"Christmas Unleashed" at least has a great title. The rest of the movie doesn't offer much entertainment value. This was one of Lifetime's 2019 Christmas marathon movies and one of two films featuring Christopher Russell as Max as a Hot Guy. Vanessa Lachey as Becca is the leading lady. At least we haven't seen her in a Christmas film in a few years.
The plot is a bit strange. Becca comes home from her busy law as a New York corporate lawyer to North Carolina where Max now works as a veterinarian. Becca stays with her grandmother because her parents are dead. The movie does this without any justification and the plot point is quickly dropped. It is almost as if it was put into the script for its cheap sentimentality.
Becca has a dog named Henry who goes missing. Becca asks Max to help her find him. They nearly do several times as we see flashbacks of their past relationship. We are supposed to feel that these two had a great relationship until Becca went to New York. Yet these two characters are so bland and uninteresting that I didn't feel anything for them or care if they got back together. It's just another story of one person wanting to leave a small town while the other doesn't and the small town has everything anyone could want. Yawn.
It doesn't help that the actors aren't given much to do. I do think that Lachey and Russell are alright together. Russell can do better and did in Hallmark's "Mistletoe Secret," itself a bad movie. At least there he got to be a movie jerk. Here he is just a Hot Guy who is too handsome to have remained single for as long as he has.
Henry is sort of found several times. At one point, they see him on security footage and don't go after him. It is almost like Henry has a spell on them. I feel like if he were a child and not a dog the plot would be easier to accept. Henry cannot have agency here.. because he is a dog. They don't even use "Christmas magic" to explain it. I didn't hate this film but it was very boring. Only a moron like me doing a Christmas movie challenge should watch it.
The plot is a bit strange. Becca comes home from her busy law as a New York corporate lawyer to North Carolina where Max now works as a veterinarian. Becca stays with her grandmother because her parents are dead. The movie does this without any justification and the plot point is quickly dropped. It is almost as if it was put into the script for its cheap sentimentality.
Becca has a dog named Henry who goes missing. Becca asks Max to help her find him. They nearly do several times as we see flashbacks of their past relationship. We are supposed to feel that these two had a great relationship until Becca went to New York. Yet these two characters are so bland and uninteresting that I didn't feel anything for them or care if they got back together. It's just another story of one person wanting to leave a small town while the other doesn't and the small town has everything anyone could want. Yawn.
It doesn't help that the actors aren't given much to do. I do think that Lachey and Russell are alright together. Russell can do better and did in Hallmark's "Mistletoe Secret," itself a bad movie. At least there he got to be a movie jerk. Here he is just a Hot Guy who is too handsome to have remained single for as long as he has.
Henry is sort of found several times. At one point, they see him on security footage and don't go after him. It is almost like Henry has a spell on them. I feel like if he were a child and not a dog the plot would be easier to accept. Henry cannot have agency here.. because he is a dog. They don't even use "Christmas magic" to explain it. I didn't hate this film but it was very boring. Only a moron like me doing a Christmas movie challenge should watch it.