annie, anyway.
Also, Pascale Hutton was unfortunately not free for this movie, so it's a tough life!
The two of them hesitantly start dancing around each other after Annie's friend (a caterer) tells James Annie's dream has always been to open a bakery, and he genuinely wants to help her. Not that she's having any of it, since this was a dream she and Andre had, and it died with him.
Or so she says.
Anyway, Milo's totally happy having another guy around, getting James to build a rocket ship out of cardboard boxes with him and the like, but Ella is much more hesitant and downright rude at times, not that James is taking it personally - after Annie explains what happened with her husband, he can understand why he girl wouldn't want him around. He misses the mark, but I'll get to it in a minute.
James starts spending more and more time with the family, at impromptu dinners, playing with Milo, even occasionally debating comic book stuff with Ella (much to her chagrin), and he's happy as a clam.
Annie ... well, Annie's in a conundrum.
Watching videos of Andre brings on some static and some weird Andre-whisperings along the line of 'time' and 'go' and stuff like that, and she translates this as Andre being unhappy about what she's doing with her life, which prompts her to try and push James away.
Luckily, James is a persistent man, and he also finds a really cool spot for her to open her bakery in, proceeding to help her refurbish it and investing in the business to get her started.
Ella throws a couple more tantrums, but strangely enough doesn't seem to object much when she accidentally spies James and Annie kissing - instead, she asks her mom if she can go to a friend's house for a sleepover.
Annie allows her, and then gets the shock of her life when a call comes saying Ella isn't there.
The kid's missing!
Annie blames herself and tries frantically to contact Andre, something James humours (even though he kind of thinks she might be scrambling in her grief) and offers his own phone, and while Annie's talking to the police, he watches some of the video, gets the static interruption with 'Go!', and drops the phone like it's a hot potato.
He also figures out Ella probably went to the comic book convention that she'd been talking about, and goes to find her, which he does, and then proceeds to take her in to meet the author of her favourite comics, who just so happens to be his old dorm mate who based the comic book hero on James.
The pair return home, but Annie once again pushes James away, saying this is a sign she shouldn't have started a new relationship, and he leaves, dejected, unwilling to argue this time.
Ella certainly argues - she tells her mom that the reason she didn't want James around was because she would have to watch her mom lose herself again if he ever left, not because she didn't want another dad. Watching over your mom is hard work, especially if she's a dum-dum!
Annie goes to the beach to commute with Andre one last time, and this time actually understands that his spirit wants her to let him go and move on.
This is where James finds her; Ella called him, and he's been moping and mad at his mom for match-making, so it's a good thing Ella knew to call at the right time, and the two of them agree that maybe, just maybe ... their relationship could work.
The kids are certainly super happy about it. Milo gets more rocket ships!
A fun, easygoing, heartfelt movie from the Hallmark line-up, it can move you to tears and make you laugh like a giggling machine because of Kavan and Kellie's performances. The kids are likewise charming, and the actress playing James' mother is something else!
Lillian: "Your father would be so proud."
James: "... he's not dead, mom, he's just in Florida with wife number three."
Lillian: "Same thing!"
If you need something a little bit different, something summer-y with a mysterious twist, this is definitely the movie I'd recommend for you. And while you're at it, just enjoy the magic that is Kavan Smith.
Hallmark's found a rare gem in him!
xx
*images and video not mine
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