A Heidelberg Holiday

Your average made-for-television festive flick.

'A Heidelberg Holiday' doesn't bring major Xmas feeling though, it didn't feel as Christmassy as I'd want via my personal liking but what is produced is close enough. The German aspects are cool, especially for an American-made movie.

I thought the 'delayed delivery' side of the story was gonna pack more of a punch than it did, I was getting magical elf worker vibes but maybe that was my imagination expecting too much from a flick of this kind. The cast, meanwhile, all blend into one in my memory to be honest, Ginna Claire and Frédéric Brossier are alright leads mind.

At the time of this review, 24 people had rated this show a 10, and 11 rated it a 1. I wish the IMBD required some justification when rating. This was a pretty typical Hallmark romance introducing some new actors. And while filmed in a unique location, it hardly warrants scores at the extreme high and low ends. Enjoying the movie doesn't make it a 10 and not caring for it doesn't make it a 1.

I made it a point to watch it because I was stationed near Heidelberg with the U. S. Army many years ago and enjoyed seeing many of the same locations I had visited. Movie wise - it was predictable, pleasant and enjoyable, but not a 10 or a 1.

7.6 stars.

...never ship your treasures through a questionable service.

The whole theme hinges on Heidi's ornaments and the fact that she chose to go cheap and ship her valuable Christmas ornaments through a lesser known shipping company is indicative of her character. Let's shove that whole incongruence and personality fiasco aside and this becomes a wonderful adventure.

This woman gets the opportunity of a lifetime to travel from USA to showcase her handcrafted ornaments in Heidelberg Germany, her ancestor's city of origin. Her artwork is exquisite and she will be staying in Heidelberg over the holidays with friends of her grandmother.

The older son is a woodworking genius and has many works of art as well. They are immediately friends, and she spends weeks with this family celebrating the holidays German style, growing very fond of them, and they of her. Soon she and their son become more than friends.

There are some ups and downs, and many of the conversations are somewhat predictable, but the human connections feel genuine and the scenery and authentic German nostalgia are not easy to match, making this film worth mentioning.

It must be the mix of German and American actors that makes this film lovely. The acting is so natural (the children too) that it is a joy to watch.

The dialogues run smoothly and naturally -obviously it still is a Christmas film, so when the two leads are introduced to us, we know exactly how it's going to end.

But with all the extremely polished Christmas films around, where the production design seems to be the main character and every snowflake is personally checked and put in its place, this film is a breath of fresh air.

It's nice to hear a foreign language spoken too. The misunderstandings and miscommunications between Heidi and her German friends are very funny.

This was really good. I've loved Ginna Claire Mason since seeing her as Glinda in Wicked so it's great to see her in Hallmark Christmas movies. She's still a little green but worked really well with Frederic and the other actors. I like that Hallmark is investing in location shoots for these movies, especially for lesser known actors. The German backdrop was stunning and I love that this was cast locally and incorporated German traditions. Also appreciated the bilingual dialogue with subtitles.

I wasn't crazy about how they resolved the missing ornament issue and I wanted a bit more from the ending. What's next for Heidi? But other than that, this is a winner that I'll rewatch again.

Also note to Hallmark: There are lots of talented Broadway actors out there. Please spread the casting love because this is a trend I'd like to see continue.