In My Dreams (2014 TV Movie) User Reviews

fine Hallmark

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 25 September 2017]

Natalie Russo (Katharine McPhee) and Nick Smith (Mike Vogel) are unlucky in love. Jessa (Rachel Skarsten) dumped him and his mother Charlotte (JoBeth Williams) keeps setting him up. The latest is eager Lori Beth. Natalie is struggling to make her restaurant work despite her unyielding Italian chef Mario. Waitress Sharla is her best friend. Natalie and Nick toss coins into a magic fountain. They have a week to find each other guided by their joined dreams for the perfect match.

This is a perfectly fine Hallmark TV movie including a dream matchmaker. It's nothing special. The dream couple is photogenic and an obvious match. It's really cute that McPhee gets all dolled up to go to bed. It's a romantic dream in movie form and there's nothing wrong with that. This knows its level and hits it spot on.

A Great Fairy Tale

[mammamia701 · 7/10 · 13 October 2020]

Katherine McPhee and Mike Vogel star in this movie as the pair looks for their true love via their dreams. I realize that finding your true love through ones dreams is like a science fiction movie. Be assured this movie is a great fairy tale. The backstory of their dreams, which unfolds in the beginning of the movie, begins at a fountain. I don't want to ruin this review with spoilers, therefore I recommend you pop some popcorn and watch. The chemistry between the characters was believable and you keep hoping they will find each other. Of course, being Hallmark, you know they will. It's HOW that makes your heart pound.

For those who are trying to place McPhee and Vogel, here's where you probably have seen them. Katherine McPhee started on American Idol and ventured into acting. She was in a movie The House Bunny with Anna Farris and starred in the tv series Scorpion. Mike Vogel starred in the tv series Under the Dome.

Well it wasn't completely bad...

[ShariHappenstance · 7/10 · 23 April 2014]

Before watching the movie, I had read a review (I forget which one exactly) that said McPhee and Vogel had really good on-screen chemistry. It was NO LIE. I literally could not stop smiling as I watched them interact in their dreams. Sure it kind of felt that the relationship was progressing really quickly, but I'll just chalk that up to the fact that neither was certain that the other was real (or if they would meet again) and also the soul mate card. The script itself wasn't anything spectacular but for some reason that didn't stop my heart from pounding every time when...

[**SPOILER**] Nick and Natalie were RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER (in the real world) but the universe thought it'd be funny for them not to see each other. This happened SEVERAL times. Haha I didn't realize I was so emotionally vested in the characters but there you go. I'm a hopeless romantic. I was really disappointed with how little screen time there was of Nick and Natalie together (after finding each other) in the real world. Five minutes was not enough!!! It's about the journey and blah blah blah but come on! **END SPOILER**

So OK script, great actors, could have done with some better directing. A lot of scenes had so much more potential. Also I feel like there wasn't enough character development.

**SPOILER** I mean I know that Natalie learns to let go of the past and look towards the future, and Nick learns to believe in himself but that is pretty much the extent of it. Like I said before, there could have been more!!! The problem is that all the characters are pretty one- dimensional. Natalie's struggling with her restaurant and Nick's struggling with his bridge and his love life-- that's it. Sorry, for me it was too simple. **END SPOILER**

Personally I like films that aren't predictable, and In My Dreams is pretty predictable. But then it's Rom/ Rom-com so what was I expecting? But overall it was fairly enjoyable.

Cute fantasy

[vchimpanzee · 23 April 2014]

Katharine McPhee does a very good job. She's confident and determined and so easy to like. We want her to succeed in everything she wants to do. Plus I know her from "Smash". The one negative is her bangs. She's not Zooey Deschanel, who can make that look work. But she is pretty, and her hair looks better later on.

Mike Vogel is unfamiliar to me but likable enough. But he and McPhee are so perfect together. No other couple in the movie gets it just right. The dreams where they are together are one of the best parts of the movie, with one exception where the relationship is no longer ideal.

