Jen does not come off as a surgeon very well. Once she gets to the country, the rest of the movie is warm and entertaining.
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rick-1633927 January 2019
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ngergen6 October 2017My husband and I enjoy Hallmark movies, especially during the fall and winter holiday seasons. Both of the lead actors have starred in General Hospital (Ryan Peavy still does), and I was looking forward to seeing them in this movie. The plot was very thin and the acting was very bland. There wasn't much chemistry between them. There have been other Hallmark movies with the same theme about saving the family farm, so this one needed some pizazz to make it fresh, but sadly there was none. The only thing that was different was the fruit. Jen Lilley smiled way too much for my taste. She seemed more like a love-struck teenager than an accomplished surgeon. She is very pretty and has big beautiful eyes, but after awhile it was very annoying seeing her doe-eyed smile in every scene.
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jonathanrspalding5 October 2017Upon seeing the previews of this movie I had high hopes for this movie. While not terrible, this movie did not live up to those hopes.
When looking at a Hallmark film I think four factors make or break it.
First, are the lead actors good in their roles and do the characters have some depth. Here I thought while the acting was fine the characters were stick figures with no depth.
Second, does the romance seem real or contrived. Sorry, never really bought it here that the surgeon would fall for this guy. Yeah, he was nice to her kid, but most people are nice to kids.
Third, is it funny. These movies are billed as romantic comedies. I would say actually being funny is the difference that sets apart any of the Halmark movies. This movie tried to be with the Ronnie character but I don't think ever achieved it.
Fourth, are there a few nice subplots or quirks in the story to add to the drama. I did not see that here.
As a final note, most people don't wear nice, new clothes (I am guessing K-Mart or Target) to bring in the harvest. I have participated in harvests before and neither me or anyone else did so. Mr. Douglas of Green Acres would have been proud of these farmers.
Overall, the movie is okay for this kind of fare and certainly watchable once, but not a classic or one I predict we will see often in the upcoming years. -
Kirpianuscus16 August 2020The worst thing - the performance of Jen Lilley. Wooden, fake, the smile as axis not very solide. The good thing - the pear orchard. Short, a Hallmark romance, not bad, not great, predictable, so forced in the details o story than the usual "nice" seems to much. But good option after a long , busy work day. So, the pear orchard as the good point.
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The leads are well matched and have a good chemistry between them. Jen Lilley has a luminous quality and very pretty eyes. She smiles a bit too much as is the case with many Hallmark movies but because she is pretty it's not too annoying. She plays a surgeon and widow who takes her young son to their family pear farm which is about to be sold. She meets a too hot for a small town fruit scientist / farmer looking after the farm played by Ryan Paevey. The farm is bucolic looking and the pears look delicious.
One of the more successfully put together Hallmark romances. -
studioAT1 August 2022Did I buy the lead character as a surgeon? No. Why was the kid always tired?
If you can put these elements aside you'll find a fun Hallmark film. The story holds up, the leads have chemistry - those are two big boxes ticked off that make or break this type of film.
It's very much built in the Hallmark formula, but there are enough lovely moments here to make this a pleasant way to spend an afternoon's viewing. -
lyndavanleeuwen20 October 2019The story was extremely weak and believing that 34 year old woman was an accomplished surgeon & the widowed mother of an eight year son, was a real stretch of the imagination! The male lead has a pleasant manner & was certainly very attractive! The lead actress was pleasantly appealing but but too young to be believable, and the weak storyline didn't make it more believable! Entertaining but only because of limited alternatives!
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jenrn-0972216 March 2021This movie had potential, but fell short. Low budget and poor script. First, the female lead is no surgeon. She is too young and too cutesy to be a serious surgeon. Being a surgeon takes many years, and since they didn't say she was a child prodigy, not likely. Then cut to single parent of young boy - to be in the position she was in during her career - she would have no time to raise him on her own without a nanny. They head to the family farm, which would have been believable as a farm except for the really bad green-screen shots of the "scenery". Obviously they are standing in front of matte paintings - and more than once. Talk about low budget. Jen's characters always seem forced and rely on her big doe eyes to make you forget she can't really act. But Hallmark has a few actresses that look good, but can't get the job done. And as a surgeon, she wouldn't be doing all the "country- doctoring" on the fly or be able to diagnose the broken leg and the swollen knee issues without x-rays and testing. She seems to be able to just look at a leg and a knee and tell what's wrong with it - that's not how medicine works. They tried to give her medical terms to say to sound official, but it comes off as trying too hard. Ryan is charming, and he's played a farm-hand enough to make it work. But not enough substance to the characters or real relationship development to make it a worthwhile watch. This just felt rushed and slapped together. It's too bad that they didnt give more time to develop the romance and a believable storyline, as it would have made for a better watch.
