It was good to see two different faces, new plot (I felt that some legal things were odd, but I'm no lawyer), and very colorful scenes. I really like when the two leads share a past, it seems more realistic. While I really liked it, probably won't watch again. Lovely movie.
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MIssM1928 October 2019
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TheLittleSongbird28 December 2021Erin Cahill is a Hallmark regular and has shown more than once her likeability, have not liked every film of hers (i.e. 'Last Vermont Christmas') but others have left me pleasantly surprised. Am a lot more mixed on Trevor Donovan, with the right material and leading lady he is charming but in colourless roles he is stiff and bland. 2019 was a hit and miss year for Hallmark, their best work being very well done and their weakest being awful, the Christmas output showing both extremes.
'Love Fall and Order' is much closer to being in the very well done category, though not quite there. It was on the whole a very enjoyable film with a nice concept, and leagues better than the previous 2019 Fall Harvest film 'Over the Moon in Love' (which to me was very weak). At least 'Love Fall and Order' felt like a Fall Harvest film, whereas that film didn't seem to belong in any seasonal blocking, without it being too rubbed in the face or heavy handed.
Is it perfect? No, it is predictable and can get too silly at times. Especially in the final quarter, which did get on the over the top side for my liking.
The backing and forthing/bickering also could have been a little less.
Unlike 'Over the Moon in Love', 'Love Fall and Order' didn't have much wrong. Cahill is immensely engaging and has such a radiant presence that is easy to endear to. Donovan's performance here is one of his most natural, easy going and sincere. Really liked the chemistry between them, it's playful but also heartfelt and it develops in a way that doesn't rush or feel aimless. The supporting cast are all fun (even KC Klyde, who shows some nice comic timing), the standout is Gregory Harrison who always does well meaning father figure very well. The chemistry between the actors never feels forced or static.
Production values are very good, the scenery is beautiful and while the colour orange is used a lot it doesn't come over as too heavy. The music at least fits and doesn't feel overused or overscored. While not always subtle, the dialogue is generally witty, flows well and has honesty. While not perfect, the story is heart-warming and light-hearted with any character conflict being more realistic and less strained than can be usually be seen with Hallmark films following similar plotlines. A good deal happens but not in a way that comes over as over-stuffed and disjointed. The characters may not be complex, not that sort of film though, but have personality and likeable ones too.
Overall, very enjoyable. 7/10. -
jml19885 November 2019A cute, somewhat typical Hallmarker. The characters were well-cast and the addition of the cute dog was great!
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omijer13 October 2019Oh, my goodness!!! Could a Fall harvest movie be any more colorful than this one? Almost every scene is bathed in orange..leaves, trees, festival booths, and, cleverly, even the leading lady's clothing! In her first visit to her hometown in Vermont, she is shown in an orange coat, carrying a green pocketbook..again reminding us that this is a Fall movie. Other than the visual overload, this movie actually delivers a lovely story of life in a small New England town, with two families sparring over the boundaries of their farm properties. Of course, one knows a Hallmark movie will end happily with issues resolved. But the road to that resolution is well-handled in this film, with mature professional leading characters. Both are lawyers, both are extremely competitive, and both realize that their lifelong friendship is more than a casual friendship in the end. The secondary leads are quite well portrayed, especially with a mature Gregory Harrison as the heroine's father. He brings a familiar face to this lovely story. The heroine's best friend and that woman's husband are also shown as a mature, supportive couple. Their two little girls are charming, with the younger one,perhaps all of 2 or 3 years old, acting remarkably like a professional! The husband is actually depicted drinking a beer with his buddy, the leading man. Hallmark is maturing! Men do have a beer now and then. Bravo to Hallmark for this engaging film. Once the orange overload fades a bit, the story of two very likable professional adults comes through and evolves in a rational and sensible manner.
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Jackbv12311 January 2020I did not like this movie for mostly personal reasons, so don't go by my rating.
My personal reasons - I have a very strong dislike for lawyers and our legal system. Things like truth, right and wrong, human kindness and so forth have literally no place in our legal system. It's all about the letter of the law and precedent. Further, money, or the ability to marshal better lawyers and more resources strongly affect outcomes regardless of justice. In fact, technicalities and delaying tactics often drive those with better claims but insufficient resources out of contention.
