A festive concoction set in the ruthless world of TV production, where nearly all concerned are preparing for the TV Christmas Special, hosted by a much-loved (but strangely charmless) fictional character named 'Julia Wise' - a TV chef/lifestyle guru with a dysfunctional family of three adopted sons, who haven't celebrated Christmas together in many years.
Through nepotism, one of the sons pursues a career in TV production, and having started out as an intern with Momma after graduating from college returns years later to co-produce the annual 'Christmas Special' with the female producer/momma fan, who was recruited to replace him.
This working partnership sows the seeds for romance in the setting of a TV production, with a festive tinge. If there were sparks between these two the camera didn't catch them.
Though the location shooting and overall photography are very good for the setting, the story (what matters!) is meandering and convoluted, with too many characters and not enough charm or witty banter to win me over. And the smaltz is ladled out in heavy doses towards the end like overly sweet & sickly Yuletide Punch.
One sip is enough!
I never blame the actors when encountering crud like this - the premise is interesting enough but can we really care about overly-competitive people who work in the ratings-obsessed world of TV?
Notice how often I've had to refer to TV six times already in this review! This movie is about the rather shallow media world rather than Christmas. If you like the glossy surface stuff but nothing remotely deep or thought-provoking you'll absolutely love this snow-laden festive caper. Saying that you may want to iron shirts or wrap presents while it's on in the background.
Towards the end I found the characters so wooden and charmless I didn't care what happened to their families/romance/prospects/lives yada yada or Momma's annual Christmas Special. Heartwarming it ain't.
The cloying punch metaphor aside, this over-stuffed roasted bird is a glass of festive fizz that's eventually served at room temperature - no bubbles.
3 out of 10 for the movie overall but 7/10 for set design and location shooting.
Through nepotism, one of the sons pursues a career in TV production, and having started out as an intern with Momma after graduating from college returns years later to co-produce the annual 'Christmas Special' with the female producer/momma fan, who was recruited to replace him.
This working partnership sows the seeds for romance in the setting of a TV production, with a festive tinge. If there were sparks between these two the camera didn't catch them.
Though the location shooting and overall photography are very good for the setting, the story (what matters!) is meandering and convoluted, with too many characters and not enough charm or witty banter to win me over. And the smaltz is ladled out in heavy doses towards the end like overly sweet & sickly Yuletide Punch.
One sip is enough!
I never blame the actors when encountering crud like this - the premise is interesting enough but can we really care about overly-competitive people who work in the ratings-obsessed world of TV?
Notice how often I've had to refer to TV six times already in this review! This movie is about the rather shallow media world rather than Christmas. If you like the glossy surface stuff but nothing remotely deep or thought-provoking you'll absolutely love this snow-laden festive caper. Saying that you may want to iron shirts or wrap presents while it's on in the background.
Towards the end I found the characters so wooden and charmless I didn't care what happened to their families/romance/prospects/lives yada yada or Momma's annual Christmas Special. Heartwarming it ain't.
The cloying punch metaphor aside, this over-stuffed roasted bird is a glass of festive fizz that's eventually served at room temperature - no bubbles.
3 out of 10 for the movie overall but 7/10 for set design and location shooting.