In the five years I’ve been movie blogging, I discovered some of my most popular content has been Hallmark-related. One example is how, in a six-month time-frame, my editorial about why Francesca Quinn, PI is the worst Hallmark movie I’ve ever seen has received over two thousand views! Yet, it’s been a while since I reviewed a Hallmark production, with my last review for the Hallmark Hall of Fame adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities. To remedy that, I decided to write about the latest Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film, Guiding Emily! When I first heard about this movie, I liked the idea of a story that didn’t seem to utilize a lot of the tropes and cliches typically found in Hallmark’s projects. However, I was skeptical of the inclusion of a talking dog in the film. Guiding Emily is based on a book of the same name by Barbara Hinske, where the novel is told from the protagonist and her guide dog’s perspective. But I was unsure how the guide dog’s perspective would translate to the screen. Despite this uncertainty, I wanted to check out the movie and see if that uncertainty was justified!

Things I liked about the film:

Sarah Drew’s performance: Whenever I’ve talked about an actor or actress’s performance, I have brought up the expressive nature of their performance. One way an actor or actress can achieve an expressive performance is through the use of their eyes. Because Emily, the film’s protagonist, has lost her eyesight, Sarah Drew, the actress who portrayed Emily, used other acting techniques to her advantage. These included body language, vocal inflections, and movements of the mouth. A good example of this can be seen when Emily receives news from her boyfriend, Conner. When she first hears Conner’s news, Emily is excited for him. A smile is shown on her face, even a giggle is heard in her voice. But as Conner shares more news, Emily’s smile fades and her voice sounds defeated. This defeat quickly turned into sadness. The slight quiver of Emily’s lower lip and the sobs heard in her voice provide proof of her feelings. Throughout this scene, Emily has bandages over her eyes because she recently had surgery.

Honesty about guide dog training: Guiding Emily follows Garth, the dog that will become Emily’s guide dog. Before he can take on that role, Garth needs to learn how to be a guide dog. His training is shown through a series of scenes. These scenes address the reality of guide dog training. For approximately two years, Katie trains Garth. During this training period, Katie’s son, Alex, is frustrated that he can’t take Garth into the pet store. He feels frustrated because he sees taking Garth to the pet store as a form of socialization. Katie explains to her son how Garth hasn’t had his vaccinations yet. She also tells Alex how Garth isn’t trained to handle so much stimulation. When Garth is ready to graduate out of his training years, the scene itself is presented as an emotional moment. Katie is sad about Garth’s graduation, even looking like she wants to cry. Mark, the man who placed Garth with Katie, displays a bittersweet look on his face as well. Scenes like this one don’t shy away from addressing how sad it can be to let go of a dog that one bonded with through training.

The scenery: Though not one of the main focal points of the story, I really liked the scenery in Guiding Emily, as it was marvelous to look at! One place that boasted wonderful scenery was the backyard of Emily’s mother’s house! A sprawling green lawn provided the stage for the star of the show. This star was a large body of blue water. A border of shrubbery and a colorful array of flowers served as the star’s “curtain”. At the water’s edge, a sitting area was situated around a gray stone fire pit. The backyard of Emily’s mother’s house would definitely be the perfect cover story for any home and garden magazine!

What I didn’t like about the film:

A disjointed story: Like I said in my introduction, Guiding Emily is based on a book where the novel is told from the protagonist and her guide dog’s perspective. This element of the novel was translated to the screen, with the story bouncing between Emily and Garth’s point of view. However, the script emphasized Emily’s side of the story, as Garth’s side of the story was sometimes told through brief scenes. I found this disappointing because I expected both Garth and Emily’s perspective to be told for an equal amount of time. Honestly, I wish this story was about Emily and Garth learning to work together as a team.

Forgotten young characters: When Emily stays at her mother’s house, she meets her mother’s next-door neighbor, Zoe. This encounter sparks an acquaintanceship between the two characters. But after Zoe talks to Matthew, one of Emily’s friends, at his rock-climbing facility, she disappears from the story. This means that Zoe is gone for half the movie. When Katie is introduced in the story, it is revealed she has a son named Alex. In this two-hour film, Alex only appeared in two scenes total. He didn’t even show up at Garth’s graduation day. With all that said, it makes me wonder why younger characters were included in the story when they just ended up getting forgotten about?

Parts of the story that didn’t make sense: After being discharged from the hospital, Emily returns to her apartment. While there one day, she attempts to navigate through her home without the use of her vision. This attempt ends in disaster, with Emily tripping over a couch and spilling pasta noodles which she thought were chips. Following the aforementioned disaster, Emily’s mother criticizes Conner for leaving Emily alone for six hours, as Conner explains to Emily’s mother how he was “taking a meeting” during that time. But where was Emily’s mother during those six hours? Wasn’t she staying with her daughter? Because the script never addresses the whereabouts of Emily’s mother, this scene is one of a few moments in the movie that didn’t make sense.

My overall impression:

On the blog, It’s a Wonderful Movie, a commenter mentioned how Guiding Emily should have been a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. While reflecting on this film, I will say Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ latest presentation does feel reminiscent of Hallmark Hall of Fame projects of yesteryear! Sure, the movie does have its flaws, such as a disjointed story and a few parts of the story that don’t make sense. But Guiding Emily is a fine, pleasant film. It does tell a more unique story from those that Hallmark typically creates, avoiding a lot of Hallmark’s tropes and cliches. The talking dog element of the movie is similar to Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, where it sounds like the audience is hearing the animal’s thoughts. I wish Hallmark created more movies like Guiding Emily, where the creative teams are given more opportunities to think outside of the box!

Overall scores: 7 out of 10

Have you seen Guiding Emily? Would you like to see Hallmark tell more creative stories through film? Let me know in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen