Tag Archives: Melissa Joan Hart

I Watched “Holiday In Handcuffs” (2007, Dir. by Ron Underwood)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Lisa recommended Holiday in Handcuffs to me.  I said, “I need a break from Hallmark Christmas romances.”  She said, “A.C. Slater in handcuffs.”  I said, “I’ll hold onto the key.”

It’s Christmas time but Trudie (Melissa Joan Hart) doesn’t want to go home.  She fears that she’s disappointed her parents (Timothy Bottoms and Markie Post) because she’s only a cook in a diner and she doesn’t have a rich boyfriend.  Then she sees the obviously successful David Martin (Mario Lopez) having lunch at the diner so she decides to kidnap him, take him home for Christmas, and tell everyone that they’re a couple.  That’s a crime, by the way.

I’m almost embarrassed about how much I enjoyed this movie.  I respect the law and I don’t think you should break it, even to get a boyfriend.  You shouldn’t kidnap anyone, especially at Christmas.  Trudie and David won me over, though.  This was made for ABC Family so even though it involves a kidnapping, it’s a very nice kidnapping.  Trudie may have committed a felony and, at first, David isn’t happy about being kidnapped but soon, Trudie and David are falling in love.  David goes from calling the cops to getting down on one knee. June Lockhart plays Trudie’s grandmother and calls the police “pigs.”  That’s the power of Christmas.   It’s a cute movie that features a heroine who does the exact thing that you should not try at home and who gets Mario Lopez as a result.  Maybe it’s just the holiday spirit getting to me but I loved this unhinged Christmas romance.

Holidays On The Lens: A Very Merry Toy Store (dir by Paula Hart)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2017 film, A Very Merry Toy Store, asks the age-old question: “Could any couple possibly be more adorable than Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez?”

Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina!) and Mario Lopez (Slater!) play rival toy store owners.  (Their fathers once owned one big toy store but that didn’t work out.)  Hart’s idealistic toy store is struggling.  Lopez’s more commercial toy store is thriving.  But they’re going to have to set aside their differences (and accept that they’re totally in love) because a big chain store is coming to town!

It’s a cute movie, one that works because the leads are so likable.  (Brian Dennehy and Beth Broderick are both well-cast in supporting roles.)  What can I say?  I like this movie!  Maybe I just always wanted to own a toy store.

(If I had a toy store, I would so a “Buy a Toy, Get A Free Book” promotion.)

Here is A Very Merry Toy Store!

Holidays on the Lens: Christmas Reservations (dir by Deanne Foley)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Melissa Joan Hart — Sabrina! — plays the events coordinator at a ski lodge in this 2019 Christmas movie.  It’s the holiday season and the everyone wants to go skiing …. including her ex-boyfriend!

I like this film.  It has nice scenery, it has holiday cheer, it has Ted McGinley, and it has Melissa Joan Hart.  It has all the necessary ingredients for a fun Lifetime holiday film.

Holiday Film Review: Broadcasting Christmas (dir by Peter Sullivan)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In 2016’s Broadcasting Christmas, Melissa Joan Hart (who will always be Sabrina to me) plays Emily Morgan.

Emily is a television news journalist in Connecticut.  She specializes in doing human interest stories.  Years ago, Emily was up for a job with a station in New York but she lost out to her then-boyfriend, Charlie Fisher (Dean Cain).  Charlie went to New York and Emily has never really forgiven him.  As the Christmas season approaches, Emily finds herself reporting about the fact that America’s top morning show, Rise & Shine, is looking for a new co-host.  Being considered are a basketball player, a reality TV star, and …. CHARLIE!  Emily has a meltdown on air and says that she feels that she should be the new cohost of Rise and Shine.  Emily’s rant goes viral and, soon enough, she’s invited to come audition for the spot.

Emily, Charlie, Abby (Krista Braun), and Jimmy Eubanks (Todd Litzinger) will be auditioning over the holiday season.  They’ll take turns co-hosting with Veronika Daniels (Jackee Harry) and they will also be expected to come up with human interest stories.  Emily and Charlie immediately start working hard, trying to make a good impression while also trying to resist the fact that they’re clearly both still in love with each other.  Jimmy Eubanks doesn’t work at all.  And Abby — well, Abby knows that she’s going to get the job and the auditions are all just for show.

