When we’re talking Hallmark movies, after watching Double Scoop, it will always be a movie that I will suggest people watch for all the feels. The movie, starring Taylor Cole and Ryan McPartlin, was sweet, filled with family, hope, competition, and love. It’s a movie that reminds you to stop and just breathe.
Well, and that you should always enjoy good ice cream.
The synopsis is simple: “Nora and James were once the dream team at a top New York ad agency, but now they’re locked in a frosty competition for the sweetest client of all: a small-town dairy farm that churns out the most delectable ice cream in the country.”
If you work in marketing, you know that your life becomes your job. Balancing the demands of the job and a personal life is hard (but is doable). In New York, there is a lot of competition, but it’s never going to be easy when you’re going up against someone that you once worked with.
Nora (Cole) and James (McPartlin) used to work together at HCorp, but Nora left when one of the executives at HCorp started her own firm. Each is crafty, creative, and driven in their job.
When Nora has dinner with her friend, she learns of Darlington Ice Cream. The artisan ice cream is one of the best that she’s ever tasted, and she decides to look into the brand. They happen to be looking for an agency, and she decides to pitch to her boss for them to try and land the account.
James wouldn’t know about the brand had he not – quite literally – run into Nora, knocking her bag of ice cream all over the sidewalk. When she leaves, she accidentally leaves one flavor behind, and James picks it up. He’s not really thinking anything of it until a passerby says, “Best ice cream ever.”
Nora wants to pitch the brand to help establish her company. James wants to pitch them to land a VP position at work. The two end up in the Midwest, Wisconsin, to be exact. They figure out that both of them are there when they arrive at the Darlington Farm for dinner.
LIFE ON THE FARM
What you can instantly take in from the movie and the scenes at the farm is that family and legacy are important. There is a time for business and a time for just showing who you are. While in New York, business is always an underlying conversation, but in Wisconsin, that is not the case. When you come to the dinner table after a long day on the farm, the conversations are about your day and you. It’s a moment where families get to know each other.
Watching Nora and James have to hold back is quite funny. It is definitely a lot easier for Nora – James looks like he’s going through withdrawal, not being able to talk about HCorp.
But seeing the Darlingtons a little nervous, but all so welcoming to them, is refreshing. As the two leave, they set some ground rules to make sure they don’t sabotage each other. The family invites them back the next day, where they get a tour of the farm and then are told that pitches will have to wait. The Ice Cream Festival is coming, and there is too much work to be done, which leaves no time for pitches. They won’t have time until after the festival.
Nora instantly says that if they need volunteers, she’s happy to stay and help. James isn’t to be outdone and says that he will stay also.
I laughed as the two dove into farm work. It isn’t easy, and watching the two of them adapting to working with their hands and putting in the hard work – interesting. Actually wish that there was a lot more hard work on the farm. Some missed moments.
But the two are definitely bonding as they stay and work together. It’s not about work back home. It’s about really helping the community. They are realizing how hard being a farmer is and how there is often little reward, but a worry about money and how to get from day to day.
James, wanting to help, submits a request to H Corp to set up a fund to help the farmers of the town. He’s working with the mayor and hiding it from Nora. I don’t really think that he had bad intentions – I actually think that he really was just falling for the town and the people in it.
JAMES BREAKS THE RULES
Nora knows that something is happening when she sees James with the mayor. He tries to explain a little to try and make her see he wasn’t trying to sabotage her. She finds out, though, after an amazing day at the festival, when the mayor announces it to the town.
Nora is upset (rightfully so) and pulls away. The two make their pitches the next day, and she’s cold AF to James. You can see that it’s hurting her, and it’s hurting James. Neither knows how to act around the other, because neither one of them wants to hear what the other one is saying.
James ends up winning for HCorp, and Nora respects their decision. She is definitely disappointed. What should have been an amazing trip ended with losing the account and heartache.
Well, and the viewer really hates James.
But, my friends, hate comes too soon. When the two return to NY, and James receives his promotion, everything changes. He finds out that his boss sabotaged Nora, and he can’t stand that. James loves Nora, and knowing that lies were told to cost her the account is way too much for him.
He quits.
When the Darlingtons then pull their account from HCorp and the Nora’s firm gets it, it is exactly what they needed to stay afloat. Nora is so worried about James that she tracks him down to talk. He explains what happened, and she’s so taken with his chivalry and his ethics. But she’s also taken with him.
These two are in love.
Now, James didn’t have to even search for a job – because Nora’s boss had already offered him one. Will they ride off into the sunset? Who knows? But there will be a lot of ice cream and rules in their future.
Overall, Cole and McPartlin nail their roles. Both are captivating – together or apart. But the real hero of this movie – the one that keeps you watching – is Cole. She brings her character to life with such ease and relatability that you can’t help but be entranced. She makes you believe in Nora – that Nora could be you, and living (not just existing) is an important part of life.
While I didn’t know that this many cow jokes were possible, Double Scoop will keep you laughing and smiling from the first frame to the last.
You did well with this one, Hallmark Channel.
