This Lifetime Christmas movie, I am afraid, is difficult to get thru. If you can manage to get thru the first 25 minutes, things get slightly better, but it is still a tough one to finish, I thought. The story is a bit odd: the seller asks the realtors to stay at the lodge for a week (to get to know the property) and compete for the listing. I do not mind different story ideas for Christmas movies, but the script in this one is poor, at times. Is it just me or did the characters in this movie all seem a bit off, a bit odd. A more positive spin could be they all seemed a bit quirky (some of the performances are, for sure). The movie does pick up a bit in the last 30 minutes, mostly due to the cute and festive nature of the scenes (e.g., snowman competition, sleigh riding and caroling). The music during this last 30 minutes was good. However, the music editing was not great (e.g., the scene at the beginning where the sisters are chatting on the couch, there is that song on in the background...drove me mad). The acting overall was decent. I have seen Lexi Giovagnoli several times on screen. She usually has good performances in this genre of film (i.e., TV romance movies). Her performance as Julia in this movie was pretty good. Travis Burns (playing Chad) had a decent performance, as well. The chemistry between them was not bad either. Unfortunately, the script did not help. The supporting cast's performance was a bit quirky, I felt. The filming location is supposed to be quite beautiful; I wish they did more with the landscapes and scenery in this movie (they did a little of this, to be fair). Overall, this Lifetime Christmas movie is, unfortunately, unexceptional and difficult to follow at times. That said, it might appeal to some if you can make it thru the first 25 minutes.
21 Reviews
Cute and fluffy
mcquca9 December 2020
Exactly what you expect from Lifetime Holiday movie madness. Very fluffy. Classic enemies to lovers story. Just go ahead and skip to their actual arrival at the inn. The beginning is a slog and a little painful, totally expected for these kind of movies. Not nearly the worst for this time of year. Gets the job done. The actors are charming, the writing isn't as stilted as some of these films can get. Love seeing an actress in one of these who isn't a size 2 toothpaste model.
Not totally listless
martingray110 November 2021
Oh boy, there are some rough reviews on here. While this didn't have quite the production values of the Hallmark films, it didn't look cheap. It was no more predictable than any other holiday TV movie, and a nice afternoon watch. The acting and direction were fine, I liked the music and the jumpers were supposed to be awful!
Half the movie is terrible and the other half is barely OK
Jackbv1233 December 2020
Romance Christmas movies start off with animosity between the leads most of the time. But this wasn't just animosity. Chad is dishonest, unethical, rude, arrogant, and a complete jerk. He's physically aggressive, taking things out of her hands. That's not temporary animosity, many of those are innate personality qualities. It continues for half the movie. Julia didn't appeal to me much either, but I definitely don't want to see her with Chad, ever. Then at the half way point, all the meanness and aggressiveness magically disappears. Still, there's never any real chemistry.
About a quarter of the movie is mundane stuff leading up to the premise of the leads being thrown together on the farm almost like prisoners. Not that the premise makes any sense - they even need to borrow used and ugly clothes???
The plot is thin. There's a lot of filler. There's several musical montages.
If you read a review here referring to "aliens" and "a zombie", those are metaphors. That fooled me for a bit and was actually the main reason I stuck past the beginning. Some things here are creepy, but not supernatural. After a while it goes from creepy, annoying and boring to only barely better than boring. There are a couple of unexpected things at the end leading to the inevitable.
I often remark that realism isn't expected in movies like this. There are plenty of problems with realism in various situations in this movie, but that's expected. I do want plausible and likeable personalities in the leads. I couldn't get past my conviction that Chad could never change from the downright bad person he was in the beginning to someone Julia should love.
About a quarter of the movie is mundane stuff leading up to the premise of the leads being thrown together on the farm almost like prisoners. Not that the premise makes any sense - they even need to borrow used and ugly clothes???
The plot is thin. There's a lot of filler. There's several musical montages.
If you read a review here referring to "aliens" and "a zombie", those are metaphors. That fooled me for a bit and was actually the main reason I stuck past the beginning. Some things here are creepy, but not supernatural. After a while it goes from creepy, annoying and boring to only barely better than boring. There are a couple of unexpected things at the end leading to the inevitable.
