6.5 stars.
I concluded about 87 Hallmark movies back that I am looking for a cheap thrill. No reason to sugar coat it, and this movie does not provide the excitement that I so look forward to. What is that excitement? The romantic tension, the longing, the buildup and explosion of good feelings which splashes all over the wallpaper. Or at least give me some anger and frustration and pure hatred, then utilize those negative feelings to bring us a more satisfying contrast with love as part of the end product
This movie brings more of a long and drawn out average goodness which springs from a dead grandmother and a wish for her granddaughter (Deloach - our lead female) to experience the 12 somethings of Christmas, bring her back to her roots, and what is really important in life. Obviously grandma thinks that granddaughter went way off course by becoming a doctor (of neurology?) and moving to the big city. Grandma left her dying wish in an audio message that the estate lawyer, executor, (lead male) plays for her (Deloach) on his cell phone. It's a sappy little message of: please remember what's important in life etc. She also has a notebook left to her with a list of to do's for the holidays, and she must follow the list if she is to truly be blessed and "ready and able" to determine if she wants to sell grandma's house that she's inherited.
Conveniently the executor fella is fetching and has a most endearing, fun, intelligent, and perfect little 10 year old daughter. Of course the daughter is pivotal in helping our lead female find the Christmas spirit again. The leading man is also very goal and career oriented, but he gave up his career in NYC to pursue his wife's artistic one. I bet you can guess where his wife is. A) dead. B) left him. C) dead. D) dead. E) A, C, D. Correct answer is E. I wonder if one of Hallmark's top investors is the NFDA.
The lead female's pregnant friend, or his brother's wife (I'm not sure where she came in) looks like she had makeup done to look 30 years older. But why would they do that if she's pregnant? Very unsettling. Maybe she is actually pregnant and was retaining water? I don't mean to sound callus but it's just strange.
The chemistry between the leads is stiff. She reacts to him like they are colleagues and her responses to his conversation are sort of distant and vague as if she's off in another place. I notice she crosses her arms a lot which expresses that she is closed off, cold, or uncomfortable and nervous. Body language is the majority of communication and hers screams - NO. But she really is a good actress, so...
"Is Christmas always gonna be a little bit sad?" asks the daughter. This is when the movie finally evokes a hint of emotion in me. The wooden and cold exteriors are chipped away at this moment and finally things start to be tolerable for my viewing experience. There are some tears as the leads well up and have a very heartfelt conversation about bringing joy to a sad Christmas legacy. This is when I realized the main characters should have been the man and his daughter, and she (Deloach) should be the secondary lead. But that wouldn't fit the mold. The lead MUST be the female. That's fine, but get it right, we are supposed to be sympathetic to the lead.
When she grills him for bringing her to a fancy restaurant, sort of accusing him of being a player of sorts... I don't know where that came from. He has given us no indication that he is anything but sincere from the first scene. A very misplaced question in my view. This shows a lack of good writing. Why place that question in there where it doesn't belong? Just to fill in the usual silence and tension on a first date?
And they go skating, so overdone, but why complain. Why don't they go skiing, or ice fishing or something, why always the skating? And these skating rinks, they are like the size of my dining room. Who can skate in such a small rink, it's ridiculous. Then she attempts a kiss and he retracts, and there's tension, and then her reaction, and his explanation... it was awkward and unrealistic. In fact, if there's one thing a man would never do is this, unless he is actually NOT interested, or he had pooped his pants at that moment and had to pull back. The way he reacted indicates his role was originally meant to be played by a female, and her role was the male. I figured it out! The writers switched the roles. That makes so much more sense.
When the children are singing 'Gloria' and the harmonizing kid is belting it out like it's a competition. The discordant harmonizing and strange echoing, is just clumsy and insulting.
At the end she is pleading for him to kiss her, she will stick around. She has to prove to him she will be available. He reveals the missing ornament of 2 turtle doves. Oh, did I forget to mention that part of the plot? If they had hyped it up the way they should have, that reveal could have been epic. But it was so-so and then they kiss and - the end. It was clunky I'll not lie. Oh well, you win some you lose some.
