The Sweeter Side of Life

Hollywood Chapter Legates Michael and Janeen Damian’s latest film is a hit . . . 

The Sweeter Side of Life
Starring Kathryn Morris, James Best
90 min, Not Rated
Playing now: Hallmark Channel

Hollywood Chapter Legates Michael and Janeen Damian (Flicka 2, A Princess for Christmas) deliver yet another remarkable romantic comedy. The couple takes writing, directing and producing credits for this Hallmark Channel original movie, which co-stars Janeen’s father, James Best (Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard).

Desiree Harper’s perfect life as the wife of a high-powered Manhattan doctor comes to a sudden end when her husband suddenly sues for divorce. To make matters worse, he invokes their ironclad pre-nup, leaving her penniless. Desiree (Kathryn Morris) soon finds herself abandoned by her snooty rich friends and moves back to New Jersey to help her father (Best) run his struggling bakery.

Though Desiree wants nothing more than to return to her high-class life, spending time with her father causes her to see things differently.

Morris, best known for her role as Detective Lilly Rush in the CBS series Cold Case, gives a noteworthy performance as Desiree. She breaks out of her stiff homicide detective mold to play the Manhattan socialite. Desiree rediscovers her love of baking and adjusts to her new life in New Jersey. When a neighbor points out that her father’s bakery is struggling, she puts her MBA to work to save his shop. When Desiree’s success at the bakery leads to an unexpected opportunity, she is forced to choose between recapturing what she’s lost — or retaining what she’s recently found.

As an added bonus, Michael Damian, who recorded the Billboard-topping single “Rock On” in 1989, got back into the studio to record a new song, “Rock My Heart,” for the film. The Damians have really hit their stride writing and producing family-friendly movies without car chases, sex scenes or wild shoot-outs. The Sweeter Side of Life is a delightful addition to their Frank Capra-esque canon.

Patrick Novecosky is Legatus magazine’s editor-in-chief.