Sarah Drew – 18 Cinema Lane

Since 2024 is a Leap Year, I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to publish the Gold Sally Awards on Leap Day! For new readers of 18 Cinema Lane, the Gold Sally Awards are one of my blog’s annual traditions to commemorate 18 Cinema Lane’s anniversary. These award categories are created by me, based on topics I’ve brought up on my blog. While most of the awards are the same as in 2023, a few of them have changed. For those awards, I’ll explain the significance of those categories. But just like last year, I will discuss why I chose each recipient. So, now, the moment you’ve been waiting for! The 6^th Annual Gold Sally Awards are about to begin!

6th Annual Gold Sally Awards Winners created by me, Sally Silverscreen.

The “She Won’t Give Me My Chocolate” Award

(Best Quote from a Movie)

“Heroes know who they are” – Evel Knievel, Evel Knievel (1971)

In my review of the 1971 biopic, Evel Knievel, I mentioned how surprised I was by the story’s messages and themes. One example I provided was when Evel explained to Linda why he doesn’t want a lettermen sweater. To elaborate how he doesn’t need to prove he’s a hero, Evel says to Linda, “heroes know who they are”. This quote is not only though-provoking, it is also profound without trying too hard to be. To me, that quote (as well as that scene) was given a lot of thought by the biopic’s creative team!

The Standing Ovation Award

(Character Most Deserving of Receiving Their Full Potential)

Sydney Carton from Hallmark Hall of Fame’s A Tale of Two Cities

My favorite character from Hallmark Hall of Fame’s A Tale of Two Cities is Sydney Carton! Because of his personality, I wanted to know more about him. I was also curious to see where his story would go. Without spoiling this movie, though, all I’ll say is Sydney deserved more than the story provided him. Similar to Kili from The Hobbit trilogy, Sydney is, in my opinion, the MVP of A Tale of Two Cities!

The They Deserve an Award Award

(An Actor or Actress Who Deserves Recognition)

Sarah Drew (for her performance in Guiding Emily)

In the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film, Guiding Emily, the protagonist loses her eyesight. This prevented Sarah Drew, the actress who portrayed Emily, from using her eyes for emotional expression. However, she used other acting techniques to her advantage; such as body language, vocal inflections, and movements of the mouth. Sarah’s performance in Guiding Emily was so good, I specifically highlighted it in my review of the 2023 movie! Through versatility in her acting abilities, Sarah’s portrayal of Emily appeared believable! In fact, I think Sarah should have, at least, been nominated for an award.

The Cowboy Award

(Character Who Makes an Unnecessary, Drastic Change)

Margot from Christmas at Castle Hart

Cowboy, from the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, A Painted House, is a character I’ve mentioned on 18 Cinema Lane. The context was when he was featured in the dishonorable mentions section of my list of the top ten characters ruined by Hallmark. Because I won’t spoil the aforementioned Hallmark Hall of Fame film, all I will say is Cowboy makes an unnecessary, drastic change that, in my opinion, was jarring to witness. It was also jarring to watch Margot, from Christmas at Castle Hart, drastically change. For most of the 2021 movie, Margot comes across as a somewhat annoying character obsessed with Irish stereotypes. But when her sister, Brooke, confronts her about how they should stop lying, Margot becomes a selfish and manipulative person. She even convinces Brooke into believing that if their lies fall apart, it will be Brooke’s fault. In an instant, Margot became a character who cared more about her career than about how others would be affected by her lies.

The “Based on a Book I Haven’t Read Yet” Award

(Movie Based on Source Material I Have Not Yet Read)

Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Caroline?

Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Caroline? became my favorite movie of 2023! After watching the film, I remembered how it was based on the book, Father’s Arcane Daughter by E. L. Konigsburg. As well as trying to check out as many Hallmark Hall of Fame movies as I realistically can, I’d like to read as many books based on Hallmark Hall of Fame movies as possible. In fact, I even created a Hallmark Hall of Fame reading challenge! Since I haven’t read Father’s Arcane Daughter yet, I need to find an excuse to finally seek this book out.

