Mingle All the Way

Sometimes in a Hallmark film, you're left wondering how the actual love relationship managed to develop into the final romantic declaration & long-awaited kiss. Not so with this film. They were in each others company for most of the film & we were seeing a slow-burning romance blossom from detestation to apathy to affection and then love. It was a good watchable process, firmly enhanced by the performances and chemistry of both leads who totally nailed it ! Their time acting together in Days of Their Lives kept their chemistry fresh. The storyline was a bit ho-hum but all performances from bosses, friends, jealous co-workers, old girlfriend & parents (nice to see Lindsey Wagner doing well) kept the whole story-pot bubbling away nicely ! Would love to see a sequel !

I just can't think of anything I didn't like about this movie. Both leads sparkled and their chemistry was tangible. The supporting cast was great (loved Lindsay Wagner!).

I particularly liked the sub-plot involving the friction between mother and daughter and the device used to resolve it.

The male lead was a lot of fun to watch. Like most of the other actors, he really seemed to be having fun in the production. I always like to see that. Even though it seems like it would break the fourth wall, it actually takes me into the story even deeper.

As for other reviewers, I'm always surprised at the amount of analysis applied to Hallmark movies. They are formulaic. You knew that before you flipped on the channel. There are a few of their movies that have silly plots. This was not one of them.

The "fake romance" trope is commonly trotted out in Hallmark Christmas movies. If there isn't one every year, there will probably be one the next. LOL This is one. However, they put a twist on it by having the pairing not be truly fake, but just a new app which pairs people who need plus ones for holiday events.

However, the creator of the app is challenged to use her own app, and of course it pairs her with a man she's already been at odds with ... twice. So we have the start of an antithetical romance which isn't supposed to be a romance in the first place.

This movie's script succeeds where many fail ... it puts the leads together in ways which believably sell the idea they might gain affection for each other.

There are funny moments and quite moving moments, such as when the male lead defends the female lead to her mother, and later when the mother takes that to heart and shows up to mend things with her daughter.

We recommend this movie and we'll watch it again. (In fact, I write this review after our second viewing. We also saw it the year it first aired).

Have always absolutely loved Christmas and consider it still my favourite time of year. Love the nostalgia it brings, the family time and all the fond memories of our Christmas traditions which we still continue to do. There is a very, very small doubt of ever tiring of it. Also love Christmas films, and there are some classic ones that won't be named for fairness, and that was the main reason as to why 'Mingle All the Way' was seen in the first place, as well as wanting to broaden my horizons on them.

One sort of knows what to expect from 'Mingle All the Way', from the somewhat cheesy title and considering that story-wise there is not a whole lot of variation or seemingly much new on a fairly familiar theme. Recent viewings of festive films have seen some mild hits and also just as many misses, and 'Mingle All the Way' fits somewhere in the mixed bag/middling category, neither among the best or worst. Like a fair share of recently seen festive films, it is going to be one of those films that people will love and others will hate. Personally fit with neither extreme and am somewhere in the middle, finding it a watchable film but not a great one.

'Mingle All the Way' looks decent, the locations are particularly striking. The music provides some affectionate nostalgia and is pleasant to listen to. The Christmas atmosphere is handled charmingly and affectionately and the romance can be genuinely sweet and doesn't go overboard on the schmaltz.

Jen Lilley is a winning lead, while there is a feel good charm, amusing moments and the sentimentality doesn't get too much. Some smart tension at times too.

However, Brant Daugherty too often comes over as rather annoying and Lindsay Wagner is over-the-top in her roles, sometimes enjoyably but at other times it unbalances the film. The rest of the cast do their best but don't have much to do. The characters don't enough to them to make them interesting or rootable, while the direction is routine at times while far from being amateurish.

The story is not exactly dull and enough of it engages, but it is very predictable and some of it feels rather contrived too. The script doesn't always flow and can be very cheesy.

In conclusion, watchable but a mixed bag. 5/10

Molly has a business of her own, she owns a dating app. Jeff works in publicity. They crossed paths before even knowing each other. Then they got matched in her app and make agreements to help each other out in their professionals lives.

I definitely need to watch this a second time (may be edited later) but this movie was great.

The plot is nothing new (surprise!), we have fake snow, lies between the leads and everything you expect from a Hallmark movie.

Luckily, Jen's character wasn't as terrible as some of the other she had but what made this movie appealing for me was definitely the new face (Brian) he somehow made it refreshing and not so repetitive, and last but not least the chemistry between them was amazing.

Still need to watch it again though.