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jaxun-140856 June 2019It's a Hallmark movie. Predictable plots, fine actors/actresses, and beautiful scenery. It's supposed to be a feel good movie and it definitely worked. I'm a recent widower and it's difficult for me to watch these bc my wife loved them. I'm going to admit that since she passed, the movies have become a guilty pleasure. So I guess this movie is more appealing bc of this.
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MickyG33320 April 20236.0 stars.
Errors are in abundance in 'Harvest Love', offending my movie ego. I took notes. The first is minuscule it's about the supposed farm house which is actually a palace and nobody occupies it most of the year? The next is when Luna (Lilley) is hogging the detour road and acting very entitled, has the audacity to tell Will (Paevey) who actually has the right of way, where he can put his truck (if you catch my drift). The detour road is more like a one lane dirt and grass path...unrealistic.
After they arrive at the palace home, Luna and Andy are walking the orchard and they see Will again and she mistakes him for a "pear thief". Really? She tells Andy to call the sheriff and gives him her phone. How does her 8 year old son know the sheriff's number? I assume this means 9-1-1? And then she grabs a twig as a weapon and walks up to Will and tells him to leave but it's obvious who he is, she just saw him an hour ago. Within a minute or so the sheriff arrives? Was the Sheriff one mile away when he received the call? Next error is when Will throws Andy a pear, it's obviously made of plastic. Next, when Andy picks up a pumpkin and yells at mom to look at what he's got...it's also plastic. We are only 17 minutes into the movie at this point...
The conversations are mundane, about selling the farm, and pears, and harvest moons, and fresh air...Will is as shady as they come skulking around the farm, locking doors, lurking and appearing out of nowhere, keeping secrets, acting strange, and with a sour attitude to boot. Luna (why that name?) is a strange person being a surgeon and all, she has this perma-grin (vintage Jen Lilly) but no heart, no personality. Little Andy is always haggard like they have to do a dozen takes to complete a scene, but he's a very solid young actor.
Not my cup of tea 'Harvest Love', full of cliché moments, frustrating interactions which I feel are strategically placed throughout to provoke a meh response. It's obvious Paevey was peevish about this role, he does not reciprocate her subtle advances and flirtations. This was one of the most derivative stories I've ever seen Hallmark produce. I am dumbfounded at the mind-numbing dreariness. -
TheLittleSongbird9 December 2021Really wanted to like 'Harvest Love' a lot more. Have liked Jen Lilley and Ryan Paevey in other things, though Lilley is rather hit and miss depending on her character. The concept, though formulaic, was quite nice on paper. Did like the previous 2017 Fall Harvest film, 'Falling for Vermont', a good deal and there were some good films that Hallmark did in 2017 (i.e. 'The Birthday Wish'). This did have potential to be a lot better than it turned out.
'Harvest Love' was rather disappointing and the potential it had is generally wasted. A major step down from 'Falling for Vermont'. Hallmark did do worse films in 2017 (i.e. 'At Home in Mitford'), but of the Fall Harvest films that year this is towards the bottom. It's not a disaster, saved by Paevey and the child actor, but Lilley and how her character is written for examples badly stopped me from even moderately enjoying 'Harvest Love'.
Am going to begin with the good. Paevey's character is a rather dull and naive one, but somehow Paevey manages to bring a good deal of likeability, subtle charisma and a good nature to the role. Brenden Sunderland as Andy is truly adorable and heartfelt, his chemistry with Paevey is very believable and the only relationship in the film that works in any shape or form.
The film looks good, with a lovingly designed/kept pear orchard that made me quite nostalgic and the photography was clearly in love with it to photograph it as beautifully as it did.
