Dernier jour d'été

I like these type of movies, a rainy afternoon coming in from the cold and settling down to warm by a fire and watch some light relief.

Kellie Martin and Kevan Smith are two of my favourite Hallmark actors, neither have said hello to the Botox and seem more genuine than some of the others (especially women). Both have always given a stellar and solid performance, even when dealt a dodgy script. For this though, it seemed the writing had more depth and allowed for the characters to grow, it was touching and sensitive. The scenery was magnificent and really added to the whole film.

A quality film and well directed from Mark Jean.

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.

This is a very enjoyable and engaging movie. The element of fantasy/supernatural is not often seen in a Hallmark movie. It is refreshing to see a family oriented movie with actors portraying real emotions of love, loss and finding happiness. The child actors are excellent, and the relationship between the two main adult characters is mature and believable. I find that in many Hallmark movies, the actors play their roles as over the top caricatures or the chemistry is absent and that is not the case in Hello It;s Me. I have seen this movie three or four times and I never tire of it. I highly recommend this movie!

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.

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