Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter – Review

Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter – Lifetime – 2 hours and 3 minutes

Victoria Gotti understood her family was different, even when her parents tried to hide from her.  But seeing armed guards at her dad’s “place of business” and a few encounters at school caused her to become quiet, withdrawn and anxious.  She watched her mother struggle while her dad was on the run or in jail.  She admired her mother for taking care of the family with traditional values.  While she wanted her mother’s love, she needed her father’s respect.  She explains that her dad was a man with 2 families: blood and mob.  She always wondered which came first.  As Victoria got older she found love with Carmine, and that love spurned her father.  She hid their love in the shadows until tragedy brought it to the light.  This life-altering moment is just first of many for Victoria Gotti.

Victoria Gotti has remained poised, intelligent, and determined throughout her life.  With multiple illnesses, loss, and abuse, she has stood strong in adversity with her children by her side.  In her early years, her parents continuously tried to protect her from her father’s crimes and arrest.  It was difficult when the newspapers wrote about his crimes daily.  As she got older, she saw the blessing and curse of being her father’s daughter.  She was respected so much she could get anything she wanted but so feared she couldn’t have a life.  This movie isn’t about her father, it’s about their relationship and her triumph over everything in her life.  And having her narrate solidifies the validity of this movie.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars

You don’t get many tears in life. Don’t waste them all up – John

He took the award, he didn’t take me – Victoria

Don’t worry. I’m doing some things on my own – Carmine

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The Story of Us – Review

The Story of Us – Hallmark – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Jamie is the proud owner of the True Love Bookstore and Cafe.  She has fond memories of working there as a teen.  So owning it as an adult is a dream come true.  With the business doing well, Jamie has noticed some stores have closed their doors. Jamie checks her mail to find a letter from the city council to discuss the proposed changes for the town by the Ridley Property Development Company.  Jamie attends the meeting, full steam ahead.  She is ready to give the lead a developer a piece of her mind when she discovers it’s her ex-boyfriend Sawyer.   He assures them the stores will remain but Jamie knows better.  She decides to get the town on her side after finds a “The Story Of Us” card keeper fill with Valentines from customers to the True Love store.  Jamie believes that reminding the town of what makes them special will create enough resistance for Sawyer to move on.  However, Jamie has underestimated Sawyer’s resolve.  He is not only fighting for his job but he is fighting for her heart too.

So, this story falls under ‘exes meet after one tries to destroy the other town/shop’ storyline.  It has a slightly different ending but the build-up is the same.  Even with references to Take On Me, House of Mirth, and Much Ado About Nothing,  it still doesn’t set itself apart (FTC Affiliate Disclaimer).  This movie feels like a creation to sell its card keeper box than an original movie idea.  It does provide laughs but not enough to remember.

I give it 2.5 out of 5 stars

I don’t want another store, I want True Love – Jamie

Have you been there today? It’s like a mosh pit – Sawyer

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In Bed with a Killer – Review

In Bed with a Killer – LMN – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Newly widowed Lena has moved into a small town, with her daughter Ashley, to start her cupcake business.  She meets Heather, the coffee shop owner, during her grand opening.  Heather offers to give Lena a tour of other local businesses to introduce herself.  Heather introducers her to Casey (dress shop owner),  Jenny (the yoga instructor), and Mike (hardware shop owner).   Heather tries to avoid Mike and tells Lena to do the same.  Lena and Heather pass a shutdown flower shop and Heather looks ill.  Heather explains that her friend Beth use to own the shop.  One day, Beth texted her she was leaving town and never contacted her again.  At the time of her disappearance, Beth was dating Mike.  She believes Mike has killed Beth and covered his tracks.  No one in town shares Heather’s suspicions, but Heather is steadfast in her beliefs.  Her beliefs only grow when Mike starts dating Casey and she disappears too.  With Mike developing an interest in Lena, Heather worries its only a matter of time before Lena is missing too.

Without giving too much away, Lifetimers can break this story apart after the first 45 minutes.  Others may take a little more time.  This movie is set apart because Lena doesn’t fall for the town gossip instantly.  She consistently tells Heather to leave Mike alone or points out that evidence is just a coincidence.  She tries to get Heather to see the bigger picture and stop spreading rumors.  Normally, the moment someone mentions murder in a Lifetime movie, the lead character heads off the investigation.  Lena is a more practical and realistic character.  This allows the viewer to follow the mystery.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars

Oh, I’m terrible. I’m really bad – Charlie

You need a new hobby – Lena

I change my mind. I think we should watch it. For research – Ashley

Isn’t it true you killed someone – Heather

You’ll be sorry – Mike

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Valentine in the Vineyard – Review

Valentine in the Vineyard – HMM – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Frankie and Nate are preparing surprise Valentine’s gifts for each other while working on their expanding vineyard.  They recently bought some land but Nate believes they can go bigger.  He believes in them so much, he asks Frankie to marry him via drone.  Excitedly, Frankie says yes.  They decide to tell their families at dinner but that’s put on hold because Marco and Lexi announce their engagement first.  The new couple also wants to get married in 4 weeks or Valentine’s Day.  Since Frankie and Nate don’t want to marry so soon, they decided to keep their engagement a secret so Lexi can have her big day.  When the couples get a chance to talk, Lexi and Marco talk about a couple counseling session that helped them realized they were perfect for each other.  Frankie and Nate don’t believe they need it, so they push the thought of it to the side, focus on the farm, and help with the wedding.  After miscommunicating, they decide to take the counseling and fail miserably.  The couple’s faith in their relationship is shaken.  They need to find the love they had or they could lose each other and the vineyard.

The third installment to the Vineyard series, based on the St. Helena Vineyard Novels, this is one of the most honest Hallmark relationship movies ever written (FTC Affiliate Disclaimer).  Most focus on the happily ever after or the mishaps before the wedding, this focuses on communication or the lack thereof.  It accurately presents what is one of the biggest causes of relationship failure: miscommunication.  And like the movie, couples learn this in the days leading up to their wedding.  In addition, it can cause some weddings and relationships to end.  In this world of “social media relationships”, it’s easy to compare your relationship with another and think yours is lacking.  However, when Nate and Frankie learn the truth about the relationships around them, they laugh and see the similarities.  Communication is not just key, it’s the master key.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars

I love that thing – Frankie

A dog? I thought you were a llama person – Nate

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