It’s Loveuary at Hallmark, which means a new slate of romances to get in the mood for Valentine’s Day! One of the network’s newest films, The Wish Swap, is about two strangers, Casey and Henry, who share the same birthday. When they both blow out the candles on their birthday cake, they realize that their wishes are starting to come true… for the other person.
Opening Shot: A narrator describes the difference between fate, “the predetermined events that shape our lives,” and coincidence, “an occurrence of random events that achieve the same outcome,” explaining that, whether by fate or coincidence, a chance meeting with the right person can lead to magical things.
The Gist: Casey Carter (Emily Tennant) is an executive recruiter who is all business. Henry (Jake Foy) runs a dairy farm. They don’t know one another yet but they share the same birthday, and when they both head to the same restaurant to celebrate, her with a group of friends, him with his parents and family, they sit near one another, flirtatiously chatting after making initial small talk.
Casey’s friends have arranged for a huge cake to arrive at their table, but Henry’s family wasn’t quite as organized and no one ordered him a cake, so Casey offers that they share hers. “You two should blow out your candles together,” Casey’s friend Jess suggests, so they both close their eyes and make a wish. And that’s when this Friday gets Freaky.
Immediately after these two make their wishes, they start coming true, just for the other person. Henry takes a call in the restaurant from a reality TV dance competition show called Dance Your Heart Out that wants to cast him – an opportunity Casey actually wished for herself. The next day, Casey learns she has inherited a farm from a great aunt she never knew she had. But Henry’s dream has always been to own his own farm! We’re only 13 minutes in and this movie’s title is in full effect. Casey proposes a deal: she visits Henry and asks to work on her new farm, with the promise that he can have it after she sorts out all the paperwork, if he’ll accept the spot on the dancing show and allow her to be his partner on it. That way each of their wishes will come true. Henry realizes the insanity of the situation but goes with it, and he agrees.
While Henry seems to make out pretty well for himself in this deal by scoring a whole, dreamy farm and country house that goes with it, it turns out there’s a catch… Casey actually had more than one wish on her birthday list, and they keep trying to come true via Henry. After they make their first appearance performing on the dance show, not only do they advance to the second (and then third and final) round, it turns out they have great comedic chemistry, and a well-known comedian calls them to ask if they’ll open for him at a show. Trying stand-up comedy was another one of Casey’s wishes, so she begs Henry to say yes for both of them. He’s not thrilled, but agrees because, in case you haven’t figured it out, he’s a really nice guy. (It’s generally pretty rough, but eventually they win over the audience and it successfully fulfills Casey’s wish.)
Casey does have one last wish on her list (and yes, she actually wrote a physical list on her computer) but she refuses to tell Henry what it is, explaining that it’s not something she wants to ask him for help with. Henry is curious though, and one day, he spies her computer sitting right there while Casey is asleep on the couch, and looks at her list. The last wish? To fall in love. Of course Casey flips when she realizes Henry snooped on her computer, and she’s devastated and embarrassed by her wish for love. It doesn’t take long for Henry to formulate the perfect apology and profess his love though, fulfilling Casey’s final wish.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of? It’s Aladdin by way of Freaky Friday by way of Hallmark romance!
Our Take: The Wish Swap is one of those Hallmark movies wish such a weird premise that you have to appreciate the fact that they’re taking some big swings over there at the ‘mark. (I almost wished they pushed it a little weirder – even though at one point Casey declares that she wants to investigate whether the baker who made her birthday cake infused it with magic, she never does. It would have been delightfully weird if they actually took it there and tried to explain the “magic” of the wish swap.)
But despite the magical premise, the film adheres firmly to everything Hallmark audiences hold dear: likeable, if not slightly bland, leads with a little bit of baggage they need to get over, quippy side characters who add some color, and an idyllic setting that makes you wonder why we all don’t live on an adorable chicken farm. Casey and Henry play the magic element pretty straight, acknowledging the mystery and curiosity of what’s happening, while also just accepting that this is their life, and they may as well go with it. Casey’s backstory, as a woman with no family, whose fierce independence is an asset as well as her biggest vulnerability, goes a long way to explain her behavior and her reaction to Henry when she realizes he snooped on her computer too. Though the romance in question belongs to both Casey and Henry, Casey is the one who truly feels like she’s earned whatever wish-fulfillment she gets and she’s the heart of the film.
Parting Shot: “You know, now that I’ve done everything on my birthday list, I have to figure out what to wish for next year,” Casey tells Henry as they slow dance on the bed of his pickup truck in the middle of their farm. As the camera pulls out, we see a trophy, their prize for winning Dance Your Heart Out.
Performance Worth Watching: When Calls The Heart star Pascale Hutton has a minor role, just a touch bigger than a cameo, as Gloria, the serious dance coach from Dance Your Heart Out, and she brings just the right amount of dry humor to the role.
Memorable Dialogue: “If you make my wish come true, I’ll make yours come true, deal?” Casey asks Henry after she realizes they’ve received each other’s wishes.
Our Call: For a film with magical elements at its core, The Wish Swap could have pushed its supernatural elements a little further, but what it lacks in enchantments, it makes up for with a charming cast. STREAM IT!
Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.