This story didn't go into all of that, but much of the story had to do with letter of the law and technical efforts. Another downside for me was the fact that Claire is a little bit too arrogant, in her competition against Patrick. This works against Erin Cahill's strengths of friendliness and her charming nature. Trevor Donovan was pretty much at his best. Still, the legal conflict between them which lasted for most of the movie made it hard to enjoy any possible chemistry between them.
As for the movie, the results were mixed for me. Cahill's charm was a strong factor along with Donovan's presence that mitigated my dislike for the basic nature of the conflict. When she wasn't being arrogant, this was a great performance by Cahill.
As in many Hallmark movies, scenery is a plus, in this case nature and fall colors.
BTW: a couple of technical flaws. First in high school debate, 90% is about research and evidence while on-the-spot arguments, which was the center of their one-on-one performance before the debate team, are not really the point. Second, the final court scene just wouldn't happen. No one goes to court when an out of court settlement can be reached. Many cases are decided out of court in conference rooms and this case was ripe for that. Certainly, if anything did need to go before a judge, it would have been resolved in advance. -
MickyG33323 May 20237.4 stars.
How many of these films do they change the titles on? Can't they stick with a movie name and just not budge for once? Anywho, we have a woman visiting her hometown and her father's farm only to find out there is a land dispute in the works between an old "flame" and his aunty and her dad's farm which are right next to each other. He stumbles on an old deed, appears to show something different, she disagrees, of course they are both lawyers, I mean it wouldn't be Hallmark if there wasn't a crazy coincidence... They fight for land, they are way too agreeable with each other... In the real world there would be bickering and underhanded backstabbing at every turn, mark my words. Funny how Hallmark makes these relationship so easy going, breakups are smooth, deadly rivalries are resolved by a smile and a handshake, and even with them kissing at the end. Nah. -
alliejhardy8 November 2023Now tell me, are court rooms allowed to be decorated with pumpkins?
What did the production do with all the fake pumpkins in the pumpkin patch after the movie ended?
Was Maple only included in the movie to discover the old deed in the abandoned shed with the new bike in it?
Could we consider shooting these movies during the actual season they're set in to avoid the appearance of fake leaves and pumpkins that weigh less than a pound?
The paralegal in NYC should have been the star and I don't feel like we got closure with her at the end there.
These are questions I'm happy to never answer because they are unanswerable.
No notes. -
wayne-schu10 April 20242nd year law student here. Watched the movie instead of studying for finals next week.
Not proud of that .. Lol
Minus 1 star for lack of storyline Minus 1 star for No character development Minus 1 star for A 2 minute court room scene (totally anti climatic) - the poor Judge :/
Plus 100 stars for Trevor Donovan! He is so hot, and he looked so familiar (90210 & some other movie or Tv Show which I can't place him in).
Total chick flick, and total holiday movie but still .. this movie totally does nothing to stimulate women's intelligence. A feminist would not like this movie, for sure.
Finally, the most compelling argument I can make to watch this is .. Trevor Donovan! :) -
lll-0550013 October 2019What a fun movie. The leads had great chemistry. The best friends were fun also, and Gregory Harrison is always a plus. It was nice that even though the characters were competitive they were also likeable. Kudos to Erin and Trevor for a pleasant and nicely acted Hallmark movie.
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athompsonblue31 October 2023I get that her business is suffering, and she needs more land. And, yes, her dutiful nephew finds a document giving her a legal claim. But why didn't they try talking to Claire's dad before hitting him with a lawsuit? They could have worked things out without stirring up ill feelings.
The law may technically be on your side. But just trying to rip away generational prized land like that is still a jerk move.
Aunt Margie looks especially greedy when she goes digging through more documents, ruining the compromise that the two leads were working out. And to do that just after Claire's dad got injured! -
studioAT6 November 2021This isn't one of the better Hallmark films.
Despite starting well the third act really drags, with a 'twist' towards the end that doesn't really work.
Nice to see Gregory Harrison (forever known as Dean from 'Joey' to me) in the standard 'father of the female lead' role, but other than that and a few other moments, no, not that special. -
phd_travel15 October 2019At least this one doesn't tread totally familiar ground. Plus the combination of the cast is good. Erin Cahill and Trevor Donovan lead as two former competitors in high school who reunite in small town on opposite sides of a property dispute. The pre ending drama at least isn't contrived as usual. It's actually a pivotal part of the story. The filming looks nicer than usual. Well done.
