Stream It or Skip It: ‘3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost’ on Hallmark Not Only Has the Best Title, but It May Be the Best Movie of the Season (2024)

More On:

Hallmark Channel

  • Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Autumn At Apple Hill’ on the Hallmark Channel, A Generic Romance That’s An Ode To The Splendor of The Season

  • Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Real West’ on Hallmark Channel, Where A Hot Widow Moves On With Her Life With A Grizzled, Sexy Cowboy On Vacation

  • Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Falling Together’ on the Hallmark Channel is a Movie About A Woman Who Finds Her Purpose – And Her Man – After Moving To A New City

  • Hallmark Unveils Massive 47 Holiday Film Slate For 15th Annual Countdown to Christmas

Hallmark’s 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost takes the network on a spooky detour, off the well-trod path from fall to nonstop Christmas content. That’s right — Hallmark is acknowledging that Halloween exists and that people crave creepy content! But this isn’t Hallmark going full horror or anything. It’s as much a real estate story as it is a ghost story — and it’s also a romance, because Hallmark’s going to do what Hallmark does best, no matter the season. But are 3 vibes 2 much for 1 movie? Or is 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost proof that there’s nothing Hallmark can’t do?

3 BED, 2 BATH, 1 GHOST: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Julie Gonzalo (Supergirl) plays Anna, the newest hire at her dad’s real estate company after her relationship and business with her ex Elliot (When Calls the Heart’s Chris McNally) fell apart. Anna’s first task: get the 100-year-old Baker property staged and ready to sell to flippers to tear down and build up again. Just a note: this house definitely has way more than three bedrooms and two bathrooms. I’ll let that slide because the title is such a fantastically stupid joke.

Anyway —there’s just one problem with Anna’s plan to get a new career off the ground, and her name is Ruby (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’s Madeleine Arthur). Ruby has haunted her old home since her untimely death 100 years ago. Back in the roaring ’20s, Ruby was the hottest socialite in town and hobnobbed with all the superstars of the time, like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. Her father disapproved of her relationship with their chauffeur, and Ruby’s love for Charlie remains unrequited to this day. Oh —and she’s definitely not going to let Anna sell her house! A good old-fashioned haunting is in order.

Stream It or Skip It: ‘3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost’ on Hallmark Not Only Has the Best Title, but It May Be the Best Movie of the Season (1)

Except there’s one problem with Ruby’s plan: Anna can see her. For the first time in a hundred years, Ruby has someone to interact with — but why does it have to be an emotionally exhausted and existentially confused career woman whose dad bosses her around and who’s still low-key hung up on her ex? And why does Elliot have to be so nice to Anna if he’s already planning on moving away for good? And what will it take for Ruby to finally cross over and finally be with Charlie for eternity?

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: This movie has the tone of an ’80s comedy like Shelley Long’s Hello Again or Lily Tomlin’s All of Me. There are actual big laughs in this one!

Performance Worth Watching: Wow, Madeleine Arthur! Her turn as Ruby, flapper/ghost, is such a delight. It helps that the movie actually has the wardrobe, set dressing, and cinematography to sell 1920s glamour in the flashback scene.

Stream It or Skip It: ‘3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost’ on Hallmark Not Only Has the Best Title, but It May Be the Best Movie of the Season (2)

The opening of this movie is unlike any I’ve seen on Hallmark, with a level of authenticity that I did not expect to see. But Arthur? She dives into the role completely and boy, is she well-cast. Between her close-cropped hair and big eyes, she looks like the exact person you’d cast in a movie about a 1920s ghost —like a live-action Betty Boop mixed with Addams-era Christina Ricci. And Arthur is clearly having a blast with the dialogue, reveling in lines like “I’m thinking of how to help you. I’ve always loved charity work!” It’s a big performance, and it’s a big win.

Memorable Dialogue: One of the first things Elliot says to Anna is, “You can succeed at anything you put your mind to — except us, of course.” Just to clarify: Elliot’s a nice guy, to a fault. This line is just a primo example of Hallmark exposition, and it made me chuckle.

