Pour The Wine, It's Rom-Com Time

Hallmark’s The Wish Swap

• Garry & Amy

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With a glass of cabernet sauvignon in hand, we dive into the magical world of Hallmark's "Wish Swap," a rom-com that explores the enchantment and chaos that unfolds when two strangers swap wishes on their birthday. Join us as we discuss the film's delightful characters, charming moments, and the pair's unexpected journey toward love.


Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/mood-of-summer

Amy:

Hi, welcome to Pour the Wine. It's rom-com time where we'll sip some wine and review all things rom-com on the Homework channel. I'm Amy.

Garry:

And I'm Gary.

Amy:

But before we get into the review, we should Wait, wait, wait, wait, what you didn't pour the wine yet Are you going to?

Garry:

pour it. Oh shoot man, hold on one second.

Amy:

We have it sitting right here. It's tempting me.

Garry:

I know it's tempting right and I forgot to pour it.

Amy:

That was my fault, and we are pouring a Cab Sav.

Garry:

Yes. Again because it's our, we will. We'll have a different one.

Amy:

Cheers to episode two.

Garry:

Before we get into the review, I think we should give a shout out to the Philadelphia Eagles for winning Super Bowl 59.

Amy:

Yes, yes, the Super Bowl was just this past weekend.

Garry:

Yes.

Amy:

And Philly killed it out there. They came out to play.

Garry:

They were firing on all aspects of the game.

Amy:

All, every aspect, and Kansas City had no answer.

Garry:

None whatsoever. I felt sorry for Mahomes because he was constantly on the run. I don't even know how many times he got sacked.

Amy:

Oh, just say a lot, that's all you need to say, just say a lot. He's probably sore on Monday.

Garry:

But you know, this was their second Super Bowl win in seven years.

Amy:

That's awesome.

Garry:

Yes, it is.

Amy:

Good for Philly and that's pretty good for you to compliment them.

Garry:

I know, I know, I'm a Cowboys fan.

Amy:

You're a Cowboys fan, to your detriment, yeah.

Garry:

Boy, are we going on 30 years now. That's a long time Long time.

Amy:

Well, at least I'm a Colts fan, so I don't have much hope for a few years probably.

Garry:

Well, I could tell you this If they get rid of Parsons, I'm going to become a Colts fan too.

Amy:

So anyways, Okay, come on over, come on over. We're definitely a house divided.

Garry:

Yes, we are. We have one boy that likes the Steelers.

Amy:

Check.

Garry:

One boy that likes the Eagles.

Amy:

And he had a great year. Yes, he did and he was very joyful this past weekend.

Garry:

And what about the girls? Do the girls like football?

Amy:

They enjoy going to the parties for football, I think.

Garry:

Yeah, I think they're more the party goers than the actual watching the games as into it as the rest of us are. Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

Amy:

What else did we do this week? We what do we?

Garry:

play catch up on the way home season three.

Amy:

We are still about an episode or two behind, right, I think. So we're trying trying to catch up there. We also decided to dive in and get hallmark plus finally yay, yes, I've been wanting it since it launched, but you know, but we did, so we can watch all the Christmas movies.

Garry:

I know, because that's our favorite time of year. I know we love Christmas movies. I really want to watch Holidays. Yeah.

Amy:

That's that series, that's on. We didn't watch that this past Christmas season.

Garry:

We'll get to it. So, Anyways, today we're reviewing the Wish Swap that aired on Saturday, February 8th. This is the second of four all-new movies as part of Hallmark Channel's Love you, Eric. And now that the wine is poured, how about you hit us with a synopsis?

Amy:

Let's go. Casey and Henry are two strangers who share a birthday After blowing out their candles simultaneously. They make wishes that are mysteriously granted, but not for themselves for each other. As they navigate these swapped lives, they collaborate to fulfill each other's wishes and unknowingly fall in love in the process. It stars. Emily Tennant plays Casey. She was recently in All I Need for Christmas in 2024 and Holiday Hotline in 2023.

Garry:

Awesome.

Amy:

Jake Foy plays Henry. He was most recently in Confessions of a Christmas Letter in 2024. And he was in Chicken Sisters, the new series with Leah Thompson, wendy Malick Okay, okay, okay.

Garry:

Something we got to watch Just something we got.

Amy:

Yeah, I think we should watch that now that we have Homework Plus.

Garry:

Put it on the little list, watch it. Oh, it's added to the list for sure.