Jessalyn Wanlim as Sharla, Natalie's waitress and best friend also does very well. She has a great personality and makes the perfect waitress. And no, she's not merely a lowly worker but has a relationship with Natalie that makes her more like a business partner. When needed, she can be the boss.

Joe Massingill makes a real impact as Joe, Nick's best friend and co-worker, who might join him in a new architectural firm.

JoBeth Williams does a good job as Nick's meddling mom.

And Lilah Fitzgerald and Dakota Guppy are so cute as Nick's nieces.

Ealier in the movie there was opera music, including what I believe to be that song Charles Emerson Winchester was whistling while playing poker). This gets replaced with annoying music that which gets played on what are called Triple-A radio stations.

It's a worthy installment in the Hallmark Hall of Fame series.

Good romance movie

[yearningandlearning · 7/10 · 2 February 2023]

I think this has the workings of a great romance movie, but the ending feels a bit incomplete. I wish they'd have shown more scenes of the couple together in reality, so that we have a sense of how they fit in with each others' families and friends. The whole selling point is that they're perfect for each other, so it'd have been great if we saw how that works compared to before they met.

Other than that, I like the premise although it's everything you would expect in a Hallmark movie. Katherine McPhee and Mike Vogel really brought their characters to life, even if there wasn't much to work with from the start. 10/10 chemistry, but the movie overall gets 7/10, because it's just a good romantic film and not a great one.

Sweet and different

[KaraleeCupcake · 7/10 · 4 December 2023]

In My Dream is a different take on your typical romance movie. Nick is an archietect who works for a disagreeable boss but dreams to start his own firm. Natalie runs her mother's restaurant, but she is struggling to get any customers. They both make a wish in the town fountain at the same time, and that night they dream about eachother. However, they doubt each other exists aand they only have seven times to dream about each other before the magic fades. Katharine McPhee and Mike Vogel were fantastic as Natalie and Nick. I also though Jessalyn Wanlim as Natalie's coworker and Joe Massingill as Nick's co-worker were great. The movie is worth watching if you are looking for something that is a little bit different.

Nothing special in this star crossed lovers story -nothing wrong with it either

[juneebuggy · 4/10 · 13 October 2014]

This is one of those Hallmark Hall of Fame movies with the great commercials. I've watched quite a few of them over the years and some are better than others. This one, not so much. I did like the premise but ultimately there was just nothing special or outstanding in this star-crossed lovers story. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with it either though, it's cute, light and will pass a couple hours without any bloodshed.

The romance follows a restaurant owner and an architect who are both unlucky in love. After they each cast a penny into a magic fountain (known for bringing lovers together) they both begin to dream of the other, falling in love in their dreams without ever meeting. However according to fountain mythology, they only have a seven day window to meet in the real world to turn those dreams into reality.

Oh and I was still brought to tears by those card ads (damn you Hallmark) -Filmed in Vancouver. 05.08.14

Hallmark Twilight Zone bliss!

[stevewyzard · 8/10 · 7 April 2017]

I was not looking for this movie, but only stumbled across it by accident. Once I figured out the premise, I was hooked. It's a magical fantasy, almost like a modern-day episode of Twilight Zone, yet without any of that show's morbidity. In My Dreams doesn't take itself too seriously, and it's clear that everyone involved had fun with the production.

I found all of the characters down-to-earth and sympathetic, even those who are only there to provide obstacles to the protagonists finally meeting. For instance, almost any other movie would have portrayed the two other women Nick spends time with as evil/psychotic, but this movie avoids that cliché. They're simply "the wrong person", not bad people.

In My Dreams has no heavy message, and it ends with a wide-open horizon of future possibilities. In other words, the screenwriters allow the viewers to decide for themselves just what they've witnessed and what the future might hold. The performers were all perfect for their roles. The only thing that could have made this movie better would have been a soundtrack by The Blue Nile. So to everyone involved in its creation and broadcast: Thank you for something different!

