Hello, It's Me

I really liked this movie. The story was quite touching and avoided a lot of the sentimentality and schmaltz that you often see from Hallmark movies. The characters seemed real and the dialog was very natural. Kellie Martin's performance as widow Annie was superb. You really felt the pain of her loss, her concern for her family and her growing attraction for James. Kavan Smith as her love interest James was great too. He really made you believe that this rich, successful heir to a fortune was just a nice, ordinary guy who truly wanted to connect with Annie and her children without any ulterior motives. The chemistry between the two was wonderful. Their attraction seemed very genuine and unforced.

I liked how Annie's daughter Ella was a bratty, sullen teenager. Sure, there were times you felt like slapping her upside the head, but she was much more like what you would expect a 14-year old who had lost her father to act than the saccharine sweet teens that you often see in Hallmark movies. Annie's 7-year old Milo was quite believable, too. A boy that age who had lost his dad would immediately latch onto a nice man who showed him some attention and who could play the role of a father figure for him.

I thought the initial venom from Annie when James almost ran into her was a little over-the-top. Of course, this is part of the rom-com formula. The leads usually need to start out as quasi-enemies, and, more often than not, the initial enmity is done badly and seems forced. I'm glad that it didn't continue for very long. Otherwise, I found their interactions with each other very believable and enjoyable.

The whole supernatural thing with the phone messages beyond the grave from Annie's late husband Andre wasn't done very well, and could have been eliminated from the plot, in my opinion. This was a heartwarming drama about relationships, not The Twilight Zone, and that plot element really seemed out of place to me. Other movies of this genre have used the plot device of having the widow/widower having imaginary conversations with their dead spouse. That's a little cheesy, too, but would have worked much better in this story than the phone message thing, where the messages were cryptic, one-word utterances.

Otherwise, I loved this movie. It had a lot more emotional depth than most Hallmark movies and the dialog was natural and realistic, avoiding the stilted "Hallmark-speak" that you get in many of their films. I highly recommend it.

I love this movie for having a bit more kick than many Hallmark productions.

This movie was awesome. It really showed the struggles one experiences after the death of someone close to them. Then you slowly see new love reborn. I would definitely watch again. Loved it James Welch Henderson Arkansas 5/17/21.

2015 did see some good Hallmark films, as well as some bad ones and plenty in between. Had a good feeling that 'Hello It's Me' would work, with it having one of the most appealing and relatable-sounding premises of 2015's Hallmark batch and have always admired it when Hallmark tackle mature themes regardless of the execution. Have seen Kellie Martin and Kavan Smith in other things, and while Martin is a bit take and leave Smith have near consistently impressed me in spite of being in some misfires.

'Hello It's Me' on the whole turned out quite well. 2015 did see some good Hallmark Movies and Mysteries films and 'Hello It's Me' is one of them. While not one of the best 2015 Hallmark films overall, it is certainly closer to that extreme than the worst in my view. There is also a lot to like in 'A Gift of Miracles' and it does a nice job with its premise and relatable family themes, it started off a little uncertain but grew significantly when the characters and relationships did.

Not everything succeeds. It is a bit of a slow starter, with less than tight pacing and dialogue that goes a bit too far too far on the maudlin. It took me a bit of time to warm to Martin's character, who even for the situation seemed too mopey and stuck in the past which took somewhat too long to shake off.

Smith's character is a little too clueless towards the end.

A lot is good here though. The latter stages did see me connect more with Martin's character and understanding her point of view and Martin does give a very heartfelt performance that is one of her most natural, no signs of phoning in or being too affected. Smith is very subtle and sympathetic and they have a lovely gentle and always genuine chemistry that develops realistically. The younger cast also do well, especially the daughter in the second half. Very touching chemistry with Smith later on. The situation is a true to life and relatable one and once the film got going it did do well at allowing one to connect to the characters after an uncertain start.

Furthermore, it t is beautifully filmed and the scenery is stunning to look at. The music is not intrusive, and didn't feel too melodramatically loud, repetitive or too constant (all of which being common with Hallmark's music), actually found it very sensitive. The direction lets the drama breathe while not allowing it to drag. The script is sincere and mature without being too melodramatic or too serious, while not sugar coating. The same goes for the gentle, charming and moving story, which is not always as fleshed out as it could have been but the good intentions and sincerity were to be admired all the way through as was the relatability of the themes.

Overall, well executed, honest and touching. 7/10.

I knew from the beginning I was going to like this movie. The two leads Kellie Martin and Kavan Smith were great, their chemistry was perfect. I've always been a fan of Kavan and am now a fan of Kellie.

Great movie.