Mistletoe Magic

The movie was alright. It was sweet and charming in places and I liked it.

Unlike some of the reviews on here, I enjoyed this Christmas movie. I thought it was quite cute. The story centers around the conversation/dialogue between the two leads as opposed to the events in the story (or any sub-plots), which I found to be a bit refreshing, though I suspect this is not for everyone. However, I was not a fan of the Santa element in the movie, as it seemed a bit too much, I thought. That said, I thought the script - the dialogue between the two leads - was pretty good, well written. It was cute and, on occasions, it made me laugh a little. For example, the scene at the Aunt's house, early on in the movie, where the Aunt says: 'Besides, my nephew is better looking than that man, isn't he?' Then there is this long awkward pause before she (Harper) says: 'Your nephew is plenty good looking'. I had a bit of a laugh here. The changing scene was also fun and cute. The leads, Stephen Huszar as Luke and Jessica Sipos as Harper, I thought, had strong performances. The chemistry between the two worked well on screen, at least, that is how I experienced it. And again, the script allowed them to develop this thru-out. The supporting cast had a fairly good performance as well. Overall, it is a nice addition to UPtv's original Christmas movie lineup this year.

7.4 stars.

I really like the two leading actors, but if not for the casting of them and some of the other members, this would be a flop. I've seen other Christmas films similar to this, seemingly a big production, intended to be special and original. This is different in some ways to impact the audience so we feel the film is an instant classic, so we will return to it every year. This one falls short of that classification due to several problems. The editing is not great, the cuts and segues from different shots and angles and scenes is clumsy, and at times doesn't flow. The music is good, but lacking in quantity. I don't mind the quiet scenes without music, but the timing was a bit off for me. I reiterate that I really like the lead actors, she is absolutely one of the most beautiful women in all of Hollywood, I'm not talking about Hallmark and Great American Family movies, I'm talking about ALL of Hollywood. She has the perfect everything, facial symmetry, smile, eyes, hair, curves, everything is just right, and she can act to boot. Alas, even her performance and great charisma cannot elevate 'Mistletoe Magic' beyond a 7.4. I couldn't rightfully give it a 7.5, for that would mean it must be rounded up to 8, and this is not an 8. I can't in good conscious award it something based upon my obvious crush on the lead actress, it wouldn't be pertinent or consistent with my rating system. The entertainment is lacking, although I enjoyed it enough to say it's above average, almost good, but not great. "Good" rating for me is 7.5-7.9, Great is 8.0-8.4, Fantastic is 8.5-8.9, and Heavenly, or out of this world is anything 9.0 or higher. This is just above average/almost good 7.0-7.4.

I was excited to see two stars of Chesapeake Shores team up in a Hallmark Christmas flick: Jessica Sipos and Stephen Huszar. The story is a bit thin: she's on a quest to find a magical Christmas bunch of mistletoe that belonged to her family, and she recruits him to help her. Still, since it's Christmas, we all make exceptions for silly plots and just enjoy the positive energy. Unless, there is none. . .

Jessica might be the most depressive Hallmark heroine I've seen. Her energy sucks everyone, including the viewers, down with her, although Stephen gives a valiant effort to buoy himself up. Her incredibly annoying sidekick also tries, but her efforts come off as spastic and mentally off.

They're supposed to be in a huge hurry to find the mistletoe and make it to her parents' house for dinner, and yet they saunter around town remarkably slowly and take breaks in their quest. They drink tea, bake cookies together, shop for presents, and take time out for a fashion show. How much of a hurry are they in? Seriously, folks. Jessica actually models different outfits for Stephen, prances around and dances. Personally, I felt the segment was a little inappropriate for the usual Hallmark fare. She flirted shamelessly and even wiggled her behind while making "cute" faces.

If the mistletoe is that important, why wouldn't they get to the mall as soon as it opens and be the first in line to speak with Santa? Instead, they stroll around at a leisurely pace, stand in line when the Santa stand has obviously been open for a while, then complain about what a long day it's been. It makes no sense. Not only is the plot full of holes and the screenplay irritating and repetitive, but the leading lady is just impossible to root for. She makes you wonder what Hallmark was thinking when it offered her a contract. She's incredibly insincere, with the one exception being when she thinks she's adorable.

I'm also surprised at the part of the script that talks about Stephen's character. He's given two traits: he used to be overweight, and he's a lawyer. It's supposed to be a huge shock that he'd traded fifty pounds of fat for muscle, and as soon as Jessica finds out, she starts looking at him with a twinkle in her eye. Doesn't that make her character shallow? And before she finds out he's earned his law degree, she makes fun of him for owning a thrift shop; afterwards, she accuses him of doing the exact same thing to her. In essence, two traits that show positive things about his character are only used to make her look bad. What an unsatisfying role for Stephen.

I watch a lot of Hallmark movies, as well as movies on the UP TV channel, which are very much the same. Even though most of the time they are predictable, when I'm not in the best of moods or I just want to relax and not think too much, they still make me smile. However as much as I usually enjoy them, here I had one major problem - The two leads were quite believable in their roles, but all of the other minor characters were so over-the-top it was like their bodies were on helium. The super annoying neighbor, the aunt, the sister, the lovebirds at the Christmas tree shop, etc. It was like bad acting 101. There was nothing believable the way they interpreted the script and I don't understand why the Director didn't pause and ask them to re-read their lines as though they were honestly happy or honestly in love, and not playing a caricature. I really have never seen one of these similar movies that was so painful to watch the cartoon going on. But like I said, the lead characters were very good, and the storyline kept me watching. I was split down the middle so I gave it five stars.