Uninspired

[kmccabe- · 4/10 · 17 August 2017]

Cheesy rom-com minus the com. Fantasy premise sets the plot in motion (not necessarily a problem) but derailed by failure of the two star-crossed lovers to do or say the obvious things. I believe TV writers call this the "idiot plot" - The entire movie could be short-circuited by one or the other of them giving the other a phone number or address, or even just by following up on the numerous hints dropped all over the place. But they're morons, so they don't.

'Eh, I'm too cool to bother checking up on anything, instead I'll just mope about and say things like "I'm not wasting time on a fantasy." '

The female lead is gorgeous, but neither one of them has much in the way of charisma, nor chemistry with each other.

Skippable.

The lack of chemistry between the protagonists is impressive

[bebelinha-66296 · 3/10 · 2 January 2022]

I only knew they were interested in each other because the movie told me so a hundred times. If it hadn't, I would assume they are brother and sister separated at birth. Every scene with them is awkward and forced, in some of them it even looks like the actors are annoyed.

It's also funny that the male protagonist (don't care enough to know his name) doesn't ask the woman anything about herself and seems completely bored half of the time. So, whenever she provides even the most basic info about herself it feels like she's oversharing, cause he didn't ask.

I'm giving it a 3 because the idea for the plot is alright and all things considered, it could be much worse.

Take my review with a grain of salt as I didn't know it was a hallmark movie when it showed up on Netflix, if you like hallmark you might have a better experience.

I thought In My Dreams was mostly contrived too much for my taste...

[tavm · 3/10 · 26 April 2014]

You know, I like romantic movies if the leading characters are charming enough and the story is believable enough. And maybe the situations and supporting players are also believable enough. But not if things seem contrived enough that I can predict what can happen or think "How convenient!" like when this Mario character suddenly declares he's not in love with the leading lady and instead he's into her assistant! And this thing about the Katharine McPhee and Mike Vogel characters actually "meeting" each other in a dream and seeing how "perfect" they are for each other in Real Life because of those dreams did not completely hold butter or water for me, either! It was nice to see JoBeth Williams, who I long remember from Stir Crazy, Poltergeist, and Switch, on screen again, so there's that. And this wasn't a complete waste of time for me or my mom. It's just if the story doesn't seem real enough for me, I can't completely get into it. But I respect anyone who falls for such trifle...

Bella

[Jackbv123 · 9/10 · 11 July 2017]

This is a different approach to bringing true loves together. A wish in a magic fountain allows Nick and Natalie to occupy each others' dreams. For three nights they blissfully fall in love yet outside their dreams they have never met. But then doubt creeps in which leads to the struggle that occurs in the rest of the movie.

I find it ironic that this story is in a Hallmark movie where no unmarried couple ever sleeps together and yet these two find themselves together while sleeping.

I find Katherine McPhee to be the most beautiful of women when her character is in love so I may be a little prejudiced.

PS after second viewing : the story is extremely sweet and sappy which is OK in my book. It is also quite simple, especially the romantic part. I think the writers had to fill it out with the stories about Nick's contest and Natalie's restaurant. McPhee when she made this movie was perfect for the sweet innocent girl part. Her later marriage to a billionaire twice her age makes that also somewhat ironic.

Too good a premise for that crew

[Ana_Banana · 4/10 · 15 January 2016]

When they start from a most unpredictable and intriguing premise (a perfect match only in lucid dreams) and end it in an epitome of especially thin rom-com formulas, we must admit that the result deserves a special mention as an achievement in spoiling a theme. Everything in this was painfully predictable and cliché, convenient and mushy. The actors weren't impressive at all, nor particularly likable, the script and directing are boring, and so on. Everything is overplayed, even the lucid dreams thingy, a state which could not occur so mechanically and regularly every night to anyone. There is an excellent novel with a similar twist (a parallel life in a, well, let's say in a lucid dream, not to spoil it for potential readers): 'Comfort and Joy', by Kristin Hannah. That book would be captivating if set on screen, because it's really surprising and well written, unlike this lame trifle of a flick.