I concluded about 87 Hallmark movies back that I am looking for a cheap thrill. No reason to sugar coat it, and this movie does not provide the excitement that I so look forward to. What is that excitement? The romantic tension, the longing, the buildup and explosion of good feelings which splashes all over the wallpaper. Or at least give me some anger and frustration and pure hatred, then utilize those negative feelings to bring us a more satisfying contrast with love as part of the end product
This movie brings more of a long and drawn out average goodness which springs from a dead grandmother and a wish for her granddaughter (Deloach - our lead female) to experience the 12 somethings of Christmas, bring her back to her roots, and what is really important in life. Obviously grandma thinks that granddaughter went way off course by becoming a doctor (of neurology?) and moving to the big city. Grandma left her dying wish in an audio message that the estate lawyer, executor, (lead male) plays for her (Deloach) on his cell phone. It's a sappy little message of: please remember what's important in life etc. She also has a notebook left to her with a list of to do's for the holidays, and she must follow the list if she is to truly be blessed and "ready and able" to determine if she wants to sell grandma's house that she's inherited.
Conveniently the executor fella is fetching and has a most endearing, fun, intelligent, and perfect little 10 year old daughter. Of course the daughter is pivotal in helping our lead female find the Christmas spirit again. The leading man is also very goal and career oriented, but he gave up his career in NYC to pursue his wife's artistic one. I bet you can guess where his wife is. A) dead. B) left him. C) dead. D) dead. E) A, C, D. Correct answer is E. I wonder if one of Hallmark's top investors is the NFDA.
The lead female's pregnant friend, or his brother's wife (I'm not sure where she came in) looks like she had makeup done to look 30 years older. But why would they do that if she's pregnant? Very unsettling. Maybe she is actually pregnant and was retaining water? I don't mean to sound callus but it's just strange.
The chemistry between the leads is stiff. She reacts to him like they are colleagues and her responses to his conversation are sort of distant and vague as if she's off in another place. I notice she crosses her arms a lot which expresses that she is closed off, cold, or uncomfortable and nervous. Body language is the majority of communication and hers screams - NO. But she really is a good actress, so...
"Is Christmas always gonna be a little bit sad?" asks the daughter. This is when the movie finally evokes a hint of emotion in me. The wooden and cold exteriors are chipped away at this moment and finally things start to be tolerable for my viewing experience. There are some tears as the leads well up and have a very heartfelt conversation about bringing joy to a sad Christmas legacy. This is when I realized the main characters should have been the man and his daughter, and she (Deloach) should be the secondary lead. But that wouldn't fit the mold. The lead MUST be the female. That's fine, but get it right, we are supposed to be sympathetic to the lead.
When she grills him for bringing her to a fancy restaurant, sort of accusing him of being a player of sorts... I don't know where that came from. He has given us no indication that he is anything but sincere from the first scene. A very misplaced question in my view. This shows a lack of good writing. Why place that question in there where it doesn't belong? Just to fill in the usual silence and tension on a first date?
And they go skating, so overdone, but why complain. Why don't they go skiing, or ice fishing or something, why always the skating? And these skating rinks, they are like the size of my dining room. Who can skate in such a small rink, it's ridiculous. Then she attempts a kiss and he retracts, and there's tension, and then her reaction, and his explanation... it was awkward and unrealistic. In fact, if there's one thing a man would never do is this, unless he is actually NOT interested, or he had pooped his pants at that moment and had to pull back. The way he reacted indicates his role was originally meant to be played by a female, and her role was the male. I figured it out! The writers switched the roles. That makes so much more sense.
When the children are singing 'Gloria' and the harmonizing kid is belting it out like it's a competition. The discordant harmonizing and strange echoing, is just clumsy and insulting.
At the end she is pleading for him to kiss her, she will stick around. She has to prove to him she will be available. He reveals the missing ornament of 2 turtle doves. Oh, did I forget to mention that part of the plot? If they had hyped it up the way they should have, that reveal could have been epic. But it was so-so and then they kiss and - the end. It was clunky I'll not lie. Oh well, you win some you lose some.