Hearts of Spring (2016 TV Movie) User Reviews

MARSMII: for the guy or gal that said Lisa Whelchel was too old

[michellejanineroberts · 6/10 · 14 May 2021]

I do not think that Lisa Whelchel was too old for this role and that he, Paul Shanks should be cast with someone waaaaay younger, I really don't agree with you.

Geesh, she was ONLY a 53 year old mother to a 18 year old daughter! AND I'll do the math for you: she was ONLY THIRTY-FIVE YEARS OLD when she had this fictional child!

LIKE WOW, GIVE ME A BREAK. Or moreover, give us women a break, unless you are a woman, and then shame on you.

BTW, If the subject of women aging is the only thing that you can put most of your focus on, it's gotta be a touchy subject for you, yourself.

Bye Felicia.

Their parenting views

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 2 August 2016]

Lisa Whelchel who has been mostly doing the Christian entertainment circuit since leaving The Facts Of Life in the 80s stars in this Hallmark Channel movie with her own daughter Clancy Cauble playing her own daughter in Hearts Of Spring. The resemblance is unmistakable and does add a note of realism to their scenes.

I wonder how many Hallmark viewers caught that this was a remake of The Shop Around The Corner with a reverse twist. In that Ernst Lubitsch classic co-workers James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan bicker constantly at the department store they work for. But are passionate correspondents by mail.

To update it to the 21st century, Whelchel is a florist who is a blogger who writes an Ann Landers like column on being a single parent. Her views are diametrically opposed by Dr. Michael Shanks who is also a single parent and replies to her with his own screen name. They get a running feud going and entertain her internet followers.

But when Whelchel and Shanks meet in real life it's the real deal for romance. Unlike in The Shop Around The Corner where it's the characters they create in their letters where Stewart and Sullavan fall for each other. Still if you are a fan of the Ernst Lubitsch classic you know where this is going.

Hearts Of Spring is a pleasant easy to take film, but I wonder how many watching this recognized the origin.

Bland hearts

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 18 November 2022]

This is not coming from somebody who immediately hates on anything made by Hallmark. Have actually many Hallmark films in all their seasonal blockings, and quite a lot of them to me were above average. There are also ones that many fellow Hallmark regular viewers disliked that to me were not that bad while still being very flawed. Was hoping deep down that 'Hearts of Spring' would be one of those, despite not caring for the previous 2016 Spring Fling film 'All Yours', as the premise did sound cute.

'Hearts of Spring' just didn't work and do have to agree with all the criticisms pretty much. Don't think it is quite as bad as has been said, with there being a few redeeming qualities, but there is a lot wrong with it and it is another case of the worst aspects being awfully executed. 'Hearts of Spring' is not quite one of the worst 2016 Hallmark films (think 'Unleashing Mr Darcy', 'Ms Matched'), but it never reaches mediocre at best level. There were some good Hallmark films in 2016, this is not one of them.

Michael Shanks does a good job in his role, with a nice easy going charm and subtle charisma, and did find his character mostly quite likeable up to a point. The supporting cast do more than competently with what they have, despite their material mostly being quite weak.

Production values are quite lovely, especially the scenery.

Lisa Whelchel however tries far too hard throughout with more exaggerated mannerisms and gestures than one can count. Also really disliked her character, too smug and self-righteous, and her cold treatment of Shanks' character. A character who is much more likeable and easier to get behind, but he comes over as too nice and desperate in the latter stages when he didn't need or deserve to, which was frustrating. The two have no chemistry or spark together, the relationship is underdeveloped, too underplayed and progresses suddenly too late in a contrived way.

As others have said, the writing and story are very weak. The dialogue is very artificial and never has a natural flow, also found it very cheesy to cringe worthy effect and at times juvenile. The story is very thin and predictable, with a lot of draggy pacing and very heavy on overplayed contrivances. The conflict lacks tension and feels really forced and like it was shoehorned into the film, while the ending is too neat in a way that doesn't make any sense.

Concluding, very mediocre and that is being kind. 4/10.

Good premise, horrible lead.

