Brooke White wearing a red dress and playing guitar in the Hallmark movie 'Banner 4th of July'

4 Hallmark Movies to Watch This Fourth of July

Get in the Independence Day spirit with these Fourth-of-July-themed movies from Hallmark Channel, including 'When Sparks Fly' with Meghan Markle.

by Megan Elliott

Published on July 4, 2022

2 min read

‘When Sparks Fly’

Before she was a duchess, Meghan Markle played the lead in When Sparks Fly, a 2014 Hallmark movie about a woman named Amy who returns to her small hometown to celebrate her best friend’s Fourth-of-July-themed wedding. Amy, who’s a journalist, has also been tasked with writing a feature on her parents’ fireworks business. But with her BFF marrying her ex-boyfriend and her family’s business on the verge of ruin, Amy will have to work to save her love life and the town’s annual Independence Day celebration.

When Sparks Fly is available for rent and purchases on Amazon and iTunes.

‘Banner 4th of July’

American Idol alum Brooke White stars in Banner 4th of July, a 2013 movie about a musician named Desiree Banner, who has struggled to find her voice after leaving the band she was in with her two brothers, The Banner Project. When their mother Rosalind falls ill, the Banner siblings return to their hometown of Pinewood Hills to be by her side. But Rosalind has hatched a secret plan to get The Banner Project back together: She’s booked them to play at the town’s annual Fourth of July festival. The band’s appearance could save the town from a financial crisis, but will the Banner siblings be able to put their feud to rest in time to perform at the concert?

Banner 4th of July is available for rent or purchase on Amazon and iTunes.

‘Love and Sunshine’

Ally (The Wonder Years star Danica McKellar) is a nursery owner who has been fostering a retired service dog named Sunshine while her handler Jake (Mark Deklin) is in Afghanistan. Once he returns to the U.S., Jake – a soldier who enlisted after 9/11 – is eager to reunite with his dog. When Ally and Jake meet, they end up bonding over heartbreak and share their first kiss at a Fourth of July party. It looks like a happily ever after is in store for the new couple, but then Jake is called back to active duty, which throws their new romance into question.

Love and Sunshine is available for purchase on Amazon and iTunes.

‘Kiss at Pine Lake’

Luke (7th Heaven’s Barry Watson) and Zoe (Mia Kirshner) almost shared their first kiss 15 years ago while at summer camp. Chance brings them together again when Luke purchases the struggling camp from his uncle and then crosses paths with Zoe, who is working for a developer that wants to buy the camp’s land. After some misunderstandings, the two eventually team up to save Camp Pine Lake. Though this isn’t strictly a Fourth of July movie, it ends with the camp’s big Fourth of July barbecue and fireworks.

Kiss at Pine Lake is streaming on Hallmark Movies Now.