Jennifer Mills (Anna Chlumsky) is a 25 year old freewheeling single with commitment issues and an aloof boyfriend. Her older sister Mandy and husband are going on a European vacation for 3 weeks. At the last minute, their mother can't babysit the 3 kids due to an injury to their father. Not everything goes smoothly with the cool aunt. The eldest daughter Alice Norton (Tiera Skovbye) has boy troubles. The younger girl has mean girls troubles, and the boy is a neurotic mess being bullied. Will Johnson (Warren Christie) is the handsome new next door neighbor who lends a hand. It turns out that her mother isn't really truthful.
It's a Hallmark movie with nothing special. It's shot like every other second rate TV movie. There isn't much to recommend other than that there isn't anything objectionable going on. The acting is unimpressively reasonable. The dialog is pedestrian. The movie could do with some hijinx. The kids' problems are good drama. The little kids almost save this movie. The parents in Europe is not so good drama because there is no real danger of a breakup. The romantic chemistry between Jennifer and Will could do with a bit more heat but it's sweet anyways.
Plot summary
25-year-old Jennifer Mills (Anna Chlumsky) lives her life without commitment, relieved that her boyfriend isn't even close to putting a ring on her finger. Nothing like her older sister Mandy (Chelah Horsdal),who married young and settled into family life, Jennifer loves being carefree. But her mother Kathryn (Susan Hogan) sees Jennifer's wild ways as a fear of settling down, and hatches a secret plan to take her from playful to parent in just three weeks. When Mandy and her husband plan a three-week European vacation without their three kids, Kathryn convinces Jennifer to help watch them until she can get into town. Jennifer quickly finds out that playing house isn't for kids, and realizes that she must go from cool aunt to strict parent to keep her sister's trust. But with a little help from Will (Warren Christie),the handsome new neighbor across the street, she manages to pull it together to prove to everyone, even herself, that taking responsibility can be rewarding.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
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inoffensive bland TV movie
I recommend
Although not the best I ever saw this is still remarkable good, Yes I recommend it. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 2/9/2021
Not fantastic, but charming
I really liked this movie. It might be because I personally am that "cool aunt", so I easily related to Jennifer's character.
But what I really liked about this movie was the way the actors portrayed their characters. Sure, it's not award winning acting, but the actors portrayed their characters very realistically. Hallmark movies, I have found, have a tendency to have good general stories, but they're portrayed in an unrealistic, cheesy way. In comparison to other Hallmark movies I could mention, the acting wasn't nearly as cheesy as it could have been. That might be because when I'm with my family, we pretty much behave the same exact way.
I also felt that the dialogue was well written. Not because it was incredibly poetic or quotable, but it was (again) realistic. It was like someone eavesdropped into a normal conversation I'd have with my own family, should have something like what the characters experienced occurred. People do have interesting conversations with their families sometimes, you know.
There was no "wow" factor to this movie, and at times I'll admit it was fairly predictable. But I will say it was cute and charming. And sometimes, it's nice to watch something like this. Sometimes it's nice to not be blown out of the water.
I would watch this movie again. I would even recommend it to others to watch (if they were into Hallmark movies).