An Easter Bloom

First of all, I want to say that there's nothing wrong with a cheesy Hallmark movie. I usually love them, but this one had a lot of problems. First of all, the characters have very little personality and no chemistry, so I never got into it. Second of all, I couldn't get past the male character's fake southern accent. It was very rough and the fact that he only launched into it occasionally made it worse. The worst part was that he usually launched into it while being preachy, like a cheesy fake preacher. I am a believer and it was too much for me to stomach. It just didn't feel genuine at all & I didn't finish the movie. It's strange because I feel like he's done a good job in some other roles. Maybe it's just how he envisioned a southern pastor or something. Regardless, it just didn't hit the mark for me.

Wow! This story gave honor to God!

Thank you Hallmark for sharing this amazing movie for our celebration of Easter! In so many ways, all throughout the story, this movie gave glory and honor to God. There were several different people who were dealing with personal struggles and difficult situations. As the story progressed, each of these people found peace and hope and love for their present and future times.

Please continue to make movies like this for those of us who have faith and love for God. It was fun to watch the stories unfold and the troubles turn to happy endings! And thank you to all the cast and crew for making this great story come to life!

Part-time coffee barista Amanda Raymond (Aimee Teegarden) has eager new customer Derrick (Benjamin Hollingsworth). Her family's flower farm has been struggling ever since her father's death. She just doesn't have her father's green thumb. Retired florist Lori Matthews tells her about the Easter floral arrangement competition with $20k prize. It's her last ditch chance to save the farm. Derrick turns out to be the new pastor.

I do like the flowers although the vast vistas of flowers look fake. It is obviously special effects. Quite frankly, they should find a greenhouse to film. As for Teegarden, her character is so sad and she's playing sad girl very hard. Derrick is a bit of a dud and he's a pastor. He can't exactly be flashy. I also don't buy his big tip in retrospect. It's not like he has one of those mega-churches. This is a bit flat and the sad tone is not Hallmark's calling card.

Amada and her mom are about to lose their flower farm after a rough winter, so it occurs to her that she can get into a flower arrangement contest and win usd 20 000 to save said farm. So she meets Lori, flower expert and also mom to Derrick, the brand new pastor in town.

This story is about grief and finding hope again. And while it can be heartwarming for some it may be sad for others. Personally, I liked the story but going through grief myself it reached me in some way that I prefer a Hallmark movie doesn't since these movies tend to be a happy place to me. I like them funnier and happier, and preferably, religion as a side theme.

This movie sounded like something I'd enjoy watching, especially because it's Hallmark romance so by design, I'm at least guaranteed some kind of happy ending. The movie started out well with a clear story. Then, it all struggled to flow and click together.

Let's start with the good. I like the emotional touch to the story, it's more meaningful than the classic colleagues vying for a promotion or Christmas reindeer games we've already seen so much of in this genre. I also like the actors a lot individually. None of the main actors seem fake nor does their performance feel forced so in terms of acting talent, this one is of the better quality amongst soft romance tv movies. Additionally, I love the flower farm theme. We usually see the flower thing in wedding movies so I like that this is a little more rugged.

Now, the bad. Although I never struggled to understand the story as a whole, it does seem to be a bit bare throughout the middle. It's a story that starts out at the right pace and then just gets rushed a bit. Along with what I assume to be mediocre directing, this all waters down the connection and relationship development aspect of the couple. By the end of the movie, it sort of felt like they'd hardly talked. In reality, they have about as much interaction as in any other movie of the kind but in reality, it felt rushed. I think this is probably on the director and perhaps the writer.

Lastly, I must admit that I found the heavy religious focus quite uncomfortable. If you are a devoted Christian, you'll probably like this aspect but as an agnostic person, the whole thing was quite preachy. I can normally handle mildly Christian movies just fine but in this one, it almost seems as though the only thing the couple talked about to each other was the preachy part, which ruins the romance a bit for me. It is an Easter movie so I'm okay with a little Christian touch but I don't like it when it feels like I'm being preached to.