Amy:

Witch Swap also stars Molly Saunders, who plays Charlotte, and that is Jake Foy's niece. She actually only had three acting credits on her filmography.

Garry:

That was it.

Amy:

That was it, and I thought she was so great in this.

Garry:

She was excellent in this.

Amy:

She's so, so great, so hopefully there's more to come from her for sure, oh, definitely. Jason Fernandez plays Peter. He works for Jake. He is friends with and likes Molly. He is friends with and likes Molly. Yes, he was in. One of his acting credits was Cruel Summer, which we enjoyed too the first season he was in a few episodes of that.

Garry:

That was a good series too.

Amy:

Matt Hamilton plays Simon Jake's brother. He was in Three Wise Men and a Baby and Three Wiser Men and a Baby.

Garry:

Oh, that's right, he was the neighbor. The neighbor, yes, with all the decorations and everything.

Amy:

Eric Keenleyside plays Mac Jake's dad.

Garry:

Okay.

Amy:

He has a ton of acting credits and he was most recently in A Reason for the Season in 2024.

Garry:

Well, good for him.

Amy:

Iris Quinn plays Jan Jake's mom. She was most recently in All I Need for Christmas in 2024 and a few episodes of Firefly Lane.

Garry:

Oh really, another good series, the Netflix series, wow.

Amy:

Jan Kay Crystal Lowe plays Jess, Emily's friend and co-worker. She's really good in it.

Garry:

She really is good. She's really good in it too. You know who she reminds me of.

Amy:

Who.

Garry:

The lady from Shrinking the neighbor. She looks like her.

Amy:

Oh, she looks like the actress who plays? The neighbor in Shrinking, I can kind of see it.

Garry:

I can kind of see it. I'll give you that one.

Amy:

I'll give you that one for now. She is actually known for being in the Signed, Sealed and Delivered series and movies. Huh, Pascal Hutton plays Coach Gloria.

Garry:

Okay.

Amy:

And she is in when Calls the Heart. Oh yeah, should we start watching when Calls the Heart?

Garry:

I think so.

Amy:

That's one series that's been on for a while that we haven't watched.

Garry:

Yeah, I know we have so many things to watch Now that we have Homework Plus, we can go back 10 years and watch. Oh my goodness, that is a lot of stuff to watch.

Amy:

That's a wrap.

Garry:

That's a wrap. All right Well you want to get into our first takes.

Amy:

Sure, you go first. What's your first?

Garry:

take. Well, I again enjoyed the chemistry between Emily and Jake.

Amy:

Yes, it was really good.

Garry:

The banter was spot on. Again, I'm giving kudos to Hallmark, for you know pairing these actors together, because you know it's what makes the movie.

Amy:

Yeah, yeah, I think their personalities matched each other perfectly.

Garry:

What about you? What did you like?

Amy:

I just really enjoyed it overall. I thought it was light, cute, fun. I also really liked the premise of the wish swap making a wish and somebody else getting yours and you getting someone else's and kind of seeing where that goes. I thought that was great, else's and, kind of seeing where that goes, I thought that was great. I really enjoyed, like you just mentioned, the chemistry between Emily and Jake and their whole process of getting to know each other throughout the show, throughout the wish swap throughout the dance competition.

Amy:

I just thought it flowed naturally and seemed seamless.

Garry:

Yeah it did. The other thing I kind of liked too was um emily and her friend yankee.

Amy:

I thought they had a very good. Yeah, they had a great. They had. It's not too often that the uh, you know supporting.

Garry:

Cast um for me anyways, um give a kudo for that yeah, yeah, and the.

Amy:

For me another first take was just the scenery and the backdrop of the farm. You know I love farm. It was beautiful. I'm a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll, I know.

Garry:

I wonder where that came from.

Amy:

So I just I really enjoyed that, the farm life, the relaxed country life. I thought that was great, and can we take a minute to appreciate all the reality TV references?

Garry:

And can we take a minute to appreciate all the?

Amy:

reality TV references. Yes, queen, that Emily brought up throughout. It was sort of sprinkled throughout the movie and I just love that because we love reality TV ourselves.

Garry:

They're sort of our guilty pleasures. Yeah, you got me hooked on Housewives, housewives, every last one of them. You can't help it. Yes.

Amy:

All the cooking shows we love Gordon Ramsay.

Garry:

Oh, definitely.

Amy:

We love Top Chef. We just we're into reality shows.

