October Kiss

I've watched this every October/Autumn/Fall more or less since it was first released and I absolutely love it.

I'm a big fan of made for TV romances anyway (there's something so relaxed and sweet about most of them) but this one is wonderful. It really makes you feel festive in a 'Halloween' kind of way. The actors are all very endearing and the story is sweet.

If you know you like made for TV romances, or if you really like this time of year, definitely watch!

Poppy Summerall (Ashley Williams) is a flighty free-spirit unable to commit to any job or love. It's Halloween. She gets a job from her sister as a nanny for workaholic app developer Ryan Larson (Sam Jaeger) and his two kids.

Ashley Williams dials up her wackiness up to eleven. If she's younger, she would be classified as a manic pixie dream girl. Her Cheshire cat smile fits the role very well. The leads are fine. The story is fine. The triangle is fine. The kids are fine. It's fine Hallmark and not much more.

6/10 - the male lead wasn't very likable, but other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this Fall Harvest flick

A woman named Poppy who bounces around from one job to another becomes a nanny to the two children of a workaholic widower. She quickly wins the kids over, then the dad, but a burgeoning workplace romance for him and Poppy's commitment issues may spell the first ever sad ending for a Hallmark romantic comedy. Yeah, right! It's a Hallmark movie so, of course, it's predictable to a fault. But what saves the movie from the mediocrity that engulfs so many made-for-TV efforts is the winning personality of Ashley Williams. She's charming, bubbly, and downright lovable in this. That isn't to say the rest of the cast is bad. It's actually a very good cast for these types of things. Sam Jaeger does an admirable job making his workaholic father character likable. The two kids are terrific, especially the daughter. The cast plays well off one another and really come alive in scenes with the delightful Ashley Williams. It's a funny, sweet, and pleasant movie; a nice way to pass the time. It won't challenge you and it doesn't reinvent the TV romcom but, if you are a fan of such movies, I doubt that you will find anything to dislike here.

Three Fall Harvest films were made in 2015, have noticed that of all the seasonal blocks for all the years between 2015-2021 the Fall Harvest block has always been the briefest. 'October Kiss' is the last one, following on from 'Autumn Dreams' and 'Harvest Moon'. Both films to this reviewer were well done, with a few issues but many strengths as well, making the Fall Harvest block one of the better and most consistent seasonal blocks for Hallmark that year.

Of the three, for me 'October Kiss' was the best. It may be the slightest plot wise, but the concept was the most appealing and most mature one of the three and the execution was charming and heartfelt. As far as the 2015 Hallmark films go, 'October Kiss' to me was one of the best, and it was very up and down for Hallmark that year where the hits really soared and the misses missed big time. It is also a very good representation of Ashley Williams, who is not one of my favourite Hallmark regulars but not one of my least favourites either.

It is not perfect, it is very slight plot wise and at times it is too lightweight. Which does make the pace drag, especially in the slightly over-stretched first act.

So much is good about 'October Kiss' however. Williams' performance is full of perky charm and sincerity, love her radiant smile which is not overdone, and she has a mostly charismatic, sympathetic and very easy to like leading man in Sam Jaeger (though a bit too uptight to begin with). Their chemistry is very sweet and genuine, while moving at a realistically paced rate and not feeling aimless or too fast moving. The younger cast give nice performances too, especially Hannah Cheramy, doing well at bringing heart to the film without being too cute or bratty. The family relationships are done with honesty and heart.

Furthermore, the story, despite its predictability, is always engaging and is light-hearted and heart-warming. The film is nicely scripted, with some nice playfulness between the leads and the sentimentality is not overdone. It looks good visually. Especially the gorgeous scenery. The music doesn't distract and really liked how the film made the absolute most of the setting without shoving it in the viewer's face.

Concluding, liked it a good deal. 8/10.