The Heiress and the Handyman

5.4 stars.

Oh, the humanity! Sweetin is off and for her that's not unusual, but way off this time. I rarely finish a movie that is under six stars, this is no exception. I made it to 30 minutes or so. There are so many things wrong with the presentation, I wasn't able to focus on the narrative at all. The simplistic and laughable way that the lead female character is portrayed is, well for lack of better words, laughable. The lead male role is as good as can be for what he has to work with. The script is terrible. I was so disappointed in this film, no wonder it's already been released on Hallmark Network and yet the official release date isn't for another 2+ weeks? Does that make sense? No. The only thing that makes sense is that the producers and the Network realize this movie is a flop, and they want to get it out of the way, brush it aside, hope it's soon forgotten....ugh.

The basic storyline is the usually enjoyable girl has an empty life, lifestyle changes, finds new life. There could have been more background of Jodie's character prior to her move, more punch to her transition, maybe some flashbacks to build her character, more conflict, more comedy keeping it light and fun. The biggest distraction for me personally, is the awful wig that Jodie Sweetin wears through the entire film. She's a very attractive woman, so why? The other issue I had is why all the dollar store garland throughout the farmhouse. Was the budget for hair and sets really that low? Not a waste of time, but it could have been better.

I love Hallmark movies. Even the not so good ones. Jodie is my least favorite actress and I usually skip hers. But I really like Corey so I thought I'd give it a try. It was the worst I've seen. First, the wig. Why???? It was so distracting. Jodie is a pretty woman but that wig was the worst. Second, absolutely no character development at all. This could have been a better movie. It seemed just rushed. Hallmark, you can do so much better. This should not be the movie you use to try to advertise the new Hallmark plus. I have my sweatshirt ready so please do not disappoint me for the Fall and Winter season.

I have to say I love the fall movies because there's so few of them. I was excited for this one because Jodie isn't in too many anymore and like most, I grew up with her. I'm a hallmark regular so I know what to expect. Very rarely now am I pleasantly surprised with a movie. I know what to expected, I know all the story lines and know they're just a comfort for 2 hours. This one was so boring. Absolutely nothing about this entertained me. The wig they made Jodie/June wear was AWFUL! How can you allow it to be used when it's so obviously horrible? Come on yall. I don't know if they started out hoping this would be as good as Harvest Moon from a few years ago but it didn't even compare. I had more hope..

Spoiled heiress loses fortune and her life gets totally downgraded. The good news in this movie was that going from luxury to nothing took 9 minutes including opening credits. Some movies with this premise stretch that out in the hopes of earning humor points. June learns some humility almost as quickly, so there is not a lot of time to really hate her character. From there we go into the phase of learning about the work ahead (but that never actually manifests). No blue jeans yet. But the competition challenge complete with trash talk comes pretty quickly. And so we have another Hallmark movie where someone enters a contest with experienced competition but she is a totally novice in the required skills. And not just one category, but several.

This movie takes an interesting approach to how June's new neighbors adjust to her. They are far more sympathetic to her than in the usual stories where a high society person meets small town folk.

The pacing in the middle is laid back and some might consider it stagnant. One would expect the arrival of the fair contests would be the climax, but it seemed a little early and then there was a complete turn of direction with a few unexpected things before the obvious ending. While there were some unexpected things, this part was rushed a little.

The acting is OK, but unrealistically upbeat, which for me wasn't necessarily negative. The dialog has good moments. There isn't much heavy tension. The approaching contests were about all in that category. In the category of makeup, there was at least one scene where Sweetin didn't look good in close ups.

Jodie Sweetin's June is pretty much what you would expect from Jodie. There is little character development of June other than what takes place in the first 10 minutes. Corey Sevier fills the part of her romantic interest but doesn't add much of a counterpoint.