Mingle All the Way
Stars: Jen Lilley, Brant Daugherty, Lindsay Wagner
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Synopsis (via Hallmark)
“Mingle All the Way” is a new networking app designed to pair busy professionals together for upcoming events, without long-term romance. Molly, founder of the app, is determined to prove to her family that it is a success. Therefore, she joins the app, and meets another busy professional, Jeff. When Molly and Jeff are matched, they are both horrified to realize they’ve already had not one, but two disastrous previous encounters. Nevertheless, they agree to stay matched for all their respective upcoming holiday engagements. As the pair gets closer, perhaps their business arrangement might turn into something more this holiday season
Thoughts
Molly is spending the holidays with her family (who recently moved and her sister is getting engaged). Molly’s mom doesn’t understand why she spends so much time working on her app rather than finding a man/working for Hoffman Accounting. Her parents are going to Aspen, but hope she will find a man by the time they return. They say the title of the movie three times in the first three minutes.
Jeff also spends time with his family at the holidays. He has a sister with a niece and he also works in an office and works on ad campaigns. Molly and Jeff each put work first and family second.
Molly does a pitch for Mingel All The Way (they’ve got to have said the name of the app at least ten times by now) and it goes well, the algorithm is impressive and Molly even volunteers to use the app herself to impress her potential investors.
While out shopping Molly see an angel for the tree topper that her dad lost in the move. She sets it down and Jeff picks it up to buy if for his niece. Molly tries to explain but he isn’t having it an buys it anyway. Later they run into each other on the street and are all like “YOU?!?!” and are very rude to one another.
Jeff decides to joins Mingel All the Way (He needs to impress his boss and have a lady to go to dinners….) So his sister creates a profile for him. Molly’s assistant also sets her up on the app and they match! 94% and are set up on a date. When they arrive they are like! “YOU?!?!?”
On their date they argue flirt? Jeff judges Molly for making things complicated and she judges him for taking the last glass of wine and not giving it to her. He loves Christmas and she isn’t into it. The date should have gone great because the app should work! Dating (Sorry networking) apps are 100% effective and all people meet on dating apps now.
For their second date, Jeff has Molly join him on a work function to impress his boss. It works and his boss invites him and Molly to go caroling with him and his wife. Molly is upset that she is being used and reminds Jeff that her app is for networking, not dating!!!! This match not working is problematic
Molly comes crawling back after she tells her mom she has a boyfriend in a heated moment. Since it is a mutually beneficial networking opportunity and not a date, Jeff and Molly are working together to help one another get what they want, while fallin for each other at the same time. (Of course.) They make crafts together, the slow dance by a Christmas tree, present wrapping, shopping for a Christmas Tree.
Things are going great until Molly goes to lunch with her friend, Lisa. Molly admits that she is faking a relationship with Jeff. They go on to talk about that they are looking for in men. Little do they know, Jeff’s jerk co-worker overhears the whole story and will be using it to his advantage.
Molly bring Jeff over to her family’s house, her mom is immediately unimpressed with Jeff and his down home approach to Christmas. Molly’s mom likes things to be out of a catalog and even has a picture of Molly’s old boyfriend. Jeff wins over the family with his gift, the angel from the beginning of the movie. Her mom can’t let it go and pushes her daughter to give up this silly app business and become an accountant. Jeff stand up to Molly’s mom and tells her to appreciate her daughter, because he appreciates her.
Molly and Jeff get even more serious, while pretending to be doing all for networkings sake. They ride a horse drawn carriage and talk about previous relationship, cook dinner together, and then decorate a tree. (Did we miss any tropes?) While putting an ornament high up on the tree Molly falls into Jeff and he catches her.
“My knight in shining tinsel.” is a line that poor Jen Lilley has so make work.
Molly and her mom makeup and are awkward but embracing each other’s differences
At a house swanky ass party that Molly’s mom is throwing, we learn that Lisa (BFF) and her assistant are dating. (Not from the app.) Jeff is about to ask Molly out for real (If they aren’t dating, WTF have they been doing?!?!) he is interrupted by his ex girlfriend, Ashley. Molly runs off when she sees Jeff hug Ashley.
At Jeff’s bosses caroling evening, Molly and Jeff are trying to get through their last event on the Mongle All the Way schedule. Jeff’s co-worker bows the lid off of Molly’s secret and reads her testimonial and Jeff is shocked. So is his boss who only values heteronormative relationships. (Turns out he doesn’t
tho and offers Jeff the job in LA anyway.)
At the gala where Molly is to introduce her match to the investors. Jeff shows up just in the nick of time and tells her that their match was a successful one. Molly stops Jeff and tells the investor that she has real feeling for Jeff. It puts her app in jeopardy. (But not really, the investor agrees to fund the project!) Jeff tells Molly that he got offered the job in LA and he isn’t going to accept it. He wants to be close to his niece and… to Molly.
Mistletoe appears and Jeff and Molly kiss under it.
Side Note
Movie takes place in Seattle.
I feel like every man in this movie is gay. Maybe I’m just projecting or need to find a man so I don’t spend the holidays ALONE.
Minority Report: Lisa, Molly’s BFF and her app match.
Mingel All the way Tally: 27 times. 27 TIMES!!!!
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Overall rating
🎄🎄 (2 Christmas Trees)
🍷🍷🍷🍷 (4 glasses of wine required)
*Photo Credit: © 2018 Crown Media United States, LLC
