Falling for Vermont

Movies, 2017, TV-G

Premise - An author of a famous young adult fiction book series is not cut out for an active lifestyle. During a press junket for the release of her film adaptation, she runs away to escape all that is hectic and ends up in Vermont. After crashing her car, she loses all memory of who she was and what her life entailed, but she sure does like here life here.

Review - So, after weeks of absolutely saturating my brain with anti-racist literature, podcasts, and documentaries, this was an odd change of pace. I had been forced into it for a Father's Day celebration and had many pre-existing assumptions. First and foremost, that the movie was going to be as white as it gets. And I was right.

The other thing I was struck about was the depiction of women. Our main character, though I suppose a role model for her career in literature, is wearing makeup in every freaking scene of this movie. I'm not kidding, this is a movie about a woman who gets into a car crash and ends up in a hospital, and then is forced to live with strangers and has nothing to wear for clothes, but SOMEHOW she has a FULL face of makeup (eyeliner, foundation, lipstick) in every single scene. I suppose I should have seen it coming, but I cannot get over how this made me feel.

Representation aside, this had perhaps the poorest written dialogue I have ever had the displeasure of hearing, apparent from the moment the film begins. I say this, however, not having seen many other Hallmark films. Perhaps comparatively the writing could have been good. How are Hallmark films made? They appear to be mass produced for some limited budget, speedily written, filmed, and edited on some conveyor belt without any real thought or vetting. That's my guess.

Generally speaking, I can never quite understand the appeal, though there are plenty of things I watch that I would consider "guilty pleasures" - something that may not be "high quality" but I love it because it appeals to something deeply embedded inside of me. For the people who like Hallmark, they must really have a deeply embedded appeal towards a romanticized, idealistic, and VERY white life. Fine for you. I do not have that.

It's in the title of this film itself - "Falling for Vermont." The film isn't really even about falling for a man, it's about falling for the small-town, rich, white lifestyle.

What does appeal to me, however, are some classic storytelling tropes, like amnesia. I'm fascinated by amnesia stories because there's always the sense of "what if that were me?" So that was able to emotionally reach something deeply embedded within me, right there. What if I got to start fresh? How would I be perceived, and how would I present myself? And I do like my fair share of romance stories, no matter the context. The more invested in the story you became, the less the dialogue became noticeably bad - the more you could at least try to suspend some disbelief and enjoy it as a film, as all films should be enjoyed. As much as I'm tearing it apart, I did not hate it. (52/100)

Quote - Uhh... do I remember any quotes? Maybe "What about your real life?" "This is my real life" because I knew she was going to say it before she did hahah

What to watch for - The kids are cute.

If you liked this movie, I'd recommend Overboard!

Directed by David Winning

Distributed by Hallmark