The Blessing Bracelet

This is the story of Dawn a divorced single mom who is on the verge of having her home foreclosed upon by the bank. Her ex-husband has skipped out after putting his wife and son in a pretty big financial hole. Dawn, who already has a job at the local vet gets a second job waitressing at a local restaurant. Through faith or luck she meets Ben and starts selling these blessing bracelets that she used to make in high school. The bracelets take off, just like her relationship with Ben and his dog Lollie.

The two leads in this faith based romance had wonderful on screen chemistry and great actors, Carlo Marks and Amanda Schull. I appreciated that both Ben and Dawn still had both their parents and they were supportive...as was their local church community.

Normally I would complain about yet another divorce storyline on Hallmark, but I think this one was handled well and didn't bother me with this overall sad theme. In fact quite the reverse the overall message was one of hope. The Easter festivities were a highlight and it was fun to see all of the pastel colors, eggs and flowers.

I highly recommend this to fans of romance and faith based tv.

Count your blessings plus a dose of forgiveness are the ideas behind this movie. A divorced woman who seems to be hopelessly in debt thanks to her ex stumbles on the idea of making these bracelets to remind people to count their blessings. These main ideas plus some chemistry between Amanda Schull and Carlo Marks are enough to make this a pleasant watch.

The story is simplistic and predictable. There are no great highs or lows or surprises and very little tension beyond Dawn's financial crisis which the viewer knows is somehow going to be rescued by the bracelet business.

I often say that these movies struggle with any resemblance to reality but this one really stretches things. The business model portrayed in the movie is a confusing mess but somehow produces revenue enough to pay off months of back house payments and more. I was surprised when I did an internet search and saw one article claim the inspiration for these was an actual product on Amazon. Looking there I saw the subject bracelets were selling for nearly $30 each. Still.

There is an unintentional secret in the story which leads to a conflict. I thought that was overplayed, but they needed something and I guess the backstory does sort of explain the anger.

For those who don't like religious sermonizing, that part of this story is benign. While Dawn talks to God several times and emphasizes counting her blessings, the movie is far from preachy. And she could have been part of almost any mainstream religion.

Let's forget about the faith based aspects of this film for a moment and just say that overall it was an above average Hallmark film.

The script was pretty sharp and acting was solid. It was obviously predictable but you still were rooting for various characters, even with the outcome already known.

One of the ways that I rate these movies is how frequently I have to suspend disbelief, and how ludicrous those moments are. This film only had 2 or 3 aspects which made me roll my eyes...which is pretty low compared to the average Hallmark film.

Ok...now to the faith part and overall message. I know this angle will be divisive but I thought it was well done, with things even non-Christians could take from it. It is unusually direct in its Christian references, which I liked but understand how others might not be.

I like it for fair exploration of sensitive themes. For nice simplicity of bracelets. For the fair reference to faith, God, comunity solidarity. For dog and for return of husband and for trust problem.

Each of them just mazzers because ech Hallmark romance, having same recipe, can be interesting only for smart use of spices. In this case, sure, in old dusty formulas, the touch of religious area is inspired option.

In rest, familiar things, from single mother to the secret of her boyfriend, to the nice work of supporting actors - Marilyn Norry is the revelation of film, offering the so useful - realistic portrait of Pearl - and the boy working for his mom happiness.

In short, just beautiful surprising.

This Hallmark movie is just a little different from the run of the mill Hallmark movie. There is a mother who has been betrayed by her (now ex) husband and her son who misses his Dad who he has not seen in 3 years. The Mom has been (unsuccessfully) struggling to get herself caught up on all the debt that's been accumulating since the hubby walked away. Thankfully she has great friends who are willing to help. On the way to an annual Valentine dinner with her friends, she finds a "Blessing Bracelet" she and her friends used to make in high school. She wears it to the dinner and the blessings start. Of course, a romance begins and a complication arises, but the "Blessing Bracelet" she wears is a reminder that faith and hope can work miracles.