Every Time a Bell Rings

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source: Every Time a Bell Rings

Adopted kids dealing with their past, interracial and a same sex couples, couples struggling with kids vs careers.... If that's too "woke" for you then you don't realize that this is real life.

The entire movie was a downer. Nothing but stress, tension, complaints and negativity. The very last two minutes of fake happiness can't make up for the rest. Why they even had Wes Brown as a "love interest" is a mystery because he was barely on screen and the relationship made no sense and seemed doomed, anyway. Hallmark is losing viewers left and right and yet another poorly written script isn't going to change that downward momentum.

My title pretty much sums up the story plot line. Most Hallmark movies are made in Canada (British Columbia), but this one wound up in Natchez, MS; supposedly set in December, but full-leaf green was present on all the trees and shrubbery. Wandering around in the background (movable scenery) are extra actors in WINTER coats; only thing missing was the fake snow. Normal temps in Natchez in December are upper 50s to low 70s. Believability is non-existent. But "political correctness" statements abound; and that is why Hallmark is in a TV ratings decline, and why the Great American Channel (GAC) is now in ascension, with Hallmark stars jumping ship.

Hallmark had a great niche. There's plenty of wokeness this one was unnecessary. We need something like festivus for the rest of us. Plus that kiss came quick in the relationship, no one like easy except Cuomo & Bill Clinton.

While I appreciate the diversity, it was kind of boring. I did not like that the Asian daughter Betrayed her husband by "temporarily " denying him a family when she agreed to a family when they were married. She will never be "ready" and will continue to be a workaholic. Sad. Erin Cahill is not for me. So far she has never been appealing to me in her roles. Ali Liebert's charmingly expressive face wasn't. Enough said. I liked the idea of 3 sisters' stories instead of concentrating on one couple but two of the three had problematic messages (her sisters feel like Erin seeking out her biological parent was a betrayal.) and the other one was empty and boring. Dee Wallace has aged very gracefully.

The opening of the movie is quite lovely to watch, three girls on a Christmas scavenger hunt that their dad created for them, very cute. After this, I was hooked. Although 'Every Time a Bell Rings' has its flaws, it still is a lovely story with some quality acting. Sure, it is not one of Hallmark's best, but it is entertaining and engaging nonetheless. The movie is about three adopted sisters - Charlotte (played by Erin Cahill), Emily (played by Brittany Ishibashi), and Nora (played by Ali Liebert) - who return home to Mississippi for Christmas after some years apart. They soon discover that their late father has arranged one final Christmas scavenger hunt for them to complete. Will the search for the Christmas Bell bring the sisters back together after years of drifting apart? At the heart of the story is the bond between sisters, and even though they have drifted apart over the years, all they need is a bit of reminding of that bond (via another one of dad's scavenger hunts) for them to work things out. Taking the (time) constraints of an 84-minute movie into account, I thought the writers did a good job of weaving together the sisters' individual struggles and storylines (especially their own perceptions of success and failure) in a way that worked through their feelings and concerns together as sisters. However, because the writers try to do a lot in the movie, we lose some depth to the story, which other reviewers have pointed out. The acting, overall, was very strong, I felt. Cahill, Ishibashi, and Liebert all have very good performances. That is, all three engaged me, pulled me in from the start. Though the romance in the movie is secondary, there still is some great chemistry. Both Cahill and Brown and Liebert and Greenwood were very convincing and appealing to watch on-screen, I felt. Finally, there is the scavenger hunt and the Christmas Bell. In some ways, I wish the writers would have cut back on the sub-plots and focused their energy on the scavenger hunt as this was fun to watch. Plus, it had a bit of mystery, which I enjoyed. All in all, 'Every Time a Bell Rings' is a charming Christmas story about the love and bond of three sisters. It is a warm, sweet, and engaging story (even with its shortcomings), a nice new edition to Hallmark's Christmas movie line-up this season.

I found myself not caring about any of those characters. And the bio mom, sheesh. Always saying HEY YOU to a daughter she just met. Tacky. And the ending was so anti climactic. Isn't it warm in Mississippi around Christmas time?

Hallmark was better when it was lighthearted, stress free and didn't care about PC. I'm finding the new Hallmark movies too over the top. Everything has changed in the last 2 years, why does Hallmark have to go 180 degrees too. Good actors, but story line lost me at the dinner table.