The Christmas Ball

The Christmas Ball is a harmless piece of made-for-tv Seasonal fluff, presumably made with a mainly American market in mind. The premise of saving a ''centuries old'' historical house rather founders at the get-go as the building in question is a mock Tudor one built in the thirties by the look of it...the idea that it is centuries old is laughable - surely even Americans know what a castle or mansion looks like, compared with a large surburban home? Meanwhile the plot is utterly devoid of surprises from the moment the stuffed shirt professor meets the free-spirited dancer. I give it three stars as a film to wrap Christmas presents to....

It's the usual Christmas fee and the characters are as likeable as can be. It's not a great performance by any of the actors and if you watched hoping for a bit of a British flavour to these films then you'll be very disappointed - from the stock cottage of London bearing no resemblance to current London, the house at the heart of the plot clearly being American - and new and not pre-Georgian and all references to the "preservation committee" instead of asking it to be listed by English Heritage makes it about as English as 4th July.

If you like a film with a dance theme, particularly, Tchaikovsky's 'Nutcracker', you'll be charmed by this festive romantic Anglo/American drama.

Normally this genre is invariably made in the USA/Canada but this one is mainly set in England with some scenes set in a dance studio in Boston, Mass - the unfamiliar setting for this story adding further to its charm.

I found the story, characters and dialogue intriguing ie not clichéd or run-of-the-mill - and The Ball itself is a visual/audio delight.

A bigger budget (to give the story premise more credence ie Aunt Bridget's house is being assessed for National Trust status as the Ball is taking place) and perhaps better casting of the leads may have given this a superior finish, but it is what it is; and given the Christmas Romance genre attracts a lot of mediocrity this feature is certainly not in that category.

Which is why I score it a 7. The dance scenes really pull this one up above average fare.

The performances are perfectly fine, but Caroline Langrishe as Aunt Bridget is delightful, and of course being a former ballerina she is a dream on the dancefloor as are the other three leads.

If you love the 'Waltz of the Flowers' from the The Nutcracker it's a MUST SEE!

Every Christmas film i watch , you see them cutting down a big tree at least 7 feet and above and then when they get it home , it is 5 feet or less , i love these films , i am a sap for them ,

A poor script and a poor lead actress, Deidre Mullin. Her American accent is bad, don't know why people think you just need to talk through your nose and speak loudly to impersonate Americans.

Richard Lintern (Silent Witness) and Nick Hendrix (Midsomer Murders) are RADA trained actors, they just need a decent script. Low budget movie apparently filmed in Serbia., it doesn't have the production values of many holiday films.

Along with poor direction, this comes off as another forgettable American Christmas movie even though it's supposed to be a British holiday film.