If we’re being honest, I have had 3 Beds, 2 Baths, 1 Ghost for a few weeks. I have watch the screener quite a few times. I just couldn’t bring myself to write this review, because I wasn’t sure how I felt. Yes, me… indecisive AF. It was weird, because I always know that how I feel about something.
But this movie was different. It was very different than what I expected. Hallmark always has a formula – but this one wasn’t that. It was different. It was exciting. And dare I say it – after watching it seven times – I realized what it was I was having issues with.
It was so different, that I was speechless. It was so different that I didn’t find myself knowing that my usual swooning would come to play. It was so different that I was watching the evolution of a channel and I didn’t think that I could find the words to bring justice to this movie.
You see, 3 Beds, 2 Baths, 1 Ghost, is fantastic. It’s a movie filled with heart, family, love, jealousy, and undying love. It’s a movie that finds you wanting to live and love endlessly and unconditionally. It’s a movie that surprises you and you’re thankful for all of those surprises. I would argue that this movie is one of Hallmark’s best movies of the year and if we’re talking movies that aren’t Countdown to Christmas, this movie is in the top five movies that Hallmark has ever made.
It’s About This: When new realtor Anna (Gonzalo) obtains her first listing, she’s sure the long-vacant house will sell in a flash…until she faces resistance from Ruby, (Arthur) an irrepressible flapper who’s been haunting the house since the 1920s. Ruby wants her home to remain unoccupied while Anna desperately needs the house to sell. They soon discover an unusual commonality – they both left their fiancés at the altar. Ruby was in love with her driver Charlie, (Thomas Darya, “The Wedding Veil”) but called it off due to her father’s disapproval. Although she continued to harbor feelings for Charlie, she met an untimely death and was never able to complete her love story. Meanwhile, Anna had relationship troubles with her ex-fiancé Elliot, (McNally) and ultimately called it quits when their renovation business failed. Anna tries to make amends by asking Elliot to help restore her listing. He agrees, although he is still hurt by their breakup. As they work together, their old feelings start to resurface. Ruby sees their interaction and decides that Anna and she have been brought together for a reason; by helping Anna rekindle her love, she hopes to gain the closure she needs to finally move on.
It’s Giving: The unexpected. You find yourself laughing and also side eyeing. You laugh more though. You want to find a best friend like Ruby. It’s giving Hallmark is all sorts of moving forward and we should embrace it.
Standout Performance: Madeleine Arthur is PHENOMENAL. She’s just so good at Ruby. The opening of the movie has you loving her from the beginning and hoping more for her character.
You also want to see Madeleine Arthur in so many more movies. She becomes Ruby, giving her everything that she is. She brings a character to life so well that you forget Ruby isn’t real. Arthur is just sooo good.
Overall Not So/Way Too Deep Thoughts: It’s very rare that anything leaves me speechless or unable to put things into words. Yet here I am, a girl standing in front of a computer (standing desk, don’t judge) wondering how I can put into words the complexity of how great this movie was.
The greatness of this movie is that it feels as though you can relate to every character in the movie. It examines the complexity of change, love, and figuring out who you are. Sure, there is a ghost involved, but even then, you forget that she’s a ghost. You’re just staying in the moment – watching Anna and Ruby become the best of friends and open each others eyes to the possibilities and the things that they are missing.
Anna is starting over – she’s broken up with her boyfriend. She’s living her life and trying to figure out what is next. Right now what is next is working for her Dad. There’s a little bit of nepotism involved there – she gets a listing that someone else wants. For that, he wants to destroy her.
Anna is extremely guarded. She’s afraid to let people in, even though she’d like to say that she’s good at it. Well, the thing about Anna is that no one has ever really confronted her on her BS, because her Dad is just as guarded and cold as she seems to be.
But the thing is, Anna isn’t that person. She’s not a person that really wants to be guarded. She wants to feel a connection, but she has lived her life thinking that listening and not letting people in is what love is. Part of me does think that we could blame her parents but the truth is, I do think that they did the best that they could.
Sometimes though what we need is someone to push us out of our comfort zones. For Anna, that’s a ghost from the 1920’s. Her name is Ruby and she’s played by Madeline Arthur, who we all know from the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before franchise.
Arthur is the standing of this movie. She’s so convincing as Ruby that you believe that you are transported at times to the past. You believe in Ruby’s fear of moving on and hell, she makes you believe that love can be timeless. You believe that love can be something that you fight through time and space for. She’s a mix of comedy and vulnerability, and that is absolutely a beautiful.
You spend the entire movie rooting for Ruby and Anna to have their moment. And yes, they both do. You cheer for that and you cry with happiness.
3 Rooms, 2 Baths, 1 Ghost is not like any Hallmark Movie we’ve seen. Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is where I would think it would be. But the reality is, I love that Hallmark is opening the network to journeying outside it’s normal formula. It works.
It really, really works.
