The Wishing Well (2009)

That was an excellent one.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This was tough to watch. The acting is actually better than the movie itself. I was curious as to why they did so many close-ups of Jordan Ladd--all you can focus on is the packed make-up (I cannot imagine she needs that much!). the dream sequence made me laugh out loud. Borgnine was great- -good to see him again in such a sweet role. There are many little things that were just odd. Why would she jump out of bed and race to see her driver's license? Was it all just a dream--or did the wishing well make it happen then thrust her back into her real life again?...but it was cute. I guess it's a movie made for TV, so expectations are low, but I would think if you are taking the time, effort, and money to put out a movie you would want it to be the best it can be. I am off to look for more films by Ladd in hopes of finding something where she can show her true skills.

Of the three Hallmark movies watched on a sequestered Saturday night of a holiday weekend, this, as expected, was the best of the lot.Cynthia Tamerline (Jordan Ladd), a highfalutin hot-shot reporter for a Manhattan celebrity mag, is sent by her editor to the midlands of America to write a feature for a sister publication about a small-town wishing well, to spark her up and teach her a lesson. Upon arrival, she finds that nobody there has heard of her prestigious calling card, but they all love the down-home tips in the homemakers' magazine she's actually there to report for.Cynthia rushes through her assignment in order to get back to her privileged life in New York, but makes a wish at the well before she leaves. (How to be happy?) She falls asleep on the plane, and wakes up in an alternate universe, back in the town she just left, penniless, and dependent upon a job at the town's tiny newspaper. The rest of the movie deals with Cynthia's transition into humanity.This movie is well-executed all around, except that one must agree with an earlier reviewer that our heroine makes the transition from grumpy city girl to breezy small-town lass much too quickly, i.e., just after her very first newspaper assignment, which is to cover a funeral that is so sparsely attended that she is recruited as a pallbearer.

The first reviewer was a bit wrong I think. I believe they must have meant Jason London, rather than Jason Young? The 2nd reviewer was more correct and I agree with them that the movie is not necessarily a Oscar contender, but then, many Oscar contenders are total piles of garbage. I don't remember another movie that Jason London was in with Ernest Borgnine. But it was Jason rather than his brother Jeremy who was in a movie with Ed Asner. It was called Out of the Woods and it too was a fantastic movie and a lot of fun to watch, just like Wishing Well was.This movie was great and it was refreshing to see a movie with no violence or profanity or gratuitous sex scenes. Jason London was terrific as always. It was a pleasure to see him in this movie.

Despite the '10' I gave it, no, it's not an Oscar contender. Yes, it's predictable and follows the'Movie of the Week' formula. This said, I enjoyed it. As far as the made-for-TV-corny-romance-movie-of-the-week genre goes, I think it earns the 10. I've never reviewed a movie on here before, but after reading the only review decided to throw in my two cents. Maybe it's because I'm a small-town girl who moved to the 'big city'...maybe it's because sometimes I just enjoy a corny Hallmark movie on a Saturday night. Over the holidays I caught several movies with Jason London & Ernest Borgnine and am becoming rather fond of them...or was it Jeremy London & Ed Asner...maybe that's it. Anyway, whatever the case, I'd watch it again!