Spotlight on Christmas

November 19, 2021December 13, 2022 / Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

Started off Very Promisingly, but Fizzled in the Last Half

This started off strongly with the great casting of Tori Anderson as a believable A-list movie star. I also liked the actress that played her little half-sister, though I was at first confused about the family dynamics. I found Victor Zinck just OK as the hometown love interest and was underwhelmed by the chemistry. I didn’t believe him in the role. I am apparently in the minority on this issue.

Olivia returns to her hometown after a long absence to escape from the paparazzi after a messy break with her country-western star boyfriend. Alas, she is followed. I immediately liked the character of Olivia, because she was so pretty and nice. Unfortunately, her story got slower and more boring as the movie went on. Interestingly I noted a small cameo by one of my favorite Hallmark actresses at the beginning of the movie, Kimberly Sustad. Had she continued her small contribution in the role of the conflicted paparazzo, it might have added a needed spark to one of the dull subplots. I also noted that it was directed by another favorite, Ali Liebert. Hallmark Actresses Unite! Good for her and better luck next time. I would like to see more of Tori Anderson in these Hallmark-type movies.

December 24, 2020

A Christmas in Royal Fashion

November 15, 2021December 22, 2024 / Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

Mis-Cast

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I know this was a fairy tale-type movie, so I won’t criticize all of the unlikely events that occur. In fact, I enjoyed the ending where they provided a book end to the story to match the “This is a fantasy-don’t judge us” beginning.

My main problem was with the casting and the acting of Diarmaid Murtagh who played the prince. I should probably blame the director rather than the actor, though. The character was supposed to be an immature and devil-may-care international playboy. That’s why the King sent him to America in place of the ambassador: to learn some responsibility. First off he was too old for the part of an immature scamp who needed to grow up and get his priorities in order. And once he got to America, he had a personality transplant and acted like he had a stick up his you-know-what the whole time. And he acted like he had never been out of the castle. Oooooh…The Ocean. Hardly an international playboy. He might make a good Viking,

but as a suave handsome prince, he was a bust. You know how they say, “He cleaned up well!” ? Stay with the bedraggled Barbarian thing, Diarmaid.

Cindy Busby was likable as usual, as a girl who just wants to do the right thing and a good job, but gets caught up in an embarrassing and career-wrecking situation of her own making.

November 14, 2021

Christmas With a Prince: The Royal Baby

November 14, 2021December 14, 2024 / Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

Silly and Laborious

This was very silly. The script was silly, some of the acting was silly, and the production values were lacking, which made some of the scenes silly. I’ll deal with the production values first. At one point, we see the hospital where (spoiler alert!) Dr. Tasha our American princess heroine is having her baby. The smoke or steam from a chimney is frozen in midair and not wafting upwards. Obviously, a photograph stuck in front of the camera. And what was Dr. Tasha wearing during a TV interview? A green dress, red shoes, and a yellow hat? Why? Was she impersonating an elf? They didn’t have any clothes in the wardrobe department that went together? The 3rd strike on the cheap budget issue was the fact that one of the main characters, Charles Shaughnessy was seen entirely on video. Even when he was supposed to be in the same building, they talked to him via an electronic device. In the one scene where they couldn’t get around not having his presence (the baptism), he was obviously put in via green screen or some other movie trick. Covid? I guess? But they could have made it more seamless. This was definitely phony-looking. The weird thing was that some of the sets were very lavish looking and authentic. And most of the other wardrobe was unobjectionable.

The acting of two of the actors trying to be funny was laughable. In that they were not funny. Specifically, the actor who played Dr. Tasha’s brother, and the actor who played Blevins, Prince Alexander’s butler(?) courtier(?) Major Domo(?). Their mugging should have been taken down a couple of notches by the director. Speaking of acting, was Princess Tasha having (spoiler alert!) babies or did she have a cramp in her toe? And speaking of giving birth, No one, including Dr. Tasha or her obstetrician knew she was having (spoiler alert!) twins until the second one popped out? I won’t belabor the silliness of that like I won’t mention the silliness of the possibility of declaring a hospital room part of another country.

