Signed, Sealed, Delivered: A Tale of Three Letters

I wish rather than placing the time of this a continuation of the last episode (Oliver and Shane returning from their honeymoon), they would have had them further along in their married life. It would have been a lot more interesting. Shane's personality drastically changed with her responses to Oliver always being oddly sarcastic or infantile. Like she no longer functioned as an intelligent woman. And true to the formula of these type movies (and I did enjoy all the other shows in this series), if the characters would simply have a real conversation most all angst can be avoided. But these two went straight into counseling because they couldn't discuss how the household might run. Ridiculous.

I love the Postables, aka the dead letter department or Signed, Sealed and Delivered. It is a franchise that has always touched my heartstrings and I was thrilled to find out that we get to see more beyond the "I do's". The friendships and love in this series make this a must see for this romantic and as I think about it, of course they would tackle the after wedding, after honeymoon marriage.

Ten weeks, four days from I love you to forever...

A tale of three letters begins where The vows we have made left off...with Mr. And Mrs. O'Toole's honeymoon and subsequent return to the Dead Letter Office. The honeymoon was very Shane and Oliver...as was the plane ride home, but I kind of felt like the growing pains of them living together was a little out of character. But in true postables fashion, I really liked the recovery. A counselor, one of Norman's many cousins, helps the two find themselves and their stride as a married couple...and just in time.

"Lovers must learn how to become husbands and wives."

One of the things that is truly special about the postables is the camaraderie between the cast of characters and their continued storylines throughout the series. I loved seeing Norman and Rita's relationship continue to grow and flourish, as well as Oliver's father Joe in his continued support and love for his son. I'm thrilled that they have continued to keep the character of Ramon and I love his little shared pearls of wisdom.

"What do you think that letter said?"-Rita "Enough."-Shane

The dead letter office tackles letters that were destroyed in a potential mailbox bomb, one or two of which involve their own office's Charley. I love that there is always a sweet sub story involving the lost letters and this movie was no exception. A teacher, who is having a bad day in her personal life, takes a hard stand with a student who acts out in anger. The teacher sends a harsh letter to the student, one which she now regrets. Through the love and compassion of the dead letter office, the teacher is offered a solution to her former student only receiving the harsh letter that she now regrets.

"The honeymoon is over and now it's time to get down to the business of being married."

As a romantic and a huge fan of Postables, I was thrilled with this film and particularly loved the beginning and the end. I highly recommend and think that fans will love this entry. I am really hopeful that there will be more...I can't wait to see the additions to both the O'Toole and Dorman families.

"I would go just about anywhere with you, Mr. O'Toole."-Shane.

I've Watched it 6 times now. The musical accompaniment was artful....loved the blues connection. The charm was still there, even with a few character inconsistencies at the beginning. Shane had demonstrated several times in past episodes, most notably perhaps in "Higher Ground," presented some behaviors that I couldn't buy. Oliver was a fastidious manager. Rules were policy, and personal discretions that compromised the rules were handled with uncomfortableness. The scattering of her shoes, and her willingness to compromise the crib presence in the DLO.....wouldn't she save Oliver from discomfort by considering that? Were these behavioral aberrations an early clue to her later condition? If so, pretty subtle. Norman, Rita, and Ramone (sp?) were the most consistent characters. The writng for those characters was carried out with delightful idiosyncratic body language and delivery. Good to see Gregory Harrison there, such a good continuity link for all of the subplots, great guy. Eric is the kingpin of SSD, and his nuanced transformations in body language, tone, and delivery continue. Wow, I did not recognize Charlie. The confession seemed consistent, but pushing the baby carriage behind the two couples like a reluctant child...I don't know....guess that was some heavy reoccupation. The last third of the episode re-aligned all the gears, and presented a tease that only makes me wonder how looooonnnngggggg I'll have to wait for the next one. I need some good news on that....

When I saw the preview that the Postables would be back, I inwardly cheered and joyfully told my wife. After watching it, my excitement is somewhat muted.

There were excellent aspects of the story. The most obvious theme centers around the reality that marriage is not all the simple HEA that Hallmark rom/coms usually promise. Emphasis on the word simple. There is always potential for the HEA, but it is rarely simple. In the case of Oliver and Shane we have two people who have lived alone for much of their adult lives and that makes a new marriage even more complicated. I thought this movie did well to make that clear, although I felt there was a bit of our heroes being out of character.

My enjoyment was sapped a little by this pervading negative tone. I struggled to find the moments of quirkiness that these characters are so known for. In fact, one moment stood out with Norman. We usually see Norman come up with something extremely profound, but usually it comes as an apparent contradiction to his usual quirkiness. In this case, I was struck by his demeanor looking as profound as the advice he gave. This was a nice touch.

It's not a spoiler to say that many viewers will need their box of tissues as we get toward the end, but it seemed to me that in this episode, those moments were not sprinkled as much through the entire story.

I was glad to see Rhiannon Fish truly be a fifth member of the central group. Charlie seemed to be a better developed character than in the last one.

Can you imagine trying to resurrect your character from the mothballs after three years and after you have played other characters, and maybe you even thought your character was dead! PLUS you gained fourteen pounds since you last played yourself (your movie "self").

That's a lot to bring back to the fore. Well, I think they did a pretty good job even if this movie didn't quite evoke the emotions the others have. I usually have to drink lots of water during these movies (keeps me from swallowing my tongue, big lumps in my throat, during the really emotional parts!)

Anyway, we, my Bride (of forty years) and I, enjoyed the movie. We had (intentionally) JUST finished watching all the others in order, including the TV series, so that we could keep the flow as we saw this one.

As I said, this one didn't draw out the emotions as well as the others but it was REALLY cool to have all the characters back! They grow on you!

The cutest couple, IMO, is still Rita and Norman! The most romantic couple is still Ovilear (thanks to Ramon) and Ms McCinerney (sp). ("Vows" was disappointing when Oliver called his new Bride "Ms Mckinerny". Are they married or not?! Maybe it will forever be his nickname for her?)

Anyway, it was somewhat entertaining to see newlyweds learning how to live together under one roof: an OCD neatnik and a SLOB clash for MONTHS before they get their act together. (This is so real! Happens to the best of us. Learning to live under one roof is one of the greatest accomplishments in marriage, ESPECIALLY when, in some areas, we are polar opposites. Well done Hallmark!)

I am hoping this movie is not "the End"! SSD is my fave series from Hallmark. My Bride has others as well. Clean entertainment, some modern, some not so.

One thing that bugs me. Not about this movie. Saw a profile on IMDb about one of the actors in this film, a MALE one, who, as far as I know only PLAYS male characters, and the staff referred to HIM as "THEM" and "THEY"!!! Give me a break! You're gonna lose me IMDb.