Stream It or Skip It: ‘Welcome to Valentine’ on Hallmark, Where a CEO-In-Waiting Makes the Mistake of Driving a Classic Car through a Small Town

Hallmark’s monthlong Loveuary event continues with Welcome to Valentine, a movie set in the real town of Valentine, Nebraska (pop. 2,613). With a name like Valentine, you know that town goes all out every February 14 — but will all that mushy pageantry get through to one big city CEO-to-be? Or will our Valentine girl go another year without someone special?

WELCOME TO VALENTINE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Kathryn Davis (Jupiter’s Legacy) plays Olivia, a small town girl who moved to New York City (pop. 8,468,000) to pursue an art career. Now two years have passed and she’s still waiting for her big break and working as a part-time caterer to make ends meet. Her situation goes from tenable to terrible before we’re even done with Act One. Olivia loses her gig, ruins her rep with one of the biggest gallery owners in NYC, and she loses her apartment when she finds out her bestie Tess ( Sophie Bastelle) booked a series regular job on a show filming in Chicago. And on top of all that, Olivia can’t even afford a plane ticket home to Valentine, Nebraska in time for the annual Valentine’s Day parade. She can’t afford a ticket… but what if she got a ride?

Enter Sophie’s distant cousin George (Surface’s Markian Tarasiuk). He’s got a sweet vintage car (Big Red) that he’s gotta drive across country — and Chicago and Valentine just so happen to be located across the country! A few edits later and George is dropping off Olivia with her sister Vanessa (Kara Duncan)… and then Big Red poops out. That’s always a worry with those vintage cars! Now George is stuck waiting for repairs in Valentine on the eve of his ascension to CEO at his dad’s company, and Olivia has to deal with the fact that she’s nowhere near as successful as everyone back home assumes. And on top of all that, why does everyone else find George so charming? And why is Olivia bringing out George’s sensitive side? Ugh, it’s like these two are each other’s Valentines or something!

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: The small town energy of Valentine and the big fish/small pond comedy may remind you of Sweet Home Alabama or Doc Hollywood. Oh — and it should be noted that while this film is set in the real small town of Valentine, Nebraska, it was filmed in Ottawa (pop. 994,837). Don’t worry — it does look like a town that’s one four-hundredth of that size.

Performance Worth Watching: I’m giving this to Sophie Bastelle as Olivia’s big city friend Tess. Bastelle brings a big, borderline manic energy to Tess that’s a whole lot of fun. She comes across as kind of a Hallmark-approved Edi Patterson, and that’s a vibe I did not know I needed in these movies. I was immensely bummed when the road trip dropped her off in Chicago!

Memorable Dialogue: Olivia explains Valentine’s relationship with Valentine’s Day to George: “Well, Valentine’s Day is the biggest event of the year, y’know. Like, Christmas is the warmup but Valentine’s Day is the marathon.” Also I have to mention that at one point, the movie’s villain appears as if from nowhere to say, “The parade is nigh.”

Our Take: There’s been something quietly remarkable about Hallmark’s Loveuary lineup, when compared to the juggernaut that is Countdown to Christmas. Without all of the holly jolly trappings of that season’s movies, the formula that we all know by heart actually feels less formulaic. These movies — this one and A Paris Proposal and Sweeter Than Chocolate before it — feel a bit less restrained. Of course I have to point out that this past year’s holiday movies were remarkably original, but you get my point. A Paris Proposal gave us mature romance, Sweeter Than Chocolate felt incredibly Christmas-y just without all the green in the color scheme, and Welcome to Valentine exists somewhere in the middle.

Yes, Welcome to Valentine checks off a lot of the boxes. We’ve got a woman trying to make it in the big city who comes back home to a one stoplight town. We’ve got a business-brained bro who makes a terrible first (and second) impression on the lead. There’s a big parade to prepare for and dead parents (Hallmark movies love a dead parent for some reason). But as formulaic as all that sounds, it all feels a little bit fresher for not having to use all the same music cues and fake snow. Like, this is a movie that opens at a New York City art gallery event — and it actually looks like a New York City art gallery event!

I actually think that because the movie doesn’t have to adhere to the usual holiday themes, it’s able to veer off into different territory. The leads of this movie are both stuck in transitional phases of their lives, where they’re questioning what they’ve done up until now and questioning where those choices are leading them. And, wouldn’t you know it, the “villain” (Louise Kerr) is dealing with the exact same thing! It’s a nice little touch that helps tie everything together, even if just subconsciously.

As for the lead performances, Davis and Tarasiuk give the story a whole lot of heart. Davis has an earnestness that radiates off the screen, kind of like Mary Tyler Moore. You just root for her — and you can’t help but be charmed by her, even if everything is going the wrong way for the character. Tarasiuk’s role as George is actually a bit more complex, as he has to walk a line between grumpy, stuffy, snobby rich kid and warmhearted romantic interest. Tarasiuk plays George with a bit of cluelessness that takes his edge off, and it gives George that same — I don’t want to say pitiable but… pitiable charm that Olivia has. You just want what’s best for these two.

Overall, Welcome to Valentine isn’t redefining the genre and it may not even be a Hallmark movie that you’ll remember by the time Christmas starts in October. But it is a fun watch and it’s another movie that shows how Hallmark is tweaking their approach ever so slightly, and its in the right direction.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Valentine may be a small town but it has a whole lot of heart.