Garry:

Kitchen Nightmares. I thought that was great. Ooh, that's disgusting. Oh, and one other thing I did, like Jake and Molly's, you know, bantering back and forth His niece.

Amy:

Oh yeah, I thought His niece, she was cute, she yeah.

Garry:

Yeah, so let's get into our favorite scenes.

Amy:

All righty.

Garry:

What was your favorite scene?

Amy:

Oh, One of my favorite scenes we have to talk about at the very, very beginning, when they're at the restaurant and there's just wine all over the table.

Garry:

They're all drinking wine.

Amy:

Everybody has a glass of wine.

Garry:

Oh yeah, that was.

Amy:

We were enjoying our wine while we were watching the wine on the table, so that definitely deserves a shout out.

Garry:

You see how these shows get you they put these little props up there some wine, some food and next thing you know you're drinking wine and eating food. Crazy, right.

Amy:

So, seriously though, what was one of your favorite scenes, then I'll go into mine.

Garry:

Well, I have to say that the wish scene was my favorite.

Amy:

Yes, me too.

Garry:

I just love the fact that when she reached over to hand him the cake, they both held it. Her friend goes no, you can't. You got to close your eyes before you blow the candles out, and when they did that, the lights dim, spotlight on them. The camera rolls around them, they're the only ones in the scene and then it pans back out to everybody being in the restaurant again. I just love that concept.

Amy:

I totally agree. I thought that that was great and, you know, it kind of reminds me of, too, when you do when it's your birthday, and this is one reason I don't like doing big celebrations like that or going out because I don't like the spotlight on me at all.

Amy:

It makes me too nervous. I don't like opening gifts in front of people, I don't know why. Ever since I was a little kid, it just makes me nervous. And then you got to blow out the candles and people are watching you and it just oh, I want to crawl into a shell.

Garry:

And you know what? That's kind of funny because ever since we've been together you've kind of brought me out of my shell because I was kind of like an introvert and now I want the spotlight.

Amy:

You know somebody's singing happy birthday to me. I'm up on hooting and hollering and dancing around. Yes, that's true.

Garry:

Maybe you've come a little too far out of your shell. I know You're like pump the brakes. Pump the brakes.

Amy:

I'm better in like a one-on-one setting or mulling around a party than doing something like that in the spotlight.

Garry:

But the other crazy thing about U2 is that you can walk into a room full of strangers and walk back out with a friend, like all of them. That's nice, so that's where you're good.

Amy:

Yeah, that's where I'm not good. You just want the spotlight on you, I just want the spotlight.

Garry:

I don't want to make any friends, whoop it up in front of everybody.

Amy:

Okay, gotcha.

Garry:

All right, so what was another scene that you liked?

Amy:

I just enjoyed in general Emily and Jake when they were dancing around the farm like in the back of the pickup.

Garry:

That was so cool.

Amy:

And then when they were in the barn. There were a handful of scenes like that throughout the movie and I just thought that was great, Maybe it was my countryside coming out that I just we sort of moved away from. I mean, we're not in the country, but we're definitely out country-ish, where it's quiet, you can see the stars and everything, and we just I just really I loved that. So, throwing it back to you, do you have another favorite scene?

Garry:

Yeah, Another one of my favorite scenes was when Jake, molly and Jason. They're working on the truck at the barn when Emily comes around she asks did you guys drop a truck on the Wicked Witch of?

Amy:

the Farm. That was really funny. How hilarious was that. I enjoyed that. I enjoyed the Wizard of Oz. Shout out there.

Garry:

I know, and if there would have been a little bit of Hallmark weather we could have probably put in a tornado. A tornado Because we're not in Kansas anymore, toto, we are not.

Amy:

Did you have any more scenes? Well, it's not really a scene, so much as just the general idea of the fact that they made up quickly after the fight. Yeah, pretty quickly, because I always I don't like it when they when it's long and drawn out, and you know, over-dramatized. I just felt like it was a quick wrap up and I thought that was great.

Garry:

Yeah, but he should have been in the doghouse. He's looking at her computer like that. What's?

Amy:

wrong with a man? I would totally, totally snoop. I'm not going to lie. If you had wishes on me, I might, I might. I think, I have it in me to just snoop a little bit Did y'all hear that she was snoop, snoop, snoop. I admit it, I own it. I admit it. All right, throwing it back to you.

Garry:

Yes, my last favorite scene is the goat scene.

Amy:

Oh, yes, yes.