I often remark that realism isn't expected in movies like this. There are plenty of problems with realism in various situations in this movie, but that's expected. I do want plausible and likeable personalities in the leads. I couldn't get past my conviction that Chad could never change from the downright bad person he was in the beginning to someone Julia should love.
I cant realy deside
ninastarman22 November 2020
Disappointed
jimpohl-759781 December 2020
My fiancé and I are getting married at The Erickson Farmstead next year so we were excited to watch this movie. Although the storyline is good, it's very predictable and unfortunately ALL of the acting is absolutely horrible.
Put this on the naughty list
TheLittleSongbird2 February 2021
Am not saying that to be horrible, or at least not intentionally so. Despite the premise not being that appetising and trusted friends saying that it was awful, part of me really wanted to give 'The Christmas Listing' the benefit of the doubt. Am someone who loves Christmas and who loves a lot of Christmas films, animations and specials (a lot of them being childhood favourites). So there was no preconceived bias against 'The Christmas Listing'.
Really should have listened to my friends, because 'The Christmas Listing' did unfortunately turn out to be that awful to a quite insulting degree. Not just the worst Christmas film seen in like a year, but one of the worst films seen in a long time. Just to say, the lowest possible rating here is an incredibly rare rating given out these days for me, the last one for any film given out a quarter of a year back or something, and was always my least frequently given out rating. 'The Christmas Listing' though deserves it, it takes a lot for me to say that a film has no redeeming qualities, but this is applicable here.
'The Christmas Listing' looks cheap. The scenery comes off least cheaply but even then it is not that eye catching or memorable. It is very drably filmed and the framing and editing are amateur hour and clearly looked as though they were done in a rush. Lets not get started on the eyesore that are the jumpers. The music is not appealing on the ears and is used too constantly and with not enough variation of mood. Did not like at all how it was used, with it mostly used to pad the film out in overlong and mostly pointless and out of place musical montages.
Looking for any signs of direction is going to be a lost cause, it was like the director had gone out to a week long lunch, leaving vague instructions on what to do executed without his oversight with incompetence. Thanks to this seeming lack of directing, the character interaction has no energy or nuance, never looking natural, the pacing is all over the place (especially in the practically unwatchable first half) and the visuals at their worst are enough to make one nauseous. The acting is atrocious fron all, Travis Burns' performance got really tiresome well before the halfway mark.
Don't look for any likeable characters or plausible motivations, neither are ever here. Chad is one of those characters that is despicable from the get go with no signs of growth until it comes out of nowhere very late on, 'The Christmas Listing' makes him almost like an evil incarnate villain and rams his flaws down the throats. None of the behaviours and motivations of the characters are realistic and the too little given are too rushed, any changes of heart also being practically last minute and impossible to buy considering how far the writers go to make the characters as contemptible as possible.
Secondary school students have written better scripts than this, it's been a while since hearing childishness, weirdness and cheesiness in dialogue taken to such wild extremes in the way it is in 'The Christmas Listing'. My jaw literally dropped to the floor hearing how monstrously awful the dialogue was at the beginning. Worst of all is probably the story, or more like lack of it. The first half is practically uneventful in story and is far too over-stretched in pacing and repetitive in how the characters behave towards each other. It is also too mean-spirited and there is just nothing to it emotionally. The second half is an incredibly slight improvement, but even then the story is paper thin, lacking in charm and bland.
Bottom line, abomination is a rare word for me to use these days but 'The Christmas Listing' is exactly that. 1/10
Really should have listened to my friends, because 'The Christmas Listing' did unfortunately turn out to be that awful to a quite insulting degree. Not just the worst Christmas film seen in like a year, but one of the worst films seen in a long time. Just to say, the lowest possible rating here is an incredibly rare rating given out these days for me, the last one for any film given out a quarter of a year back or something, and was always my least frequently given out rating. 'The Christmas Listing' though deserves it, it takes a lot for me to say that a film has no redeeming qualities, but this is applicable here.
'The Christmas Listing' looks cheap. The scenery comes off least cheaply but even then it is not that eye catching or memorable. It is very drably filmed and the framing and editing are amateur hour and clearly looked as though they were done in a rush. Lets not get started on the eyesore that are the jumpers. The music is not appealing on the ears and is used too constantly and with not enough variation of mood. Did not like at all how it was used, with it mostly used to pad the film out in overlong and mostly pointless and out of place musical montages.