Nice Departure

[bryanwoolman · 8/10 · 3 March 2022]

This is a very late review, however I found this movie to be a very nice departure to the Hallmark cookie cutter formula. Perhaps that is why it is one I never saw before and it is so different.

The legend says you toss a coin and for seven nights you dream of your true love."

[cgvsluis · 5/10 · 3 September 2021]

This film has a very romantic premise. Two strangers, draftsman Nick and restaurant owner Natalie, begin seeing each other in their dreams. They walk, talk and get to know one another all the while dreaming night after night.

Then Nick's ex comes back in to his life and interrupts him after midnight, disrupting their nightly dream visit. As a consequence, Natalie wonders alone in the dream.

In their real lives both Natalie and Nick are trying to make some changes professionally. Nick enters a contest for the city to design a bridge and Natalie starts making positive improvements to the restaurant she inherited (loosing the opera, changing the name, tweaking the recipes, etc.).

When her dream lover doesn't show up overnight, Natalie asks the new Italian chef out on a date. Nick is not really going back to his ex, Jessa and decides to make it an early night...but now he is alone in the dream while Natalie is out with the Italian discovering that limoncello tastes better in a dessert than as a drink. The Italian, Mario, tells her that their mothers (who were beat friends) thought that their children were meant to be together.

Back to dreamland...both participants felt like the other made them feel like anything is possible. And maybe that was the purpose of the dreams...or was it?

"And if in the end you really love him, the spirit of the stones will make him real." "That's pure fantasy."-Natalie

Sweet and romantic, this seemed to build on a very romantic notion...a fantasy that everyone would want to get behind...enchanted stones from a castle.

Dentist

[westsideschl · 2/10 · 3 August 2018]

Seven to ten star reviews seem to use the word "sweet" a lot in describing this movie, not to be gender age sensitive, but please grandma you've seen this storyline a thousand and one times already. There was no creative writing, great acting, or thoughtful dialogue to challenge us. What was on the menu here was bad for your health as you would have learned if you had been reading anything lately other than romance novels. It was just another excessive, syrupy "sweetness" w/no nutritional value movie. OK, they did add superstitious fountain penny wish fulfillment along w/paranormal dream scenes to the script to make it different. Well, dumb different! After watching this I now have to see the dentist. Oh, that it took four years after TV showing to release on DVD says something about quality.

Unique, Inspiring and oh so sweet

[skpn123 · 10/10 · 6 July 2022]

This movie is a standout in the genre - weaves together all the elements so creatively. And beautifully - it is quite an ambitious project but the outcome is lovely - this movie is total fantasy and fun and Katherine McPhee and Mike Vogel have lovely understated chemistry - I hope they work together again.

Somebody dreamed that architects build bridges instead of civil engineers

[victoria-33419 · 2/10 · 18 March 2024]

There are no spoilers in my review. Somebody must have dreamed that architects build bridges. That would be under the purview of civil engineers. In My Dreams is a very shallow simpleminded movie full of cliches. Do high school libraries really have stacks? Does a restaurant owner plop down a dessert in a glass copa without a liner plate-and without an ounce of grace? Why is the owner folding napkins on her bare thighs? Did she not have to pass a health department training course to get licensed? The film stereotypes and belittles. It is not thought provoking in the least. It's not an awful film, but it sure is corny.

In my Dreams - 8/10 !

[Sparta2k22 · 8/10 · 21 September 2014]

That was a pretty enjoyable movie to watch. it makes you wonder what happens next until they catch up together. Watch it when you are bored/ have nothing to do or even with your partner/family etc.

It reminds me of another movie where there is a fountain and they drop some coin in there and make a wish... thats 2 guys who change their skins and they have fun with their each other's wife's.

well if you like movies that make you wonder, specially for dreams. I think when the guy says he can do anything in his dream where he see's the girl its like he is probably in a lucid dream since you can do anything you want :D but well in RL you might not find a character from your dreams =]

i'd say its worth to watch so don't just read bad reviews and disappear every movie has its own goods and bads =]

Hallmark Inception!

