Release Date: November 13, 2021
Network: Hallmark Channel
Starring: Aimee Teegarden, Andrew Walker, and James Tupper.
Synopsis: When Vanessa receives the results from her Family Tree DNA test, she discovers a family she didn't know existed and travels to their home for Christmas.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/4
⚠🛑 Disclaimer: This review may contain spoilers
Review: I have been looking forward to this movie since Andrew Walker announced he was working with Aimee Teegarden back in the summer. I follow Andrew Walker on Instagram and he is always so open about his movies on social media. He posts pictures and usually does some behind the scenes shots and videos during the filming process. So when he announced he was working with Aimee I was thrilled. Now I do like Andrew Walker. He is a solid Hallmark movie actor. But Aimee Teegarden is definitely one of my favourites. Her performance in "Once Upon a Miracle Christmas" was absolutely fantastic. If you haven't seen this movie you should definitely look it up. It is based on a real life couple and it is such a wonderful story.
So outside of seeing the odd picture and video from Andrew Walker, I didn't really know much about what this movie was until the synopsis came out. A young lady who has no family does a DNA test and then finds a match and spends Christmas with them. I knew there would need to be a twist and also a love interest. So my fears were that she would start to have feelings for Andrew Walker's character believing he was her brother and then he would be revealed not to be and it would then be ok for them to fall in love. I was praying that wouldn't be the case and thank goodness Hallmark did not go that route.
I absolutely loved this movie. Aimee Teegarden played the role of Vanessa so well. Her shy and awkwardness when first around her new family was so believable. That first scene with her new found father, played by James Tupper, was phenomenal. In fact both Teegarden and Tupper were spectacular. They were hesitant, awkward. It was so well done. And the way you could see their relationship grow throughout the movie was wonderful. In fact most of the relationships in this movie were the same. The openness of the step-mother to her step daughter was very warm. The siblings were indifferent and some pretty nasty at first, and to see the development of them and their relationship grow was heart warming. You could really start to see how they were warming up to their new sister. There were some truly tear worthy moments here. Overall alot of development in most of the ensemble cast.
Andrew Walker was spectacular of course. Right from the first scene you saw him he shined on screen. Admittedly I think he was under utilized in the movie, however whenever he was there he was great. He was a close family friend and his dynamic with the family was more like an older brother than a family friend. He was so comfortable with them and they were his family. He had moments where he was funny, where he was serious, and he had chemistry with his costar. When they (Vanessa and Kris) were together in scenes they were very comfortable with each other. Their side glances, mannerisms and a little bit of awkwardness together was very cute. Such great chemistry and I loved them together.
Now...can we talk about that cameo appearance??? Right at the beginning of the movie when Vanessa (Teegarden) and Kris (Walker) stopped for coffee, out comes a waiter who looked very familiar. I nearly jumped out of my seat when I noticed it was a quick cameo from none other than Tyler Hynes! That was such a great moment and made me grin with delight. Tyler's cousin is actually married to Andrew Walker's wife, and they are all quite close so it was so nice to see them on screen together. Now if only Hallmark would cast them together in a movie as brothers or something...now that would be one I would not miss.
So this storyline is one I have never seen on Hallmark before and it was refreshing. For once it wasn't a crazy independent women who lands in a small town and falls for the guy and the town. This time we had a young lady with no family who is searching to know who or where she is from. She finds a match and is introduced to such a wonderful family and falls in love with them. A twist you ask? Well yes of course there is and it is so heartbreaking when she realizes that the agency screwed up her results and the family she loves is not really hers. I was in tears. But in true Hallmark fashion we had a surprise heartwarming ending where I was in tears again. Great job on this one and I will definitely be watching this one again.
Did you watch this movie? Tell me your thoughts in the comments.
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