Did you know that the Hallmark Channel produces more than just greeting cards and Christmas movies?  If you look around on Netflix, you will find this to be true.  This is how I found Sisterhood, Inc. (2025).  Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with female religious.  Based on what I am about to tell you, there might be some questions as to why I would pick something that closely resembles holiday material.  After all, we are only three months removed from that season.  You could argue that this is a long enough time, but not for me.  It is still fresh.  What also needed freshening was my viewing palate, so I chose something light to do the trick.  None of what follows should be surprising given that this is little more than a classic romantic comedy.  But, hey, at least there are establishing shots of Chicago in it?

With some of those establishing shots at the beginning of Sisterhood, Inc., we meet Megan (Rachel Leigh Cook), a workaholic technology company entrepreneur who has built her own scheduling app company.  She goes about preparing for her day like any other until she gets to the morning meeting and learns that she is being fired from the enterprise by her board, led by Randall (Ian Lithgow).  At the same time, we are introduced to Megan’s younger sister, Izzy (Daniella Monet).  Izzy’s life is different.  While Megan is up early to tackle her day, at the same time Izzy is struggling to get into her mother’s house from going out the night before, having lost her keys at the club.  Megan moves in the fast-paced corporate world as Izzy is delivering pizzas.  Izzy’s boss, Frank (Steve Schirripa), has to warn her not to steal ingredients off the top of the pies, which she does anyway.  As for Megan, being fired means that she has no more excuses for dodging her mother’s, Lois (Judy Kain), many requests that the eldest daughter come home for dinner.  Though Megan is not eager to reunite with Lois, who is blamed for starting a whole new life after the death of Izzy and Megan’s father, Megan is looking forward to seeing Izzy.  Still, upon entering the house, it is clear that Izzy is still living a rootless existence and expecting mom to coddle her.  The only way for coping with the night is for Megan to keep consuming the cocktails her stepfather, Ken (Adam Grupper), keeps providing.  In the midst of a half-drunken stupor, Megan comes up with the idea of forming a corporate life coach board for Izzy.  Though Ken does not think it a bad idea, Lois sees it as highhanded.  As for Izzy, she comes to Megan’s house the next day and says that she is willing to do whatever her older sister tells her to do.  With that, Megan calls her personal assistant, Curtis (Simon Belz), they rent a shared working space, and they bring in the people who will serve on the committee.  One notable absence at Megan’s request is Lois.  In Megan’s mind, a major reason for this experiment is to ween Izzy away from dependence on her mother.  As for the others, they will be introduced as needed.  All of them have a particular skill they hope to teach Izzy, like personal finances, finding the right guy, and style.  The one who arguably stands out the most is Dominic (Leonidas Gulaptis).  He is a psychology professor at the local college, and he is there as an impartial observer.  Whatever his role, they get down to work immediately, overhauling Izzy’s social media and wardrobe.  It leads fairly quickly to Izzy getting a job as a receptionist at an art gallery, partly due to Megan stretching the truth a little on her sister’s resumé.  As the team checks on Izzy’s progress, Lois drops into the gallery wondering where Izzy has been.  For the moment, they are able to explain away the situation, but Dominic is concerned about the sneaking around.  Nonetheless, he and Megan begin to get close to one another, their attraction becoming apparent when they vet candidates for Izzy’s dating life.  Their choice of guys for Izzy meets with approval from everyone but Frank, but Izzy goes out with him anyway.  Meanwhile, Yuki (Allison Chu), a corporate headhunter, is shopping Megan’s idea of crowdsourcing self-help, and it is drawing interest.  For a time, everything is working as it should.  Megan even allows herself to share a romantic moment with Dominic, who comes over to help fix a leaking showerhead.  During their conversation, the question of Izzy’s happiness comes up.  Though Megan believes her younger sister is doing well, what Izzy is doing is essentially copying her older sibling.  This is underscored when they go to lunch with Lois to meet Izzy’s new boyfriend, Carson (Austin Colby).  While he goes on about the world of high finance, it is painfully apparent that they are not well matched.  This is Lois’ observation, too, after the meal.  Enlisting Dominic’s help, Megan travels to Izzy’s new apartment and finds that not only has she broken up with Carson, but she has quit her job at the art gallery.  To Megan, Izzy is backsliding.  Additionally, Megan feels like she has done something unprofessional by getting involved with Dominic.  This is about to become a moot point when she is offered a position as chief executive officer (CEO) of a new start-up based on what she is doing for Izzy.  News of this hiring reaches the board, and they all see it as betrayal, as if she is just using their efforts so she could move on to the next venture.  It takes reconciling with Lois, finally, to begin to put things right.  To make it up to Izzy, who has begun to forge her own path, Megan organizes a big 30^th birthday celebration.  Dominic, of course, attends and everyone lives happily ever after.

The way Sisterhood, Inc. ends happily ever after could be said for almost every Hallmark movie.  Indeed, I cannot think of a single one with a tragic conclusion.  There is nothing wrong with happy endings, and this one is fine as romantic comedies go.  There are even some weightier topics for a Catholic reviewer such as myself to cover.  The first one is forgiveness.  Though some of what Megan does for Izzy is motivated by a desire to rekindle their connection, a large portion of it is related to the hurt Megan feels for seemingly being pushed away by Lois.  Being a little over a decade older than Izzy, Megan was told that she is the strong and independent one.  This was intended as a compliment by Lois, but Megan took it as not being wanted.  Another way of putting this is the law of unintended consequences.  Lois thinks she has raised a strong daughter in Megan, which is true, but the mother does not see the pain she has caused the child.  These are the kinds of wounds that are usually only helped by God.  Unfortunately, Faith is not a part of the story.  Even though it has a resolution that suggests everything is fine amongst sisters and mom, those emotional scars can resurface without divine assistance.  I used the plural there because what Lois did to Megan is similar to what Megan does to Izzy.  Megan’s sin is pride, an unwillingness to admit that she does not have all the answers.  Only God knows, and this includes seeing the heart of Lois and Megan’s intentions.  They do not mean to cause harm, so their sin is not great.  At the same time, it is good to be aware of, which is a mark of growth in wisdom.

It is a little silly to attach the word “wisdom” to Sisterhood, Inc.  It has serious elements, but it is light as romantic comedies come.  The best I can say is that it is inoffensive, which does make it better than many movies these days.