This Hallmark holiday romance has all of the prerequisite Hallmark clichés: Stuffy boyfriend, quirky true-love, visit to well off but mean parents, heroine caught in the wrong career, and troubled sister. It manages to overcome them all, thanks to the whimsical charm of Paul Campbell as Quigley, and Tim Conway as the grandfather pretending to have dementia so to escape being drawn into the various family dramas. The redemption of her parents is well done and accomplished with a slinky and a Twinkie cake. The secondary romance of the sister and her next door neighbor and son of the Mother's nemesis is a nice touch. The sister was tons more likable and interesting than the primary heroine, and actually is more compatible with her love interest, but would not have provided the necessary "opposites attract" dynamic and her eventual character arc where she has her epiphany regarding her love life and her career.
Review of Surprised by Love