I will mention one more silly scene. Nurse Jeff puts an engagement ring into a cup of tea and leaves it on the counter. A hospital employee drinks the tea and just leaves the cup in the sink with the ring still in it. I hope neither of these two is allowed around sick people. Sorry, one more scene. OK, so Dr. Tasha, who is a highly educated, sophisticated, and worldly woman who has been a princess for over a year, has to be taught table manners before she is allowed to go back to visit her own country? (Don’t reach across the table to grab the roll with your bare hands! Use the tongs!) I admit, although I saw the first one in this trilogy I don’t remember it. And I haven’t seen the second one in the trilogy. But I don’t think it was established that Dr. Tasha was born in a barn.

The main conflict had to do with the king not knowing a girl baby would be able to inherit the throne. He kept insisting the boy was born first even though he was told the girl baby was born first numerous times. I won’t spoil how all that was resolved.

All in all, although I am used to overlooking ridiculous aspects of Christmas movies no matter what the network and still enjoying them, this one was just too dumb.

November 14, 2021

Christmas on the Menu

November 13, 2021November 29, 2024 / Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

SMH

Josie’s bakery failed because of a review by Tanner, an influential restaurant critic. She is working at her friend Nina’s restaurant and preparing to go home for Christmas to develop a menu for her Mom’s Bed and Breakfast when Tanner walks in with his editor, Pepper. Nina serves him Josie’s new dessert, her Red Velvet Cheesecake, and Tanner loves it. When Josie goes home to the B&B, surprise surprise, Tanner shows up. He explained that his original review was not so mean, but it was re-edited to get more notice and to boost circulation. The romance begins.

I liked Kim Shaw’s performance in this, but a lot of the movie didn’t make sense. First, Cynthia Gibb looks way too young to be a 35-year-old’s mother. (Good for Her!) Also, the actor who played Kim’s ex-boyfriend was 7 years younger than her and they were supposed to be the same age. Kim Shaw has a very fresh-faced look and looks young, but somehow, the ages seemed squished together. I was confused by why the ex-boyfriend was hanging around Kim’s mother all the time at the B&B.

The love interest/food critic was handsome but kind of a non-entity. And since when does a professional food critic agree to only give a good review or no review? His editor, Pepper, was the antagonist who doctored honest reviews to make them negative. And food critic just let her do that without a peep. What a wimp. Where is the integrity? She follows Tanner to the B&B because she “likes likes” him, and presumably to prevent Tanner from repairing his relationship with Josie. Luckily, also present at the grand opening of Mom’s B&B were two nationally known reviewers who loved everything. If the little newspaper gave a bad review, it would reflect on them, not Josie, the chef (who was also famous and lauded in her own right anyway.) To sabotage Josie’s dessert, Pepper eats a whole big bowl of Kim’s special whipped cream the night before! A trigger warning for binge-eaters would not have gone amiss. And she didn’t even deny it! Why didn’t she just say she broke the bowl when she was getting something else out of the refrigerator? Such a strange choice to sabotage a rival. Pepper needs her own movie, especially since we saw the glimmerings of regret as she drove off. Or it may have been all that whipped cream.

December 20, 2020

Much Ado About Christmas

November 12, 2021July 20, 2025 / Rebekahrox / 3 Comments

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A Strong Debut from the New Kid on the Block

I always enjoy modern riffs on classic works particularly Jane Austen ones. This is Shakespeare and it was well done. Setting it in England, presumably London, and all of the English accents added to the overall charm. I like that they explained why the American mother and daughter’s home was in England. A sweet young couple fall in love, practically at first glance. He is a young advertising executive, Claude, who, along with Ben, works for Don. They are about to try to win a contract with Leona Lloyd, a rich and powerful head of a major corporation. She is also the mother of Haley, half of the couple, who is sweet and down-to-earth. She heads the charitable end of the corporation and is the best friend of Bea, who once dated Ben, Claude’s friend. It did not end well. Anyone who is familiar with the Shakespeare comedy can guess where this will go. The conflict between the young lovers, Claude and Haley, comes not from suspected infidelity, but because Haley does not tell Claude the truth about who her mother really is. She just wants to be treated like a normal girl. When he finds out the truth, in a very dramatic fashion, he is humiliated and dumps her and she is devastated.

