The More Love Grows

Trailer—The More Love Grows

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source: The More Love Grows

Hallmark rose to notoriety with their feel-good movies that used to promote family, faith, and commitment. They've taken a nosedive in the last few years, and this is yet another example. This movie's message is that the commitment of marriage is not worth the investment, and is easily and (very) quickly replaceable. No reasons for a breakup are necessary for discussion, but it's a good idea to: 1) Shut your spouse out of your life in anger. 2) Within a day or two, flirt with a replacement for your spouse. 3) Befriend others who will encourage you that the commitment of your marriage is passé and not in your best interest. 4) Realize that your personal independence is so much more valuable than working on oneness in marriage. 5) Put more effort into finding your runaway dog that in even starting to try to reconcile with your spouse. 6) Reject all apologies from your spouse and embrace your feelings that your commitment is simply over. Hallmark, this wasn't a feel-good movie! It was a downer! Perhaps that's why several rival TV networks have arisen to take your place because you have abandoned your values. And fortunately, many of the actors and actresses have left Hallmark and followed networks embracing these family values. We're watching many more Up TV and GAC Family shows that Hallmark movies now. Sad, but true...

7.4 stars. It's very rare for Hallmark to give us a story centered around an actual divorce that is in the works rather than a retroactive one, or the usual death of a spouse. In this case we have a film starting out seemingly normal, but we know something has to go wrong, because the husband is a chump and the leading female is obviously not feeling normal as a housewife of sorts. From there we see the transformation of a woman who is blindsided by the news that husband is unhappy with the marriage. But is she really surprised? This film is mostly unfinished in a sense, but the story is fully told. The leading male/love interest's role is half developed, the husband is a ghost of a character, and the daughter is only secondary; so we miss out on anything coming to fruition. The leading female is uncertain of herself which wasn't explored correctly. Therefore, 'The More Love Grows' is not a completely fulfilling experience. But I still enjoyed it because the acting is great and the flow and dialogue are satisfying. Hard to explain, but this is actually an entertaining movie (the dog helped).

In spite of a strong cast, this falls short of hallmark usual quality. The plot was weak and not worthy oh Hallmark production. Characters went "zero to sixty" in a most unnatural manner. The husband wants to leave his wife and we are told that she has no clue as to why. She is blindsided by his desire to depart. She wants to understand why he wants out and wants to stay together. This creates a mystery (the reason why) and it creates a need to process the info. We're never given the info and when hubby changes his mind, giving her what she begged for, she's already moved on. This leaves us with a superficial story without a Hallmark happy conclusion. No depth between wife and her new boyfriend though both are fine actors. The writing is to blame.

Yes, there are a lot of weak spots in this movie, but the longer I watched it, I appreciated how it delved into the important issues that the first minutes of it made you think were going to handled lightly. Though I was put off by many of the tropes that were introduced in the beginning, I appreciated the deft way they handled them as the movie unfolded, and how they reflected real world experiences for many of us. I actually would love to see a sequel. Maybe this is just a transitional relationship and they end up finding other loves, but remain friends. Maybe they take that trip to Paris they both want to take and realize they aren't meant to be together. Maybe their kids end up in a relationship that causes all sorts of complications. Maybe Elmer becomes a dad. So many possibilities for this fine cast to explore further. As a fan of "Heartland," I loved seeing Alisha Newton's character being a less than positive influence, as opposed to her Heartland character, Georgie.

This story begins with a situation that is all too common. A husband just isn't excited about his marriage anymore. That's not too different from a midlife crisis. He starts a process that isn't easy to fix. I have a personal bias against divorce and against dating while married. A legal separation makes the latter a little more complicated, but I still favor holding a marriage of 20 years together. There are, of course, circumstances that shift the balance in this equation such as cheating or abuse. This movie seems to me to be a celebration of me being me. Whatever is good for me is what I should pursue. Helen finds that she likes herself after trying new things and at least partially succeeding in them. She can stand on her own. Paul has already chosen self by pushing for the separation without even trying to reconcile. Then his attitude changes, but Helen now likes her new life. Meanwhile, whether you label it dating or not, that's what she has been doing with another man. It feels good. Then two crises occur. They all pull together for the dog, but what about Aly. Aly has just learned one her first hard lessons about living in the real world (and even college is only part way there). She is devastated. She comes home to find her family broken. But according to the flow of the movie, that's OK too. It's Aly who needs to adjust. The movie has already shown how important friends and by extension family is in helping to deal with real life for Helen. But not for Aly? True neither mom nor dad abandon her, but there is tremendous security in the nuclear family. This story in effect denies that. And this is what popular culture wants us to believe. A united family is not better than a broken one. To thine own self be true and to heck with the man or woman you've committed to for 20 years. This movie does a very good job of exploring real life in today's world. One downside is Helen's personality. I would usually say that her positive attitude, which is Rachel Boston's specialty, is a good thing, and it is. It's just that in the way it's done in this movie is naive and unrealistic. Everything can be shrugged off, even the dog digging up your daisies. But the movie does well in examining a number of situations that are real. Elmer the dog plays a big part in the movie and he is cute. That's a plus for dog lovers. I'm prepared for all the down votes because I am a dinosaur. Even so I have to vote against the ideals of selfishness and broken families which are celebrated by this movie.

