Reviews

From the advert this film looked like it was fun and I was hoping it wouldn't turn into another romcom containing the usual predetermined characters that usual litter these types of films, so I gave it a watch.

Unfortunately, the writing and direction followed the same formulaic path as many others.

Step forward the usual cookie cutter characters, the first from the mould, being the 50-something mother of the bride, who couldn't possibly be attractive enough to catch the eye of a younger man!? She's uptight, controlling and is a bit of a mess underneath the mask (sound familiar?). Her ex seems overly confident, in control and would happily go after a younger women without any hesitation (or judgement), and it seems he's an Alpha male.

The daughter is quirky but scared to tell her mother she's been dating, and is now engaged. The groom is portrayed as nice but a little bit dim, and is limited by the amount of lines he has, but sexy enough for us to overlook this.

The cast is actually made up of many well known actors so it should've been good, right? I felt Brooke Shields, in particular, looked ridiculous as the love-lorn lead who in her personal life is a mess but work wise is a focussed Alpha female with zero self doubt.

Don't get me wrong, there were some really amusing moments and I did laugh in places but I feel it's predicable and isn't helped by the very slow pace which pulls it down even more.

However. If you need to watch something in the background on a gloomy Sunday afternoon, while scrolling through Tiktok, this is the one.

This is a nice adaption of the original which I would strongly advise anyone who's watched this version to download or stream.

I came across 'Outlaws', the Flemish original on Channel 4's Walter Presents a few years ago and it was as tasty as this Irish remake but perhaps a little darker. It may even still be available on there.

It centres around five sister who are very close but unfortunately one of them has married a horrible husband. This person is controlling and a bully and seems to enjoy calling his wife 'mummy', a lot, which is really odd!

Her other four sisters can see their married sister becoming more and more reserved and quiet and afraid of doing or saying anything that would inflame her husband to become potentially violent. So to brng back their beloved sister they all decide to do something about it with varying levels of success!

I'm thoroughly enjoying watching this series (on ep 4 so far) but I am surprised there's a second season as the story wraps up by the end of the 10th episode in the original so it'll be interesting to see how they keep the intrigue going. Anyway, go watch it, it's an enjoyable dramedy with a great cast and of course Ireland looks gorgeous even in the rain!.

With so many talented people writing scripts how does this particular one get funding and made, is beyond my comprehension?

The writers, if you can actually refer to them as that, basically phoned in the script. As many of the reviewers have posted, it's predictable, bland and some of the acting looks like the local AmDram were drafted in to fill the gaps.

With huge competition from Sky TV, VOD, YouTube etc., along with many others, I wonder how this type of very low quality film still has a place on a TV schedule? They seem to be churned out like fodder with no regard for quality or entertainment. It's an insult to the viewer to be honest.

I also find it odd that every scene has massive amounts of Christmas decorations. Does the set designer have Tourette's? Is this entirely necessary to remind the viewer it's a Christmas movie every single scene? Perhaps if they scaled back the expenditure on props they could divert that money to a decent script?

My suggestions would be to improve the scriptwriting and direction, perhaps scale back some of the over acting which would result in a greatly improved production, overall.

If you're thinking of watching don't bother, you'll get more entertainment from jumping on a cross trainer, starring at a wall for an hour and a half.

As a British viewer I'm not familiar with the character 'Lip' from the American version of the original Shameless tv series, so I didn't make the assumption this was a comedy.

For me the show is raw, intense, real and in some ways filmed like a mockumentary. I feel like a fly on the wall, so close, watching the way the conversations are spat out at full tilt. The actors seem almost as if they've improvised, delivering totally real and natural reactions.

We only 'see' Michael through conversations and reminiscences, no physical evidence apart from the sketchy scribblings in the book used by Carmy at the restaurant, at least I've not seen any in the first 4.

Full marks to the writers and casting directors for selecting an outstanding bunch of actors that clearly were born to play these roles.

This gritty drama does have it's funny moments, of course, beautifully place amongst the anxieties, stressed and frustrations of the team, to give a little relief to the viewer!

Sure there are a few things that 'real kitchen staff' do-don't do, but who gives a hoot? It's entertaining as h**l!

I'm half way through and already disappointed that it only has 8 episodes. I really hope this gets a season 2, which it richly deserves.

I have followed Melissa's career with interest and found several of her films wildly entertaining, especially Spy. However, this concoction is so very, very disappointing. Firstly the jokes are stretched out way beyond their humour and the chemistry is totally missing between Melissa and Octavia's characters. It's as if she signed up to the film, before reading the script ('cause it had Melissa in it of course, why wouldn't you!?) and later regretted the decision, but it was too late to say no.

This could have been so much better, the acting, jokes, direction and so on. The only person (character) who I felt close to genuine was the actress playing the daughter of Octavia's character. She did a fine job in duff circumstances.

Only watch if you have nothing better to do. Melissa, you are so much better than this!

Another outstanding production from Keshet Production. Well rounded characters, great storyline and enough naughtiness to keep most viewers happy.

The setting is pretty good too, mainly shot in the country with lots of sun which makes everything look so much nicer anyway, in fact you feel warmer just watching!

The best part is the great script, delivered with perfect timing by the cast. Super sharp with lots of funny one liners. I really do think they were all having a great time doing this show.

I've used IMDB for years and don't usually write on these but I saw the previous reviewers comments and felt compelled to add my take on this show as I managed to wade through episode 1.

This is god awful. Not only is the acting two dimensional (in other word embarrassingly poor), hammy at best but the direction, or the lack there of, seems to linger too long on the faces of the lead actors for no apparent reason.

Perhaps the editing is to blame a little but the pace is slow and the ridiculous back story banal. Standout actress, the young girl who plays Talon is quite good, sadly the older version isn't but again that may be down to the direction.

Of course a decent story line and script would solve some of the issues, as this is so predictable, and was it really written by a professional? They also speak in a 21st century dialect that doesn't work so you end up mainly laughing at the conversations.

I cannot believe that the budget was that that they opted for beauty over substance, which clearly they have although Garret does deliver his lines better than most.

There are so many talented people out there with original stories (and books if you care to take the time to read some) which can be adapted to a far superior TV series, I can name at least half a dozen so why do we end up with this mess to watch?

Fortunately I have not read the book and judging by the other reviews about this story it has much more depth than the film which it is supposed to be based around. I found the film a shallow, contrived confection of bad writing, zero chemistry between the two leads and some dodgy sets (and snow).

I have seen both of the lead actors in other roles where they have been convincing and real. Jaime in the Bulletproof Monk (was a brunette and a much better colour for her skin tone) and Luke in the TV series Killjoys.

I think if you are looking for a predictable love story that ticks some of the boxes, and you're female (no way any red blooded male would entertain watching this!!) then give it a go.

Can't quite understand how these scripts get funding when there are so many talented writers out there with better stories/characters and plot lines etc.

The quality of TV movies needs improving, we've already seen how compelling the likes of Game of Thrones has been and they are based on books. I challenge Hallmark to take a chance, step outside of your comfort zone, it could make all the difference!!