Outono: Love, Fall & Order

What a fun movie. The leads had great chemistry. The best friends were fun also, and Gregory Harrison is always a plus. It was nice that even though the characters were competitive they were also likeable. Kudos to Erin and Trevor for a pleasant and nicely acted Hallmark movie.

Oh, my goodness!!! Could a Fall harvest movie be any more colorful than this one? Almost every scene is bathed in orange..leaves, trees, festival booths, and, cleverly, even the leading lady's clothing! In her first visit to her hometown in Vermont, she is shown in an orange coat, carrying a green pocketbook..again reminding us that this is a Fall movie. Other than the visual overload, this movie actually delivers a lovely story of life in a small New England town, with two families sparring over the boundaries of their farm properties. Of course, one knows a Hallmark movie will end happily with issues resolved. But the road to that resolution is well-handled in this film, with mature professional leading characters. Both are lawyers, both are extremely competitive, and both realize that their lifelong friendship is more than a casual friendship in the end. The secondary leads are quite well portrayed, especially with a mature Gregory Harrison as the heroine's father. He brings a familiar face to this lovely story. The heroine's best friend and that woman's husband are also shown as a mature, supportive couple. Their two little girls are charming, with the younger one,perhaps all of 2 or 3 years old, acting remarkably like a professional! The husband is actually depicted drinking a beer with his buddy, the leading man. Hallmark is maturing! Men do have a beer now and then. Bravo to Hallmark for this engaging film. Once the orange overload fades a bit, the story of two very likable professional adults comes through and evolves in a rational and sensible manner.

Hallmark movies are perfect for a Saturday evening after steak and wine, you don't have to be totally alert to enjoy them.

This one involves a dispute between adjacent landowners in this small Vermont town where everyone knows everyone else. An older deed indicates the property lines might not be where they think they are. The two lawyers who get involved happen to be old high school competitors, she was the valedictorian by 0.10 point over him. In high school he was nerdy and he secretly had a crush on her all those years ago but she didn't know that. He matured into quite an attractive hunk. And kind and generous.

Hallmark veteran Erin Cahill is the New York lawyer, Claire Hart, her dad's farm is one of the disputed properties. Trevor Donovan is the Stanford lawyer Patrick Harris who came back home because he enjoyed that life more than the corporate rat race. The other property is his aunt's.

The movie is only about 80 minutes, it plays out much as one would expect. This is a good movie for anyone who wants a nice story without sex, violence, or foul language, something hard to find these days.

My wife and I enjoyed it at home on DVD from our public library.

At least this one doesn't tread totally familiar ground. Plus the combination of the cast is good. Erin Cahill and Trevor Donovan lead as two former competitors in high school who reunite in small town on opposite sides of a property dispute. The pre ending drama at least isn't contrived as usual. It's actually a pivotal part of the story. The filming looks nicer than usual. Well done.

7.4 stars.

How many of these films do they change the titles on? Can't they stick with a movie name and just not budge for once? Anywho, we have a woman visiting her hometown and her father's farm only to find out there is a land dispute in the works between an old "flame" and his aunty and her dad's farm which are right next to each other. He stumbles on an old deed, appears to show something different, she disagrees, of course they are both lawyers, I mean it wouldn't be Hallmark if there wasn't a crazy coincidence... They fight for land, they are way too agreeable with each other... In the real world there would be bickering and underhanded backstabbing at every turn, mark my words. Funny how Hallmark makes these relationship so easy going, breakups are smooth, deadly rivalries are resolved by a smile and a handshake, and even with them kissing at the end. Nah.