Except, Abby doesn’t get the job.  She gets a chance to plan a celebrity wedding and abandons the show.  Now, it’s just between Emily and Charlie.  Will they be able to balance falling in love with competing for the same job?  Will Emily find her confidence?  Will Charlie make peace with the fact that his famous father was instrumental in getting New York to select him over Emily?  And how does a hundred year-old fruitcake fit into it all?

Okay, I know what you’re thinking.  Yes, it’s a Hallmark holiday film and, as soon as you see their names in the credits, you immediately know that Melissa Joan Hart and Dean Cain are going to end up back together.  It’s the type of film where New York is safe and beautiful and the snow falls constantly without anyone ever getting a red nose or a scratchy throat.  The film’s portrayal of the behind-the-scenes shenanigans at a network show feel especially false.  One doesn’t necessarily watch a film like this expecting to see anything reflecting reality but the whole idea that Veronika would have four people on her show without fully knowing what they’re planning on doing when they appear requires a huge suspension of disbelief.

That said, it’s a sweet-natured movie.  Melissa Joan Hart and Dean Cain make for a cute couple and I have to say that, between her Hallmark films and her Lifetime films, Hart has shown herself to be one of the stronger performers appearing in these type of films.  That’s the holiday spirit for you.  Any other time of the year, I would probably roll my eyes at this film.  But, watching it in December, I was just happy that Emily and Charlie realized that they still loved each other.

Awwwww!

What Lisa Watched Last Night #228: Killing the Competition (dir by Lee Gabiana)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Technically, I didn’t watch this last night.  I watched it earlier this morning on Prime.  But seriously, morning?  Night?  When you sleep as little as I do, it really doesn’t make a difference.

Why Was I Watching It?

As most of our longtime readers know, I love Lifetime movies.  I used to review hundreds of Lifetime movies a year.  Unfortunately, over the past few years have been busy one and I haven’t been able to keep up with the latest Lifetime films like I used to.  That’s something that I want to change so I’ve decided to start getting caught up with this year’s films.  It’s time to once again embrace the melodrama!

After getting two hours of sleep, I woke up this morning feeling under the weather.  I told my sister to go to mass and say a prayer for my continued life.  And then, once I had the house to myself, I watched Killing The Competition.  Why did I pick that particular Lifetime film?  Three words: Melissa. Joan. Hart.  SABRINA!  Hart has appeared in her share of Lifetime films over the past few years and she always throws herself into each one.  When I read that this film featured Hart as an obsessive cheer mom, I knew there was no way I couldn’t watch.

What Was It About?

In high school, Elizabeth (Melissa Joan Hart) was a cheerleader and a  member of the chess team.  (“See, I was smart!” she says while looking through an old yearbook.)  She claims that she was head dancer, even though the cheerleading team has never had a head dancer.  Now that she’s married and bored with her suburban existence, Elizabeth pushes her teenage daughter, Grace (Lily Brooks O’Bryant), to try out for the squad.  When Grace isn’t selected, Elizabeth lodges a formal complaint and the mayor of the town announces that not only will Grace be a cheerleader but so will every other girl who was rejected that year.  Grace is excited but Elizabeth is worried that this will now cause people to view Grace as being a loser who was forced onto the team.

At first, I assumed that Elizabeth would be one of those cheer moms who hired a hitman to take out one of her daughter’s cheer rivals.  Instead, Elizabeth turns out to be so pathologically jealous that she gets upset when her daughter makes the team.  Elizabeth convinces herself that Grace’s boyfriend is cheating with another cheerleader (Valerie Loo) and that Grace is about get dumped.  When Grace doesn’t get dumped or humiliated, Elizabeth goes off the deep end.

What Worked?

Again, three words: Melissa. Joan. Hart.  Whether she’s sneaking into cheerleader try-outs or spying on her daughter while wearing sunglasses and a wig, Hart is a total joy to watch as Elizabeth goes mad with envy.  Elizabeth tries to run her daughter’s boyfriend over with her car.  Elizabeth steals her daughter’s phone and sends texts.  (She takes a picture of a wedding dress and sends Grace’s boyfriend a text that reads: “Thinking of the future.”)  Elizabeth insists that everyone try on her former cheerleading uniform.  Elizabeth talks about how no one will ever forget who you were when you were in high school.  Elizabeth points a gun at people and then tries to convince them that it’s no big deal.  Elizabeth does a lot of things and Melissa Joan Hart does a great job portraying each and every one of them.

What Did Not Work?

