Was not expecting all that much from 'Check Inn to Christmas'. Have always made a big effort to look past the very corny titles that Hallmark's films (not just Christmas but overall) have, but the idea of the story just didn't excite me. It did sound quite mundane and very more of the same, Hallmark Christmas films have always been predictable (excessively so at worst) and 'Check Inn to Christmas' certainly sounded like the same story except for a little more variety in the setting.
'Check Inn to Christmas' didn't really do it for me. There were some mediocre Hallmark Christmas from 2019, but this is one of the offerings from that year that was worse than mediocre. Actually found it very weak, with a few sporadic good things but too many poorly done things as well. Genuinely did want to like the film, hoping that it would be some welcome levity after such a dreadful year, but it just didn't gel on the whole and this is being said with regret.
Best thing about 'Check Inn to Christmas' is most of the acting. Wes Brown is a charming leading man and Rachel Boston despite overdoing it with the smile at times isn't too sugary and doesn't exaggerate any negative traits. Most of the supporting are above average considering what they had to work with. Tim Reid is particularly appealing and has an honest presence about them.
Some of the scenery is quite nice, though mostly the film disappointed visually. As are a few moments in the soundtrack, emphasis on a few.
However, there are a number of poor aspects in 'Check Inn to Christmas'. While liking the cast on the whole, Richard Karn is overused and overdoes it to the point of being annoying. While Brown and Boston are fine individually, together they don't quite connect with each other and a large part of the problem is that the relationship itself is too underdeveloped and plays too second fiddle to the repetitive and juvenile antics with the competition. Did admire that there is more drama than can be found in the usual Hallmark film with the family conflict, but it is drama that is too soapy and lacks excitement and tension.
Most of the time 'Check Inn to Christmas' disappointingly doesn't look too good. It is agreed too over-decorated on the whole and is gaudily shot and sloppily edited. Like most Hallmark films, most of the music is intrusive and doesn't fit. The dialogue has more cheese than the cheesiest of cheeseburgers and even fruit sherberts don't have this amount of cloying sugar. The premise has been done to death countless times every year and has been tired for years, nothing new is done with it here. Just pure Hallmark formula, complete with an over-obvious and far too neat ending.
In conclusion, weak. 3/10
'Check Inn to Christmas' didn't really do it for me. There were some mediocre Hallmark Christmas from 2019, but this is one of the offerings from that year that was worse than mediocre. Actually found it very weak, with a few sporadic good things but too many poorly done things as well. Genuinely did want to like the film, hoping that it would be some welcome levity after such a dreadful year, but it just didn't gel on the whole and this is being said with regret.
Best thing about 'Check Inn to Christmas' is most of the acting. Wes Brown is a charming leading man and Rachel Boston despite overdoing it with the smile at times isn't too sugary and doesn't exaggerate any negative traits. Most of the supporting are above average considering what they had to work with. Tim Reid is particularly appealing and has an honest presence about them.
Some of the scenery is quite nice, though mostly the film disappointed visually. As are a few moments in the soundtrack, emphasis on a few.
However, there are a number of poor aspects in 'Check Inn to Christmas'. While liking the cast on the whole, Richard Karn is overused and overdoes it to the point of being annoying. While Brown and Boston are fine individually, together they don't quite connect with each other and a large part of the problem is that the relationship itself is too underdeveloped and plays too second fiddle to the repetitive and juvenile antics with the competition. Did admire that there is more drama than can be found in the usual Hallmark film with the family conflict, but it is drama that is too soapy and lacks excitement and tension.
Most of the time 'Check Inn to Christmas' disappointingly doesn't look too good. It is agreed too over-decorated on the whole and is gaudily shot and sloppily edited. Like most Hallmark films, most of the music is intrusive and doesn't fit. The dialogue has more cheese than the cheesiest of cheeseburgers and even fruit sherberts don't have this amount of cloying sugar. The premise has been done to death countless times every year and has been tired for years, nothing new is done with it here. Just pure Hallmark formula, complete with an over-obvious and far too neat ending.
In conclusion, weak. 3/10