The casting was on point. I’ve never seen Susie Abromeit before but she was fantastic. I was not impressed with Torrance Coombs in a previous Hallmark production, but he was perfect in this, playing Claude. Sweet and love-struck when called for, and cold and unyielding when needed as well. The Bea and Ben romance was wisely very much in the background. The relationship between Leona, Hailey, and Bea, and the advertising agency’s efforts to win Leona’s favor provided interesting background to the romance.

Although there have been some stale plots and casting in Hallmark Christmas movies this year, in general, they have upped their game. If this is because of strong competition from other productions like this one, I’m all for it.

November 12, 2021

A Christmas Solo

November 7, 2021March 14, 2022 / Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

Wow!

This one really took me by surprise. For a Christmas movie, it was really different. A lovely and sweet teenager moves to town and gets on the wrong side of a mean girl by winning the Christmas solo that mean girl thought she was entitled to. Meanwhile sweet and lovely girl’s mother and mean girl’s Dad (who is also very nice and very attractive) are falling in love. The mean girl is mean partially because her Mother was cheating on her Dad and left her to be with her boyfriend. This movie was full of tension and the mean girl goes way over the top, ending up vandalizing her rival’s house! That brings things to a head. The ending is almost too heartwarming.

The main problem I had with this movie was how quickly and easily the mean girl, Melissa, did a 180. In reality, she would have been signed up for years of therapy and a selection of some very powerful drugs. The other thing was the casting of the nice Mom. The actress seemed too old for Jonathan Scarfe who played the nice but overwhelmed Dad. And although Kelli Williams is attractive enough, it was not a good match. Ending on a complimentary note, despite the tension and almost horror of the situation, the script was full of witty banter and had some humor. I also liked that Charlotte, the nice girl, had friends who had her back, and even one of Melissa’s posse repented and went over to Charlotte’s side.

December 18, 2020

Beaus of Holly

November 4, 2021 / Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

Two Wrongs and a Right

Holly, a rather unlikeable young lady, decides to propose to her unattractive and also unlikeable boyfriend of two years in order to maintain the schedule she has for her life and career. Instead of jumping at the chance to wed her, he says he has to think about it. In fact, he is going to spend the holidays with the more spontaneous “Tiffany.” She is hurt and upset and they mutually dump each other. She is thrown into the company of Jake, a very likable, nice, and strangely attractive tour guide. He takes her on a long sleigh-ride and a lot of other Hallmarky activities occur. In due time, Holly learns to pay more attention to her heart rather than her day planner. Then the ex-boyfriend shows up again (as they do). My ultimate take after this long slow slog is that the two unlikable ones should have got back together and left the nice cute guy alone to follow his bliss.

December 14, 2020

Snowed Inn Christmas

October 31, 2021November 28, 2024 / Rebekahrox / 4 Comments

Snow Good!

With Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker taking the lead, how can it not be at least good? The popular duo play 2 journalist colleagues sent to Aspen to compete for top spot at their magazine. They both are “off” Christmas. Andrew, because he can’t bear to go home to his lovely family since his Dad died. Bethany, because her boyfriend just dumped her after looking forward to spending it with him and his family. They get stranded in Santa Claus, Indiana, at a B & B run by Mr. And Mrs. Winter with both trying to find a Christmas story there that will save their jobs. Rivalry leads to mutual appreciation, liking, then love, even though they are so different from each other.

Andrew’s character seems a little sneaky at first. But when he finds out Bethany was an unadopted orphan who made up her happy Christmas tradition stories, he takes her to his nearby home so she can have the family Christmas she has always dreamed of. It was sweet and touching and embodied the true spirit of Christmas.

Bethany realizes right away that there is something magical and mysterious going on with the B & B and the Winters. The fantasy is handled with wonder and without silliness thanks to Belinda Montgomery and John B. Lowe who play the couple and the excellent script. When she finds a photograph of the Winters dated 1842…Well. I will say no more, but she knows she has her story. If only she can find a certificate designating the Inn as a property of historical significance that will prevent its demolition. Yes, there is that going on as well.