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rustydalek-3791131 May 2021There's nothing more relaxing than settling down for a nice hour-and-a-half of overly made-up lawyers bickering with each other. Oh, but they fall in love, because of course they do. Only this time, they were high-school rivals, not sweethearts. How original. Oh, and there's a fall festival! Where have we seen that before? It's almost as original as the traditional "my ranch is losing money and I can't pay the bills" song and dance. Ah well. I guess the joke's on me for actually sitting through this.
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TxMike25 October 2020Hallmark movies are perfect for a Saturday evening after steak and wine, you don't have to be totally alert to enjoy them.
This one involves a dispute between adjacent landowners in this small Vermont town where everyone knows everyone else. An older deed indicates the property lines might not be where they think they are. The two lawyers who get involved happen to be old high school competitors, she was the valedictorian by 0.10 point over him. In high school he was nerdy and he secretly had a crush on her all those years ago but she didn't know that. He matured into quite an attractive hunk. And kind and generous.
Hallmark veteran Erin Cahill is the New York lawyer, Claire Hart, her dad's farm is one of the disputed properties. Trevor Donovan is the Stanford lawyer Patrick Harris who came back home because he enjoyed that life more than the corporate rat race. The other property is his aunt's.
The movie is only about 80 minutes, it plays out much as one would expect. This is a good movie for anyone who wants a nice story without sex, violence, or foul language, something hard to find these days.
My wife and I enjoyed it at home on DVD from our public library. -
This is one of the better Hallmark movies. I grade on a Hallmark and TV cheesy romantic movie scale, not a Hollywood movie scale. This isn't great like Oscar or Emmy winning quality, but it's one of the most complete and enjoyable Hallmark movies done in the last few years. Erin and Trevor are great leads, they have good chemistry and their characters are entertaining with their competitive natures. Definitely a more mature feel to their interactions, something I'd love to see more of on Hallmark. Really like their best friends, who happen to also be married to one another, both definitely add something to the movie. Gregory Harrison is great as always as Erin's dad. The backdrop is beautiful if you like autumn colors and a country setting.
The one thing that I was confused by and could have done without was that he kept apologizing to her, when she should have been the one apologizing. Making it seem like he was in the wrong for looking out for his aunt's best interest, when she was somehow the one in the right the entire time looking out for her dad's best interest with no judgment from anyone about it. To be clear on what is revealed at the end - Erin's family profited greatly for over 50 years off of land they didn't own and land they didn't pay for access to and finally got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. That Trevor and his aunt uncovered this in no way makes them at fault. It was Erin and Gregory's family completely at fault for this, but the apologizing is done by Trevor. Erin admits to her friend that she's embarrassed because she was so sure she was right, but never actually apologizes for casting Trevor in the role of a villain. Instead Trevor is apologetic about what he found, Trevor asks for forgiveness in a card and is the one who tries to mend their budding friendship and romance. It's still a great Hallmark movie, but this was really punting the blame and glossing over what actually happened and made it seem like her family was not completely in the wrong for what they did. It was more an odd way to frame it than a major letdown of an ending. But Erin definitely should've apologized for how she treated Trevor the entire time and it never really happens. -
JoBloTheMovieCritic27 October 20195/10 - not a terrible Hallmark Fall feature, but one that I will quickly forget
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Iwatchedthismovie13 October 2019This story started off on mutual terms and ended with mutual conditions/agreement. Claire and Patrick both had a difficult role, but like anyone else.... was defending family and still having to posse integrity through the entire ordeal. Had some funny moments, both being competitive, Fall Harvest is here and well worth the watch!
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turkeytail13-149-71314819 October 2019I guess I am in the minority but I didn't like the premise of this story. Aunt Mary seems like a land stealing money grubbing spoiled person. She couldn't buy his land off him, as he didn't want to sell so she tries something different. If they have been neighbours for years then she should have approached him differently. And none of the townspeople seem to take offence that she is after farmland that his family held for 3 generations.
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cissi-e-648-66150414 October 2021I enjoyed this movie quite a lot actually! The plot had some holes in it sure but overall it was a cozy feel-good movie with the fall set up, all the beautiful colors, decorations and the fall festivities which were so cute! But the best part on my end was definitely the chemistry between the lead actors Erin Cahill and Trevor Donovan! Chemistry between actors is nothing to take for granted in these kinds of movies but I really enjoyed it this time! I would definitely recommend this for the cheesy romantic movie lovers!
