This was on my Watchlist last year but never got to it. I liked the idea of this but the execution of parallel stories across 2 movies didn't quite work. I'm not sure if it was the focus on telling parallel stories or the fact that there were 4 scriptwriters but this was an uneven mess.
This movie focuses on Kimberly Williams' side of the story. She's a widow with a teenage son who leaves her busy restaurant to go home for the holidays for 2 weeks. There she decides to throw one more movie night at the family theater which is about to get sold to a chain. She also reconnects with an old friend played by Mark Deklin. He also seems to be widowed and has a young daughter. He ends up helping restore the theater for movie night and of course he and daughter bond with Kimberly Williams and son.
The chemistry between Kimberly and Mark was fine. The issue is the writers are trying to do so much that they don't develop the love story well. Not a single bonding moment between the parent and the SO's child. We see the kids bonding several times but never with the SO. That's important in stories like this in order for them to be believable. It should be noted that this aired in the same year that Hallmark inexplicably destroyed a potential blended family on one of their series. So this did not sit well with me.
The save the theater story was fine and I liked seeing the sisters bond. But there was a really strong dependence on the uncle's death driving story and we never quite understand why he's so important to this family. Lots of plot holes.
Given that Kimberly and Ashley are both great at comedy, I'm surprised that this series was more of a drama. And not a very well done one at that.
This movie focuses on Kimberly Williams' side of the story. She's a widow with a teenage son who leaves her busy restaurant to go home for the holidays for 2 weeks. There she decides to throw one more movie night at the family theater which is about to get sold to a chain. She also reconnects with an old friend played by Mark Deklin. He also seems to be widowed and has a young daughter. He ends up helping restore the theater for movie night and of course he and daughter bond with Kimberly Williams and son.
The chemistry between Kimberly and Mark was fine. The issue is the writers are trying to do so much that they don't develop the love story well. Not a single bonding moment between the parent and the SO's child. We see the kids bonding several times but never with the SO. That's important in stories like this in order for them to be believable. It should be noted that this aired in the same year that Hallmark inexplicably destroyed a potential blended family on one of their series. So this did not sit well with me.
The save the theater story was fine and I liked seeing the sisters bond. But there was a really strong dependence on the uncle's death driving story and we never quite understand why he's so important to this family. Lots of plot holes.
Given that Kimberly and Ashley are both great at comedy, I'm surprised that this series was more of a drama. And not a very well done one at that.