A Carpenter Christmas Romance

Andrea walks into her aunt's house she is borrowing and hears something. She grabs a fry pan as a weapon. Then she sees the rugged shirtless Seth in the kitchen. So many other movies would have some sort of antagonistic blow up, but in this one this is where it starts simmering a quiet and almost modest sensuality. The dialogue is subdued containing subtext between the two former high school sweethearts.

While the idea of a writer looking for solitude to do some editing or writing is common, the reason she is hiding is unusual. I've heard of uproar over political things, but this much uproar over killing off a character seems too much.

Another unusual element is the town disaster - a fire that took out a popular inn and several homes. The writer, Sarah Drew, takes this, Andrea's novel, and a couple of other things to tie them all together for a climax. Drew is so multi-talented.

The acting is good. I alluded to the chemistry. The dialogue, like so much else, is understated perfectly. The simmering turns into sizzling. Not so much witty sizzling as a quiet sensual sizzling.

When I saw the synopsis, I expected more of the usual unexciting stuff, but what I found caught my attention and kept it.

Writer Sarah Drew is back with a Christmas movie that features - shock-horror - the two main characters getting it on. Well, you don't see the whole thing, just before and after, but, like "A Cowboy Christmas Romance" last year, I'm sure it's fanning the flames of controversy in America, even though the scene is incredibly tame by most standards.

Setting that aside, "A Carpenter Christmas Romance" is one of the best movies Lifetime has made in years. Sarah Drew knows what she is doing, and the casting of Sasha Pieterse as author Andrea Metcalf and Mitchell Slaggert as her high school flame, Seth, is top notch. Their chemistry is apparent right from the beginning. There's a good supporting cast, and the script has some strong moments. A little tropey at times - though Andrea's hometown, where she returns for the holidays, isn't a snowy winter wonderland - but a very solid Christmas movie.

Maybe Lifetime's 2024 high point, alongside "Christmas in the Spotlight".

This movie is straight off the pages of one of those trashy romance novels adorning grocery store shelves. This is so predictable and cringey. The lead female can't act but I suppose the role doesn't really call for acting, just showing off her assets. This is like watching late night 90s Cinemax (aka Skinamax). The story and plot are non-existent. We stopped watching after about twenty minutes when we realized how bad it was. Then again there is that other actress who played the blind girl in PLL who shows up in these types of movies and she can't act either. However, she is still better than Sasha.

Pretty little Christmas liars! Lfg. So cool to see Sasha in modern lifetime Xmas movie. I'll definitely recommend this. I love female characters like her that goes for her man!

Most holiday movies are too boring. This has some jazz to it. It'd be great if PLL crew were all in this movie. Sasha is great underrated actress/very pretty/also has pizzazz when acting. I had a huge crush on Ali in PLL. Definitely has some drama without being too cheesy. It's beginning to look a lot like murder is another LMN/Christmas recommendation.

Even the Kelce/Swift movie isn't too bad! A wedding for Christmas is another good one.

I didn't like the fact that the leads were childhood exes. I prefer to watch a relationship develop in front of me, not 10-20 years before the story picks up.

The lead woman spent the first half of the movie gawking at the lead man. It started early with a shirtless scene, and the movie really never let it go. Physical attraction is a key part of relationships, but it isn't the most interesting storyline to follow.

The lead man is portrayed as some sort of perfect man. He has a perfect body, perfect hair, he is calm, he is a physically strong carpenter, he was a great athlete, he was a military man, he cured Ebola, he solved racism, and he refuses payment from all of his customers because he is just that amazing. Mary Sue characters like this are completely uninteresting!

The setting is nice, and the movie is a decent background option. Just make sure you have something else to do so you don't spend 90 minutes rolling your eyes.