Are all Hallmark movies this bad, or did United Airlines just help make a particularly cringeworthy one?
United Airlines, Hallmark Team Up To Make “Miles Apart” Holiday Movie
United Airlines has officially entered the Hallmark Christmas cinematic universe with Miles Apart, a made-for-airplane holiday “mini” movie that feels less like entertainment and more like a sappy brand exercise (which I suppose, is by design).
Plot Summary: A United-Branded Holiday Rom-Com
The plot is exactly what you’d expect. A career-focused woman is separated from her former boyfriend by, you guessed it, distance and work obligations. A series of missed connections, last-minute flight changes, and emotionally charged airport moments ensue. United Airlines serves as both backdrop and narrative glue, with the airline portrayed as the benevolent force ultimately bringing people together in time for Christmas.
Along the way, we get sweeping shots of terminals, smiling gate agents, earnest flight attendants offering wisdom, and plenty of dialogue about how flying connects hearts, not just cities. Romance blossoms, priorities are reevaluated, and the inevitable happy ending arrives right on cue…you can watch it here:
It stars Ginna Claire Mason (she played Glinda in Wicked on Broadway) and her former boyfriend, Ryan Youngwoong Kim, who plays “Miles Poole” (I’m sure you get that pun…).
The film includes cameo appearance by Mason’s husband Eric, who is a United pilot in real life. As an aside, very airline employee featured in this mini film is a real United employee.
My Take: Absolutely Cringeworthy
I’ll be blunt: it was very painful for me to watch.
The dialogue is relentlessly corny, and the emotional beats are telegraphed so far in advance that nothing ever lands organically. Every scene feels engineered to reinforce a trite cliche above love. I understand the goal. This is not high art. It is holiday comfort food. But even comfort food needs some seasoning…
I should add an important disclaimer: I don’t own a TV. I don’t watch Hallmark movies. This may simply be the genre doing exactly what it always does. If so, then my reaction says less about United and more about how utterly unappealing this entire cinematic ecosystem is to anyone outside its target audience.
United clearly wants to humanize itself and associate its brand with warmth, romance, and emotional connection during the holidays. Okay, fine. But Miles Apart is four minutes of my life (and now yours, hahaha) that you won’t get back.
CONCLUSION
Miles Apart is (apparently?) exactly what you’d expect from a Hallmark holiday movie built around an airline brand: saccharine, predictable, and relentlessly on message. Maybe all Hallmark movies are like this. Maybe this one is especially bad. Either way, it did nothing to convince me that festive brand-driven rom-coms are a good use of anyone’s time…Bah Humbug.
Super cringe where ist lesbian pilot hot i’d clean out his pitot tube lolzor
Some viewers might confuse Ginna Claire Mason with Jodie Sweetin…
To answer your question -yes, every Hallmark movie is this bad. As is pretty much every rom com, a genre I just can’t do…
Really, they invested in this? $12.99 is too much spent. Are they going off the rails again? What happened to Smisek’s “united airlines official story teller?” Or Smisek’s idea of blowing a special perfume down the jetway to enhance the boarding experience? (instead of cleaning the damned thing)
Saccharin and trite with perhaps a dab of smarmy pretty much describe any Hallmark movie. I’ll agree that United desperately needs humanizing but this looks way too obvious.
Yes, all Hallmark movies are equally this bad
Yes but aren’t all American movies like that ? Hideously unwatchable with every move telegraphed?
Don’t laugh!!
Considering some of the c**p coming out of Hollywood, I can see why Hallmark has had a strong following for 30+ years.
Oof… There’s no way I could handle that much cheese in one sitting.
It’s ironic that the actors may see a SAG-AFTRA contract before they ever see a new United contract.