Part of me really wanted to like 'A Belle for Christmas'. Despite the low rating and that it did not look great, because Christmas is my favourite holiday and Dean Cain is a very watchable actor deserving of far better projects to star/feature in it was still seen anyway. Part of me really wanted to join the more positive reviews here, and have been known to have contrarian opinions in the past so watched it with an open mind aiming to know what to expect.
Even when really trying to not take things seriously and trying to take it for what it is, 'A Belle for Christmas' has a couple of redeeming qualities but overall it didn't work for me at all. Do have to agree with the general consensus of it being terrible. 'A Belle for Christmas' is not one of the worst Christmas films in existence, many others are far worse. Many other Christmas films though are far better and if looking for a festive classic to me this is not one of them.
'A Belle for Christmas' is not completely irredeemable. The soundtrack has some nostalgic moments.
The best thing about the film is the dog, who is absolutely adorable and the only likeable character.
On the other hand, all the debits outweigh them and they are big. Cain goes through the motions and the rest of the cast are either very bland to the point of being personality deprived to deeply irritating. None of the characters feel like real people or are likeable, instead they were one-dimensional caricatures and ones that had not much personality or were annoying. There really was not that much of a script and all the dialogue sounds like bad corny improvisation.
Low budget is evident in the visuals as there was a very rushed look throughout, especially in the flat and quite haphazard photography. The story is also thin as near melted ice and has no real charm or heart, just non-stop cheesiness, excessive schmaltz, convenient contrivances and a dreary pace. There could have been a chance to slightly overlook the predictability but the other story problems are far less easy to forgive. The odd pleasant moment aside, the music generally is forgettable at best.
Very poor film all in all. 2/10.
