Dull.

As in no spark or bright spots. This one is an amalgam of Hallmark’s Fish out of Water, and Country good, city bad. It had nothing to lift it up above the plethora of Christmas movies out there and make it worth your time to watch it. Sometimes you find little pearls to give a Hallmark movie watch-ability, or, very very rarely, re-watch-ability. An appealing hero or heroine, or actor or actress with a way with a line or comic timing; Good dialogue, some chemistry between the principals, an evil villain, a truly hard conflict to overcome, A plot that engages and keeps you watching in even a tiny bit of suspense (You know what’s going to happen, but how will they get there?), A heart-tugging moment or some funny situations.

Taylor Cole is undeniably beautiful, but I didn’t find her appealing. I guess I like the girl next door type that one can relate to. Even beautiful actresses can achieve that quality with good writing or good acting. The character was just boring. The hero was played by an actor who might have some potential* (Michael Rady), but he was also just commonplace, and at times acted very churlish and stupid. The daughter is a talent. She was good.

The premise wasn’t bad: A movie star coming to a small town to play a movie star coming to a small town. But it just collapsed from lazy writing. They did themselves no favors by riffing on one of the most stellar romantic comedies ever made: Notting Hill. Inviting comparison (by the hero coming out the door to a storm of paparazzi and the daughter posing and mugging for the cameras)was not wise. **3 stars out of 10**

December 18, 2016

*Michael Rady has since become a favorite