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icu_rns9 October 2021This movie follows the typical Hallmark formula, which is fine. The two main actors aren't the best that Hallmark offers, but they're not bad, either. They're also fine. What isn't fine is the ageism in this movie. Treating elderly characters like they're slow and tech-stupid is unacceptable. The condescension displayed in this movie is appalling! I'm not a senior, but I've seen many who are more tech savvy than people half their age. Hallmark can and should be treating their watchers much better than this. Especially since senior citizens definitely are part of their target audience!
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jenrn-0972212 January 2022Sad to see such agism in this movie. For a 'woke' channel that has biracial and gay couples in almost every movie, hard to believe how poorly and insultingly they portrayed every actor over the age of 65 in this movie. Older lawyer can't fix his computer in the middle of a solitaire game, older woman takes 10 minutes to make 3 copies and can barely work the machine, etc. The story is a woman's nephew sues a life-long neighbor for some property that has been used by the neighbor's family for generations. He's very self-righteous about it - even though it will ruin the town's fall festival. While it is understandable that he wants to help his aunt save her business. However, according to Hallmark's "small town rules", the townsfolk look out for each other so he should be ostracized by the entire town. The leading lady is a know-it-all, but she does try to help her father retain the property in question, so he doesn't lose his livelihood. The competition between the two leads seems forced, they don't have much chemistry, and the pumpkins and the trees at the festival were so obviously plastic it was ridiculous. Not sure why Hallmark can't film closer to the seasons they are portraying, and maybe find some more original stories. This one was a dud. And I was seriously disappointed in how idiotic they made the older folk appear. Not worth a one-time watch.
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echers2 April 2021What chemistry Trevor Donovan and Erin Cahill have in this one. 2 high school rivals on the same debate team who tried to one up each other through their high school years. He always had a crush on her but she never knew.
After graduation he went to a top law school, then practiced in CA. Then, his uncle got sick and moved back home to picturesque Vermont to be close with his Aunt Margie and be there for his uncle's last days on earth.. She is a high powered NYC lawyer who never wanted to come back home to picturesque Vermont.
Aunt Margie's next door neighbor happens to be Claire's father's farm and he runs the towns Fall Festival. One day Patrick finds Aunt Margie's house deed and realizes the next door neighbors farmland, that runs the towns Fall Festival, is actually on her deed and that land really belongs to Aunt Margie.
Aunt Margie sues Hank, the next door neighbor, and Clair represents her father Hank and Patrick represents his Aunt Margie.
Here on out ensues a beautiful love story of 2 former high school rivals now trying to one up each other on who actually owns this piece of disputed land.
They come to realize that they have a lot more in common than just a rivalry and warring families.
Erin Cahill's eyes are so beautiful in every scene, and she's totally beautiful too. She's so charming in a fun and loving way as is Trevor Donovan. Their chemistry on screen is what makes this one of the best love stories I've seen on Hallmark.
The sub plots of their best friends were fun also , especially Nick who was hilarious throughout.. You know how it's going to end once the movie starts, but it is beautiful the way the screenwriter gets us there to the end.
I didn't want this movie to end and is one of the only movies that I was actually sad when the closing credits rolled as it was over... Great job on this one by everyone involved in the production and final product of this movie.. -
aab87426 October 2020Favorite scene with
Claire (Erin Cahill) - A very competitive and very fun (Patrick cheated) race and Friends/Are we friends?
Betsy (Hailey Smith) - Kettle Corn and a hayride. -
raun-120 October 2020Wow. The grounds for malpractice on both lawyers is huge. We should sue, or knock some review points off. Hadn't the two legal eagles ever heard of Adverse Ownership. If someone has possession of someone else's land they can acquire title if they occupy it continuously over a period established under the applicable period of limitations, generally 7 - 20 years, hostilely - infringing on the owner's rights, open and notorious, actual, and exclusively. Come on. All of those elements are obvious in the movie. The movie results are moot. It was obvious from the beginning, and though the characters were attractive, they lose points for "come on" reasons.
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rhonnie-4313925 March 2021This was an ok movie. It was filmed in a quaint location. The storyline was a bit nonsensical but the acting was good enough. You could do worse.
I may watch it again if it comes on.