A teacher meets a student struggling to make friends and whose mother happens to be the new manager of his parents' apple orchard and cider mill business.
Starring: Jessica Lowndes and Trevor Donovan
Image: Great American Media
My Movie Grade: C-
A Harvest Homecoming Is a Recycled & Stale Story
Despite the heavy advertising on social media and Great American Family's network, A Harvest Homecoming is an embarrassingly familiar and overdone plot that falls far short on the originality and quality GAF keeps promising viewers.
You literally have seen every single element of this movie before:
One person returns home to a small town.
A child has trouble fitting in because of a recent move.
The setting is an orchard and the plan to expand the business is to add activities and events to make it a venue and a destination for families.
A leading character has a job offer in a far-away city.
One person gets food on his face, which is noticed by the love interest.
Even worse, humor is built into the script, but none of it lands. It's simply not funny. At all.
Drew stammers when he tries to talk to Lainie on multiple occasions, but the dialogue is poorly written and sounds unnatural.
Aiden's classroom presentation about his favorite memory is an attempt to pull at the heartstrings, but anyone with a 12-year-old son knows that no tweener on Earth would talk like that in front of his peers, especially being the new kid.
Image: Great American Media
Della, Drew's sister, decides her dream job is working at the family's apple orchard, but the responsibilities she wants already fall under Lainie's umbrella. This makes no sense.
Lainie vows to protect Aiden and her own heart from Drew, in case he ends up leaving town, but simultaneously says she wants to see him as much as she can for as long as she can and then adds that she wants to take things slow. Planning to spend each available second with someone is the exact OPPOSITE of taking things slow. The dialogue is haphazard, awkward, and bumbling, and the movie drags at a snail's pace.
Riley Weston is the writer of this flop, and writers are normally unassuming and virtually unrecognized. Weston, however, has been shouting from the rooftops of social media that she is the writer of A Harvest Homecoming. She has billed herself as the special "surprise guest" on a podcast and voiced her hope to appear in a future movie. She claims to be promoting the movie, but her self-glorification is obvious, amateurish and unprofessional. Most script writers avoid the spotlight, but when they do find themselves in it, they show more decorum.
It's unclear why Weston feels entitled to brag when she has essentially taken a story that has been told a gazillion times and only modified the character names and the setting. It's like changing two notes of a Beethoven symphony and claiming to be the next great composer or reducing the salt in a viral recipe and then posting it as your own new creation.
The lack of originally of A Harvest Homecoming is so blatant that it feels like a plagiarized, cheap knock-off of a Hallmark script. Yet, Weston has taken offense to criticism, calling it "hurtful" and bullysome. No, it's candid honesty. The entertainment world is a tough industry, and when you publicly link yourself to a production, you should be braced for both positive and negative feedback. In this snowflake culture where everyone feels entitled to a trophy, frankness causes an emotional meltdown, and Weston's comments are proof that she may be too fragile for the movie business.
If Great American Family wants to deliver fresh and original material, they should avoid Weston's services in the future.
The Set Decorations of A Harvest Homecoming Are Creating the Most Buzz on Social Media
If you scope social media threads about A Harvest Homecoming, the debate about the Fall set decorations is the biggest point of contention among GAF fans.
The overwhelming majority of viewers are taken aback that Fall looks like it vomited on the set. The same leaf garland was apparently purchased in bulk from the Dollar Store and tacked to every possible surface for each scene. Even those who love Fall decorations describe it as "overkill" and say it is "distracting."
Others vehemently defend the leaf explosion, claiming, "You can't have too much Fall." This crowd takes the criticism personally and angrily lashes out at those who disagree, as if no one is allowed to have a different opinion, labeling them "Hallmark trolls" or "negative and judgmental" and snarkily advising people to turn the channel if they don't like it.
Several posters have argued, "It's Fall, so of course there are Fall decorations. Hallmark has Christmas decorations all over the place in their movies and you never say anything about that!"
Don't all guys drape leaf garlands over their beds?
The obvious difference is that Hallmark sets are professionally and tastefully decorated, likely due to a robust budget. GAF isn't there yet. As one viewer pointed out, "The set of A Harvest Homecoming looks like it was decorated by a second grader."
I agree. The chintzy garlands overwhelmed the set and only accented the equally tacky script.
If you just moved into a new house and are unpacking, of course you would still have plenty of time to stick leaves on the cabinets.
Good thing we aren't given a view of the bathrooms--I'll bet there are leaves to wipe with instead of toilet paper!
A Harvest Homecoming Cast
Trevor Donovan is associated with many successful rom-com ventures, and he's nearly always a huge hit with fans. This movie, thanks to a poor script, is beneath him and doesn't allow him to be his best, not to mention the make-up artist makes him look like a Ken doll.
Jessica Lowndes has beautiful eyes and a voice to match, but she is overrated as an actress. If you've ever watched the videos she creates for her song titles, then you know the wholesome image she projects on GAF rings hollow. In her music videos, she is scantily clad and acts extremely sexual, almost pornographic. She's hard to watch onscreen because she tries to enunciate too clearly and struggles to close her lips over her teeth.
Luxton Handspiker does a fine job as the new kid at school, but does he really look like he could be Lanie's son?
Stuart Hughes plays Drew's father, and his acting is terrible!
Roger Dunn (Grandpa), Sarah Fisher (Drew's sister), Joanne Jansen (Lainie's BFF), and Ryan Allen (Drew's BFF) are supporting cast members who do a decent job in their roles, even though they lean towards mediocrity.
Does A Harvest Homecoming Have Any Redeeming Qualities?
Viewers appreciate seeing the Clark family pray at mealtimes, acknowledge God for having a hand in their lives, and using words like "blessed." These elements support the faith and family values of GAF's prime demographic; however, none of these components are enough to save the movie.
It's a scathing review but accurate. For light watching it was fine but after checking out Jessica Lowdes YT channel, I will most likely avoid movies she is in the future. I know GAC has a long way to go but thankfully they do listen to the viewers and are trying to adjust accordingly.
ReplyDeleteA bit harsh, but pretty much on point. I am a fan of GAF and will continue to watch and hope they overtake Hallmark, but this one didn’t make it. The leaf garland EVERYWHERE was overkill and I LOVE fall decor. A Perfect Match last week was much better. Script is so important and this one did NOT have one!!
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