The Christmas Temp (2019 TV Movie) User Reviews

Some differences on a typical premise

[Jackbv123 · 7/10 · 4 January 2020]

The artist/decorator must come through and the pressure is on both Hazel and Jonah. Hazel is not easy or comfortable, especially in her art. Jonah's boss wants unique, so Hazel is the right person, even if neither of them believe it at times.

If you give Robin Dunne half a chance, he connects beautifully with his costars. There isn't just chemistry, but there is fun and joy and a little magic. And don't forget the humor. At times it's silly and at other times it's a little more subtle.

Hazel is a flawed and insecure heroine. It seems amazing that she can live in the real world. But she is also funny and full of life and she has a multitude of conflicting emotions swirling around inside her waiting to get out.

There is a lot of dialogue about symbolism and artistic expression and I'm not sure it all makes sense. I don't think it's meant to. There's a lot of mumbo-jumbo and double talk.

The "rival" confrontation has a bit of a different flavor to it but the usual results.

Stuck in a rut

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 14 December 2021]

2019 was not a particularly great year for Lifetime, but that is not to say that every film of theirs was bad. Actually some impressed, such as 'The Road Home for Christmas', 'Magical Christmas Shoes' and 'Winter Song', but there was also some real misfires such as 'Christmas Hotel', 'You Light Up My Christmas' and 'No Time Like Christmas'. The story concept is not innovative but it had potential and Robin Dunne is often watchable.

And he is here, but 'The Christmas Temp' on the whole could have been better than it was. The potential isn't wasted, but it is not completely lived up or exceeded. As far as 2019 Lifetime Christmas films go, 'The Christmas Temp' is neither one of the best or worst (have already listed examples of both extremes) and more a watchable somewhere in the middling category effort that at the same time doesn't deserve obscurity status.

Shall start with the good. The production values are quite nice, some of the scenery being beautiful even. Regardless of questions about authenticity the film for me was easy on the eyes. Some of the soundtrack is nostalgic and appropriately festive. There is evidence of charm and heart and the joy of Christmas is captured well at times.

Dunne is likeable in his role and the supporting cast are also not bad. The film starts off quite promising.

However, there are shortcomings. Sara Canning sometimes does try too hard and while flawed characters are always interesting and relatable it is a problem when the flaws are taken to extremes to the point where their appeal as a character is questionable. Did find that the insecurity was overdone and that she could have been developed better and grown more. She and Dunne don't have enough chemistry together and chemistry was both rushed and underwritten, it actually would have been better if their relationship had some initial tension and not been too instant love like.

Moreover, the script to me did come over as too talky and the more symbolic moments in the dialogue come over as heavy handed and not necessary. While the story does try to do a couple of things new with a typical premise, this is not executed well enough. It did lack freshness and still felt predictable and forced. The story also could have done with more life and it did feel rather too thin. The ending came over to me as too pat and too quickly resolved.

In conclusion, mixed feelings. 5/10.

Chaotic, rushed and disappointing, especially the second half

[aeszeki · 5/10 · 28 December 2023]

The premise was good. The flaky artist was believable and the complicity between the leads was fun, in the beginning. You can believe that they met and had a quick connection.

It could have been good but instead it became chaos. I got the feeling that they shot a lot of disparate scenes, belonging to distinct plot lines, and then edited them together without following a logical sequence. I believe they inserted some scenes for comedic effect only, without them making sense in the whole. The scenes with the policeman were just awkward. The whole thing with the short and the generator was stupid, forced. It annoyed me so badly that I fast forwarded.

As I said, the premise was great but it seems like there was nobody to actually develop it successfully for a film. As always, they try to sell the idea of a great artist and some innovative creation that everyone is in awe of. And it falls flat.

It is not a complete waste of time but it is disappointing, so don't get your hopes up.

Stressful and Bad Depictions

[nrs123 · 1/10 · 26 December 2019]

This movie was NOT entertaining at all. The entire move dealt with the chaotic depiction of a person who just couldn't get it together. As a viewer, it was stressful to watch. There was no forward movement in character development. There was no interaction between the principals that would indicate that infatuation and love was emerging between the two. Just the declaration at the end of the movie that the hotel manager was "in love" with the artist. The final act in the movie that had me incensed at the lack of technical detail was when the hotel manager started the emergency generator INSIDE the building's main lobby where all the people were standing. This major safety issue should absolutely NOT have been promoted in the movie. This was two dissatisfying hours out of our lives.

It was too daft to finish watching it!

[adamjohns-42575 · 5 December 2020]

I did not finish this film, in fact it didn't even last the usual 25-30 minutes that most other films get. This may be due to the fact that I'd just literally endured a poor Christmas film and couldn't get all the way through another, but I'm pretty sure the nutty "Artist" was going to drive me mad and Robin Dunne is nowhere near cute enough for me to put up with the terrible jokes and awkward flirting and banter that these cheaper films throw in to try and make it funny, but fail.

Unscored as unfinished.

It starts so well.

[doctorsmoothlove · 4/10 · 19 January 2020]

"The Christmas Temp" is one of Lifetime's 2019 Christmas marathon movies. This is one of the better ones. This is mostly the result of good casting in Sara Canning and Robin Dunne as Hazel and Jonah. The two of them lead this opposites attract holiday love story in which a frazzled struggling artist (Canning) is hired by a junior hotel manager (Dunne) to create their Christmas display.