The Edward Boult Award

(Missed Opportunity in Cinema)

Not Addressing Bullying in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

If you’re going to create a story for a younger audience, you need to be mindful when it comes to addressing serious, real-world issues. That’s because a younger audience can be very impressionable. The creative team behind the 1983 television production, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, should have kept this in mind when they chose to not address bullying in their film. As I talked about in my review, the Herdman children bully their peers. The bullied children don’t stand up for themselves against the Herdmans. It also doesn’t help how the adults in the story do not resolve this issue. Because of everything I just said, some younger audience members might believe they shouldn’t bring up bullying if it occurs in their life.

The Top Gun: Maverick Award

(Movie That Exceeded My Low Expectations)

A Biltmore Christmas

When I included Top Gun: Maverick in my list of the top ten best movies I saw in 2022, I admitted how skeptical I was about the movie’s quality. As I said in that list, sequels released over ten years after their predecessor can be hit or miss. But Top Gun: Maverick exceeded my expectations, becoming my second favorite picture from that year! In 2023, I was skeptical about A Biltmore Christmas due to its hype and publicity. Similar to Top Gun: Maverick, A Biltmore Christmas was so good, it ended up in the top three of my year end best movies list! Like I said in my list of the best movies I saw in 2023, there were so many things Hallmark got right in this Christmas movie. It also helps how the story provided a different type of narrative for Hallmark’s Christmas presentations. Because of how much I liked A Biltmore Christmas, I’m looking forward to seeing what Hallmark has in store for this year’s Christmas season!

The Dishonorable Mention Award

(Worst Movie from the Dishonorable Mention Category)

Christmas at Castle Hart

Because I didn’t see enough movies to include an honorable mention category, I wasn’t able to award a winner for the Honorable Mention Award. Since my worst movies of 2023 list featured a dishonorable mention category, I was able to find a recipient for this year’s Gold Sally Awards. Christmas at Castle Hart is the most disappointing film to not make my worst films of the year list. In my review of that movie, I stated how I had waited since 2018 to see Stuart Townsend star in a Hallmark production. Sadly, the final product Hallmark gave me wasn’t worth the wait. Stuart’s acting talents were underutilized to the point where his character, Aiden, spent most of the story driving the female protagonist around Ireland. Christmas at Castle Hart contained other flaws, such as bad CGI and an underutilized subplot. Looking back on the Dishonorable Mention Award, I realized how both recipients were Hallmark films.

The Far and Few Between Award

(Best Movie from a Genre, Film Category, or Decade Not Often Covered on 18 Cinema Lane)

Frankenweenie (2012)

Even though 18 Cinema Lane has been around for six years, there are some areas of cinema that are not often covered on my blog. One of those areas is animation. While it’s rare for an animated movie to receive a movie review, it’s even rarer for an animated movie to appear on my best films of the year list. 2012’s Frankenweenie achieved these feats in 2023, presenting a collection of good creative choices as well as heart. This movie was such a pleasant, memorable surprise, which surpassed my expectations. I’m thankful I took the chance to write about it!

The Hallmark Hall of Fame Award

(Movie That Feels Like It Belongs in the Hallmark Hall of Fame Collection)

Guiding Emily and A Biltmore Christmas

When I shared my overall impression of Guiding Emily, I said how the movie felt reminiscent of Hallmark Hall of Fame projects of yesteryear. This is because the film tells a more unique story from what Hallmark typically creates today. In the case of A Biltmore Christmas, the story provided a different type of narrative within Hallmark’s Christmas films. It also included a historical component to the story. When Hallmark Hall of Fame was in its prime, historical/period films or movies with inspirational themes were added to the Hallmark Hall of Fame collection. If this collection still existed, Guiding Emily and A Biltmore Christmas would have been chosen as 2023’s Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations.

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

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!

*Guiding Emily* poster created by Front Street Pictures and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries

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.

Dog collection image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/dog”>Dog vector created by freepik – http://www.freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

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!