Review: Hallmark’s “My One and Only”

“My One and Only” aired August 31, 2019 on the Hallmark Channel.  This final summer movie offering starred Pascale Hutton and Sam Page, a pair of popular Hallstars that I always enjoy seeing on my TV screen. As always, the movie was filmed in Canada, thus time in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  For a split second when they showed the lodge on the ranch I swore up and down that it was the exact same lodge/ranch used in “A Summer Romance” from a couple weeks ago, but that movie was filmed in a completely different area of Canada.  They just both happen to have large ponds right next to the house.

In a nutshell

I was initially worried when I read the description of this movie – I’m not a fan of “The Bachelor” so I wasn’t sure if I’d like a Hallmark movie set within a similar reality TV show.  Fortunately, the reality TV aspect of this movie was so far-fetched that I ended up ignoring that plot completely and just enjoyed the performances of Pascale Hutton and Sam Page.  In the end, I liked it!

Plot

Stephanie (Hutton), an executive recruiter, gets cast to appear on a dating show called ‘The One’.  Despite not looking for a relationship, she finds herself drawn not to Oliver (Stephen Huszar), the man with whom she’s been set up on the show, but with Alex (Page), the manager of the ranch being used for the show’s location.

Actors

Pascale Hutton is delightful on screen.  I was a fan of hers from her other movies, but once I saw her on “When Calls the Heart” (which I didn’t start watching until it was already on Season 5) I knew I’d be a big fan.  Her smile lights up the screen.

Sam Page is also fun to watch on screen, and has starred in several Hallmark movies over the years, garnering a huge, supportive fan base as a result.

The movie also starred Stephen Huszar as Oliver.  Huszar previously played Ruggles in “Return to Christmas Creek,” a 2018 Hallmark Christmas movie, as well as starring in a few other Hallmark movies.

As for the six degrees of Kris Polaha, Sam Page is three degrees away.  Page co-starred with Ethan Embry in 2012’s “Imaginary Friend.” Embry had previously starred in “They” (2002) with Laura Regan.  Regan was Polaha’s co-star in 2014’s “Atlas Shrugged Part III.”

Chemistry

I think Pascale Hutton could have natural chemistry with a barn.  She’s so sunny and natural, and I think that is passed on to whomever she shares a scene with.  Sam Page’s acting style is a bit more stoic, but he was the perfect foil for Hutton in this movie.  It’s a pairing I hope we get to see again on Hallmark.

Feelgoods

There was one single line in this movie that I LOVED, and gave me one of those “Aw, that’s so great!” feelings.  When Alex is trying to talk Stephanie into going for the hot air balloon ride, and overcoming her fears, he initially quotes back something she had mentioned her grandmother saying to her as a child.  Then, seeing that was not enough to give her the courage, he says, “I could say nothing at all, and just hold your hand.”  Y’all – I melted.  What a great line!

Tropes

Can we raise three cheers for the fact they allowed Pascale Hutton to walk down the street with not one, but TWO actual cups of coffee in her hand?  They were iced coffees in clear cups and you could see the liquid sloshing around in the cups as she walked.  THANK YOU, HALLMARK.

Stephanie was interested in a promotion, although she wasn’t in the running because she was too afraid to ask for consideration.  But that’s still a trope.  We also had the trope of a family-run business owner being resistant to changing the status quo in how the business is run.

Lastly, there was a dance to close out the festival.  Now, I’ve not been to many small town festivals, but I’m going to have to add this one to the permanent tropes list.  EVERY Hallmark movie that features a town festival of some kind ends with a big dance on the last night.  For those who live in small towns, does this happen where you live?  Do festivals normally end with barn dances?  Because there are plenty of festivals in my town, and to my knowledge exactly NONE of them end with a dance.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

Three confusing things, one of them being HUGE and the main reason this movie does not score as high as it could have.

First, when asked what her company does, secondary character Kelly explains to another character that it is the “tech behind the apps on your phone.”  Um.  So, programming?  Coding?  Could you not just say, “we create the code for phone apps?”

Secondly, who DOESN’T know how the game of “jinx” works?  When she and Oliver say something at the same time, they say “Jinx!” and then don’t realize that they also need to say, “you owe my a Coke.”  I don’t drink soda, and even I always say, “You owe me a Coke,” when someone says jinx.  C’mon – if they couldn’t say ‘Coke’ they could have just said, “soda,” or if that’s too colloquial because some people say “pop,” they could have just said, “you owe me a drink.”  But you DON’T say, “I’m not sure how the game is played.”

