Movie Review :: Hallmark Channel’s A Little Park Music

Spring has finally sprung on Hallmark Channel’s ‘Spring into Love’ series of films with an utterly delightful, lighthearted romantic drama that also has a hint of mystery to it.

A Little Park Music stars Laci J Mailey as Springville City Manager Allie (located about three hours from Seattle) who is in the midst of a major project for the small town — tearing down the gazebo in Springville Town Square to make way for a new memorial fountain that also comes with funding for various other municipal projects in town. Beau Mirchoff co-stars as a newly arrived resident to the town, working on the local police force, but with the goal of securing a job with the Seattle PD … after failing to do so following his first interview, now needing to wait six months before he can apply again. Allie and Officer Ryan have an auspicious first meeting when the by-the-book policeman gives Allie a ticket for jaywalking. It’s not a great first impression, but when a piano mysteriously appears in the gazebo in Town Square, Officer Ryan takes the lead on the case and has to work closely with Allie since she knows most everyone in town, especially those with access to a piano. Top of her list is Julia, owner of an antiques store who has sold a piano or two from an estate sale, but she tells them she had no pianos in stock at the time of the appearance. Next on the list is Dex, owner of a music store … and Allie’s ex … who also claims he sold no pianos. Could it be the dance studio owner who, upon the piano’s appearance, took it upon herself to bring her class to the park? One thing is for certain, the piano has actually brought the community together, with locals taking turns tickling the ivories, notably Sam, son of the restaurant owner who as a beef with the dance instructor because her music is too loud (and she counters that the smells from his kitchen permeate her studio). Sam loves to play the piano, but his dad loves that he’s also interested in — and good at — football, so Sam hides his musical talents so as not to make his father angry or disappointed (dear Sam, you can do both, you know?). But the piano has to go because the gazebo has to come down and the fountain built or else the city loses all the funding that comes with it. The piano is removed and taken to a loading dock at City Hall, but …

It reappears the next day. Except it isn’t the same piano, and Allie is freaking out because they are running up against a deadline to get the gazebo down, but each time a new piano appears it becomes a new ‘crime scene’ and no work can be done until an investigation is conducted. Allie thinks maybe home security cameras across from the park might have captured the culprit(s) in action, but the one house she checks has an obstructed view of the gazebo. While she is dealing with the piano situation, Allie is also beginning to get closer to Ryan, helping him furnish his apartment (even though he hopes to be gone in six months), and going on an overnight stakeout at the park (which takes a humorous turn when they think someone is placing a third piano in the gazebo). That stakeout ends with them falling asleep in the bed of Ryan’s pickup and when they awake there is a third piano in the gazebo. Allie and Ryan finally do get the culprit(s) to confess to placing the first two in the gazebo (and someone else admits to the third) all because the pianos have brought the town together in a way it never has before. After they all agree to stop putting pianos in the gazebo, work can finally commence on tearing it down but … is it the right thing to do because there has been such a positive impact on the community? The city could really use the funding that comes with the fountain, which the contracts stipulate must be in Springville Town Square, so Allie and the mayor have come to the conclusion that there must be a solution to the problem, finding a location for both the piano and the fountain. On the day of the demolition of the gazebo, yet another piano appears and … it’s the first one that only someone with access to City Hall could have taken. Allie is now certain that they need a solution to build the fountain, but keep the community from revolting if the piano is removed. Adding to her stress, Ryan’s sergeant pulled some strings to get him the interview in Seattle early so he, and the community, didn’t get too attached to each other, and he passed the interview. But has he actually found a community, and a person, that he didn’t know he needed? And who could have moved that piano from City Hall to the gazebo undetected?

After two kind of meh ‘Spring’ romances, both a bit too overly dramatic and one not even feeling like Spring, Hallmark has finally delivered something lovely, charming, amusing that embodies all the best of what Hallmark can deliver. A Little Park Music begins with a wonderful screenplay by Rick Garman and Heather Taylor that really captures the essence of Hallmark’s Smalltown America without making it too precious, while at the same time showing us how important a sense of community can be. Prior to the appearances of the pianos, the people of Springville simply passed by or through the park, most never giving it a second thought which made the location for the fountain ideal. Something else for people to ignore, not taking anything vital away from the town. But the piano, and more importantly, the music was key in uniting the community. It makes you wonder if something like that could ever happen in real life in other small towns across the country (without the pianos being vandalized). My own small town has a park with a gazebo, where people only gather during the 4th of July festival, but I doubt a piano would survive in that space very long. It would be nice though to see more people enjoying the park. The story also shows the value of both slowing things down in life, and not always setting rigid schedules for ourselves. Both Allie and Ryan are highly organized, both focused more on their careers and getting their jobs done by the numbers, and the pianos and other residents of the town help them see that not everything needs to be done on a deadline. Interestingly, while the romance develops naturally between Allie and Ryan, it’s not the most important part of the story because we know from the beginning they will get together by the end and Ryan won’t go to Seattle, it’s the journey of getting to that end point that is important. We could all probably learn to relax a bit and enjoy what our communities have to offer … or even get involved in our communities to see what we can do to make them better. Director Peter Benson, who has helmed a couple of Hallmark mystery movies, does a great job of making everything feel lighthearted — no one dies — and keeps us totally engaged with the town and the characters, and even after the mystery is solved well before the end of the story, it still keeps our attention as Allie works her way to finding a solution for the piano and the fountain (and it is a nicely clever solution the writers have cooked up). One of my favorite moments in the movie comes when Allie and Ryan are questioning the locals after the third piano appears, and the culprit of the first two admits they would have told them what they did but they didn’t ask the right question at that time. That is some smart writing.

