That's A Wrap! Hallmark Summer Nights 2021
Hallmark fans were treated to TEN new original movies during the Summer Nights 2021 season. Since Christmas in July was sandwiched in the middle, summer movies seemed to last a little longer.
Before we happily drown ourselves in pumpkin spice and all things Fall Harvest, let's recap the Summer Nights 2021 line-up and cast our vote for the BEST of the bunch.
The 10 Summer Nights 2021 Original Movies
1. You Had Me at Aloha
Pascale Hutton and Kavan Smith delighted fans with their back-and-forth banter in their roles of two TV co-hosts grappling for control of their hit TV show, Next Destination. Filmed on location in Hawaii, we got to enjoy a taste of paradise. Paige (Hutton) finally shed her mortification over being called The Goat Lady and learned how to "chill," while Ben agreed to follow the script without too much ad-libbing.
If you loved this movie, you can take a trivia quiz on it
here.
Image: Crown Media
2. The Baker's Son
Eloise Mumford and Brant Daughtery were Annie and Matt, best friends since childhood. It wasn't until Matt was smitten with a ballerina passing through town with her ballet company that Annie realized she had been in love with Matt all along. When Annie sold her business and planned to leave town, it finally dawned on Matt that he loved her, too. He proved it by baking her bread, since his bread only tasted good when he was in love.
Another fun quiz can be found
here for this movie.
Image: Crown Media
3. Her Pen Pal
Mallory Jansen starred as Victoria, an event planner who went to Paris to plan the wedding of her BFF. When Victoria learned her ex would be there too with a date, she reconnected with her former pen pal, Jacques (played by Joshua Sasse) so he could be her "plus one." Jacques was the epitome of the charming Frenchman, and it didn't take long for the two to fall in love. Since Jacques decided to transform his chateau into an event venue, we assumed Victoria would eventually base her business there.
Her Pen Pal gave us a wonderful Tour-de-France from our couches.
Image: Crown Media
4. Sand Dollar Cove
Despite how much Hallmark fans adore Chad Michael Murray, most were not impressed by his co-star in this movie, Aly Michalka, who struggled to produce a simple smile, let alone any warmth.
Elli (Michalka) worked for a real estate developer who wanted her to acquire a beach property owned by Brody (Murray). The conflict arose when Elli couldn't promise to preserve the pier, which had a rich history and was an important part of Brody's family heritage.
This movie was based on a
novel by Nancy Naigle and at least gave us a beautiful beach to enjoy.
Image: Crown Media
5. Love, For Real
Starring Chloe Bridges as Hayley and Scott Michael Foster as Luke, this was the second movie of the summer to be filmed in Hawaii.
While the movie was supposed to be about a fashion designer trying to snag some publicity to get her line financed, it seemed Hallmark was more interested in promoting diversity in lieu of good storytelling. The "woke" attributes of this movie overshadowed the plot and ruined it for a lot of people.
Image: Crown Media
6. The 27-Hour Day
Autumn Reeser and Andrew Walker, though dynamite Hallmark actors, didn't generate the chemistry in this movie fans expected.
Lauren (Reeser) was a workaholic with a hit podcast that taught listeners hacks for efficiency so they could spend more time doing the things they loved. She didn't heed her own advice, however, so she booked herself at a Montana retreat to learn to relax.
Jack (Walker) always wanted to be a veterinarian, yet he found himself working the family retreat, feeling obligated to look after his mom and sister following his father's passing.
Both characters ultimately found balance in their work that allowed them to pursue their budding romance.
Click here if you'd enjoy testing your recall with a trivia quiz on the movie.
Image: Crown Media
7. Sealed With a Kiss: Wedding March 6
If ever a movie didn't live up to the hype, this one was it. Fans of the series were excited to see Olivia (Josie Bissett) and Mick (Jack Wagner) finally tie the knot, but ended up being bitterly disappointed.
Original characters were missing, the script was poorly written, too much focus was on another annoying couple, characters weren't likable, and the acting was sub-par.
Fans blamed Crown Media CEO, Wonya Lucas, for the downturn in Hallmark movie quality, but Lucas turned a deaf ear. Without an about-face from Lucas, former CEO and now head of GAC-Family, Bill Abbott, will easily be able to reroute Hallmark fans to his new movie channel.
Image: Crown Media
8. A Little Daytime Drama
Since both Jen Lilley and Ryan Paevey were once daytime soap stars (Days of Our Lives and General Hospital, respectively), it was comically ironic they were cast in a movie centered on a soap opera.
Maggie (Lilley) was the lead writer of a daily soap that was in danger of cancellation. At the behest of the show's creator, it was decided a fan-favorite star, Darin (Paevey), be brought back into the script. The problem? Darin was Maggie's ex-boyfriend, and things ended on a sour note. Maggie had to convince Darin to return in order to save her show and their careers.
While some Hallmark fans thought this movie so-so, many were enthralled with the engaging synergy between Lilley and Paevey.
9. Sweet Pecan Summer
Unique to this movie was the basis of its story. Not only did it star Wes Brown, who also served as executive producer, but the movie was based loosely on a real-life story written by his wife about her Aunt Carol.
Brown's daughter even had a bit part, so this movie truly was a family affair.
In the movie, Aunt Carol solicited the help of her niece, Amanda, in selling the family pecan farm. Carol had an ulterior motive though--Amanda had to work with her ex-boyfriend, J.P., a pro baseball player and real estate broker, to get it done. While the two initially were at odds with one another, they rediscovered their old feelings for each other, just as Carol had hoped.
10. Journey of My Heart
Many fans noted this movie resembled
Chasing Waterfalls, but it was more intentionally slow-paced in a thoughtful way. It followed a biologist (Rhiannon Fish) into the Alaskan wilderness on an assignment surrounding the nesting area of bald eagles. Along the way, she received inspirational advice from a Native American family and fell for her rugged wildlife guide (Darien Martin).
Vote For Your Favorite Summer Nights 2021 Movie!
Yes, there were a couple duds in this year's summer line-up, some of the cookie-cutter plots were stale, and too many of the movies were overshadowed by "woke" stupidity, but surely you enjoyed at least a few along the way.
Vote below for your FAVORITE of the ten new movies, and check back to see which one took the lead.
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