La luna di settembre

I'm surprised this wasn't more highly rated. I wish Hallmark would make more movies like this one. So many lately make me cringe, and are not worth watching. Harvest Moon is fresh, with enjoyable characters and a decent plot. Yeah, it's still just a Hallmark movie; I'm rating it so highly only in comparison with other Hallmark movies.

It's been done over and over : rich city girl, country boy, both come from different worlds so surely they can't get along?

Well it's a hallmark movie so of course they do! Throw in the obligatory rich girl falling in a muddy puddle, and the country boy thinking she's too stuck up to get along with him or his family, and you have all the classics of a harmless family movie.

Put it on in the background while you're doing something else and don't take it too seriously ! - nice gentle but predictable... no spoilers needed as you can already guess what is going to happen ... and you'd be correct !

Jessy Scram is this movie. Her bright smile and sunny disposition make this an enjoyable movie. Add two of the farmers kids and some of his hands and while this is a romance movie, it is really about all of these people, but especially Jenny.

Two standard Hallmark themes rules here. The arrogant privileged rich witch shows her meddle in the end. And the struggling family business (farm, vineyard) is threatened with bankruptcy.

Of course Jenny starts out as the enemy of all, and kind of deserves it at first. But over time she wins everyone's hearts. And the viewer's heart as well.

Without her, the story is pure vanilla and predictable on almost all points. Most of the acting is OK.

High maintenance rich girl Jennifer Stone (Jessy Schram) suddenly finds that her father has lost the family fortune. All she has left is an unknown pumpkin farm and she intends to sell the place quick. The Jarrett family has been living there and Brett Jarrett (Jesse Hutch) intends to buy it back but they don't have the money.

At first, I was going to complain about Schram. She's trying too hard but at least she's trying. Hutch is barely doing anything other than a smoldering frustration. It's not enough and it's not appealing anyways. I'd rather have them fighting. He's better off with the coffee girl. At the end of the day, this is not a horrible movie. For Hallmark, it's hitting on a lot of the targets. I wouldn't say it's good either.

I found this movie a feel good movie that shows some good life values similar to the TV series Heartland. It was entertaining and good for the whole family to watch without swearing or profanity. A little country touch got me rocking in my seat. A breath of fresh air. As the title says Harvest Moon is actually the setting in which the movie plot begins. It shows that the city life mixed with a little country can work out, you might just have to get a little dirty. Two thumbs up!!