love with a trio of men each having a turn

"G'friend, this is not that kind of blog! You gotta take that nonsense elsewhere!"

I do believe you've tossed your mind into the gutter, my dearie. I'll wait here whilst you fetch it.

"You're the one that threw that title up there. I'd say you intended folks to think along the lines of group sexual escapades."

You'll kindly notice that the word "sex" does not appear in that title. You, my dearie, are the one who read that connotation into that descriptive, yet innocent, title. "Taking turns" has naught to do with any bodies or naughty bits. You should certainly know that Hallmark doesn't get explicit like that.

"Hallmark??? What are you talking about now?"

I'm referring to the trio of movies I've just finished watching, courtesy of Peacock providing a collection of Hallmark films for this Valentines weekend. I think of it as The Groomsmen Film Festival. Pretty sweet stuff, eh? RAWR!!!

"Okay, you're definitely slinging out some sexual innuendo there! But that is a rather nifty looking box of treats you have there."

Right? The stories all involve these three men who have been besties since they were boys at summer camp. Each movie centers on the love story of one of the three, with that special man shown front and center in each film's graphic. So, "First Look" centers on Pete, "Second Chances" focuses on Danny, and "Last Dance" has Jackson in the middle. Each film also begins the love story portion at the big wedding of Danny's sister, Hannah, where the three friends are all serving as the groom's attendants.

"Oh, I see. The stories are happening in the same timeline, but for the sake of some clarity, each gets their own movie to explore that love story."

You got it! Plus, you need to add in a little geography to spice things up. The first love story involves Bulgaria, the second one travels to Greece, and the third is in Italy. Yet another reason for me to have so enjoyed this trio!

"Yes, that does make it especially charming!"

With Pete, he's a medical doctor, and he meets Chelsea at Hannah's wedding. She's a former college roommate of Hannah, but she's a medical doctor, too, and they hit it off, with her spending the rest of her time in the States with Pete. Then she must return to the clinic she and her family run in Bulgaria. That means a long-distance love affair for this budding romance, and those are hard enough on established loves.

"But they persevere and love wins out, right?"

Well, that's all I'm saying for now. Let's start with Danny's love story, shall we? He's gay, and at his sister's wedding he realizes that the man he loves is his manager and longtime friend, Zach. The problem is his timing, as Zach has just accepted a marriage proposal from his lawyer boyfriend. Things get more complicated when Zach wants to plan the wedding in Greece, at a place he'd traveled to with Danny years ago. Then, Danny gets asked to help with the wedding, as the lawyer is too busy with cases to do so. Can you see where this tale is going to end up?

"So Danny gets Zach after all? That's wonderful! And how interesting that Hallmark has a gay love story in this mix!"

Well, the movies were all made in 2024, so they are modern romances. Plus, Danny is a baseball player and big jock, so no transvestite stuff to muddle things up. Just a good, clean, love story, even though both parties are men. I very much liked it.

"And what about that third man, the good-looking one with the beard?"

Yes, I knew you would like him, too! He's actually a divorced dad, with an ex who's in the military and with whom he shares custody of their daughter. That's until the military moves the ex to Italy and the now-teen daughter wants to go there, too. Then comes a time when the ex has an away-assignment, so Jackson goes to be with the daughter.

"Ooohhh, let me guess! He meets an Italian lass and falls in love!"

Close. He has a meet-cute when he nearly runs over and Italian woman who just happens to run the coffee shop near the daughter's school. Oh, and the Italian woman also just happens to be the landlord for the house rented by his ex. Once he finds out all that, he tries very hard to make sure he doesn't fall in love, so he can flee back to the States when the ex returns. Ah, but the universe doesn't work that way, now does it?

"Hahahaha! Nope, it does not. What a lovely, diverse, trio of tales, in a lovely, diverse, trio of locales, with a lovely, diverse, trio of fellows. Most definitely fodder for sweet dreams."

Most def. (smile!)