Every Time a Bell Rings

They can only do so much in 80 minutes of screen time. Some of the topics were pretty heavy, but they dealt with them well considering the time constraints. They could have made this a miniseries, and I would have enjoyed it.

I think this is one of the better Hallmark movies out there this year.

I loved the opening scene with the little girls on the last step of their scavenger hunt. Because of previews, I knew this was a setup to elicit nostalgia for the grown up sisters for their late father. I thought it worked.

I love Erin Cahil and Ali Liebert. Actually, with her hairstyle in the early scenes, it took me a while to be sure it was Liebert.

The primary story is the sisters and reconciliation after some years of friction. The two romances, one boy-girl and the other girl-girl, are definitely secondary. In fact, even the adopted daughter seeking her biological mother seemed more significant than any romance. Neither romance got a lot of screen time. One other thread which was down there on the list of priorities, was the plan for the married couple to try to have a child. There are a lot of threads so none of them totally dominate but it flows OK.

Any tension in the story is not overwhelming. It is spread among the different plot threads.

While I appreciate the diversity, it was kind of boring. I did not like that the Asian daughter Betrayed her husband by "temporarily " denying him a family when she agreed to a family when they were married. She will never be "ready" and will continue to be a workaholic. Sad. Erin Cahill is not for me. So far she has never been appealing to me in her roles. Ali Liebert's charmingly expressive face wasn't. Enough said. I liked the idea of 3 sisters' stories instead of concentrating on one couple but two of the three had problematic messages (her sisters feel like Erin seeking out her biological parent was a betrayal.) and the other one was empty and boring. Dee Wallace has aged very gracefully.

A distinct lack of Christmastime snow and a very diverse and engaging cast highlight 'Every Time a Bell Rings', which tells the story of three adopted sisters who were close as kids but have drifted apart in the intervening years reconnecting over Christmas in Natchez, Mississippi the year after their dad died.

One of their childhood Christmas highlights was a Christmas scavenger hunt organised by their dad, and a final one is set up for the three sisters, which they must solve whilst dealing with relationship and familial issues. Erin Cahill, Ali Leibert and Brittany Ishibashi are well cast as the sisters, with Hallmark favourite Wes Brown also on board.

A heartfelt and touching story about family reconnecting for the holidays. What more could you want at this time of year?

The entire movie was a downer. Nothing but stress, tension, complaints and negativity. The very last two minutes of fake happiness can't make up for the rest. Why they even had Wes Brown as a "love interest" is a mystery because he was barely on screen and the relationship made no sense and seemed doomed, anyway. Hallmark is losing viewers left and right and yet another poorly written script isn't going to change that downward momentum.