The cast is also terrific. Laci J Mailey is perfect as Allie. She authentically embodies that person who is tightly focused on her job and getting things done on schedule and on budget, but also willing to take the time to act as a mediator in disputes among neighbors. She also makes her attraction to Ryan feel natural, and she knows that Allie needs to hold back on her feelings because, as far as she knows, Ryan will be gone in six months (and less once he reveals he got the job earlier than expected). That was also some good writing decisions because it allows Mailey to play Allie’s disappointment, but she — and the viewers — don’t have to endure a heavily emotional heartbreak when it seems Ryan may leave (even though we know he won’t). Mailey brings Allie to life and makes her a person we’d all like to know. Beau Mirchoff is also excellent as Ryan, at first a very stiff, by-the-book police officer who sees his time in Springville as just a temporary stop on his journey to bigger and better things. But finding himself working closely with Allie to solve the mystery of the pianos, and with some friendly advice and prodding from his sergeant, Mirchoff allows Ryan to loosen up, especially when he’s off-duty and out of uniform, warming up to both Allie and the people of Springville, eventually learning that the small town can offer everything he thought he wanted from the Big City, and more (like really good Thai food). Mirchoff is able to show Ryan falling in love not with just Allie, but the community, something Ryan probably needed more than he ever realized because he was always so focused on his career. Mirchoff’s chemistry with Mailey also feels natural, and it’s fun to see how their first encounter grows from conflict to romance.

The film is filled with an excellent supporting cast as well. Kendall Cross is wonderful as Ryan’s ‘sarge’, Beth. She knows how a small town functions, and she knows this job is important to the town but it isn’t the high pressure job of the big city. She takes Ryan under her wing to help him acclimate, but she also sees that the longer he stays, the longer the town gets to know and depend on him, that it will be emotionally distressing for all of them so she has to do what’s best for them and Ryan and get him that interview sooner rather than later, helping him achieve his goals but really putting the community first in this case. Everett Andres also turns in a nice performance as Sam, afraid to ‘come out’ to his dad as a pianist but finding the confidence with the encouragement of Ryan. Stephanie Petallano is a lot of fun as Allie’s assistant Theresa, and Louis Lay is also very good as music store owner Dex, who may still have feelings for Allie but also does not take it too hard when she finally tells him that they’re good friends but are moving in different directions romantically. Ellie Harvie is also very good as the mayor, clearly someone who takes her position seriously but is still open to what the community wants, fully behind Allie’s attempts to find a way to keep the piano, the fountain and the funds to help the town. Briana Buckmaster is also fun as dance instructor Monica, who doesn’t hide the fact that she, in fact, could have had the pianos placed in the gazebo because of how they have benefited her business. But did she? Frances Flanagan, as antique store owner Julia, may be the real heart and soul of the movie. She shows that Julia clearly loves her community, she can see that there is a spark between Allie and Ryan, and it’s she who offers those words of advice to them to just slow down a little and not be so rigid in the lives. Burkely Duffield is also very good as Julia’s grandson Freddie, seeming to always being running interference for her so she doesn’t over-step her bounds with Allie and Ryan, but also acting as a bit of a co-conspirator with her. Could they have had anything to do with the pianos?

A Little Park Music is simply a delightful Hallmark movie that has everything one could want — small town charm, warm and inviting characters, humor, lighthearted drama, romance, a fun mystery, and a message about how important it is to be part of a community. In the end, it is a totally enjoyable, uplifting, feel-good movie, and who doesn’t need one of those right about now?

A Little Park Music has a run time of 1 hour 24 minutes, is rated TV-G, and is streaming on Hallmark+. Try Hallmark+ free for seven days on Apple TV.

Preview | A Little Park Music