Looking for any signs of direction is going to be a lost cause, it was like the director had gone out to a week long lunch, leaving vague instructions on what to do executed without his oversight with incompetence. Thanks to this seeming lack of directing, the character interaction has no energy or nuance, never looking natural, the pacing is all over the place (especially in the practically unwatchable first half) and the visuals at their worst are enough to make one nauseous. The acting is atrocious fron all, Travis Burns' performance got really tiresome well before the halfway mark.
Don't look for any likeable characters or plausible motivations, neither are ever here. Chad is one of those characters that is despicable from the get go with no signs of growth until it comes out of nowhere very late on, 'The Christmas Listing' makes him almost like an evil incarnate villain and rams his flaws down the throats. None of the behaviours and motivations of the characters are realistic and the too little given are too rushed, any changes of heart also being practically last minute and impossible to buy considering how far the writers go to make the characters as contemptible as possible.
Secondary school students have written better scripts than this, it's been a while since hearing childishness, weirdness and cheesiness in dialogue taken to such wild extremes in the way it is in 'The Christmas Listing'. My jaw literally dropped to the floor hearing how monstrously awful the dialogue was at the beginning. Worst of all is probably the story, or more like lack of it. The first half is practically uneventful in story and is far too over-stretched in pacing and repetitive in how the characters behave towards each other. It is also too mean-spirited and there is just nothing to it emotionally. The second half is an incredibly slight improvement, but even then the story is paper thin, lacking in charm and bland.
Bottom line, abomination is a rare word for me to use these days but 'The Christmas Listing' is exactly that. 1/10
Couldn't finish watching!
tomandliz-327655 December 2020
I was so excited to watch this movie-the Erickson Farm has been a fixture in Isanti forever-I have literally driven by it a thousand times.
So disappointed that in the first 15 minutes the use of realty and realtor were mispronounced repeatedly! Being a real estate professional it was insulting to hear realtor pronounced realitor and realty pronounced reality!
Shame on you!
New spin on Christmas Movie!
havec17 December 2020
Kind of refreshing to have a different storyline in this Christmas movie. A plus that it is actually filmed in a spot that actually has snow and cold weather! I liked the different storyline. The two main characters find out more about each other and understand that they had both made assumptions of each other and fall for each other. Then the usual misunderstandings that turn around in the end.
WORST MOVIE EVER....
DreamyOneNumber17 December 2020
I won't waste anyone's time on a full review of this disaster. This movie was impossible and painful to watch. The acting is awful. The actors seem plastic. The script is so forced. We can't believe any company would stoop so low as to produce this catastrophe. High school plays are actually 100 percent better. We hate to criticize so harshly, especially during holiday season, but this is a waste of time. We got through about an half hour, hoping it would get better, but it kept getting worse and worse. Lexi Giovagnoli stars and is also the producer which is probably why she has star billing. There has never been a worse performance in the history of TV movies, although much of the cast is just as bad. We were looking forward to settling down with some hot cocoa, and enjoying this movie during the COVID shelter in place guidelines, but even the news, as awful as it is, is a better choice. Sorry, actors and everyone else involved in this production - it's truly awful. PS For the most part, we don't leave negative reviews. We realize that viewers are different and some of us love things others hate, and some hate things others love. Sometimes a movie is in the middle. Sometimes only tolerable. This is neither tolerable or has anything to like, and based on reviews so far, as of the time of this writing, just about everyone couldn't stand this movie. We truly feel bad being harsh, but it's an awful movie. Almost anything else on TV is better.
Yuck
jrhtarkus-111 December 2020
I love a good holiday jaunt but there's one thing you MUST have. You can't hate the lead because she's so nasty! Misreading signs is common in these movies but I'm the process of the lead doing that she's so unpleasant you can't imagine what the guy sees in her! Oh, did I mention ... YUCK!
Meh..not the best
scarletepilogue6 December 2021
This movie wasn't anything to rave about. The chemistry between the two leads was nothing to be desired and the acting was lousy. The ending was pretty okay but doesn't make up for the rest of the movie. It's unreal how awkward the two main characters were, no effort was given and the man was pretty attractive so it shouldn't have been too difficult to act as if you're interested in him. Anyway, not one of the best lifetime Christmas movies; it was pretty disappointing.
