I'm not used to seeing a Hallmark movie the makes so much use of two-bit thugs, dangerous threats, and clear corruption in the local government. Since it's Hallmark, you know the sweet elderly lady is going to push through in the end, but in real circumstances with a sheriff like that and his accomplices things would not be won through so easily. As a result, even though the story is very original for Hallmark, I have mixed feelings about it because it is just too hard to swallow.
If you can suspend reality, and I'll admit some of that is required in any Hallmark movie, then it is a very sweet story. It has redemption, and forming of strong bonds. There is a sweet but precocious 10 year old. The villains are mean enough, but perhaps a bit too stereotyped, especially Hunter Tylo and Sean O'Brien. The character of Billie has no originality at all.
Of course, Ann Margaret is the center of the show and brings it all together. Give Shailene Woodley as Cali some credit. So often the child star overplays her role, but in this movie not the (then) future Tris from Divergent.
There are two romance stories going. Because so much of the story is about other things, neither one gets enough screen time to clarify why these couples would jell. Tula's story has 8 years of backstory, so it's not a stretch, but it's hard to see why anyone would fall for Hank. The most endearing relationship of the movie is Cali and Tula and even that relationship gets barely enough screen time.
The climax of the movie is the return of the hero, but why his return saved the day doesn't exactly make sense. There are still a lot of weaknesses there to exploit, one of the biggest of which is that it appears Cali hasn't been in school for a long time if ever and Hank isn't likely to have been much of a home school parent. But I already agreed to suspend reality, so forget I said anything.
If you can suspend reality, and I'll admit some of that is required in any Hallmark movie, then it is a very sweet story. It has redemption, and forming of strong bonds. There is a sweet but precocious 10 year old. The villains are mean enough, but perhaps a bit too stereotyped, especially Hunter Tylo and Sean O'Brien. The character of Billie has no originality at all.
Of course, Ann Margaret is the center of the show and brings it all together. Give Shailene Woodley as Cali some credit. So often the child star overplays her role, but in this movie not the (then) future Tris from Divergent.
There are two romance stories going. Because so much of the story is about other things, neither one gets enough screen time to clarify why these couples would jell. Tula's story has 8 years of backstory, so it's not a stretch, but it's hard to see why anyone would fall for Hank. The most endearing relationship of the movie is Cali and Tula and even that relationship gets barely enough screen time.
The climax of the movie is the return of the hero, but why his return saved the day doesn't exactly make sense. There are still a lot of weaknesses there to exploit, one of the biggest of which is that it appears Cali hasn't been in school for a long time if ever and Hank isn't likely to have been much of a home school parent. But I already agreed to suspend reality, so forget I said anything.