At times, this film was almost too self-aware.  That may seem like a strange thing to say about a Lifetime film but I always like the Lifetime films that are subtly self-aware as opposed to the ones that attempt to scream from the rooftops, “We’re laughing with you!”  The best Lifetime films often feel like a private joke between the network and its fans, one that only devoted watchers will be able to fully understand and appreciate.

“Oh my God!  Just like me!” Moments

Watching this film, I realized how lucky my sister Erin and I were.  Our mom was supportive but she wasn’t crazy.  She went to every game when Erin was a cheerleader.  No matter where we were living, she always found me a dance teacher and she always told me how proud she was of me and she always made me feel like I was the greatest dancer in the world.  She was supportive and, though we didn’t appreciate it at the time, she sacrificed a lot to make sure we could do what we wanted to do.  But, at the same time, she never tried to kill anyone.  We never had to deal with the awkward moment of the police showing up at the house with an arrest warrant.  That was a good thing.

Lessons Learned

I still enjoy Lifetime movies!  Yay!

2022 In Review: The Best of Lifetime

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

First off, my apologies for being so late in finishing up my look at the best of 2022!  I’ve still got three categories to go, so let’s get to it by taking a look at the best of Lifetime!

As chaotic as 2022 may have been, one thing remained unchanged!  Lifetime provided me with both a lot of entertainment and a lot to think about!  Not only did it embrace the melodrama with films like Deadly Yoga Retreat but it also sensitively dramatized the real-life tragedies of The Gabby Petito Story and Dirty Little Secret.  Below, you’ll find my picks for the best Lifetime films and performances of the past year!

(For my previous best of Lifetime picks, click on the links: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021!)

Best Picture: The Gabby Petito Story

Best Director: Thora Birch for The Gabby Petito Story

Best Actress: Melissa Joan Hart in Dirty Little Secret

Best Actor:  Jonathan Bennett in Deadly Yoga Retreat

Best Supporting Actress:  Maja Vujicic in Mommy’s Little Star

Best Supporting Actor:  Roderick McNeil in Mommy’s Little Star

Best Screenplay: Dirty Little Secret

Lisa Marie’s 2022 In Review:

  1. 16 Worst Movies
  2. 10 Favorite Songs
  3. 10 Top Non-Fiction Books
  4. Lisa Marie’s Favorite Novels

Cleaning out the DVR: Dirty Little Secret (dir by Linda-Lisa Hayter)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

On the outside, Joanna (Melissa John Hart) and her 17 year-old daughter, Lucy (Lizzie Boys), seem like they have a good life.

Joanna is a nurse who is beloved by both her patients and her co-workers.  She works hard and she often worries about money but she is also responsible for saving lives.  One of her former patients, Drew (Edward Foy), has even fallen in love with her and is pursuing a relationship with her.  Drew is nice, considerate, and a financially stable.  He seems like he would be anyone’s dream but Joanna is hesitant about getting close to him or anyone else.

Lucy is a smart student and a talented artist and her guidance counselor thinks that she should apply to F.I.T. in New York City.  When Lucy says that she’s not sure that she could afford it, she is assured that she could probably get a scholarship or a grant.  Lucy has a close friend named Kaylie (Pavia Sidhu) and a potential boyfriend named Josh (Wern Lee) and she should be looking forward to a great future.  Instead, she’s spending all of her time making up excuses to keep people from coming by her house.

Joanna and Lucy share a secret.  Joanna is a compulsive hoarder.  Her house is so cluttered that she can’t find a thing.  While Joanna watches home improvement shows and talks about all of her plans for the future, Lucy struggles to find room to sleep.  Lucy is forced to take showers at school because Joanna couldn’t find the water bill.  When Lucy tries to secretly throw away some bubble wrap, Joanna catches her and yells, “What about if I want to send gifts!?”  The clutter is so terrible that Joanna is constantly struggling with her asthma.

It easy to cast Joanna as the villain here but, as the film makes clear, both she and Lucy have been abandoned by the rest of their family.  Joanna’s husband walked out years ago.  Lucy’s older sister, Sara (Samantha Hodhod), refuses to come by the house or even talk to Joanna but, at the same time, she expects Lucy to put all of her plans on hold so that she can take care of their mother.  Everyone has given up on Joanna but Lucy is convinced that she can somehow fix things.  It ultimately leads to tragedy and leaves the audience wondering if anyone in the family ever really had a chance.

This is one dark Lifetime movie.

