Once Upon A Winter's Date

Tagline: Katherine, a career-minded ad executive, endures the worst Valentine's Day date of her life, only to wake up and find she has been cursed to relive the same day over and over until she finally finds her true love. Available on the Hallmark Movies Now app.

Once Upon a Winter’s Date (alternatively titled Valentine’s Again) isn’t your typical Hallmark offering which has both positives and negatives. From what I understand, the movie premiered on the app as an exclusive although it was on the release list for last year’s Countdown to Valentine’s Day. Instead, we get it this winter which probably explains the rebranded title.
For those who haven’t seen the movie and want to know what happens in it, scroll down to the end of this review for the spoilery bits to give you an idea of the goings-on.

Now, if you’ve seen the cover of the movie, you already know who she’ll end up which may make the movie a bit of a trod to get through. As I mentioned, it wasn’t like the typical Hallmark romcoms these days where we see not only the main female lead’s point of view but also the lead male’s POV. OUAWD feels more like a chick-lit story where we follow Kat’s journey to finding The One rather than the journey of how two people find each other. This is emphasized in the various dates Kat goes on with all the men she meets during the day from her apartment doorman, her doggy daycare babysitter, yoga instructor, and barista. It reminded me more of See Jane Date than Hallmark’s Countdown to Valentine movies. I loved that there was a splash of diversity in Kat’s date with barista guy but a bit bummed that he turned out to be such a slime compared to the other guys.

Anywho, for that reason and also the fact that this steps away from the norm of Hallmark romcoms, plus the fact that this movie’s runtime is way shorter at 70 minutes, this was an interesting deviation from the formula.

I thought OUAWD was an okay movie for a more chick-litty feeling ending with a splash of romance. I giggled a few times when Kat changed things up a bit on her date with Bradley and the pitch meeting. I really liked the scenes describing the sweetness of delivering flowers and seeing the expressions on the receivers’ faces. While not a bad way to spend a Saturday evening watching over a glass of red wine, I probably won’t add this to my faves list as I would have loved more scenes with the yummy Greg Vaughn and his character’s developing relationship with Kat.

 

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Cute Quips:

Kat: What would you do if I told you I was experiencing a serious bout of deja vu? Like I know what people are going to say and do, before they say and do it?

Melissa: Okay… is it contagious?

Spoilery Overview (Highlight to read)

Katherine is a meticulous career woman who loves routine. She dots her I’s at work and crosses her T’s even in the romance department where she has a list for the perfect man. On this particular Valentine’s day, everything is falling into place. She leaves her happy puppy Zacky at puppy daycare before dashing off for a relaxing yoga session. After grabbing her coffee, she finds a lost dog and its owner trailing behind. (This won't be the last time she sees them). The pitch meeting is all set up with a high-end French client. And her boss is impressed with her current work...until she flubs the meeting right in front of the client. That evening, after another call from her father asking to come to his engagement party, she has her date with the seemingly perfect man.

The date starts out fabulous and smooth as Kat chats with "Perfect Bradley" about their hypothetical children, perfect house, and overall future. Bradley is eager to share his life with someone and settle down. That is, until she brings up her dog, Zacky. He shuts down and leaves poor Kate with the bill after “going to the bathroom”.

Kat swears off men and romance from there on out and heads home. On the way, she again bumps the mysterious woman (Marta) and her dog (Tammy). Marta wishes to thank Kat for saving her precious dog and thus invites her to coffee. At the coffee shop, Kat reveals her romance woes to Marta who consoles her with the prediction that she has already spoken to her soulmate earlier that day. Someone who “satisfies all her needs, but not necessarily all her wants”. Someone she has to put aside all her expectations and judgments to appreciate.

Kat is ready to put this day aside and wake up to a fresh new day. Unfortunately, fate has other plans as she relives Valentine’s Day over and over again until she meets her soulmate.