DVD Review: When Calls The Heart: The Greatest Blessing (Lori Loughlin)

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Now you might be confused seeing a DVD for When Calls the Heart: The Greatest Blessing since you have no memory of the TV movie running on the Hallmark Channel. Turns out it was originally run as The Greatest Christmas Blessing on Christmas last year. But if you put “Christmas” on a DVD, the staff at your local store will shove in the backroom in a box with the seasonal offerings. While this When Calls the Heart movie does take place at Christmas, like Die Hard, fans can watch it anytime of the year. Most likely they’ll watch it after they finished up the DVDs for season five of When Calls the Heart.

Winter has arrived at the small town in Western Canada. Elizabeth (Army Wives‘ Erin Krakow) reads of a book called “The Greatest Christmas Wish” to her baby tucked inside her belly. She’s trying to be ready and keep it together since her husband is no longer in the picture. Abigail (Full House‘s Lori Loughlin) is going nuts getting prepared for a huge holiday feast that will involve the whole town. The plans get changed when a group of orphans get stranded on their journey. The towns people take them in and learn about their new visitors. The winter kicks up leaving Elizabeth going into labor in a not too ideal circumstance.

When Calls the Heart: The Greatest Blessing proved to be a ratings sensation on Christmas since it found so many ways to warm the hearts of viewers. The TV movie hits all the emotional notes to make it both a holiday tradition and watchable as you’re floating on the pool. If Lori Loughlin’s name sounds extra familiar, it’s because the actress got busted on the “How I Got My Kid Into College” Scandal. But in this wee town on the frontier, she’s still a good soul wanting to help all. No matter whether you call The Greatest Blessing or The Greatest Christmas Blessing, it’s heartwarming and family friendly fun from the Great White North.

The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The transfer brings out the beauty of the Canadian town. The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo. You’ll hear the soundtrack sneaking Christmas carols under the dialogue.

No bonus features.

Shout! Factory presents When Calls the Heart: The Greatest Blessing. Directed by Neill Fearnley. Screenplay by: Alfonso H. Moreno. Starring: Erin Krakow, Lori Loughlin, Jack Wagner and Pascale Hutton. Rated: Not rated. Running Time: 83 minutes. Released: March 5, 2019.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.