Watched: 03/13/2025
Format: Hallmark
Viewing: First
Director: Peter Benson
Job: Curator at an Art Museum
new skill: interior decorating
Man: Kevin McGarry
Job of Man: art teacher
Goes to/ Returns to: Stays in Boston
Event: Museum gala
Food: Pineapple pizza (her pregnancy craving)
If one concept needed absolutely no sequels, it was The Wedding Veil, but here we are.
Because we're doing all of this for science, I looked up the book that these movies are all supposedly based on, and it has nothing to do with anything in the movie. I have no idea why they keep crediting the author. The only thing the movies have in common with the book is that there's a wedding veil. The plot and characters seem totally different.
The author is a Texas romance writer, and seems to pen hot and heavy romances about cowboys that take place here in the Lone Star State. At some point, she renamed the book to make it more Texas themed. Anyway, the series is well reviewed by romance fans, so get on that, if that's your jam.
Back to our film!
It's an indeterminate amount of time since we last checked in with Chabert and Man. And as we have already been told in the first installment, and mentioned in two other films - they're happily -ever-aftering. So, as we enter this film, we must put together a movie that both has some sort of conflict and doesn't disrupt the Hallmark promise of life being great after marriage. Thus, we have a film with multiple plot threads and issues that rise up, and then fizzle away like water on a hot plate.
- Chabert figures out she's pregnant, and then delays telling Man, drawing it out, trying to make a perfect moment/ environment in which to tell him, but she keeps getting interrupted. This seems to go on for weeks of movie time. As stressful as it is for the character, you will shout at the screen "Lady, just tell him"
- Multi-multi-millionaire Man is very upset that the very old house he bought is having issues like plumbing and whatnot. They are not at all curious about how their contractor seems to be just milking them for fixes he "discovers" need doing, but okay.
- Man's mother touches the veil and its awesome power transports her college lover to the same furniture store where she's helping Chabert buy a sofa. When Mom and Not-Dad rekindle their romances, Man has icky feelings about Mom dating.
- And, Chabert gets a new boss, who seems to detest the direction of the mini-museum they work in. Despite the museum very clearly featuring a sort of classical style, he thinks they need to go all in on Modern Art.
I do not get what the writers of these movies have in their heads about Italy and Italian food, but the one restaurant we see in this movie is, of course, Italian. So, yeah, everybody... Italy! Again! There is only the US and Italy in the world of The Wedding Veil. Curiously, the veil in the OG novel is Irish. So this is all on the screenwriters.
Troublingly, as in the first film, Man is still written as a man-baby who throws little tantrums. And at the slightest hint of disagreement, Chabert's character is written to say "I hate it when we fight" and soothe his wounded feelings. It's weird and makes me worry for her character. Tellingly, when Man meets his mother's new boyfriend, he reacts like a teen having an outburst.
Man also still really leans into that Boston accent, something so oddball in one of these movies that it's much discussed on Reddit and the team had to explain it to a website.
You can tell that Chabert and Co. are having fun making these movies as there's clearly improvised business tossed in with jokes and whatnot. Not *funny* jokes, but jokes. Most impressive, at the end of this one, they do a little interview bit with the happy couple - like When Harry Met Sally - Which is shockingly meta and basically drags the first movie and Man's accent. Salute.
There's also some stuff, like seeing Chabert descend a grand staircase in 6" heels, and realize she has to go back up - and you know looking at the wide shot this is going to suck, but instead she takes off the shoes and ascends. It's not a lot, but seems to be winking a bit at the audience, saying "we know you think about this stuff".
There's a lot more shared screentime with the trio of friends than the first Wedding Veil film. It doesn't overwhelm the movie, but you can feel the decision to set each story in a different city straining the concept a bit, as it would be far easier to just have them all in one place. Clearly people liked those scenes in prior films, so we spent money to make it happen again.
Chabert's wardrobe in these movies is really particular - skewing weirdly trad wife upon occasion. I also don't know what has been fashionable... ever, but absolutely not for a decade, so maybe a floral print a-line dress with flouncy bits is in. I suspect it has to do with crafting a look that screams "good-girl with the rose colored glasses". But you do start thinking she's about to start a lifestyle tik-tok channel wherein she says some problematic shit while looking like Donna Reed.
Primarily, this flick is about the excitement that comes with the first baby when you're already financially secure, and that's fine. No shade. It can feel a bit underwritten as they do bring up issues like "hey, I can't bring the baby to the museum, what will we do?" and then have no answer. They just punt and say "we'll figure it out" which is fair enough, but why mention it at all? Seriously - what are you going to do? And do you even have to work?
Is it stupid? My beef with the movie was the storyline about her disagreement with her new boss about the direction of the museum - something that the board would absolutely be aware of when hiring the guy, a board upon which her husband is an active member. Oddly, the movie kind of doles out career-ending advice to actual humans. And refuses to accept that maybe sometimes one of their leads might learn and grow.
Our new Executive Director wants to move away from 19th century art some might consider romantic and stuffy and bring in modern art. This movie makes the bold stand that modernist work is an affront, and we need only gaze upon realism, portraiture and illustrative paintings for real art. And lace. So much lace.
Disliking this direction, Chabert works to actively and publicly undermine her boss. Learning her beloved The Bride portrait is likely to be traded for some modern art that literally induces morning sickness, she brings in a news crew without her supervisor's knowledge or permission to do a story on the painting.
In the real world, it's a move that would cause bad feelings at best, a firing at medium, and at worst - and 100% likely - cause a major and publicly embarrassing issue for the board to deal with as the wife of one of their members just undermined their hire on local TV and the boards' chosen direction for the museum.
I get why the movie does this, but also - pals - don't do this, unless your partner is also a millionaire and you're about to disappear on maternity leave, and unlikely to come back to work, anyway. Then, burn those bridges. I recommend being judicious in how you spend your political capital. And, hot tip, when you do get a new boss, just hear them out and try to understand why your board hired them. Clearly whatever was happening before isn't working and this is their chosen direction. Maybe you'll grow and expand your own horizons rather than throwing a tantrum about change.
Because this is a TV movie, we hard sell the idea that an art show about lace has the biggest turnout of any gala in museum history, and all is well.
Perhaps telling of what Hallmark creatives think should happen after the single dry kiss ends these movies - Chabert's character seems to think that she will be woken with a single rose each day for the rest of her life as her husband smiles upon her in the morning sun.
This is @#$%ing insane. And, frankly terrifying for both of them. Has no one working on these films ever lived with anyone else? Do not commit your husband to this nonsense, and how is it not kind of creepy by morning #5 or so to open your eyes and someone is looking at you? Waking up with someone watching you is when you're living with a maniac - but apparently hot to many people.
Jamie's act of pure love is getting up 10 minutes before me to start the coffee, and that's a world I want to live in.
No comments:
Post a Comment