Garry:

The goats yes, goats are very aggressive. When you go to feed them they are, and when she was feeding them she had to get up on the hay because you know they were attacking us. I just thought it was funny and their rectangle eyes just weirds me out so much, it's so wild.

Amy:

Didn't she have to yell for him too? Yes, she had to yell for him to come and help her.

Garry:

Would you yell? Would you ask me for help? I would. I don't know if I'd go in there.

Amy:

Yes, you would. I would definitely call for you, no question.

Garry:

I'd leave you to the goats.

Amy:

All right, are we ready for some cheers and jeers? Yeah, let's do it. Let's do it. What was your biggest cheer?

Garry:

My biggest cheer would have been and I keep going back to it I just love how they did the birthday wish and how she had a list. Yeah, and she had three, and the first one was Dance your Heart Out. The second was doing stand-up comedy at a nightclub and, of course, the third one was Fall in Love, fall in Love. Who doesn't want to fall in love? What about you? Did you have any big cheers?

Amy:

Mine would have been the same. I felt like the wish scene would have been my number one big cheer. I just thought it was cool we've already discussed it how they filmed it, what they did, the spotlight, the slow-mo, the blowing out of the candles. Yeah, I, I, that would probably be my, my biggest year, and the whole concept of it right the whole concept and the premise of the movie. So what would your three wishes be?

Garry:

My three wishes. If I were to get three wishes, would be to grow old with you.

Amy:

Aw.

Garry:

To win the lottery.

Amy:

Definitely.

Garry:

We all do so that we could do this full-time with each other.

Amy:

So a full-time podcast, yes, would be your third wish. What would be your three wishes? Let's see, given you know, health and prosperity for the children, of course, would be our number one. That aside, to see many, many, many, many, many more moons with you.

Garry:

Yes, many, many, many. Let's lasso and bring it back down to you.

Amy:

To have podcast success? Yes, for sure, and to many, many Bring it back down to you To have podcast success yes, for sure, and to write a book.

Garry:

Yes, you've always wanted to write a book. Yes, and I'm going to hold you to writing a book.

Amy:

You hold me to writing a book.

Garry:

We'll see how that goes. I will, so. Are there any more cheers that you have?

Amy:

I have a few, a few of the transitions I really liked from dancing in the back of the truck and it went straight to like the competition I thought that was cool to one of their dances and then sort of reverse from the competition. You know, you're not sure if they won or not. You're pretty sure they won because it's Hallmark. But, instead of them showing the actual, them winning the trophy at the dance competition it, they go back to the farm and they're in the bed of the truck right and then when they pan out to the trophy.

Amy:

I thought that was a really cool way yeah, I mean I give them kudos for shooting the way they did yeah, so and that kind of goes along with. You know, my, my cheers would be, as I've mentioned before, dancing in the bed of the truck and the barn scene dancing, and then I also liked the feet at the beginning of the different dances.

Garry:

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Amy:

Those were theirs during the different dances that they did throughout the competition.

Garry:

Do you remember the three dances? They did Waltz yes.

Amy:

Swing.

Garry:

Yes.

Amy:

And tango.

Garry:

Tango because you know it takes two, two.

Amy:

Tango hearty hearty.

Garry:

Which leads me into my next cheer.

Amy:

Oh, what's your next, cheer?

Garry:

Which is I love the puns that they had, and that was one of them when they did the three twos. You know, because English you got to have the same word. That sounds the same but it's spelled three different ways.

Amy:

And it means three different things which was two, two and two Right right, which I thought was funny.

Garry:

That was funny. Another one was, I think it was, when they finished their first dance and they were chosen to move on to the next round and Spencer had asked them about you know what they had done that day. And she talked about milking a cow and then her pun was something like in a pinch, and then he turned to.

Amy:

Oh, that's right, that's right. And then he turned to Jake and he said and how was that?

Garry:

And he said it was an utter failure.

Amy:

So that was another one of my Almost like dad jokes throughout the whole thing.

Garry:

It seriously was, because that's something I would say Right up your alley for sure, for sure. Oh yeah, Did you have any more?

Amy:

Nope, that was it.

Garry:

Well, I have one more, one more, and I don't know if you caught this, but when she was first milked the cow, she was sitting on a stool with her phone. Before she milked the cow. Before she milked the cow watching a YouTube video.

Amy:

Yes, I remember that. I don't know if it was YouTube, but she was watching a video on how to milk a cow. Right.

