Candy Cane Christmas

No chemistry between the main leading actors Acting style was very awkward and jumpy

Lost interest, not a great storyline The animals were the highlight in the vet.

I found the story in this movie to be unremarkable. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those Hallmark/Lifetime haters on here, who constantly complain about this genre of film. For the most part, I enjoy such films, see my other reviews. But this one was, simply put, hard to stay engaged with; I had to stop myself on several occasions from using my iPad, multitasking. I had a similar experience to another reviewer in this regard, which was I found it difficult to invest in/bond with the characters. I think this is due mostly to some weak writing, as the acting was decent. Mark Ghanimé's performance (as Eric) was good; he had a soft confidence to his performance on screen, which was pleasant. I spent many hours during the late 90s watching 7th Heaven, so it was nice seeing Beverley Mitchell (as Phoebe) on screen again. Her performance was pretty good. The chemistry between the two was OK. I see some reviewers on here thought it was good, while others did not. It was not great, but it was believable. I think that is the best way to describe it. Some of the scenes between Phoebe and Eric seemed to drag on a bit too much...but again I think this is a product of some weak writing as opposed to the acting. Overall, it was an OK Christmas movie that I will not watch again.

There is way too much awkward in this movie. Too many conversations between Eric and Phoebe go that way. Then there is the blind date dinner at Phoebe's friend's house. And the two dates with the cartoonist are epic fails.

There's not much chemistry between Mark Ghanimé and Beverley Mitchell. As I already mentioned, uncomfortable conversations seem to be the norm. And this movie falls into the trap of not giving the leads enough screen time. Also there are too many conversations with friends about whether the prospective love interest is available. It's fully 2/3rd or more of the movie before Eric and Phoebe actually have a decent time together. I think all this is supposed to be humor, but it takes too much away from the romance.

The climax is sweet but mostly predictable.

Even the title didn't suit this movie. When the woman was selling her house and investors were in town, I expected there to be a connection to a new development and bringing candy cane lane back. But no. Candy cane lane ended up as something that could never have been made and kept a secret from Phoebe. You have stretched beyond a limit of belief here.

The writing and storyline were weak. There was a big deal about meeting investors but the investors weren't part of the story or plot. There was the nice young woman that served Eric coffee every day and knew his order. The she disappeared, we never saw her again! The woman at the beginning that was selling her house was irrelevant to the story - a lot of loose ends to this movie.

This was a slow moving romance. How long can it take for two people to admit they like each other?

2020 was very variable though not too bad when it came to Lifetime's Christmas films, and there was definitely the sense that the films were made in a rush with not a lot of preparation time. Yet enough of them were far from amateur-hour efforts and were still watchable all things considered. Lifetime just have done a lot better in some previous years, although their festive output is very hit and miss it should not be dismissed outright as enough have left me pleasantly surprised.

'Candy Cane Christmas' was though more or less what was expected, which was a watchable enough film with good things and some better than average acting. But also one that is nothing extraordinary and does nothing new with pretty familiar plot tropes, actually pretty unremarkable. Lifetime did a lot better than 'Candy Cane Christmas', but also worse than what is a somewhat middling effort for them. Not bad, but not particularly good at the same time.

Am going to start with the good. Mark Ghanime is a subtle and amiable leading man and is an easy going and easy to like character that progresses. The supporting cast are also better than average and even quite solid, even if other Lifetime films fare better when it comes to picking a standout.

The film also at least looks professional, with lovely scenery in particular. The music doesn't intrude and doesn't feel overused, also it has a festive sound to it. Too often not the case with Lifetime.

For all the good things, there is a good deal of bad at the same time. Beverly Mitchell didn't work for me here, she is pretty bland and also comes over as too smug. Her character is very difficult to endear to from the get go and she doesn't really grow, what little there is feels rushed. There is next to chemistry between her and Ghanime let alone spark and a large part of the problem is that the relationship is very under-explored and underused, getting lost amongst everything else going on.

Which is not really all that much and very little of it engages enough. Furthermore, the script is stilted and too talky, some of the talk between the two leads goes on and on. The story didn't really grab me and suffers from a dull pace, padding and from feeling over-stretched. What there is is predictable and lacks charm and any form of substance. The characters are underdeveloped and don't feel enough like real people.

In summary, worth a one time watch but not much more than that. 5/10.