I have to admit that, though I’m compulsively clean and organized, I always have a bit of sympathy for hoarders.  When you grow up in an unstable household, it’s easy to put a lot of importance in the things that you own because those are the thing that aren’t going to abandon you.  Even the simplest or most mundane items can come to represent either a good memory or hope for a better future.  I’ve seen a few episodes of Hoarders and I always despise the family members who yell at the hoarder for not throwing stuff out.  What the people yelling don’t understand is that those possessions are often the only source of comfort and stability that a hoarder has.  Throwing stuff away means throwing away memories and hope.  (The other reason why I don’t like it when people yell on Hoarders is because they’re usually only yelling to show off for the cameras.  People will ignore a problem for years and then try to play the hero as soon as a television crew shows up.)   Myself, I have a sentimental attachment to just about everything I own.  Fortunately, I also have a storage unit.  

Melissa Joan Hart does a good job playing Joanna, who alternates between pretending that everything is normal and flying into a rage whenever she can’t find something in the house.  Lizzie Boys is also effective as Lucy, who has been unfairly burdened with not only protecting the family’s secrets but also with taking care of her mother.  At the end of the movie, it’s obvious that both characters deserved to be treated better than they were.  Both characters sacrifice their chances for happiness in order to keep the family secrets.  It makes for an effective and sad Lifetime film, one that will hopefully inspire a little compassion for not only the hoarders but also the people who try to take care of them.

Music Video of the Day: (You Drive Me) Crazy by Britney Spears (1999, dir by Nigel Dick)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Remember Drive Me Crazy?

Released in 1999, Drive Me Crazy was a little film from the Freddie Prinze, Jr. era of teen romcoms with generic titles.  Of course, Freddie Prinze, Jr. is not actually in Drive Me Crazy.  Instead, the Prinze role was taken by Adrian Grenier, who does a decent impersonation.  In this film, Grenier plays the neighbor of Melissa Joan Hart.  The plot was pretty standard for the films of this era.  Melissa Joan Hart needs to make someone jealous so she pretends to date Adrian Grenier and then they end up falling in love for real.  Along the way, an important lesson is learned about being yourself and not worrying about what cliques think of you.  It’s pretty much a forgotten film, overshadowed by the likes of She’s All That and Get Over It.  (When Adrian Grenier took on the role of “greatest actor of his generation” Vincent Chase on Entourage, it was often said that Chase’s first film role was in a romantic comedy with Mandy Moore.  I assume that was a reference to this film.  Not that I ever watched Entourage….)

(Want to be your super hero …. fallin’ from running horse….)

Originally, Drive Me Crazy was going to be called Next To You, which is perhaps the only possible title that could have been more generic than the one that they went with.  The title changed after the success of Britney Spear’s debut album, …Baby One More Time.  One of the songs from the album, (You Drive Me) Crazy, had been included on the film’s soundtrack and the film’s producers decided to try to capitalize on Britney’s popularity by renaming the film after it.  And so, Next To You became Drive Me Crazy.

This also led to the production of a music video tie-in.  In the video for (You Drive Me) Crazy, Britney plays a dorky waitress who turns out to be a great dancer.  Of course, both Melissa Joan Hart and Adrian Grenier make appearances in the video.  Apparently, Grenier really didn’t want to be in the video and had to be talked into it by the video’s director, Nigel Dick.  Did Grenier think that he was too good to appear in a video with Britney Spears!?  That’s a bold statement from someone who subsequently spent 8 years acting opposite of Jeremy Piven.

Anyway, this is a fun video and, with everything that she’s been through, it’s always kind of nice to see Britney actually enjoying herself.  Filmed years before the marriage to Kevin Federline and all the stuff that followed afterwards, there’s a lot of optimism and hope to be found in this video.

Enjoy!

Cleaning Out The DVR: The Watcher In The Woods (dir by Melissa Joan Hart)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Hi there!  So, as you may know because I’ve been talking about it on this site all year, I have got way too much stuff on my DVR.  Seriously, I currently have 163 things recorded!  I’ve decided that, on February 15th, I am going to erase everything on the DVR, regardless of whether I’ve watched it or not.  So, that means that I’ve now have only have a month to clean out the DVR!  Will I make it?  Keep checking this site to find out!  I recorded The Watcher In The Woods off of Lifetime on October 21st, 2017!)

There’s something watching in the woods.

