Welcome to Valentine Hallmark Movie Review

Welcome to Valentine, Valentine Nebraska that is. When a struggling artist heads to her home town to help her sister put on the annual Valentine's Day parade, she finds an unexpected love along the way. Will the movie tug at your heart strings and put you in the mood for love? Here's my review of the story, the cast, and whether it's worth watching.

Synopsis of Welcome to Valentine

Olivia (Kathryn Davis) is a struggling artist who is following her dream of making it big in New York City. But after two years in NYC, her art isn't on display in any gallery and she is working as a waitress for a catering company. When her roommate lands an acting gig and moves to Chicago, Olivia also finds herself without a place to live.

With finances and her life in disarray, Olivia can't make it home to Valentine, Nebraska, for their annual holiday celebration. Of course, a town with a holiday named after it is big into celebrating Valentine's Day. It's the one time of year that Olivia heads home, but this year she doesn't have the money for the airfare.

When her roommate Tess's (Sophie Bastelle) cousin George (Markian Tarasiuk) shows up at the catering event where she's working, they find out that he's in town for the event. And, to drive his grandfather's classic car back to California. Since he has to drive through Chicago and Nebraska along the way, he gives Olivia and Tess a ride.

When George tries to get on the road after dropping off Olivia in Valentine, his car won't start. And when the mechanic shorts out the electrical system when trying to give the car a jump, he is stuck in the town through the Valentine's Day festivities.

Welcome to Valentine Review

Welcome to Valentine is as predictable as you would expect from a Hallmark movie. It's the typical story of two people who are struggling with their careers. Olivia is trying to follow her dream and fulfill her creative ambitions. While George on the other hand is stuck in the finance world where he is about to be named the new CEO for his family's company.

While he's stranded in town waiting for car parts, he and Olivia get to spend a lot of time together. They both encourage the other to push harder for what they want in their careers. George wishes that he could add a non-profit division to his family's business so that he could do more rewarding work. They both fear failing and letting their family down.

George fears disappointing his father, so he never stands up to him. And Olivia feels the weight of her late mother in everything she does, and every decision she makes. Together they learn that they need to fight through that fear.

Is Welcome to Valentine Worth Watching

The Verdict: Meh. There was nothing in the movie that sparked my interest and got me excited. At the heart of any good romance movie is the couple. A really good movie gets us invested in the couple, and has us rooting for their success. With Welcome to Valentine I just didn't care what happened with George and Olivia.

Truth be told the movie did get better as it went along. I almost stopped watching it after about 20-30 minutes, but I stuck with it so that I could write this review. The sacrifices I make, lol. Seriously though, once they made it to Nebraska the movie got better. But, it also had some flaws that drove me crazy. I mean what mechanic, or tow driver, is going to mess up jumping a car. Not going to happen and I hate it when movies include unrealistic things like that.

So the bottom line is that I would skip this one. Nothing that you need to run out and search for to stream tonight. But if Hallmark happens to replay it, it certainly won't be the worst thing you've ever watched. Which means it also won't be the best.

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Related Article: Kathryn Davis starred in Six Degrees of Santa on Lifetime.