Canning brings a zaniness to the role that's just perfect to her character. Her apartment is disorganized and she can't keep a schedule to save her life. Her face and mannerisms portray her as someone who is overwhelmed by just about everything. Dunne is great as boring, strait-laced corporate type with horrible taste in Christmas decorations. When he tries to hula hoop with a Christmas wreath during one of their dates, the actor looks like he is in actual pain. It's funny and humanizing to see something like this in a made-for-tv film.

The film for the most part straddles the line between romance and creepiness really well. Don't forget that Jonah is employing Hazel even though they are falling in love. The love doesn't feel forced. Both of these characters are passionate about what they do and eager to move up. Hazel gets more development. Jonah is kind of there as the Hot Guy. That's ok though. For a corporate man in a story like this, "development" is a promotion. For Hazel, as an artist, development is going from seeing art as a way of promoting herself to conveying emotion. The script is rather blunt with these ideas though I enjoyed the effort.

The ending is such a big disappointment because it throws the slow story development away in favor of a clumsy cliched ending. Jonah professes to someone that he has to steal a generator because he is in love wants Hazel's art display to work as intended. I'm sure this ending was a result of network-imposed runtime deadlines. Still, this is a watchable film that I can't recommend because of its dumb ending. What a shame.

Where can I get a refund for this?

[MIssM19 · 3/10 · 4 August 2020]

Hazel gets hired to decorate the lobby of a well known hotel boutique. Jonah, if this job gets done well, will get an amazing promotion. That's it.

While I give props for the storyline, which I liked, the execution was done poorly. I would have liked more action, more movement, everyone is standing so still during this movie EXCEPT in the one moment, with the piano, which is not very realistic. I was so bored by this. There was no chemistry between the leads. Also, the acting by the female lead was cringey at times. I'm all for "instant love" if it's done well, but you just don't make a wish about someone you have just met.

However, I will point out that this had a few very funny lines, so stars for that.

Disappointing

[wingedheartart · 4/10 · 12 November 2020]

I don't expect much from these type of movies. Usually I can't find much else on while I'm working. (Background noise etc) However, what's annoying is the character of the artist. I'm an artist. My house is not in disarray, I'm not disorganized, I meet deadlines, and don't walk around confused. The portrayal of this artist character was generic and assumed. The artist character had other psychological issues the writers decided to clump in under the typical "artist" description, instead of as a person with possible ADHD or mental health problems. Lazy writing, not surprising with a Christmas movie. Ugh. I know a lot of artists, and having someone say, you're a true artist.... just look how you dress." Seriously? Pretty shallow comment.

Amazing!

[ssimeonidou1 · 9/10 · 6 January 2021]

I loved every minute of this film! Robin Dunne as Jonah and Sara Canning as Hazel were amazing! They had chemistry, humor, their acting was so refreshing and superb! Completely suited for their roles and the essence of the characters. The casting was excellent and i love the detail with Robin Dunne's wife in real life Farrah Aviva playing Rita the bartender. The script is well written with humor, interactive dialogues, realistic to the nature of the characters and festive. I totally agree both with the review of grakky and manfredpeter-09628 and i dont't understand the negative reviews at all..... I'm definetely going to see this again and again and i'm going to suggest it to my friends! EXCELLENT WORK!!!

DREADFUL

[linda-plant2 · 1/10 · 4 January 2023]

Have never Sara Canning in a picture before (and then directly after this, she was in A Christmas Star), but in this her over-acting was beyond annoying. In a film that had only 6 speaking parts the main action was between her and Robin Dunne. Her character was idiotic, and Dunne's character was so 'wet' that any Manager worth his salt would have fired her after 2 days. The acting became irritating and there was a lot of fast fowarding, so am thankful I recorded it.

I think a big problem was there was no 'warmth' in Canning's acting, certainly not for a romantic role anyway. Sadly the only emotion she invoked in me was to give her character a good slap !

Fun

[manfredpeter-09628 · 10/10 · 13 November 2020]

Can't believe negative reviews. Light hearted but with very relatable message. Well written, excellent casting for even minor characters. Good dialogue. Robin Dunne was awesome. Most hallmark movies have the straight clueless man leaving us wondering why the female lead would fall for him. In this both leads developed together. Robin Dunne reminds me so much of Robert Walker! So cute and earnest. Enjoyed second viewing even better than first. They need to air this more often. Pure entertainment.

Cute story and cute leads.

[rebekahrox · 8/10 · 15 November 2020]

Two charming leads with great chemistry put this one in "rewatchable" status. I had just been thinking that Robin Dunne had a real Tom Hanks vibe going on when lo and behold he started to play Christmas songs on the giant piano keys. Coincidence? I don't think so. The plot was interesting and amusing as the struggling female love interest worked to decorate our hero's boutique hotel lobby for Christmas. His job and a possible promotion was on the line, and her art career would get a much needed jump start. I was a little underwhelmed by the final product, but everyone in the movie seemed to like it, so it must have been me.

Sara Canning & Robin Dunne

[grakky · 10/10 · 25 December 2019]

...crushed this with superb acting and humor, but why are they not showing up in IMDB cast & credits? Regardless, watch this :)

charming

[Kirpianuscus · 27 December 2021]

I love this film for many motives. The basic can be the beautiful touch of '40's- '50's romantic comedies. The second - the beautiful connection between Hazel and Jonah. And the Hazel's studio, to. The scenes with policeman are just sweet and the supporting characters more than well crafted. Sins ? Maybe the fate of generator but 300 dollars are a very good answer.