[athompsonblue · 8/10 · 11 January 2021]

This a good, clean movie with a very interesting premise. Too bad it doesn't have Hans Zimmer's musical score.

Very romantic

[herrcarter-92161 · 8/10 · 8 June 2023]

I really liked this movie. When it's romantic, it's very romantic. Imagine meeting your perfect match in a dream, hoping against hope that this wonderful person is actually a person in real life and not just a dream. The scenes of Nick and Natalie in their dreams have this wonderful, ethereal quality to them. It's the same kind of feeling you had in movies like The Lake House, or Somewhere in Time. You feel pure magic when the two of them are together in their dream world, and you really want them to find each other in real life.

If I had to complain about something, it would be that they offered almost no details about each other that would have allowed them to track each other down in the real world. They gave no full names, no addresses, no phone numbers, nothing! It strains credulity that they wouldn't do this, but, of course, the movie would have been over in 5 minutes if they had.

If I had been the screenwriter, I would have handled things differently. Maybe they could have been on the other side of the country from each other. That would require a true leap of faith for one of them to fly across the country to try to find the other. Or maybe the phone number Natalie gives Nick could be a land line, which, by chance, gets answered by Natalie's ex-boyfriend, who still imagines himself together with her. There are lots of possibilities for interesting plot twists that would be more satisfying than them just offering no details to each other for no other reason than that the plot requires it.

Otherwise, this was an excellent romance. The two leads were very likable and had loads of chemistry. You really saw them together and you really hoped it would happen. The movie kept you on the edge of your seat, waiting for the anticipated meeting of the two of them in real life that may or may not happen. This is definitely one of my favorite Hallmark romances.

Dreaming your soulmate

[MickyG333 · 8/10 · 20 April 2024]

7.9 stars.

This has even more potential than it offers, but I still really loved it. The parts that disappoint are not the most important aspects of a movie for me. It's not a deal breaker. However, 'In My Dreams' can be a frustrating watch at times, because we are handed a pretty generous dose of anticipation, without the satisfaction to make it a fully entertaining. It's sort of a bait and switch, empty promises of wonderful and endearing romance and passion between the leads. Instead we are left with a romance that doesn't really get moving until much later. It has its ups and downs, but I needed more. Maybe a bit more recognition and motivation between the dreaming couple would be nice. They are dispassionate for way too long. In their own awake minds they feel it's authentic and wonderful, but toward each other, they have a sort of distance and aloofness that is disappointing.

The overall story is very sweet and even little intriguing. It's a slight twist on a theme of two soulmates meeting in their dreams, and then finally meeting for real. I like this rendition better than most, because the film creates a keen desire within us to see them meet in person. But I think they held the punch a bit too long.

Obsessed with this movie

[moselexi · 8/10 · 16 February 2024]

I've watch this movie like a thousand times and i still doesn't get bored by it this is obviously my number one hallmark favorite movie the chemistry between katharine mcphee and mike vogel in this movie blown me away and the scenario it's just outstanding for me this is a masterpiece of hallmark

eventhough this is my favorite i do have some critic for this film the first one is why they added a few ekstra that doesn't important like damien for example in the entire film till the end all the he's saying it's just "i can cook" i mean like come on why do you have to add this ekstra tho, the second is i'm kinda confused with the beginning of this film that straight out to the point without telling a few more details that can make the audience understand about the story of her restaurant background before her mother passed away, and the third is they added the scene that is actually doesn't important such as where nick met with his old crush lori and they getting set up to a date by his mother and after that they're kissing and nick tell that they can't be together like how could that even impossible to put all of it in one frame it's just doesn't make any sense oh yeah there one more scene that shouldn't be added where nick get called by jessa his ex girlfriend in the middle of the night just because there's a rat in her house and then jessa tells that she still have a feeling for nick after they broke up that's the reasons why this movie get a negative review really because it seems like nick it's such a playboy after dump lori he's getting back with his ex while at the same time he's still thinking about nathalie the woman in her dream.

Overall i love this movie so i'll give the point 8/10.