Garry:

Well, later on in the movie, jake was doing the same thing in the kitchen. He was watching a video on how to dance. I think it was the swing. I didn't catch that, that's right. Yeah, I wonder if anybody else did.

Amy:

Oh, probably I did not catch that at all, but you know it's so great now, Everybody's so lucky you can watch a video. I mean, that just sort of makes me think about you can watch a video for just about anything now and it makes it so much easier because so many people are visual learners like that.

Garry:

Me Instead of reading a manual.

Amy:

Yes, If somebody's got it on YouTube or wherever and you can watch it and then do it. I mean it saved people a lot of money too.

Garry:

It saved us a lot of money. Lots of DIY projects yes, lots of car repairs.

Amy:

Yep, that's great. No, I didn't notice that. That was a good catch. Good catch, you're welcome, yay you.

Garry:

So what about your biggest jeer?

Amy:

My biggest jeer would probably be, as much as I love the premise and the wishes that they did at the beginning, I sort of wish they would have wish huh, they would have looped back to it in some way for the magic of it all, right. And they don't even have to really explain it, but kind of I feel like that was sort of left unanswered.

Garry:

Right.

Amy:

Why did it swap? What caused the swap? Right, I get it, even though they ended up living out their wishes really. Their wishes came true. I just feel like that sort of didn't come full circle in the movie.

Garry:

So that would be my biggest cheer. You know, what they could have done is when the last dance, the tango, when, somehow near the end of the dance, if they would have done the same thing that they did at the restaurant with the blowing out the candles, if they would have dimmed the lights spotlight on them. He's spinning around the last tango move and then that would have been really, really cool. Wishes came true.

Amy:

Yeah, but you know what they did do the song at the beginning, the beginning of the movie, is also the song at the end, so they did kind of wrap the beginning, and I don't know the name of that song. I probably should have looked that up, but they did do that Okay okay, because what played in the beginning? And played again at the end. I thought that was pretty cool. So I guess that kind of brings it around, but not specific to the wish itself.

Garry:

Okay, okay, what about you.

Amy:

Jer, jer, jer.

Garry:

I don. Do you know who Molly's parents were in the movie no?

Amy:

I never figured that out. I didn't know. I never figured that out.

Garry:

I didn't know if it was his brother or what, but it's weird because she never really referenced his brother as dad.

Amy:

That's just one of those things that are sort of dangling out there Like who does she belong to?

Garry:

Right and she was such a good part of the whole movie.

Amy:

She was what.

Garry:

She was a good part of the whole movie. She was really cute, but they didn't mention it, or maybe I missed it, I don't know.

Amy:

I don't think they did. Now that you say that I don't think they did, Well. I think that's a good catch too. Yeah Well, there you go.

Garry:

Yeah, there you go. So do you have any more jars or no one more?

Amy:

oh, you do. Yeah, I'm sorry, go for it?

Garry:

um, yan k and matt, did you get this feeling that when they were at the barbecue, that there was going to be a connection between them two?

Amy:

so yen k is the friend is the friend jess plays emily's friend jess, and matt is plays brother jake's brother right right, there was. I felt like there was a little chemistry in the dinner scene in the barn. Is that what you're talking?

Garry:

about. There was a little bit what I'm talking about, but there was really no follow-up or nothing it's.

Amy:

I guess it's possible they filmed something and it just ended up in the editing room floor because maybe they started something, the job, they got chucked. We don't know that for sure.

Garry:

I just thought I'd bring that to people's attention.

Amy:

There was a little bit, I believe, at the dinner.

Garry:

Now that you say that, then I wasn't just seeing things well, you know maybe. Well, that's a wrap that's a wrap.

Amy:

So how many corks out of five corks, how many would you give it? I'm gonna give it a four I would give it a solid four as well yeah, it was really enjoyable.

Garry:

It was I enjoyed it the scenery was great. The chemistry between all of the actors yes, yes, you know the main characters. The supporting cast, I thought was great.

Amy:

Same.

Garry:

So that's what I'm giving it four points.

Amy:

We're on the same page, same page.

Garry:

So thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Follow us on social media and if you really really liked the show, leave a five-star review. And if you didn't really really like the show, leave a five-star review. And if you didn't really really like the show, leave a five-star review Do it no matter what, just kidding. Just kidding.

Amy:

Join us next week when we review the third Love you Worry film, Return to Office, which airs Saturday, February 15th. Until then, fill up your glasses and push play. Thanks for listening, Cheers.