Wes Brown Delivers Perfection In Hallmark's "Sweet Pecan Summer," But Christine Ko Bombs

Starring:  Christine Ko and Wes Brown

Released:  2021-Summer Nights

Summary:  Sparks fly between a woman and her ex-boyfriend as they work together to sell her aunt's pecan farm.

Wes Brown and Christine Ko definitely don't make a believable match.  Image: Crown Media

Hallmark Rolls The Diversity Dice Instead Of Casting Couples With Chemistry

After a long day, it's nice to unwind with a feel-good Hallmark romance movie.  Most of us don't care what race the couple is as long as the casting director paired two people together who can actually act and create sparks for the viewers.

When Crown Media CEO, Wonya Lucas, vowed to include more diversity in Hallmark movies, one might have assumed that meant adding more couples who were black, Asian, Hispanic, Italian, or from some other ethnic group.

We are finding that is not the case.

These days, Hallmark often sacrifices good story-telling and smart casting for identity politics.  Roughly 10% of the American population is in an interracial relationship, but you'd think that statistic is closer to 80% from watching the Hallmark Channel.  The focus of many recent movies has been so lasered in on diversity that the oddity of the matchmaking overshadows the poignancy of the plot.

It's almost as if Hallmark owns a set of diversity dice they roll when deciding on pairing their leading and supporting actors.  Occasionally, the dice land on two whites or two blacks, but more frequently, we are seeing people smacked together who don't go together at all.  You've probably noticed the latest batches of movies typically showcase a minimum of one interracial couple, but there are often two.  For example, The 27-Hour Day has two white people in the leading roles, so two interracial relationships are relegated to supporting actors.  Andrew Walker's "mom" is paired with a black man, and one married couple, a white man and a black woman, are staying at the retreat.  In Her Pen Pal, Mallory Jansen's white "ex" attends the wedding with a black date.  Since Candace Cameron Bure plays opposite Warren Christie, two whites, in If I Only Had Christmas, both of Bure's "brothers" are matched with South East Asian women.

This doesn't remotely reflect real-life.  It looks absurd. In fact, you could argue this over-exaggeration of mixed race couples is an insult to diversity.  What's wrong with featuring two people of the same race, regardless of which race it is?  

Who cares if the movie is ruined as long as the cast is diverse!  Image: Crown Media

While Hallmark claims to advocate for diversity so more people can see themselves in the movie characters, they end up making a mockery of diversity.  Ninety-percent of us who aren't in interracial relationships certainly don't see ourselves reflected in these characters!

Sweet Pecan Summer is a perfect example of diversity gone awry.  Wes Brown is one of the most talented Hallmark actors, and he delivers his lines in the movie to perfection.  He brings humor, warmth, charm, charisma, and depth of character to his role and has us eating out of the palm of his hand.  He does all this despite playing opposite Christine Ko, who completely stinks as an actress and contributes not even the faintest heartbeat of chemistry to their onscreen relationship.  Not even Aunt Carol can be coupled with another Asian.  For the sake of diversity, she, like her niece, must be paired with a white man. 

Hallmark Channel USED to focus on storytelling, but now they've now shifted to woke ideology.  Image: Crown Media

Ko's acting resumé is meager.  In college, she majored in communications and minored in finance, so entertainment isn't her strong suit.  

Since Brown's real-life wife, Amanda, wrote the original story about her Aunt Carol that Hallmark spun into a movie, it's only natural for him to be cast as the lead.  Ko did not do the script justice and soured the movie.

Ko has publicly discussed the limited roles for Asian actors in the U.S., so naturally, she found an ally in Hallmark, which has gravitated to assigning roles based on ethnicity instead of talent.

Is Heading In An "Unclean" Direction Next For Hallmark?

One reason viewers gravitate to the Hallmark Channel is that the network has long avoided any form of sexual innuendo.  You can typically watch these movies with your kids because they only include a little hand-holding and hugging with one or two great kisses.

Sweet Pecan Summer tests the boundaries.

Did you notice when Aunt Carol is alone and looking online, she says something about how she wouldn't wear that alone in the dark let alone with someone?  When Amanda enters the room, Carol quickly conceals what she's viewing.  You might have missed this, but clearly, she is looking at lingerie in anticipation of being with her boyfriend, Walter.  

Lauren Tom should stick with her voice characterizations.  Image: Crown Media

When Walter arrives at the same time as Amanda's parents to help with the pecan harvest, Aunt Carol directs everyone to their rooms and laughingly says to Walter, "You know where you'll be staying!"  The implication is he will be in her room.

The movie fast forwards to the pecan harvest one year later.  We see Carol at, presumably, the beach home she purchased, and no mention is made of her and Walter having married.  Yet, she assures Amanda she and Walter have their bags packed and ready at the door to head her direction when it's time to help.  Are they living together?

This is new territory for Hallmark.  If Hallmark is testing the waters and setting the stage for more sexual content, it will further erode their brand.

Hallmark Plots Are Growing Tedious

For a long time, fans have lovingly chided about the predictable and recycled plots of Hallmark movies, but aren't they beginning to grow wearisome?  Enough is enough.  If you give a kid 20 Legos and ask him to make as many new creations as he can, there is a limit.  Eventually, the possible combinations reach a natural end.  

While the genesis of  Sweet Pecan Summer is attributed to Wes Brown's wife, it's not a new and inspired story.  At all.  The biggest differences in this movie compared to others is that the farm produces pecans instead of something else, like pears (Harvest Love) or grapes, and it's being sold intentionally rather than sinking from debt or lack of patronage.  The farm is "saved," and both J.P. and Amanda pursue and achieve their dreams.  

Isn't it time Hallmark stop rearranging the exact same pieces and start telling stories that are more unique?  If prior Crown Media CEO, Bill Abbott, can recapture the former glory of Hallmark on his new network, GAC-Family, that launches September 27, 2021, fans will likely migrate there and leave Hallmark behind.

The BEST part of Sweet Pecan Summer, aside from the pure awesomeness of Wes Brown and getting to see his real-life daughter cameo, is the hilarious performance of Chase Ramsey, who plays J.P.'s best friend, Chris.  Every time you see his character appear, you can expect to laugh.  The large doses of humor in this movie are a much welcome addition to compensate for the total flop of the rest of the cast.

Chase Ramsey makes a lot of funny cracks about parenting, among other things. Image: Crown Media