Welcome to Valentine (TV Movie 2023)

Welcome to Valentine (TV Movie 2023). 1h 24m | TV-G

“Iu0026#39;m a huge Hallmark movie fan but this movie was too weird and unsatisfying for me. I didnu0026#39;t have a problem with the leads, but their story was uninspiring.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs the movie opens, Olivia is a struggling artist whou0026#39;s been in New York City for two years but is still crashing on her friendu0026#39;s couch (??). She has a job at a catering company with that friend but sheu0026#39;s a terrible employee. After being fired (shocker), she finds out that sheu0026#39;s losing the couch that sheu0026#39;s been crashing on (her friend is suddenly moving and tells her she only has the place for another week).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo she catches a ride home with George, a high flying u0026quot;40 under 40u0026quot; golden boy and future Big Company CEO who, bizarrely, is driving an old car 2,800 miles across the country during the winter. Huh? He agrees to drop off Olivia in her hometown of Valentine, Nebraska but his old car breaks down once they get there (shocker). After the townu0026#39;s only mechanic incompetently fried the entire electrical system of his car (by putting the jumper cables on the wrong battery posts), George becomes understandably frustrated and calls the town u0026quot;Nowhere, Nebraskau0026quot;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut that town is, in fact, literally located in the middle of nowhere and only has a population of 2,603. I love how Hallmark has become more diverse and inclusive but the real town of Valentine only has one Black person. Just one. And yet virtually everyone featured in the movie (Olivia, her sister Vanessa, Vanessau0026#39;s son, the restaurant owner, the townu0026#39;s only mechanic, and some random people in the parade) were all people of color. It came across as well intentioned but unrealistic.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen I watched this movieu0026#39;s premiere in February when the movie supposedly takes place, it was literally 24 degrees in Valentine, Nebraska. But some little old lady name Mrs. Hacky spent most of the movie sitting on a little stool outside in the freezing cold, staring at a barn.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEveryone was acting like the annual Valentineu0026#39;s Day parade in this cold tiny town was a huge event. Really?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI hated Georgeu0026#39;s unnecessary lying about Oliviau0026#39;s u0026quot;successu0026quot; .u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI thought her art was unimpressive.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI thought Georgeu0026#39;s career crisis was poorly set up (u0026quot;I donu0026#39;t want to spend my time making money for my company, I just want to spend my time giving its money awayu0026quot;).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt wasnu0026#39;t as though he had some other clear path or passion that he wanted to follow like Olivia.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNothing in the movie rang true for me and it was hard to root for anybody in a movie that just didnu0026#39;t make any sense, especially the fantasy ending.”