Movie: Autumn in the City
Starring: Aimee Teegarden, Evan Roderick
Network: Hallmark Channel
Synopsis: Optimistic Piper gives herself two months to find her passion in New York City. As she bounces between temp jobs, she and her jaded neighbor discover the beauty of the city together.
⚠🛑 Disclaimer: This review may contain movie spoilers
Rating (out of 5 stars): ⭐⭐
Review:
One of my favourite Hallmark actresses, Aimee Teegarden, stars opposite Evan Roderick in the most recent Hallmark "Fall Into Love" movie "Autumn in the City." Piper (Teegarden) leaves her hometown to find her passion in New York City all before her 30th birthday. Not only doesn't she find her passion for art, but she also falls in love with neighbour Austin (Roderick).
I love watching Aimee Teegarden on screen as she is natural, lovable and gives her all with any performance that she gives. It's unfortunate that I didn't love this script or movie for her. Honestly this is the first movie that I felt was wrong for her. Regardless she still gave her all for what was a mediocre script. She had a likable on screen chemistry with Roderick although I didn't see a full on "sparks" chemistry. It was more friendly vibes than anything else. Evan Roderick on the other hand was phenomenal. I adored him and his role in this movie. I found his story line more interesting than that of Piper. I would like to see him in something else in the future.
The plot was ok. Nothing stellar or too moving for my liking. It was slow moving at times and within 5-10 minutes of watching you knew that she would be the artist for his book. Alot of people go through trying to find their calling but why was Piper made out to be some ridiculous, clumsy fool? She's almost 30 for goodness sake. Who goes onto a theatre stage and thinks they are interviewing for a restaurant position? I just couldn't get over how she went about finding her "passion." It was unrealistic and frankly flat out ruined the movie for me.
I do have to say two things that really stood out to me in this movie:
1) Parents - The parents of both main characters have to be the worst parents in the world. They were awful. What kind of parent just constantly barrages you about how you are making a mistake in life, and doesn't support you finding your way in life. Her parents and his mom were so unsupportive it was chilling. They were so hung up on what they wanted for their children whether it be journalism or taking over the family business, and so blind to see what was best for their own children. And the worst part was that they were so vocal about their displeasure and lack of support. Oh my goodness. It is one thing to want to see your children succeed in life, and then another to consistently ridicule them, not support them and kill their dreams.
2) Declaration from Austin - I didn't see much in the way of lovey dovey romantic chemistry between the leads, but at the end when Austin says "Stay, because in a city of 8 million people, I found you," my heart melted. That was by far the best line in the whole movie for me.
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