'Fall Harvest' movie review: 'Sweet Autumn'
Two of Hallmark's most delightful stars clash over a small town candy shoppe in the fall romance 'Sweet Autumn' (premiering Oct. 17 as part of The Hallmark Channel's Fall Harvest).
In short: Aunt Dee splits her candy shop between her niece Maggie (Nikki DeLoach) and maple farmer Dex (Andrew Walker). Following letters Dee left, the two uncover the reason for her decision, during the Sweet Autumn festival.
Through almost the first half, there's honestly not a lot going on with 'Sweet Autumn.' Maggie and Dex aren't really defined characters - aside from the fact that Maggie wants to grow Aunt Dee's candy shop while Dex would rather keep the shop a small town hidden secret. Their clashing entrepreneurial aspirations aside, neither character has a lot of defined personality. They're both nice, but pretty bland characters.
This alone wouldn't be the worst flaw in the world - because the always charming DeLoach and Walker once again bring their A-game - but 'Sweet' has a fundamental story problem. The movie opens with Maggie and her business partner under pressure to make a big deal ... then that plot just kinda drops off the map. Dex has some thin b-plot centered on his maple syrup bottling hobby. This plot mostly disappears until the plot starts to stalls out.
The most interesting aspect of 'Sweet' is the difference between Maggie and Dex's ideas for Aunt Dee's shop - but the movie doesn't flesh out Maggie's ideas for expansion or Dex's reluctance for growth. "Let's have more locations!" "Let's have one location." That's about it. 'Sweet' doesn't need to be full-on business warfare - but finding greater difference between Maggie and Dex’s aspirations for the candy shoppe can only make their inevitable romance all the sweeter.
Oh, then there's Aunt Dee's letters. This is a weird plot driver that is completely unnecessary. She's mentioned enough throughout the film to already feel like a supporting character who only has a few minutes of screentime - the movie doesn't also need her letters to remind the audience of the impact she had to Maggie and Dex.
To the movie's credit, 'Sweet' is a perfect autumnal delight. Set in the idyllic orange and red hued small town, between the hay rides, maple syrup taffy and fall festival, this Hallmark flick warmly embraces the fall season.
Final verdict: 'Sweet Autumn' is a nice little romance that bobs along, stumbling over its own plot threads, and is pleasant despite itself.
Score: 2.5 autumn leaves (out of 5)
'Sweet Autumn' premieres on The Hallmark Channel on Oct. 17 as part of its Fall Harvest slate. The movie is rated TV-G and has a running time of 90 minutes.
