"Hallmark Hall of Fame" has given us some magic moments in the past but this year it has been one average movie after another. The films they are offering are okay, but they are not in any way exceptional. For many the fact they are entertaining will be enough, but for those who remember the special presentations of the past these new ones will be disappointing. And I was disappointed in Remember Sunday which is their latest movie offering.
Remember Sunday is the story of a man named Gus (Zachary Levi) who suffered a brain aneurism and now has short-term memory loss. Each morning when he wakes up he can't remember anything that has happened since the day he had the aneurism. Everything before that day he can remember but nothing since that day. If you are a movie fan then you are immediately thinking Groundhog Day and 50 First Dates both of which explored the same theme.
This film pursues the romance angle in that Gus meets a waitress named Molly (Alexis Bledel) and they fall for each other. Of course the next day he doesn't remember her but he has made some notes to remind himself that he met her. He also has his sister Lucy (Merritt Wever) and his best friend Jerry (David Hoffman) to help move things along.
Levi and Bledel are competent actors and even exceptional ones in the right roles. These are not the right roles for them and they have very little chemistry together. Their characters just never seem to make a valid connection.
It is nice to see Nurse Jackie co-star Wever in a new role. The warmth you feel for her on "Nurse Jackie" spills over to her very brief role in this movie. Hoffman also is a welcome presence in his scenes with Levi. They actually do seem to be best friends.
The story borders on being an emotionally satisfying one but never crosses over to that state. It always draws back just as you are on the edge of accepting the premise and the characters. If Levi and Bledel were more believable in their roles the movie would be more acceptable as an enchanting love story.
Down deep I know "Hallmark Hall of Fame" still has the ability and capacity to give us a great film. I am counting on it. Don't let me down, HHOF.
Remember Sunday airs Sunday, April 21 at 9PM on ABC.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com