An Unexpected Valentine

Hallmark really knows how to deliver the goods! Their first premiere in February is An Unexpected Valentine, featuring the beloved Lacey Chabert alongside Robert Buckley from Chesapeake Shores. When Hannah (Chabert) and Finn (Buckley) cross paths on Valentine's Day, they embark on a whirlwind adventure through New York City to return a lost engagement ring and make sure another couple's day goes off without a hitch. Chabert recently lit up screens in The Christmas Quest, marking her fifteenth holiday film for Hallmark Media. She's also been in A Merry Scottish Christmas, Haul Out the Holly, Groundswell, and the Wedding Veil trilogies. Plus, you can catch her in Hot Frosty on Netflix. It's easy to see why she's a perfect fit for these feel-good TV movies-she brings so much charm and grace to her roles.

And let's not forget about Robert Buckley! He played Evan Kincaid in the last two seasons of Chesapeake Shores and has been in a bunch of Hallmark flicks like The Christmas House, Love in Store, and Blind Date Book Club. He's also known for his roles in Hart of Dixie, One Tree Hill, and Ghost Whisperer.

This movie is a delightful and laid-back rom-com that's a blast to watch!

You know how formulate these things can be. A few minutes of heavily expositional dialogue where the characters say things to each other that they already know, strictly for the audience's benefit. A series of contrived events designed to illustrate the quirks of the leads and their apparent incompatibility. Gradual attraction. Then, at 9:35, one of them says something on a phone call that the other one overhears and misunderstands. Followed by reconciliation.

Not this one. This found a fresh path, with reasonable obstacles and a valid payoff. Very pleasant and unexpected. Still, I have one concern: Why did the radio DJ have to pull a 12-hour shift?

7.3 stars.

I would classify this as a laid-back romance that is unusual for Hallmark. I've seen Hallmark produce movies like this but not in many years. This is a tribute to some of the older stuff they did maybe back around 2005 through 2012 give or take. It doesn't fit into the usual formula, however, it still has the same feeling of all the usual movies they produce. They simply inserted a completely foreign storyline, utilizing the hallmark blueprint.

It's the story of a man who delivers things in his large SUV around NYC. He also transports people, somewhat like an Uber driver. The rest of the film is about an adventure between the man and the woman as they try to find the owner of a lost engagement ring. They drive around the city for several hours. They both have prior engagements that they need to attend so they are on a time crunch.

It's a very laid-back and feel good film. The romantic aspects didn't knock me off my feet, but it was original enough to entertain without the usual over used tropes.

Okay, right off the bat, she gets into something that's, you know, euivalent of a Uber or lyft, she says she's not going too far, so she was alright sitting in the back. He drops off one couple, then he drop off another lady and then I guess her time to get dropped off. First of all, they pulled over so she can find her missing phone, but yet it just happens to be somewhere he always parks. She finds a box, which she says an engagement ring. Then he decides he needs to replenish snacks for his other passengers. The thing to me is well, why did she have to go in the store with him,, like when is he going to drop her off?

The story is not important in this movie. The allure is in the time spent on screen between Lacey Chabert and Robert Buckley. The chemistry is great and the two of them are completely in sync. There are great lines. There are great moments. There is a little physical comedy, but not in a big way.

Mostly it is just two people who never met before on a quest in downtown New York City to find the owner of the engagement ring that was left behind in Finn's car. Along the way, they make a lot of stops. Some are in hopes of finding the owner. There are others involving deliveries. And a couple of rest stops.

If there were any of the usual check-off items for a rom/com, there were barely noticeable. Oh, there were the main character's close friends egging them on to pursue love, but I really didn't notice anything else cliche. Unless you count the inevitable.