The Wishing Well

Name: The Wishing Well
Genre: Small Town, Magic/Wishes, Supernatural, Mistaken Identity, Pet
Released: 2009-01-01
Duration: 1 h 30 min
Rating: 6.1
Cast: Jordan Ladd, Jason London, Ernest Borgnine, Sally Kellerman, Jadin Gould

6.1/10 · 550 ratings20091h 30mWeirdness 10/10Bingo card

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The premise

Ambitious big city reporter arrives in a small town to write about its legendary wishing well. She writes a shoddy article, thinking it's all a joke, but throws in a coin and wishes to be happy, just for the fun of it. Magic happens.

How unusual is it?

Very. Magic, mistaken identity and an actual miracle all turn up in one movie — the strangest 1% of everything we've logged.

Who’s in it

Our Girl

Jordan Ladd

as Cynthia Tamerline

Our Guy

Jason London

as Mark Jansen

Alongside them

Show all 10 cast

Behind the camera

Show

Directed by

David Jackson

Written by

Steven H. Berman

Every trope, all in one place

Here’s everything this one has going on, from the setting to the way it wraps up. Tap any of the 33 to find more movies that do the same thing.

Why we’d put this one on

Weirdness 10, and the cast is the headline here: a big-city reporter arrives to write a snide piece about a small town's legendary wishing well, tosses in a coin half-joking, wishes to be happy, and magic happens. Jordan Ladd leads, but it is the supporting bench that makes you sit up, with Ernest Borgnine as Big Jim and Sally Kellerman as Donette. At 6.1 this 2009 charmer is a straightforward be-careful-what-you-wish-for fable. If you collect Hallmark films for unexpected legends in the credits, this wishing-well story is worth the trip.

Did you know?

A few things that make this one stand out once you stack it up against every other Hallmark movie.

It scores a perfect 10 on our weirdness scale — 1 of just 15 movies in the whole catalog to do that.

Top 1% weirdest

Out of every Hallmark movie we've scored, this one lands among the strangest 1%.

The backstory

Music by Stephen Graziano.

The Wishing Well is a fantasy romantic drama film made for the Hallmark Channel, which premiered in the UK in 2009 and had its USA premiere in 2010. It was directed by David Jackson and starred Jordan Ladd and Jason London.

From Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA.

How it stacks up

Where this one’s rating lands against every other rated Hallmark movie.

Higher-rated than 22% of every rated Hallmark movie. The median is 6.4.

Where this one fits

The corners of the catalog The Wishing Well belongs to — handy if you’re after more of the same.

BINGOA happy endingThe leads laugh at the same momentA walk-and-talk through townA meaningful look held a beat too longA charming local cafe or dinerA second chance worth takingA local business is savedSomeone races to catch the other before they leaveA nervous voicemail goes unsentA class or family reunionSomeone decorates a Christmas treeA quiet moment under string lights★A character gives up the city for the small townA cute dog or catA shared meal around a crowded tableA scene-stealing cute kidA wise elder dispenses adviceA genuine Christmas miracleA calendar reminder raises the stakesSomeone’s guard finally comes downSomeone gets flustered during small talkThe town pulls together for one of its ownA heart-to-heart on a porch or benchA workaholic learns to slow down

Hallmark Bingo

Your The Wishing Well card is dealt.

Twenty-four squares pulled from this movie’s own quirks — the cosy classics, a few only-in-this-one curveballs, and a couple of decoys. Mark them as you watch.

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