The only quibble I had was when bad boyfriend showed up, she took way too long to dump him. The actors all shine in this one, with a special shout-out to Tasha Scott, a former Tyler Perry stand-out, who made the small part of their boss entertaining and special. The last short scene with “The Winters” is worth an extra star all by itself.

November 22, 2020

Eat, Drink, and Be Married

October 30, 2021November 17, 2024 / Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

Why? What? Huh?

Billie is consulting with an engaged couple, Jess and Max, about their wedding. Jess is being a bit of a control freak in her strive for perfection, and Max could care less. She even has a diagram of the exact dimensions of the flower vases she wants. Right away I’m on Team Max. After the meeting, they decide (rightly) to take a break. When Max’s brother hears about it, he storms into Billie’s place guns a blazing (figuratively). He blames Billie for the breakup because she was the last person the couple talked to. Meanwhile, Billie learns that the beloved old building that her family had had her business in is being sold after being in her family for 3 generations. This begs the first question. How could her beloved building be sold? Don’t they own it? If not, why not? Did they forget to? Anyway, Charlie enlists Billie to save the wedding, and in return, he will save the building because he’s in real estate. And his Uncle’s company is the one that is going to tear down the building and put up a parking lot (literally). Everything goes as expected from there, including Charlie being unsuccessful in handling his end of the bargain. By the end of this, I was left with more than several nagging questions.

She makes a living how though? Takes old after-wedding detritus and gives it to charity? I must have missed something? I guess she’s also a wedding planner? Are weddings the only event that has leftover flowers, decorations, and food? (Might have a problem with the health department there, though) and what charity needs flowers? I’m sure this was addressed, but I missed it, I guess.

What was with that long cheesy speech Charlie made to Billie after she gave him the boot encouraging her to let her true self shine through because she is such a spectacular person and has no reason to be so closed off, insecure, and damaged. Huh? As far as I could see she was a cheerful, confident, successful, very together woman. I was very confused. Was he trying to gaslight her into thinking his “lying and deceit” was her fault?

Why didn’t Charlie help Billie with her presentation to the committee-who-decides-what-buildings-to-protect-from-mean-developers after sending an email giving her the advice to apply for protection? He wasn’t doing anything else after quitting his job. Why not pitch in with a helping hand and get back on her good side?

Why should the committee save her warehouse despite the fact all were in agreement that the place held no historical value due to burning down in 1910? Even Billie? Because Billie loved it and lots of nice things happened there. Sounds like an investigation is in order especially since Jess was on the committee and didn’t recuse herself.

Why did Billie wear a prom/bridesmaid floor-length formal to Jess’s dressy-casual daytime wedding? Oooof.

Lastly, Jocelyn Hudon, who played Billie, was cute but was robotic in her line delivery and it caused me to lose focus and interest. I might have even dozed off for a minute. Maybe this is why I didn’t catch all of the subtleties in the plot. I was curious and looked up her resume and sure enough, this is strike two for her, from me. She needs to do better, as do the writers who wrote this thing.

A Sugar & Spice Holiday

October 29, 2021December 20, 2021 / Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

A Breath of Fresh Air

This was off the charts good. Everything came together. The two leads had great chemistry and were very cute in their own right. The writing had some depth in that although there were some Asian stereotypes, each character was well developed. It had both comedy and wit. For example, the Chinese father from Maine had a southern accent because he learned his English from Johnny Cash records. LOLWUT?! There were some clever and amusing extra touches and some straight-up comedy thrown in for good measure. I loved that when each new character was introduced, Suzy, our heroine would picture a bakery item that matched their personality and a graphic would appear over their heads.

The bones of the plot followed a usual Hallmark template: Successful hometown girl returns to her small town and has to save something while working on a project that will make or break their career. In addition to the humor and romance, there was a lot of tension and suspense, both on the gingerbread making front and on Suzy’s career front. But the writer and director switched it up and went against the usual clichés in a number of places, especially with Suzy’s future career path. It had plenty of heartwarming moments, and some good life lessons. The romance was sweet and even touching. I loved it. It’s in my top 3 this year and top 10 all time. Don’t miss it!