Hallmark Movies Are Pure Escapism From The Real World, I Highly Suggest You Try Watching One Today

Photo: Hallmark

At nan moment, I should beryllium working, but it’s nan time aft nan 2024 predetermination and I’m beautiful sure… nary 1 is moving this morning. See, I’m a freelancer present astatine Decider and 1 of my thumps is reviewing Hallmark movies. Today, I’m expected to beryllium watching a screener of an upcoming movie called ’Tis The Season To Be Irish which, let’s look it, we tin only dream is arsenic bully arsenic its title. But reviewing Hallmark movies was thing I was very skeptical to do erstwhile I received my first duty a mates years agone because if you’ve ever publication thing I’ve ever written for our site, you mightiness cognize I’m a cynic. A sarcastic eye-roller pinch nary clip for sentimentality aliases schmaltz. Half of my Hallmark reviews should conscionable person a TL:DR astatine nan apical reading: “Completely unrealistic and utterly predictable!”

Hallmark movies person a estimation ripe for parody, they’re made-for-TV romances churned retired successful grounds clip that are almost ever astir a scrappy protagonist falling for her improbable romanticist partner while she’s either 1) connected a soul-searching travel to Europe, 2) connected a activity travel successful nan mountains aliases 3) trying to get by arsenic a struggling azygous mom who happens to unrecorded successful a location pinch each stainless appliances and granite countertops. The premises are truthful insane, truthful repetitive, and yet, successful that repetition, and successful those set-decorated apartments pinch cutesy vacation pillows, there’s immoderate existent comfortableness and escapism that we mightiness each require today.

A fewer weeks ago, I watched a Hallmark movie called Falling Together which stars Ashley Williams arsenic an overly optimistic female who has precocious moved to Pittsburgh and who makes it her ngo to not conscionable bring each her neighbors successful her caller flat building together to resoluteness their differences, but who finds her intent volunteering astatine an Alzheimer’s kindness walk. Everything astir this movie publication to maine arsenic being contrived. Williams’ characteristic was impossibly kind-hearted, friends successful a pushy measurement that I would virtually tally screaming from IRL. The man she yet falls successful emotion with, Mark, played by Hallmark champion Paul Campbell, is simply a “grump” isolated from he’s not really, he’s conscionable a regular feline who enjoys being alone. In nan end, Ashley brings her warring neighbors together by getting them to talk to each other, and she meets Mark successful nan middle, allowing him immoderate breathing room while making abstraction for breathing room of her own. It is truthful starry-eyed and optimistic I wanted to propulsion up. And I was truthful grateful it existed.

Photo: Bettina Strauss

At nan time, I wrote of nan film, “If nan existent world that we each unrecorded successful is simply a bubble that’s afloat of negativity and conflict, this movie exists to popular it… Falling Together is a batch of things: earnest and sincere, wide and a small spot corny, optimistic and often unrealistic. It’s trading an idealized type of nan world wherever group aspire to link and beryllium positive, moreover successful nan look of thing for illustration Alzheimer’s Disease, which tin beryllium upsetting and move your world upside down. It’s surely not edgy aliases high-concept, but it’s a feel-good matter that’s a reminder that immoderate group do aspire to put bully vibes into nan world.”

A movie for illustration Falling Together is not meant to beryllium precocious art, for maine and for galore people, it is simply a band-aid for immoderate of what ails america emotionally. It’s escapism, arsenic are each of Hallmark’s films. (Let maine beryllium clear, I loved Falling Together for it’s good-vibes-only sentiment, but location are different Hallmark movies I would urge which besides connection nan aforesaid warmth and comfortableness pinch 90% little schmaltz and merit wider audiences, including An American In Austen, Round and Round, and The Cases of Mystery Lane.)

Photo: Hallmark

I’ve travel to recognize that successful watching truthful galore Hallmark movies for work, contempt my cold, acold heart, I’ve go a instrumentality because they’re nan cleanable antidote to nan nightmares of nan existent world. Astonishingly apolitical (with nan objection of nan appearances of nan occasional cheery character, thing that would never happen successful a Great American Family film), Hallmark movies correspond an idealized world wherever location really is bid connected world and bully will toward men. (Guys, honestly, I americium nan world’s astir antagonistic person, I americium shocked by my ain pen here.) While belief exists wrong nan confines of nan network’s Countdown To Christmas films (which do see different religions arsenic well), it’s not utilized to evangelize. These movies and their idealistic group decorations – small towns pinch beloved vicinity gathering halls wherever everyone congregates for nan large Christmas shot aliases expansive openings aliases immoderate – are a glimpse astatine an America that has ne'er and will ne'er exist. But would that it did.

One of nan biggest differences betwixt maine and my hubby is that he loves watching “feel-bad” movies and I really don’t. (This word was precocious elaborated connected successful an article successful The Ringer that named films for illustration Darren Aronofsky’s Mother! and Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer arsenic 2 films that typify nan category). Even earlier they put a sanction to nan genre, this has ever been my slightest favourite benignant of movie. (It makes nary consciousness why I tin tolerate a grim true-crime documentary but not scripted worry and unease; each I tin surmise is that I for illustration my humor and courage to beryllium real, but require my escapism to beryllium exclusively filled pinch witty repartee.) But successful nan aforesaid measurement that I’m grateful for a movie for illustration Falling Together to beryllium capable to beryllium to put its bully vibes successful nan world, you cognize what, Robert Eggers and co.? You do you. But arsenic I watch much and much Hallmark, I recognize that what I crave from a movie is simply a consciousness of control. Predictability isn’t a bad thing. Happy endings? Test audiences emotion them for a reason. While nan value level of Hallmark films varies greatly, they’re each calved retired of nan aforesaid formula: bully group aspiring to find happiness and intent successful a charming place, each fights resolved by nan adjacent scene, and past they kiss. If that’s not nan American dream, I don’t cognize what is.

If escapism is basal today, moreover if you deliberation its not for you, I highly urge Hallmark arsenic your medicine of choice. At worst, it’s a low-stakes distraction; astatine best, possibly it’ll service arsenic a reminder that personification retired location still has capable dream to draught a type of a world that aspires to beryllium good.

Liz Kocan is simply a popular civilization writer surviving successful Massachusetts. Her biggest declare to fame is nan clip she won connected nan crippled show Chain Reaction.