[janiepuss · 3/10 · 26 April 2020]

While I like the idea of Hallmark doing it's own twist on classics like, Shop Around the Corner and You've Got Mail (a remake done right), it's hard to look past the horrible choice of lead actress. Her exaggerated, over-acting makes it excruciating to watch. Worst movie I've watched in a long time and I don't mind an occasional so-bad-it's-good kind of movie. Definitely a forgettable, never watch again movie, so don't bother.

Smug Characters Hard to Cheer For

[EPMD57 · 3/10 · 31 March 2019]

If you can watch this movie without yelling, "Get over yourself!" to the leads then you are a better person than I am. Besides somewhat unlikable leads, I think the other pitfall of the movie is that it relegates many of the interactions between the leads to online exchanges. Does anyone enjoy a split screen of characters typing to each other?

Very enjoyable and easy to watch

[bmiller59 · 8/10 · 26 March 2021]

I haven't yet read the reviews, and seeing the overall rating of 5.9 compared to my 8, I imagine I'm outside the main stream of Hearts of Spring. I really enjoyed it.

The two main characters were great, I enjoyed their interaction with each other and I thought their chemistry was enjoyable. Their development with each other from beginning to end was strong.

I'm not real familiar with Lisa Whelchel but she stood out in this movie and I enjoyed her, I favorited her. Same with Michael Shanks. I will follow both of them.

Very nice movie.

watch it if you really love Michael Shanks; ignore otherwise

[Gulielmus-Princeps · 4/10 · 24 October 2021]

4 stars for Michael Shanks, 1/2 star for the actual film. By the time it ended I was grateful.

As someone else said, the actress is too old to be his romantic interest, and worst of all, LOOKS old. Her atrocious acting doesn't help either. Her character is self righteous and not particularly likeable and despite being a "successful mommy blogger" she's not even right about her parenting advice - yes it's good to listen to your kids, but trying to be their best friend is really dumb. You're their parent. You cannot be their "bestie". As a son, I have a good relationship with my mom and we talk about important things all the time. But she's not my friend - she's my mom and I respect her. Children can never be equals with their parents, thus making friendship impossible. That doesn't mean we can't have a meaningful and harmonious relationship with one another.

Anyway, in the movie Michael Shanks' character apologizes to her for... what exactly? Speaking his mind? Giving sound advice? He should have mentioned to her that he was the one commenting on her blog, but this woman acted like he'd committed a crime. Horrible script, pathetic "conflict", and chemistry nowhere to be found. Ugh.

Good actors, week story

[cedennison-91032 · 3/10 · 8 May 2020]

The leads are likable. Michael Shanks is great, as always, Lisa Whelchel does a good job, and the supporting cast is strong. The main problem is the writing which is sophomoric at best, with one dimensional characters, contrived conflicts, no chemistry between the leads, shallow parenting advice from both sides, and more trite clichés than I can count. I have seen many Hallmark movies, I understand the genre, and I am generally lenient in my criticism, but this is one of the worst, if not THE worst, that I have seen. I'll give it three stars only because the cast really tries, but they simply cannot rise above the insipid writing.

Another disappointing Lisa Whelchel movie!

[marsmii · 5 February 2018]

They have to stop casting Lisa with younger guys! Love Michael Shanks and watch everything he's in but casting him as the love interest of Lisa is all wrong! She is 7.5 yrs older than him but looks even older than that! He's good looking and seems younger than his age! Please cast him with someone good looking and someone nearer his age! Obnoxious kids and would be suitors did not endear this movie to me. Start casting Lisa as the mother of adults and a grandma---she would be better suited for those roles.

The Movie Tries to Force You to Agree

[athompsonblue · 3/10 · 16 March 2023]

First off all, why did he have to bring any nastiness to his posts? He's an adult.

Secondly, the debate itself is pretty much one-sided. He's very much in the right, and she's very much in the wrong. We don't see him do anything wrong as a parent until he snaps at his son, late in the movie. It's a miracle, on the other hand, that her daughter grew up to have any level of maturity, or wasn't a pregnant high school dropout.

Thirdly, having her blame him for her daughter's change of mind makes her very unlikable. All he did was throw the suggestion out there. She should be grateful to him that her daughter's no longer running off to Indonesia.