The Magic of Lemon Drops

When my wife and I look for a movie on Saturday evening after our usual steak and red wine dinner, of course with chocolate cake for dessert, we mainly want to be entertained and this movie is entertaining. We have lived long enough to know most of life's truisms but it is nice to be reminded.

Set in Minnesota and Ohio, but filmed in Canada, Lolly is a 30-something single woman who works with her dad's long time family restaurant. Lolly has a knack for food, she likes to experiment with new blends and tastes but dad is adamant, no new items on the menu. On that he is as stubborn as can be. So Lolly dreams of having her own restaurant.

There is also an old unfulfilled romance with Rory, now a sports team doctor. They grew up next door neighbors, had a romance some 10+ years earlier but parted ways. Now he is back in town for a time, fresh off a divorce.

All that sets the stage for the events that shape this movie. Lolly's old aunt presents her with an opportunity. She gives her four lemon drops. Right before falling asleep at night if Lolly will take one lemon drop and out loud say what she wants to see, she will get one day, only one day, in that reality. After doing this on three different nights, going to three of her alternate realities, she can take the fourth drop and say which one she wants, but she never returns from that last one.

This sets up a series of interesting developments and interactions, each alternate reality filled with surprises for Lolly. My wife and I both guess correctly what she would do in the end.

At home, streaming on Peacock. As with almost all Hallmark movies, there is exactly one "Hallmark Kiss" and it comes during the last minute of the movie.

Lolly gets a once in a lifetime chance when her Aunt gives her 4 magical lemon drops. The first 3 lemon drops to be taken right before bed with her announcing a regret or a path not taken, but if she takes the 4th and last gum drop she has chosen one of her other 3 life paths. With each her life is both great and challenging, and she must decide the path she would like to go, one of her 3 other live's, or her current reality.

Different than the average Hallmark movie. I loved the story and the perspective of Lolly realizing and choosing her bliss.

Wonderful acting by both leads, I adore Ian & Lyndsy. But the supporting cast was just as amazing. This one is a win for Hallmark!

6.4 stars.

Fonseca is in my top ten women of Hallmark movies...at least I think she is. If I had to pick a top ten, the list expands pretty quickly. I'll be like: oh yeah I forgot about her, and I must include her, and this one definitely belongs and that one is a total top ten, and then Fonseca comes in a distant 14th place...who knows? What I know is that she seems to pick some pretty odd characters in almost everything the last three years, which has noticeably had an impact on my feelings about her. Too bad really, I've been rooting for this kid from HIMYM.

The plot is nothing special, the story is slow, the chemistry is absent. The dialogue is mundane but the acting is okay. The rest is up to usual standards. *sigh*

The story is just a little bit different following the almost magic that has been part of several stories on Hallmark lately. The alternate reality is not unusual in a rom/com, but in this one there is more than one. I especially liked that those alternate realities didn't get overly hung up on the difficulties of the protagonist being dropped into a situation she has no memories of life leading up to that moment. There is a little bit, but Lolly isn't made to look like a total fool not knowing those things.

I especially like the second drop, but I won't describe it.

Lyndsy Fonseca and Ian Harding are great and have chemistry. It is easy to identify with them. The acting is good and so is the dialogue even without it being unusually sparkling. Instead both acting and dialogue seem natural. Ian Harding is growing on me.

There isn't a lot of heavy negative tension. And I like it that way. There was something about the ending I really liked. Was it because it was shorter and more to the point, less drawn out?

Another dumb topsy turvy Hallmark movie. What's the obsession with magic, the supernatural and sci-fi, there is nothing wrong with a good basic romantic comedy.. Rom-coms are an American thing, but they don't go out of style and are fun. Even European countries are enjoying US and Canadian rom-coms. Another bad script ruins the movie.

The dialog isn't good, too much inane dialog. Get rid of all the nostalgia and the past, focus on the present and look to the future. The location in Manitoba and filming locations used were nice and the cast is generally good, it's always nice to see Ian Harding.