Highly Overrated But Still Good

Admirable film.

Absolutely the worst movie.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

"There are many who will appreciate the lovely setting in Maine."Not actually set in Maine. Many scenes were filmed in Mahone Bay NS, and "Bay Street" is actually Water Street in Chester, Nova Scotia. The house used is at the corner of Water and Regent. I thought it was a lovely film. Yes, a bit formulaic but still, a good family movie which is EXACTLY what it was intended to be.I watched it for the location at first ( I actually live two doors down) because it's fun to see your hometown on TV (I loved the TV show "Haven" for the same reason) but I did enjoy the movie. Word of warning....keep the tissues handy.

It is easy to see why movies made for television, as it is the case with this one, end up being shown on cable as though they were regular feature films that had, at one time, or another, been shown in theaters. The Hallmark people always enjoy in the kind of sentimentality which "Candles on Bay Street" displays. It is not, by any means a horrible movie, but it goes with the territory to expect some sort of terrible tragedy, or something "cute" in which viewers can identify with the characters in the stories presented as part of the Hallmark series.Thus, "Candles on Bay Street" has its share of joy and tears. As directed by John Erman, it shows a well crafted product with the right ingredients that will either make the viewer love it, or just, as some comments to this site indicate, hate it. First of all, the location in Nova Scotia is too beautiful and cinematic for words. The quaint little town where the action takes place is one of dream places we know exist, but most of us never get to experience first hand.Alicia Silverstone takes a turn to a more dramatic role than she has been asked to play. The excellent Annabeth Gish, has nothing to do with a role that will add nothing to her career. Eion Bailey is the man that was taken for granted by returning Dee Dee and comes to terms with what happened in his life. Veterans Polly Bergen and James Rebhorn are asked to help do what they do best. Young Matthew Knight is the cute element in the movie, tears and all.

The only reason I watched the first half-hour or so was because it was filmed in beautiful Nova Scotia. This site only mentions Halifax as a filming site, but the scene with the ferry at the beginning was the very striking Mahone Bay, with its three waterfront churches. Otherwise, it did seem pretty formulaic, and though I like Alicia Silverstone, she was just a little TOO self-consciously upbeat and there wasn't enough to hold my interest longer. So I'm guessing that her big secret was that she had a terminal illness. It's too bad, Hallmark Hall of Fame used to signify a special TV event, one that would be memorable and moving with great acting. But too often in the last few years, many of them have been very predictable pull-on-the-heartstrings productions

I have to agree to an extent. It drag in parts but it didn't put me to sleep. I also think that there should be more programs like it-programs that parents can let their children without having to worry about sexual content or explicit language. I think Hallmark would have been wiser to put their Hallmark Channel Movie on network television. Last year critics wondered why Hallmark had The Reading Room with James Earl Jones on the Hallmark Channel instead of network television. On to the ads, did anyone recognize the voice of the narrator in the ad of the little boy delivering the Christmas Card to his neighbor? If I'm not mistaken, it was Gary Sinise of CSI: New York.