Weihnachten auf Umwegen

Candace Cameron Bure is a sweetheart and even a better actress. Her on screen chemistry with her leading man Paul Greene also worked charmingly. What I had a hard time swallowing was the amount of air time in this movie that Paul Greene who plays Dylan Smith spent trying to convince Ms. Bure who plays Paige Summerlind if she was sure that she was marrying the man of her dreams, or the man who exists only on paper. In fact it is Paige Summerlind who has written one of those itemized lists in a popular women's magazine on 100 ways to ensure you have the right partner.

Mrs. Shullivan and I liked the theory of an unexpected road trip romance, but the constant bantering between Ms. Bure and Paul Greene became quite tiring until the films last 30 minutes kind of redeemed itself as the love/hate/love/hate/love relationship ended with a heartwarming climax.

I give this Christmas romance a 6 out of 10 IMDB rating mainly on the strong performances of the two (2) lead actors Candace Cameron Bure and Paul Greene.

I sometimes wonder why certain people choose to watch certain movies.....do not believe the negative reviews of this movie. This is a lovely Christmas romance movie, with good acting and realistic characters. I have certainly met and know people like these characters, even the parents of the husband to be....so I am confused by some of the reviews saying the characters are not believable. My husband and I enjoyed watching this together. You will too.

A high-strung writer gets hooked up with an irreverent laid back fellow and a seemingly happily married couple on the way to visit their families on Christmas. They are thrown together when a snow-storm cancels their flight and they decide to share an automobile to get to their destinations. The Candace Cameron character is traveling to the Hamptons to meet her fiancée's family for the first time. It is a road movie in which romance blossoms, true character is revealed, and secrets are uncovered. The fiancé and his parents are deliciously evil, Cameron-Bure, while always reliable, is quite likable and funny, and the married couple and the hero are well played, interesting, and nice to look at.

What I really want to address, and this movie is a perfect example, is Hallmarks penchant for casting 40 year-olds in the roles of 20 or early thirty year-olds. Aren't there any promising young actors and actresses out there?. I am tired of seeing the same faces over and over. It is particularly absurd in this one. The older experienced couple who have a 20 year relationship and a daughter old enough to have a beautiful old home, are played by actors who are the same age, if not younger, than the couple they are meant to be mentoring!

While I enjoy so many of Hallmark's holiday movies, this is not one of its best. Paige's character is just annoying, and Dylan is as stiff as a board. The unhappily married companion couple, Frank and Maxine, is the best-acted story line, despite their boring dialogue. What in the world did Paige ever see in her fiancé Jack? He's a dud. Nothing is remotely believable in this film. And, sadly, it appears that some substandard CGI was inserted, too, like the holiday tree in the very beginning. Everyone, including the director, was just going through the motions on this one. It could have been so much more with a better script and direction, and with actors who wanted to be there.

I didn't get a chance to watch this movie the year it came out but I did watch over Christmas 2018 and I adored it. I love CCB so naturally I was happy to see this. I thought there was good chemistry between her male counterpart. I must say, I absolutely loved the supporting actors, the married couple that traveled with them... they were very good in their roles!! All in all, I thought it was a good movie - worth the watch.