B&B Merry Plot Summary
Tracey Wise is a renowned travel blogger who is invited to a struggling, smalltown B&B for a free getaway in exchange for a review. It's not long before she finds herself wanting to help the owners....and falling in love with the owner's handsome son, Graham.
Starring: Jen Lilley and Jesse Hutch
My Movie Grade: C+
Image: Great American Media
B&B Merry Is Enjoyable If You Ignore the Problems
Most romcom fans adore Jen Lilley and Jesse Hutch. They've both starred in tons of light-hearted romance movies, and it's comforting to see their familiar and loveable faces in the Christmas line-up each year. Most of their movies are homeruns, but B&B Merry falls short of the hype.
You are probably shaking your head in disagreement saying, "I LOVED B&B Merry!" I understand. My opinion will likely be unpopular, so you can love it all you want. It is charming on the surface, but here's where it has issues:
First, Great American Family has promised to deliver wholesome, family-friendly movies, and many of us are turning to the network for that very reason. In B&B Merry, Tracey and her boyfriend, Mark, receive an unexpected invitation to Silver Peak B&B for a romantic getaway. Even though they break up before he arrives, the Cooper family prepares the bedroom Tracey and Mark are assigned to with all the romantic amenities. Clearly, they are going to be shacking up, and even though the initial plan falls through, this is not a wholesome and family-friendly message for viewers.
By the end of the movie, Graham decides to leave the B&B and pursue his dream of photography. He plans to tag along with Tracey in her world-wide adventures as her travel photographer. Again, the implication is that an unmarried couple will be cohabitating.
Lilley is a devout Christian, along with many in leadership at Great American Family, so it's disappointing they would abandon their principles to embrace current cultural norms.
The second issue with the movie is that Lilley's acting feels "off." She manages to generate the right amount of chemistry with her co-star, and she always brings warmth to her character, but if you watch her facial expressions, there are many times when her body language doesn't really fit the scene or is over-exaggerated. Lilley is a wonderful person who spends a lot of time investing into charitable causes, but maybe trying to be a super mom and act on top of everything else is stretching her too thin?
Third, a few components of the script are simply not believable. When Mark breaks up with Tracey as she's entering the B&B, it takes her a ridiculously long time to admit it to the owners. She spends the day baking in the kitchen with them, and Graham takes her out on the town, so she has multiple opportunities to come clean. Everyone keeps asking when Mark will be joining her and making a fuss, yet she allows the deception to drag on. Her excuse is that she's embarrassed to admit what happened, but considering the kindness she receives from the family, it's wrong of her to keep up the pretense for so long.
Fourth, would Tracey and Graham really be able to earn a living from travel blogging and photography? Travel bloggers are all over the map when it comes to potential earnings, so it's impossible to predict an average income. Successful travel bloggers can, however, rake in the money, but only when they have a strong understanding of SEO and marketing, and have other revenue streams like affiliate income, run online courses, help others with social media management, are plugged into a brand that they push, publish books, etc.
We learn that Tracey's degree is in law, so we can assume she has no formal training to do what she's doing, nor is there any indication she has alternate income sources in place. Graham has only dabbled with photography in the past--his equipment has been stored away for years. Yet, we're supposed to accept that he will be able to quit his job at the B&B and immediately generate enough money to live independently? Right. Heck, Graham never even has the foresight to see how the space where they host the bough decorating party could be marketed as an outdoor venue to increase the B&B's profits.
Finally, B&B Merry offers the stale conflict trope of a character getting miffed and rushing off in a huff for no logical reason. Tracey and Graham have grown very close, so if Graham heard her in real life say his B&B was not a competitor to Parkview (the other lodging in town that's hurting their business), there would have been an honest dialogue to clear up the misunderstanding. Neither would end the budding relationship without talking this through.
B&B Merry Is Not a Deal-Breaker
Despite the flaws and weaknesses of B&B Merry, Great American Family is only 14 months old and still finding traction. If we stick with them, we can undoubtedly trust they will have more hits than misses.
The comments here could be applied to almost any Hallmark movie as well.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree
ReplyDeleteI dont agree. One of my favorites
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I had trouble understanding the dialogue. Too much mumbling.
ReplyDeleteI agree too.
DeleteFirst off I love Jen Lilly -now for my opinion- there was zero chemistry between them and the story line was not even slightly believable- that being said I’m so happy that we have another channel to watch - I’m liking GAF a lot and there have been many really good enjoyable movies on last year and this season so far 👏🏻❤️
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the film! Jesse Hutch and Jen Lilly are wonderful. I love what GAC stands for and support the network! Excited about what next years Christmas will bring from the network!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your blog. Not up to standards.
ReplyDelete