I also liked this exchange between Ruby and Anna: “I’m as unsinkable as the stock market!” “You’re not making the case you think you are.”

Stream It or Skip It: ‘3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost’ on Hallmark Not Only Has the Best Title, but It May Be the Best Movie of the Season (3)

Our Take: What is Hallmark doing?! Putting a ghost movie on Hallmark proper instead of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries?! Sidelining the primary romantic interest in favor of the lead’s friendship with a dead party girl?! Shooting a film with the proper misty, velvety ambiance of a spooky classic?! I’m shocked — in the absolute best way.

Honestly, the biggest problem I have with 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost is the title. The title is, I reiterate, fantastically stupid and I would never dream of suggesting anything else. But if you tell me that a movie titled 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost is airing on Hallmark, I’m going to picture Lacey Chabert moving back to her hometown and finding the perfect apartment located above her late mother’s antique shop — only to find out that it’s haunted by a ghost (Tyler Hynes), the great-great-great-great-grandfather of her romantic interest (Tyler Hynes). I’m going to expect hijinks, sentimentality, a romance right up front and center. 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost is not that at all —and it is all the better for it.

This movie does not follow any recognizable Hallmark format, nor does it really prioritize any of the usual Hallmark themes. The plot does hinge upon the old “unfinished business” trope that all ghost stories use, but the movie is primarily about how these two women — one of them dead —can help the other overcome the invisible obstacles holding them back. Anna is just as stuck as Ruby, and we are way more invested in watching these two go from adversaries to allies than anything else.

That’s saying something, because there actually is a lot going on in this movie. Anna’s relationship with her father isn’t healthy and she has a co-worker determined to snag whatever promotion she’s in line for. I also appreciated the way the movie made the most out of its ghost. The rules of Ruby’s imprisonment are made clear rather quickly, and then the movie has fun with them by testing, bending, and breaking them. The movie really runs the gamut of ghostly scenarios, and it’s all the richer for it.

Stream It or Skip It: ‘3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost’ on Hallmark Not Only Has the Best Title, but It May Be the Best Movie of the Season (4)

However, the time that the movie spends on building out Ruby’s world and the Anna/Ruby dynamic is time that’s usually devoted to the main love story. 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost does have a love story (or two) to tell, but it definitely takes a back seat. This leaves Chris McNally with not a lot to do as Elliot. Anna and Ruby feel like fully-realized characters with dynamic personalities that change… and Elliot is also there. A little more attention could have been paid to Elliot, to make him more than just a generic nice guy — but I’m not really complaining about him, either.

That’s because what this movie does well, it does exceptionally well. Anna and Elliot, yadda yadda yadda —I’m here for Anna and the ghost being friends and pushing each other, antagonistically at first and then compassionately. When I tell you that 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost has the most emotional ending I’ve seen in a Hallmark movie —! I did not see it coming, but Gonzalo and Arthur really go for it at the end, giving us some of the most intense acting I’ve seen in a Hallmark movie. And the great thing about 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost is that those emotions are absolutely earned.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Don’t let the campy name fool you. 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost is a seriously great Hallmark movie.

    Tags

  • 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost
  • Hallmark Channel
  • Julie Gonzalo
  • Stream It Or Skip It
Stream It or Skip It: ‘3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost’ on Hallmark Not Only Has the Best Title, but It May Be the Best Movie of the Season (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Tyson Zemlak

Last Updated:

Views: 6179

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (43 voted)

Reviews: 90% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Tyson Zemlak

Birthday: 1992-03-17

Address: Apt. 662 96191 Quigley Dam, Kubview, MA 42013

Phone: +441678032891

Job: Community-Services Orchestrator

Hobby: Coffee roasting, Calligraphy, Metalworking, Fashion, Vehicle restoration, Shopping, Photography

Introduction: My name is Tyson Zemlak, I am a excited, light, sparkling, super, open, fair, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.