In Merry Measure

2022

Action / Comedy / Drama / Romance

7
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 56%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 56%
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 1008 1K

christmas

Plot summary

When pop star Darcy returns home to spend Christmas with her sister and niece, she unexpectedly finds herself coaching the high school choir with her onetime rival, Adam.

Director

Paula Elle Photo
Paula Elle

Top cast

Patti Murin Photo
Patti Murin as Darcy
Kurt Long Photo
Kurt Long as John Arnett
Cassidy Reichman Photo
Cassidy Reichman as Megan
Garfield Wilson Photo
Garfield Wilson as Rick
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
774.96 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
30 fps
1 hr 24 min
Seeds 2
1.55 GB
1920*1080
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
30 fps
1 hr 24 min
Seeds 4

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by TheLittleSongbird 6 / 10

Measure that could have been merrier

'In Merry Measure' (2022)Opening thoughts: Hallmark have been responsible for many good Christmas films, including from 2022. They have also been responsible for some real misfires, again also from 2022. The premise is one of those could go either way ones, potentially light hearted and cosy but also potentially a film with difficult to like characters judging from the early parts of the plot synopsis. Brendan Penny's, the most familiar name to me, films and performances for me have always been hit and miss, and it has been very dependent on how his characters are written and used (variable on both counts).'In Merry Measure' is one of those films that people will consider light hearted and warm glow in the heart-inducing. At the same time, it is not for those that like characters to be likeable and easy to connect with regardless of their flaws, or if they are wanting anything fresh. To me, 'In Merry Measure' fitted in both extremes and was one of those mixed feelings, slightly above average films. Hallmark definitely did much worse in 2022, including in the Christmas output. They also did a lot better, with the year containing some of their best ever work in particularly the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries block.Good things: There is a good deal to like in 'In Merry Measure'. The best thing about it is Penny, reading about the film part of me was expecting to be annoyed and/or bored by his character, but he succeeds in making an initially flawed character grow realistically and gives a charming and subtly charismatic performance that deserved a more consistent film. Also liked very much the performances of a funny and sassy Jennifer Robertson and beyond her years Cassidy Reichmann.Despite the story being uneven, there are good scenes with a strong highlight being the amusing and charming scene between the two sisters. It is nicely made, love the scenery, and directed with competence. Also did like the music, which is catchy and beautiful with a real Christmas feel. It is also surprisingly well performed with no affectations, overuse of unnecessary interpolations and auto-tune, all of which tend to be distracting for me. Mostly, the story is very cosy and can warm the heart. And there is a lovely positive message delivered with sincerity and no preachiness.Bad things: Viewers here are divided by the performance of Patti Murin, count me in as one of those who didn't care for her. Murin over-compensates badly throughout the film and comes over as annoying, found it very difficult to connect with her insensitive and judgemental character. There is very little chemistry between her and Penny, which is both bland and forced.On the most part, the script is too talky. The film starts off really rough, with very awkward and cheesy dialogue and both lead characters are extremely unlikeable because of the overwritten character flaws. At least Penny's character grows though, Murin's though does not. Not to mention the too pat and unearned ending.Closing thoughts: Concluding, above average if very uneven.6/10.
Reviewed by angelahelander 6 / 10

Sweet family values!

This movie was adorable and had such sweet and genuine family values embedded.I loved the way they discussed grief and loss in a way that wasn't horribly depressing but it was still very realistic and done in a way that many people can identify with, myself included.The way the relationship came together in this movie was so sweet. I always love the predictability of a good Hallmark movie and this one did not disappoint. For the majority of these movies, we tend to see the male character make such big changes or sacrifices to be with their new loved one in the film and this was great to see the roles reversed.As always, the acting and many of the scenes were incredibly campy/cheesy/corny but I loved this movie and would watch it again!
Reviewed by herrcarter-92161 7 / 10

Reasonably engaging

This was a pretty good movie. Of course, it relied on a fusion of two fairly overdone tropes, namely the big city girl returns to her hometown at Christmas and begins to consider returning full-time, and the famous person connects romantically with a normal person. It worked better in this case, because the famous girl Darcy was already friends (actually former high-school frenemies) with her average Joe love interest Adam. Also, the fact that she was kind of a has-been in the music industry, rather than a current reigning pop star, made her much more relatable. You really could believe that she could just come and hang out with her sister and niece for Christmas, just like any normal person would, and you could believe that she would take it upon herself to direct a musical group of local teens including her niece.Okay, a fair amount of disbelief still had to be suspended for you to buy into this movie. Like, for example, how she took a group of no-talent kids and, after barraging them with positive messages of "believing in yourself", they instantly transformed into a professional-quality singing group, complete with multi-part harmonies. There's also the relationship between Darcy and Adam. They were way too acrimonious at the beginning for you to really buy that they would connect romantically after such a short time. He doesn't even couch his interest in some innocuous comment like, "Maybe we could grab a bite to eat". He flat out says he's asking her on a date. Somehow, I wasn't quite buying it.Otherwise, I thought the interactions between Darcy and Adam were good and realistic. Their banter was pretty engaging. I also enjoyed the relationship between Darcy and her sister Gretchen and her niece Megan. Patti Murrin as Darcy gave a great performance. She was positive and upbeat and made her character of a former pop princess seem believable and relatable. Brendan Penny as Adam was also good. The glasses were an interesting touch that you don't often see in Hallmark movies, at least on men. It's interesting that the guy got the glow-up this time, by eventually removing the specs.One thing I also liked was that, when Darcy had to miss the kids' performance because of a conflicting meeting that was vital to her music career, neither the kids nor Adam tried to make her feel guilty about her "abandoning" them. They were totally understanding and went on to perform fine without her, though she magically was able to show up for the performance anyway. I also liked how they didn't force her to choose between life in her hometown, where a relationship with Adam would be possible, and her career as a pop singer. She was able to have both, though I think that probably never could have happened in the real world.All in all, a fairly engaging Hallmark Christmas romance, with good performances and a decent script. Definitely worth a watch.
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