A Christmas Exchange

About great scripting because a great script guarantees a hit, no matter the budget. If all the scripts were great Hollywood wouldn't think twice about the budget because of all the hits. Maybe Canada forces great scripting because the government is willing to foot the bill and they have a limit. Here is a great script. The actors are great and everything works.

And I thought Dick van Dyck's English accent was bad!!! This lot are dire!!! They even blatantly use film of Glasgow, with a Glasgow Airport bus in the shot, trying to pass it off as London. I'm from Essex, I'm a bit common if truth be told, but the actors put even my accent to shame! Authenticity level 1/10! At least The Holiday was filmed in the right places! I may seem a bit Grinchy, but hey ho, I'll live with it!

Obviously this movie borrows from the house swap movies, especially The Holiday, and from You've Got Mail. But it's not like most of the other "same old stuff" out there on all the Christmas channels. It's quirky and I don't think it's meant to be taken with a serious attitude.

Molly, played by Laura Vandervoort, is an emotionally messed up woman. He grams just died leaving her at loose ends. One thing she shared with her grams was an obsession with Romance novels. That's taken to an extreme here but it helps add to the quirkiness. Molly is not only hopeless emotionally, but she's also a little bit of a klutz.

Patrick is a rigid as Molly is quirky, but he changes more quickly. Part of that is being dumped by his girlfriend for not paying her enough attention. Rigid Patrick climbs (literally) into Molly's house and is immediately hit by Molly's totally different lifestyle and friends. He finds it endearing.

Laura Vandervoort and Rainbow Sun Francks have great chemistry. Since quirkiness and exaggeration are central to this movie, it's hard to say much about supporting actors. They fit right in.

I wish previews and the synopsis for this movie didn't give so much away, but the lack of viable candidates to match with the two leads makes it pretty obvious who is going to end up with who. Most house swap movies end up with two couples, one in each location.

This movie makes an excellent change of pace from the majority of the Christmas movies running at this time of year, but only if not taken in a serious manner.

Tried to watch this. Ended up scrolling through most of it cause it was too painful to watch. Hate movies with female leads that are emotional basketcases.

Unlike some of the reviews here, I liked this Lifetime Christmas movie. The story and dialogue were a bit cheesy and unoriginal, but the film engaged me; i.e., it pulled me in from the start. The script draws heavily from the plots of two classic romance movies: The Holiday and You've Got Mail (though it is thru their mobile phones instead of desktop computers). The story centers on Molly Cooper (played by Laura Vandervoort), who recently lost her job at the local newspaper. As a fan of British-based romance novels, which she enjoyed reading with her late grandmother, Molly sets out to find her true love (a dashing British prince) and (potentially) a new job by swapping her farmhouse (in a quiet, small-town) with Patrick Kensington's luxurious London apartment (played by Rainbow Sun Francks), who has also decided to make some lifestyle changes. If you have seen The Holiday and You've Got Mail, then you can figure out the rest. If you are looking for depth, this movie is not for you. The story is fun and cute, and though the dialogue isn't very deep, I did find myself laughing a bit throughout the film. What made this work for me was the acting. Vandervoort was great. She had this sort of sweet and determined vibe to her performance, which I enjoyed watching on screen. I was a fan of the TV series Bitten, so that helped, I suspect. Though I wasn't as impressed with Francks's performance, he did eventually grow on me as the movie progressed. The supporting cast was excellent. Gilmore Girl fans will no doubt be happy to see Yanic Truesdale (as Andy) in this one. He and Martin Roach (as Jim) were fun to watch. Rachael Crawford too had a very 'drama' like performance as Jules the novelist. The movie does instill some Christmas spirit and festive cheer; the music was pretty good too. All in all, it is not in the same league as The Holiday or You've Got Mail, but for a made-for-TV Christmas movie, it is pretty good, nonetheless. Simply put: it is fun, cute, and engaging.