A New Year's Resolution

I like the leads in A New Years Resolution, but the beginning was difficult for me. They were both delightful alone but together I was resistant to them being together. As the movie went on they grew on me and I got more involved in them (but isn't that the way all HM movies are?)

I was a bit sad for their breakup, I really felt it but as with all HM movies I knew things would work out.

By the end I came away really enjoying it.

A good watch.

It seems so cool and fresh/ refreshing, inspired, romantic and just seductive than becomes, scene by scene, more than the expected Hallmark. A beautiful chemistry between Aimee Teegarden and. Michael Rady, nice dialogues, charming resolutions, honest hopeful. Just admirable work.

Michael Rady and Aimee Teagarden have wonderful chemistry. I loved watching every scene with them (prior to the conflict). I wish there had been more. The acting is mostly good all around. Important characters seemed natural to me.

I've said several times that in Hallmark type rom/coms it is necessary to suspend a demand for realism to some extent or another. This movie has two huge plot holes. The first is when a pretty young woman appearing on TV saying she won't turn down any invitations. I'm glad the movie didn't go into the gutter on that one, but in reality that would have been a disaster. The second is the obvious conflict of interest which would have torpedoed their story in the real world. Here's a case of the writers "hanging a lantern on it" when Kelly brings that up and they almost immediately dismiss it. So we'll give this movie two Mulligan's instead of just one and move on.

Disregard those problems, or find a better way around them, and this is a good story. I can't remember a story quite like it (at least recently). There is some real conflict and some angst. There are some great situations. There's also some good dialogue. Some is funny. Some is a little highbrow. Some gets a little philosophical. This movie goes a little more sophisticated than a lot of what we see on Hallmark, even given the two plot holes I pointed out.

Looking at actors' pages on this web site, this movie shows up as both 2019 and 2021. I can't believe I missed it in 2019. Wonder what happened.

Rady was a little too much of a happy puppy, Aimee was good (Note: It's Gung, or Kung, Hay Fa Choy - phonetically.) The tale was sweet and I liked the bank issue, a more realistic hard hitting story issue than is normally covered in these movies.

Regular Christmas Hallmark movies are so cliche, like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This movie is more of a quiche - some work put into it, a variety of ingredients and leaves you satisfied at the end.

I love that both the female and male lead have relatively successful careers and neither one of them has to give it up in order to be with the other. They also don't have to go to some quaint small town to find their purpose or love of their life. The seriousness of the bank fraud was a little glossed over, but then again we're watching a romance not the Panama Papers.