Lilley however looks very ill at ease and rabbit in the headlights-like throughout, limits her expressions to just two and overuses them to overkill effect. Really didn't care for her character either, too young, too introverted and too saccharine and she did come over as rather self-absorbed, wooden and vapid. While Paevey does a good job with what he is given, the character lacks development and it was a bit of a stretch seeing how he could still find appeal in someone so unappealing.
Very few of the characters felt real and instead more like standard Hallmark cut outs, the one exception being Ryan. The chemistry between Lilley and Paevey is barely there and doesn't really go anywhere a lot of the time before rushing very late into the film. The script is very stilted, especially Lilley's with so many incomplete sounding sentences that come over as gobbledegook. The story is very predictable, has very little charm, heart or lightness, is very forced in conflict and dragged out. Did find it too easily resolved and there is nothing distinctive about the music or direction.
Overall, rather lacklustre. 4/10. -
simonjohns-0857420 September 2019Snubbed by the Academy but there's a lot to love in this farm based love caper. Character depth and intriguing sub-plots gives the film far more complexity than your typical Hallmark film. The one cow pat in this agricultural affair is the male lead - Ryan Paevey. Rock hard abs and a solid gilet is no match for unconfident acting. Very unconvincing fixing the sink. He seems to only come alive when looking at Jen's pears
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EPMD5721 October 2019It's a dull movie. Everyone in it is rather pleasant, and the leads are certainly attractive, but it's just all so bland. The lead actress has a wonderful smile, but after a while you wonder why the script or the director didn't ask her to do anything else but giggle and smile.
Only watch this if you are okay finding something else to do during it so it doesn't seem quite as tedious. -
peterdescheemacker12 December 2021Goof
Will and Luna sit together on a truck to see the harvest moon, which is a full moon.
At least 4 days later they are dancing on the harvest festival where they again see a full moon.
This is not possible since a full moon is only shown for 1 day each 28 days, and the moon changes state every 7 days. -
ISmellSnow1 September 2020Jen is sweet and charming, as always, but I found Ryan's character to be boring and stiff. Not the best acting or chemistry. Plot was fine, scenery was beautiful. It definitely put me in the mood for fall.
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krs-9220212 March 2021A Hallmark movie is supposed to be 'feel good.' I found this one was just that. Both leads played their parts well. I don't know what others are looking for with Hallmark. There are no explosions and car chases in these movies but they are in others that maybe they should be watching. I was skeptical because the character had a kid but the boy was very believable.
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MIssM191 October 2017I've seen about 80 Hallmark movies in the last year. I'm a sucker for romance and these types of movies. I love their typical romance and their themes. Out of the 80, I disliked around 10, 15 probably. And this movie? It's definitely in the top five of the worst.
These movies lasts one hour and a half and it took two hours and 45 to finish it.
I've seen Jen Lilley before and I loved both movies I saw her in and her characters. However, her character in here is boring and she spends the whole movie smiling. And I spent most of it wondering whether her jaw was hurting or not.
The main male lead? I didn't connect with him either. Honestly, I don't even know his last name. The only character I sympathized with was Andy, that child was adorable and he did a great job.
Chemistry? Didn't feel it either. And I felt there was not plot in here. No exciting things happened. It was really disappointing.
I've always given these movies more than 6 stars because I enjoy the characters, the story and the theme. But i'm giving this a 4 only because the child was adorable. -
kelstokes-8869511 February 2018I thought this movie was great. I really like Ryan Peavey but I couldn't really get that into Unleashing Mr. Dracy. I recommend this movie.
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rebekahrox7 October 2017Nothing. Happens. Move on, Nothing to see here unless you are a Ryan Paevey fan, which on the strength of his charming performance in "Unleashing Mr. Darcy," I am. Jen Lilley, the actress who plays the female lead is very pretty with huge eyes. Huge. Unfortunately, her performance is distracting to the max. I might attribute this to the vapid script, but she has a smile plastered on her face throughout the movie, usually accompanied by an irritating titter. Someone should do a spread sheet on how often she completes a sentence by tittering. I doubt it was scripted. I understand her embarrassment, but she made a bad movie worse. Add to this, instead of real scenery we get fake back drops that look like they have been painted on velvet by Thomas Kinkade. I gave it a 4 due entirely to Ryan Paevey's futile efforts. Choose better next time, Dude. My patience will not last forever.
