FrankWButterfield

This may well be the best-written Hallmark romance movie I've ever seen. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I loved the real-feel of Philly (one of the few Hallmark movies to get a regional flavor right -- although the accents are almost too Canadian but the language and attitude are South Philly).

I also enjoyed the subtle and not-so-subtle ways that the son was seen to be a mirror of his father. And how, once the father got his mojo back, he became a real person (including the hug!).

The singular miss was at the very end when the banter in the stable could have been polished a bit better. If every minute before that hadn't been so right-on, I wouldn't have even noticed.

For those curious, Johnny is likely going to become a Viscount, Marquess, or Earl since most Dukes carry more than one title. The eldest son is invested with one of those lesser titles and carries it even after he's made Duke. The fact that no one calls him Viscount St. George (or whatever the title might be) or "My Lord" is because he hasn't yet been invested with the title.

I sometimes watched this show when I was a kid. I didn't always like it because of how stern the parents and grandparents were. It reminded me too much of my own family.

But then I grew older and now, as an adult, I see things differently. The parents and grandparents know what they're doing (as opposed to mine, for the most part) and I also realize this show is mostly memoir. When I was a kid and a young adult, I tended to think The Waltons was a rebuke to the 1970s. It might be both, but, these days I very much enjoy the history and the memoir embedded in the show.

This episode is one I would have turned the channel from when it aired. I was 9, almost 10. It would have been impossible for me to understand. Now, I see an amazing story being told masterfully. We now see why John became who he became.

I compare this episode to the 1963 Henry Fonda movie and the 1971 Patricia O'Neal movie. Those are almost like essays compare to what we see mature in this episode. John Walton is 43-ish in the story and Earl Hamner was 53-ish when this script was written. His being able to see his father fully may account for some of it. But I think the main thing we see unfolding here is simply an artist coming fully into his own. This will always be my favorite episode.

This charming movie is a remake of "Christmas in Connecticut" which starred Barbara Stanwyck. The fake husband, fake baby, frantically unprepared fake mom all running around is at the core of both stories. The same kind of frenetic energy is found in both films. And both films are definitely products of their time. In fact, they're almost like time capsules.

I like this movie. It has charming elements. But it's not my favorite Hallmark Christmas movie. The actors are solid and the story is pretty straightforward with the usual Hallmark markers.

Everyone seems to be having fun in the making of this movie. I tend to like Hallmark movies more when this is obvious.

If you liked this movie, be sure and give "Christmas in Connecticut" a try.