Hallmark Channel movie review: 'Forever in My Heart'
Infused with Irish charm, the romance "Forever in My Heart" (airing Sept. 14 on the Hallmark Channel) has all the makings of a rekindled love story - but it just doesn't quite become a movie that will stay in your heart forever.
In short: Five years after their careers split them apart, Jenna (Merritt Patterson) and Charlie (Jack Turner) reunite - forcing Jenna to decide where her heart belongs: home in the United States or in Ireland.
Having a two former flames unexpectedly thrown back together is practically a whole sub-genre of Hallmark Channel movies. Usually they're single or probably newly single (after just being dumped). And if one of the two leads is currently in a relationship, the third wheel is obviously a wrong fit. The curveball of "Forever" is Jenna's fiancée Dave isn't necessarily that bad of a guy - he's just not the right guy for Jenna. It's a simple story choice, but it's one that makes the movie more engaging.
Jenna is a capable, hands-on manager who is more content in the trenches of guest services than trapped behind a corporate desk - but her character's arc doesn't do the story any favors. After falling in love in a small Irish town, Jenna chooses a corporate job, wherein her relationship with Charlie just sort of withers. The simplicity of Jenna's story is: she has a vision for her future, and she ditches any guy who doesn't fit into that model. It's a fine character motive - but one without much complexity and one that doesn't get explored with any real depth.
Although Jenna is the protagonist, Charlie actually has the more engaging and compelling story arc. As the heir apparent to a struggling family-run hotel, Charlie is trying keep the doors and lights on - and running a hotel wasn't his personal dream. If he fails, he loses the family business, which also employs his life-long friends. Jenna's story is about finding her home - but it's Charlie's plot that drives "Forever" forward.
The perfectly lovely third act reaches back to Jenna and Charlie's past and cohesively ties it to the charming hotel's present. That said, the movie glosses over the resolutions to Jenna's story - but leaves the ultimate fate of the hotel -- frankly up in the air. It's just weird for the movie to literally list off all the logistical hurdles facing the ailing hotel, and just kind of leave them dangling in the end. In general, that story is resolved - but in a rather rushed and unsatisfying manner.
Final verdict: Jenna's story is the emotional core of "Forever," yet its Charlie's story that keeps the story moving. Although Jenna and Charlie share an undeniable spark, the story makes a much stronger case for why Charlie is and always was the "right" guy - but doesn't give Jenna much room to grow or evolve.
Score: 3/5
"Forever in My Heart" is rated TV-G and has a running time of 90 minutes. The movie premieres on The Hallmark Channel on Sept. 14.
