An Unexpected Valentine

My opinion about this movie might mean nothing. Or everything! Which is ironic because in some ways that pretty much sums up Hallmark’s An Unexpected Valentine. This is a movie that premiered on February 1st and stars Lacey Chabert and Robert Buckley. On the surface, I was thinking this movie is kind of like a Jerry Seinfeld episode - it’s two hours spent about absolutely nothing. But the more I’ve reflected on it I’ve seen that it’s really much more than that. And, from looking at the IMDB reviews, I’m really happy to see that so many of you enjoyed it as well. What’s it about? Well, let me explain. 

I think I’ll start by giving you what I might call the “Jerry Seinfeld” abridged version. It’s about two characters, Hannah and Finn, who spend the evening of Valentine’s Day together searching for the owner of an engagement ring that was accidentally left behind in Finn’s car. Finn is a rideshare driver so they tried to find everyone who had been in his car that day to return the ring to its rightful owner.

And, because it’s Valentine’s Day, they sprinkled in a few extra stops along the way to deliver some goodies like oversized bouquets of flowers and balloons for the holiday. 

So let’s see, how did the evening go? Well, first they went to a cooking class. Nope. Wrong couple there. They both acknowledged they weren't ready, yet. So did Hanna and Finn just leave? Of course not! They stuck around a bit and ate some free pizza.

Then they went to a nightclub. Nope. She wasn’t the one, either. So what the heck, they danced a little bit, again for free, while they were there.

Next they checked out an art class. Nope, that wasn’t the right couple, either. Those two had been married 47 years! So Hannah posed for the class and Finn got some free lessons in sketching her while they were there.

Also, along the way, they stopped to pick up some cookies at a food truck. And guess what! They had to fill in for the owner when she had to leave for an emergency. So they took orders and baked some cookies while they were there.

At one point that evening, would you believe this? The check engine light on his car, okay it's a luxury SUV, had come on so, naturally, they pulled over and managed to fix it themselves.

But wait! The big climax near the end was when they were at the last stop of the night and they finally knew who the owner of the ring must be, but the elevator was taking too long to get up to the roof to find him. So the big decision was, insert drumroll...should they take the stairs all the way up to the roof in hopes that they get there before anyone proposes? Yep, that was it. 

Well, [SPOILER ALERT] they make it just in time and, after the ring is successfully returned, Hannah and Finn each go off in their own directions because they each had prior engagements. Hannah was supposed to be at an office party celebrating her new chocolate line, and Finn was expected to make an appearance at an art gallery where his photography was on display. 

As it turns out, Hannah's presentation was very well received. And, of course, that was all very good. Finn, too, had a successful showing of his photography at the art gallery. Also good news.

So how about the grand finale? Okay, here it is. They run back to each other and proclaim they should go out on a date together!

Okay, on the surface, it’s kind of a boring movie. I’m not going to lie, they spend a LOT of time sitting in the car just talking.. But the more I’ve reflected on it, I’ve come to realize this is really about a significant transformation of these two characters and it all happened in one night. So now, if you will allow me, I’d like to take a moment to peel away some of the layers here, so to speak, and talk about what I think happened on a deeper level.

To start, Hannah and Finn had both paused on looking for love. Hannah hadn’t necessarily given up on love, at one point she had even said, “I love love!” And Finn's character was just more prone to being cynical. But over the course of one evening, all of these seemingly random events gradually changed their outlook. 

For example, let's look at the floral bouquet, which was their very first stop. It was so big that Finn naturally assumed there was an ulterior motive for picking out this one. When it turned out it was for a bran new mom he realized no, this was genuine. 

And it wasn’t just Finn who was impacted by the events of the evening. Hannah had been so focused on returning that ring, she was convinced if they didn’t make it all would be ruined. But then they met a couple at the art class who they made her realize it’s not the ring itself that matters most.

The evening was full of little moments just like this. I’m convinced it wasn’t necessarily about the activities like cooking, dancing and sketching. It was about the people they met along the way and the time they took to reflect on each of them in the car before they moved on to the next.

By the end of the evening they both had a change of heart and had opened up to the possibility that they could fall in love again. And that never would have happened if not for one seemingly insignificant, random event which was when a complete stranger had very briefly sat in Finn’s car and dropped an engagement ring earlier that same day that Hannah, also mistakenly, stepped into Finn's car thinking he was her driver.

So you see, it was a beautiful story. And for that, I’ll give it a 3½. Now, if you’re wondering why I’ve said all of this but didn’t give it a higher rating, it’s because the last couple of weeks I’ve given out 4s and, to me, those movies were a little more engaging and fun to watch. This one could arguably be very slow at times. I’m even thinking it could make for a better book or perhaps a play than a movie. But I can still very much appreciate the meaning and the character transformation in this story. It was a good message to start off the month of February.

So what did you think? Would you watch it again? Or was this a one-and-done for you? 

Well, I think that wraps up my review of An Unexpected Valentine. Next up we’ll be discussing Hallmark’s The Wish Swap starring Emily Tennant and Jake Foy. Before this movie was released, I was not familiar with Jake Foy, but Emily Tennant has popped up as a supporting role in a couple of movies I've seen before, like All I need for Christmas, which was a wonderful movie where she played the extremely competitive sister to Dan Jeannotte’s character. While, at times, that competitive nature between the siblings was a bit overdone, I think she played the role very well and the brother-sister dynamic between these two was really well done. 

She had another supporting role in Marry Me at Christmas, a slightly older Hallmark movie. She didn’t have a lot of screentime, but she was great in the role of the bride. Trevor Donovan played her brother in that one. His character was that of a famous Hollywood actor who was ready to take a step back from a fast-paced city life under the constant spotlight. 

Until then, and as always, thank you so much for being here and being a part of the Magical Movie Club. We'll be back next week to chat more about our favorite magical movies!

Hallmark Channel's Original Preview:  An Unexpected Valentine - Preview

Hallmark Channel Movie Site: An Unexpected Valentine