As terrible as you'd expect
roxyremix-365-53287012 December 2021
The lead actress can't act, like at all, and doesn't seem like a good match (looks wise) for the gorgeous male lead. Also, the matching ugly Christmas clothing from Lost & Found? They looked brand new, were cute, and happened to fit perfectly. Also, was her sister in another country that it took her so long to bring her clothes?! I know we're supposed to suspend reality but the story was just...lame.
Awful soul destroying
bgj-4349117 December 2023
Definitely one of the worst Christmas movies I have ever watched .it was actually soulless I hated it it went no where I really disliked one of the main characters I stopped watching it 5 minutes before the end because I didn't care how it ended first 25 minutes in I new it wouldn't get any better and the lead actress it was like watching paint dry. The male lead was actually not a bad actor it's a shame they put him in a movie like this it certainly won't earn him any credits but you can make up your own mind my mind is certainly made up I wish I had not bothered starting this movie I normally love this type of movie at Christmas it was so disappointing.
Cute movie and yes, I did enjoy!
actnow-878327 July 2021
Loved the fun competition between the leads, who were competing for a listing. The actors were all great and I really loved the leads and felt they were very believable. I guess you have to watch for yourself. I am kinda shocked at the downright cruel reviews that seem to be personal. It is one thing to say you don't like it and it was not your cup of tea, but the comments are definitely over the top with nasty. I just did not agree with them and I enjoyed watching. I thought it was a cute film and easy to watch.
Really? I checked "spoilers" but I'm not sure it isn't all pretty obvious.
a-ross1-941-92707817 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
We'll, I made it thru about 10 minutes until I realized that "Chad" (isn't that one of the male Karen names?) is gonna be the lead love interest and he's already such a sleaze. And the two sisters are probably good girl-next-door material, but not the typical Lifetime/Hallmark gals. And they're broke. Duh. I guess this will work on some level for all the struggling 30-something gals who still believe there is a Prince Charming out there, but he should at least be a kind-to-animals chap and not the arrogant dude depicted here. The plot's transparent as it's soon clear he will wind up with the older sister but already I don't care.
I really enjoyed it!
theo-15-22914 December 2020
This was the 2nd Christmas movie I've watched this year and I liked it a lot.
An interesting story about competing realtors for a beautiful farmhouse account. Pretty cinematography with an energetic and wonderfully Christmas-y soundtrack/musical score, it had me engaged the majority of the time. I'll admit it started slightly weak, but please keep with it!
I also liked the 2 leads and the sister:)
8/10
Enjoyed the film, sorry haters!
Elizabeth-24887 July 2021
This is a fun film that is a fun story about 2 realtors who have to compete for the listing of a popular bed and breakfast that goes all out for Christmas. It may not be not something a film critic will enjoy, but we enjoyed the banter between the 2 leads and thought there was some fun chemistry between them. We were surprised to see some of the nasty comments and reviews. It is a light hearted positive film, and our group who watched it, all enjoyed it! It fits the genre perfectly.
Cheery and fun.
Susan574310 August 2021
I love Christmas movies. It was fun and enjoyable watching this fun cute Christmas movie. Loved all the mischief between the Realator's. The Lady who played Donna the owner of the Erickson Farmhouse was delightful. Loved all the fun activities especially the caroling at night. Light hearted. It was funny that the two Realtors had to wear the matching sweaters. I actually like these types of romance stories where the two people finally fall for each other in the end.
Some of the reviews were pretty nasty. Makes you wonder if it was personal! But all said and done it was fun to watch for me!!
Some of the reviews were pretty nasty. Makes you wonder if it was personal! But all said and done it was fun to watch for me!!
Heartwarming and Jena STOLE the show
jfordbridges1 December 2020
This was such a nice comfort watch for the christmas season! I really enjoyed the performance of Rachel O'Connell as Jena Rogers, the complete standout of this film. It's rare that you find a performance so funny and relatable in a christmas movie, but nonetheless she delivered. Overall, very heartwarming and pleasant to watch. Highly recommend!
LOVED 'THE CHRISTMAS LISTING'
virginiawriter201014 August 2021
I loved 'THE CHRISTMAS LISTING'! I think the movie was well done and the actors were great. It was a well-written story and the producer/director did a great job as well. I look forward to seeing it again in the 2021 Christmas movie line-up on LIFETIME!!
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