My third issue with this movie, and it’s a big on because it occurred constantly, was the filming of this reality TV show.  First, there was only one camera being used, apparently.  So the show is based solely on long shots, with no closeups whatsoever.  Secondly, neither Stephanie nor Oliver appeared to be wearing microphones, and there were no boom mics being used, so the fact of the matter is that the ONLY sound being recorded was the sound right by the camera man – and given how far away he was in 95% of this shots, that meant NOTHING was captured other than surrounding noise and conversation.  Lastly, I’ve never been on a reality TV show, but I suspect that filming takes place 24/7, and yet throughout half of the movie, the TV crew was nowhere to be found, or didn’t follow the action.  Notably, in the last scene shot for the show, Oliver runs off to talk to Kelly, and the cameraman doesn’t follow him to get THAT declaration of love.  For a show about finding love.  Okay. That’s one lousy TV show that no one should be watching.

Re-watchability

I would only watch this movie for the scenes involving Hutton and Page.  I would skip the entire part of the movie about making the TV show because that aggravated me to no end.

The Ranking

So where does it fit in the rankings? For the Hallmark Summer Nights movies, it’s just outside the Top 10 for the year, but just barely.  If I had been really harsh with deducting points for the reality TV show part of the movie, it would have scored lower.

1. Winter Love Story (air date: January 19) – 685 pts – weighted score: 115.8 (81.2%)
2. Love to the Rescue (air date: March 23) – 679 pts – weighted score: 115.4 (80.9%)
3. Mystery 101 (air date: January 27 (HMM)) – 454 pts – weighted score: 94.2 (80.5%)
4. Love on the Menu (air date: February 23) – 642 pts – weighted score: 113.8 (79.9%)
5. Bottled With Love (air date: April 13) – 649 pts – weighted score: 112.2 (78.7%)
6. Love Takes Flight (air date: April 27) – 670 pts – weighted score: 111.0 (77.9%)
7. Love, Romance & Chocolate (air date: February 16) – 627 pts – weighted score: 110.2 (77.3%)
8. The Last Bridesmaid (air date: June 22) – 643 pts – weighted score: 109.2 (76.6%)
9. Paris, Wine & Romance (air date: May 4) – 638 pts – weighted score: 108.3 (76.0%)
10. My Boyfriend’s Back: Wedding March 5 (air date: June 8) – 635 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
11. Flip That Romance (air date: March 16) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
12. My One and Only (air date: Aug 31) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.6 (74.1%)
13. Mystery 101: Playing Dead (air date: June 23 (HMM)) – 425 pts – weighted score: 86.5 (73.9%)
14. A Summer Romance (air date: Aug 17) – 577 pts – weighted score: 103.7 (72.7%)
15. True Love Blooms (air date: April 6) – 598 pts – weighted score: 103.1 (72.3%)
16. The Story of Us (air date: February 9) – 605 pts – weighted score: 101.3 (71.1%)
17. A Brush with Love (air date: March 30) – 563 pts – weighted score: 97.7 (68.6%)
18. Ruby Herring: Silent Witness (air date: January 20 (HMM)) – 357 pts – weighted score: 79.5 (67.9%)
19. Love, Unleashed (air date: July 6, 2019) – 559 pts – weighted score: 96.2 (67.5%)
20. Love Under the Rainbow (air date: March 9) – 581 pts – weighted score: 96.0 (67.4%)
21. One Winter Proposal (air date: January 12) – 535 pts – weighted score: 95.8 (67.2%)
22. Just Add Romance (air date: March 2) – 548 pts – weighted score: 95.6 (67.1%)
23. From Friend to Fiance (air date: May 25) – 555 pts – weighted score: 94.8% (66.5%)
24. Christmas Camp (air date: July 11) – 530 pts – weighted score: 93.9 (65.9%)
25. Love and Sunshine (air date: Aug 3) – 504 pts – weighted score: 91.7 (64.3%)
26. Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (air date: March 10 (HMM) – 354 pts – weighted score: 74.1 (63.3%)
27. Sister of the Bride (air date: June 29) – 516 pts – weighted score: 89.8 (63.0%)
28. Valentine in the Vineyard (air date: February 2) – 503 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
29. Love, Take Two (air date: June 15) – 507 pts – weighted score: 87.8 (61.6%)
30. All Summer Long (air date: Aug 24) – 512 pts – weighted score: 87.7 (61.5%)
31. Snowcoming (air date: January 26) – 485 pts – weighted score: 87.3 (61.2%)
32. The Winter Castle (air date: January 5) – 475 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.2%)
33. Sailing Into Love (air date: May 18) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.0 (54.7%)
34. Rome in Love (air date: July 27) – 436 pts – weighted score: 76.7 (53.8%)
35. A Taste of Summer (air date: Aug 10) – 403 pts – weighted score: 70.9 (49.7%)
36. A Winter Princess (air date: January 18) – 380 pts – weighted score: 70.5 (49.5%)
37. A Feeling of Home (air date: May 11) – 386 pts – weighted score: 69.7% (48.9%)
38. Love in the Sun (air date: June 1) – 361 pts – weighted score: 62.5 (43.8%)

To see where this movie lands in my overall rankings of Hallmark movies, visit my Hallmark Movie Rankings page!

What did you think of “My One and Only”?  Comment below and let me know!