Brennen Eliot is fantastic...but so is Nazneen Contractor. In fact, I am not sure who garnered my attention more...they were both so good.

The story is about a food and wine critic who panned a winery for their merlot and didn't give them a second chance which devastated them financially. The winery is run by a widow and single father played by Brennan.

The critic, CJ (short for Christina Joy...but used to keep her anonymity),comes to wine country to do some more reviewing. There is a mix up at the train station and she looses her purse, her luggage and ends up in the shuttle to go to a winery and not her B&B. This is what gets her to the winery that she ruined, when she discovers her mistake she says her name is Joy and steps outside to try and go...hits a patch of ice with her high heels, falls and hits her head.

She ends up with amnesia. The whole family at this winery that her review ruined takes her in calling her Joy, because that is what they think her name is, and treats her really well. In the fall Joy's phone breaks and the only thing she has is this small notebook with recipes in it. The daughter, Rebekah, suggest they try to make some of the recipes thinking it might help with the amnesia. It doesn't help with the amnesia...but it really brings a lot of joy back to this grieving family.

You get to learn about the history of ice wine and see how everything is put back together.

This was fun and really worth watching. The transformation of Christina into Joy back to Christina...back to Joy is really interesting and I felt different from the usual Hallmark romance.

TV movie vet Don McBrearty directs 2022's The Perfect Pairing. And yeah, he dabbles in Christmas, mystery, and Valentine's Day stuff too. With "Pairing", McBrearty fashions a film that mixes the wintry LMN with the postcard-ed Hallmark Channel (of which it is a product of Hallmark). "Baby It's Cold Outside". Indeed.

The Perfect Pairing is like watching a holiday flick that's well, set in the second month between autumn and spring. Hey, the silly season may be over but you can still feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Every snowy frame is makeshift as Ontario, Canada masquerades beautifully for Upstate New York. "Pairing", well it wants you to kick those post-festivity blues right out the window with a little vino.

The Perfect Pairing is a little schmaltzy, a tad cutesy, and about as predictable as Sunday brunch. But wait, all is not lost. You have the hooks of wineries and amnesia to give Hallmark some veritable heft. Oh and the two leads are amicably appealing (Eva Longoria lookalike Nazneen Contractor and Marlboro Man Brennan Elliott).

"Pairing" follows the blueprint of Hallmark and Lifetime as if it were laid out on a floor plan. Girl meets guy. Wait, let me back up. Girl is a critic writer in the big city and her job makes her a little chilly (har har). Girl ventures out of the big city and gets stuck in a small town. Girl now meets guy. Guy is a good-looking dude who's a single dad. Girl finds her true self and falls in love with guy. Girl tries to save wine guy's business while ditching her old occupation. Finally, there's that smooch at the end (and I mean at the very end). All is right in the world again.

The Perfect Pairing is far from "perfect". I mean its running time is 82 minutes of fluff and the characters ramble on as if they need a self-help group or a life coach to latch onto. Still, "Pairing" is something to watch in the doldrums of January (for me NFL football is another option). Just think 2004's Sideways but with less technical plonk talk and G-rated remnants.

This is a very good movie that I think the whole family can watch and enjoy, The acting was good. And the script was well written. Yes, I HIGHLY recommend it. James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas. 1/18/2022.