This movie suffers from a common problem in some of the weaker Hallmark entries- too much is packed into too short a time frame. One day, Helen and Paul are dropping off their daughter at college (after which Paul wants to talk to Helen about their next "adventure"). The next day Paul drops the "adventure" talk and announces he's moving to Denver and ending their marriage. Then Helen gets a dog (for the first time) and, in what seems like the same couple of days, and without any grieving period following the end of her 20 year marriage, Helen meets a handsome vet played by Warren Christie, goes on a series of dates, and falls for him. And it's all tied up neatly and quickly with no yelling or crying. As someone who lived through the end of a 25 year marriage, I was bothered by how the movie glossed over the hard and often brutal realities of divorce. And the economic consequences were completely ignored. Given how some reviewers still found the movie depressing, I suppose there was a conscious decision to hire the always smiling Rachel Boston to help take the edge off a story that starts off with a couple getting divorced. That is, admittedly, a very depressing subject. But this is one of the rosiest movies about divorce you'll ever see. Rachel Boston highlighted the sunshine kumbaya approach of the writer and director to divorce. Other reviewers noted her tendency to giggle during any lapse in dialogue and how it often seemed inappropriate to the moment in the script. That's fair. But I still like her. One of my favorite exchanges came between Helen and her new friend Cindy. Cindy: "My ex burned my life to the ground and I rose from the ashes rocking. How are you going to take your power back?" Helen: "I could get new throw pillows. Paul always hated them." Cindy: " You need to call a lawyer." Helen: "I'm not ready for that." Cindy: " Ready or not, you can either stand up for yourself or get run over." Helen also told her mother a funny line by Cindy about how "marriage is an outdated social construct and Paul is holding me back from living my best life." Roan Curtis played Aly, the daughter who just started college. She's a beautiful actress and Aly seemed really sweet but stressed. I thought that subplot, of Aly navigating her way through her first semester at college, was quite realistic and I would have preferred a movie that focused more on her. Note to screenwriters, flashing the words "One Year Later" (still not enough time to truly recover from the end of a 20 year marriage) is a perfectly acceptable transition. That said, "Tubthumping" may be the perfect song for people going through a divorce.

What went right in this movie? Well.. The lead actors are likeable. (But not their characters...) There's also some cute dogs. That's it. Thats all. Everything else is ridiculous or aggravating. Lets see... You've got a mom who is abusive and gaslights like crazy. Of course she never gets called out or put in her place. Mid movie a single sort of stern comment is made to her and the switch flips: now she's somehow a loving and kind mom. Gross. Then you have a weird and pointless side story with a daughter. An 18yr old played by a 26yr old and it couldn't be more obvious. Not a single one of the college kids in this movie look anywhere near 18. I literally thought she was going to grad school at first. This girl has zero self awareness and zero gumption. Easily walked on by her caricature of a roommate. The story is nothing but filler. On to the main story- you've got a woman who's completely shocked her husband is leaving her yet she doesn't seem to care. She moved on in LITERALLY one day. Feels nothing. Finds herself a man-hating artist friend who doesn't care in the least about what she might want or feel bEcAuSe ThE pAtRiArChY. She comments on wanting to fix her marriage and her friend SCOLDS HER for it! Its just random and weird. There is no chemistry between the lead and her husband. (But don't worry- he begs to come back home). There is also no chemistry between the lead and her new love interest. (But don't worry- he wants to pounce on this newly single and vulnerable woman). They only have 1 conversation that isn't about the dogs. This woman is separated. NOT EVEN DIVORCED. Only apart for a matter of days before this weirdly predatory guy is trying to date her. Oh yea... Then there is the dog. Which shows up on her doorstep. And she claims it. She doesn't call the police to report the lost dog. She buys hundreds of dollars worth of supplies and toys for the dog before she even puts up lost dog posters online. Then she somehow knows less about dogs than your average 5 yr old. She feeds him chocolate cake and makes him instantly ill. Don't worry though.. Her new vet boyfriend and rocker gal pal have it covered. In fact... They train him to sit in 3 seconds. Lol. This is honestly the most cringeworthy HMM I've ever seen.