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moho-402602 October 2017Oh, Hallmark. As much as I love you, you are disappointing me. Again. I was excited to see Jen Lilly and Ryan Peavey "peared"(sorry!!) for this movie, as as they two very attractive leads (especially Ryan). However, attractiveness does not equal chemistry and there is none between "Luna" (maybe a reference to the ever present full moon?) and Will. The plot line of course is girl meets boy, they dislike each other, meet again and fall in love. Totally Hallmark formula, not to mention big career city girl (sometimes a widow, as in this one) with a child(red). You know the rest. Something things that bothered me:
The school-age son (who was adorable and very sweet) gets a fall break. Now, the majority of schools go back in the fall and there is no week-long break right after school starts. Luna is young enough to be barely out of residency, never mind all the fellowships that surgeons need to complete before being able to perform on their own. But Luna is up for a huge promotion, something that in the real world comes to those who are probably in their 40s and/or 50s; not someone just out of residency. She also performed 7 surgeries in one day--that's extreme--I work in a major medical center and that is highly unusual. Ms. Lilley's character smiled and giggled way too much as well.
Maybe I am being over critical with the above, but c'mon, Hallmark. Make an effort to be even the tiniest bit realistic. In all honesty, I watched the whole thing because I find Mr. Peavey very attractive and even watched most of it again on Sunday, hoping that I missed something redeemable the night before. Sadly I did not. I know we have to suspend reality while watching these movies; however, an added dose of reality will make these movies much more enjoyable and the implausible endings a bit more believable. -
jml19885 November 2019This was a beautiful tale with a gorgeous setting. How I wish my family had a huge orchard somewhere for me to run away to! Of course, all the puzzle pieces fell perfectly into place, but it IS Hallmark, after all. Even the kids were very endearing, whereas I often find child actors irksome.
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charlesvine-759681 October 2017When you watch a Hallmark movie you have to accept the fact that it's going to be a wholesome, feel good movie and not much else. There is nothing wrong with that and being a big Jen Lilley fan I tuned in with some anticipation.
Luna(Jen Lilley)..."Luna"? What kind of name is that for a human being outside of Star Trek?...plays the role of an up and coming Seattle surgeon who has been recently widowed. She returns home to help with her family's burgeoning pear orchard. Only intending to stay briefly, she falls in love with small town life style and the pear ranch's handy man and decides to stay permanently.(Realistic?)
Not much of a plot here and very few, if any, unexpected twists and turns. Even the engaging and charming personality of Jen Lilley couldn't save this one. -
kmpeckham-235455 March 2018Wow! We watch Hallmark movies because they are wholesome and have happy endings. But this movie was definitely the worst Hallmark movie I've ever seen! And I've seen quite a few that weren't very good.
Poor plot, poor script, poor acting. Not one surprise in the movie. Absolutely hokey! Deleted immediately. -
JP9517 August 2022I almost didn't watch this one because normally I can't stand Jen Lilley. Generally the characters she plays are whiny, abrasive, hyperactive, wear absurd amounts of eye makeup, and are always super irritating. So, imagine my surprise when I actually really liked her in this! For once her character is calm, sweet, likeable, cute, understated, and just...normal.
In addition to super unlikeable leads, the other major issue that kills at least half of all Hallmark films is a complete lack of chemistry between the leads. When that's the case it's just never going to work. Fortunately, in this film, the leads have a ton of very believable, palpable, natural chemistry. So the "moments" between them, the closeness, the lingering meaningful looks, don't seem fake or forced. The romance works, so the movie works. I wish there were more like this. -
The actors left so many awkward moments of silence that it made me feel uncomfortable. The main characters were very cold to each other. However, I did like the interaction between Will Nash (Ryan Paevey) and Andy. I liked Ryan Paevey in Unleashing Mr. Darcy. Jen Lilly on the other hand was disappointing. She never made eye-contact, had a fake smile on her face constantly, and never really made me feel like she was sincere. Overall, a strange movie. Can't put my finger on it but it was odd and awkward. Not a lot of love going on....