At the very least, that’s what Jan (Tallulah Evans) believes.  Jan and her family are spending the summer in Wales, at the Aylwood Manor.  From the minute that they move in, Jan starts to suspect that something is strange about the place.  Sometimes, she thinks that she can hear whispers coming from the nearby woods.  Her younger sister starts to act strangely.  Their parents are convinced that Jan is just playing tricks and trying to frighten them.  When Jan tries to find out more information about both the woods and her new home, she discovers that most of the people in the village don’t want to talk about it.  Those that do speak to her tend to say things like, “Soon, you’ll be gone too.”

(Other than some shots of the beautiful countryside, I doubt this film will do much for Welsh tourism.)

And then there’s Mrs. Aylwood (Anjelica Huston), the mysterious and stand-offish owner of Aylwood Manor.  Thirty years ago, her daughter disappeared in the woods.  Most people in the village believe that Mrs. Aylwood murdered her own daughter.  At first, Jan suspects that she’s a witch and that she not only sacrificed her daughter but now wants to sacrifice Jan’s sister as well!

Of course, the truth might be something altogether different.  It’s not always so easy to tell who is a witch and who is just a grieving mother.  The only thing that Jan knows for sure is that there’s something in the woods and it’s watching…

I have to admit that the main reason I wanted to see The Watcher In The Woods was because it was directed by Melissa Joan Hart and she’ll always be Sabrina, the Teenage Witch to me.  (Don’t start yelling at me about God’s Not Dead 2.  Actors have bills to pay and Melissa gave about as good a performance as anyone could with that script.)  Hart does a pretty good job directing The Watcher In The Woods.  It’s not particularly scary but, for all the talk of witches and demons, it’s not really meant to be a horror film.  Instead, it’s a coming-of-age story with paranormal elements.  Jan not only learns about what’s watching in the woods but she also learns an important lesson about assuming that people are witches.  And, even if it’s not really a scary movie, it does have some appropriately creepy scenes.  The woods are a great location and there’s a scene where Jan nearly downs that’s especially well-handled.  The film is also well-acted, with a natural and believable performance from Tallulah Evans and an enjoyably stylized one from Anjelica Huston.

All in all, The Watcher in The Woods was an enjoyable October treat.

Cleaning Out The DVR: A Very Merry Toy Store (dir by Paula Hart)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Hi there!  So, as you may know because I’ve been talking about it on this site all year, I have got way too much stuff on my DVR.  Seriously, I currently have 193 things recorded!  I’ve decided that, on January 15th, I am going to erase everything on the DVR, regardless of whether I’ve watched it or not.  So, that means that I’ve now have only have a month to clean out the DVR!  Will I make it?  Keep checking this site to find out!  I recorded A Very Merry Toy Store off of Lifetime on November 26th!)

As I watched A Very Merry Toy Store, I found myself wondering, “Could any couple possibly be more adorable than Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez?”

Hart and Lopez play rival toy store owners in this movie and they are the main reason to watch.  Hart is Connie Forrester.  Lopez is Will DiNova.  At one time, their fathers owned one toy story but when a conflict led to the end of their partnership, it also led to Connie and Will growing up to be rivals.  Connie’s toy store is struggling.  Will’s toy store is thriving but he’s struggling personally as he tries to deal with a divorce.  However, Will and Connie will have to set their differences aside because Roy Barnes (Billy Gardell) has just arrived in town and he brings with him the promise of the type of big chain store that puts independent toy stores out of business!

So, obviously, the main appeal here is that Mario Lopez was A.C. Slater and Melissa Joan Hart was Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.  The film even highlights the Sabrina connection by casting Beth Broderick as Connie’s mother.  (Broderick gets a subplot of her own, a sweet love story with old pro Brian Dennehy.)  Lopez and Hart are so overwhelming likable that it’s easy to overlook the fact that nothing surprising at all happens in A Very Merry Toy Store.  Whenever they get together and smile, the blinding likability on display keeps you from worrying about things like plot holes or the fact that Roy is a bit of a cartoonish villain.  Lopez and Hart are fun to watch and you hope that their characters end up together.  If nothing else, you know they’re going to have amazingly likable children.

Speaking of Mario Lopez, does he have a picture of Dorian Gray in his attic or what?  The same day that I watched A Very Merry Toy Store, I also watched an old episode of Saved By The Bell and I was once again shocked by the fact that Lopez has apparently not aged in twenty years.  As for Melissa Joan Hart, she’s all always be Sabrina to me.  She’s also a pretty good actress with a very genuine screen presence.  This is the second time that Lopez and Hart have played a couple and hopefully, they’ll do so again next Christmas.

A Very Merry Toy Store may be a predictable holiday film but it is more than saved the charisma of its two leads.