The Wish Swap

I first thought the plot of swapping wishes was hokey, but as it played on, it got better and better. The two leads Emily Tennant and Jake Foy had chemistry and it showed. As it moved along between the farm, family, friends, comedy and dancing, it was fun to watch. It was funny and light and the many challenges that Henry and Casey faced kept it from bogging down. It wasn't filled with inane dialog like many Hallmark films. The supporting cast was good, mostly strong well known actors and actresses who have been in other Hallmark or Canadian films.

And beautiful British Columbia where it was filmed, a picture wherever you looked. Loved the old trucks. Maybe they'll do a sequel, "The Farmer's Wife".

Our two likable protagonists in this Hallmark romance, Casey (Emily Tennant) and Henry (Jake Foy), meet at a restaurant where their birthdays are being celebrated. It's a scenario that could easily have been botched, but it is deftly handled, allowing the viewer to fully enjoy the meet-cute that brings them together and the incident that reunites them: a supernatural conjunction in which they swap birthday wishes.

Once they realize what has occurred, Casey and Henry set about trying to remedy fate's misfiring. And their chemistry makes this film quite enjoyable. Miss Tenant elevates this film. Regular viewers of Hallmark films should find this one satisfying.

The wish swap premise is clever. Two birthday parties at a restaurant but one family didn't have a cake, so they shared. And when birthday boy and birthday girl blow out candles together, their wishes get mixed. He wants a farm. She wants to be on a TV dance show. She inherits a farm and he gets on the show. So they kind of rent out their wishes to one another and presto, they are thrown together for the rest of the movie.

We find out pretty quickly that Casey didn't really have A wish, but a list of three wishes. And she won't tell what the third one is.

I like this type of movie best when the two leads have a lot of screen time together and this movie ranks way up there in that category. Emily Tennant (of whom I am a huge fan) and Jake Foy have excellent chemistry. I thought their dialogue together was good. There were some good laughs even if maybe a little cheesy, but they humor didn't fall flat for me which isn't always the case.

Most viewers can probably guess what will be the conflict in the romance.

I was kinda fixated on the crazy orange hair in the beginning but then thought maybe it helps her eyes look so bright blue. But then, over halfway through the show, when they are doing standup, suddenly her eyes were brown and her hair color was more auburn which was actually nice. The show itself was good, a typical hallmark show. I just wanted to comment on what I thought was kindof a big mistake.

I really liked the premise of a birthday wish swap. I do WISH they had built an even better plot around the concept, but it was pretty good. It was definitely cute and funny. The main characters were both likable all along, and they grew together with the storyline.

There were a couple of pieces I would have changed and/or emphasized more, especially towards the ending. It felt a bit rushed in some places and slow in others. There was a huge build up to a conclusion that wasn't quite as umm "celebrated" as it should have been in the end. I don't want to say anything here that rhymes with boilers, but if you watch to the very end you will know what I mean. My rating dropped slightly due to this little questionable result. But as the overall movie was enjoyable, I wasn't too harsh.

It was a very cute movie. It's definitely worth a watch if you like romantic comedies. It's easy fun that has some decent laughs.