Juntos por Navidad

Beautifully written & acted drama from the Christmas Romance genre with perfectly cast leads - Brooke Burns is a real delight as the warm-hearted flight attendant who is unexpectedly involved with a father and his young daughter over the yuletide.

Superb dialogue and a wonderful touching moment towards the end brought a tear to my eye...and I'm not one for schmaltz at all.

The subplot re her parents fledgling romance many moons ago is a delightful and ingenious touch.

Similar themes & plot (ish) as The Christmas Getaway but both work very well on their own merits...I recommend both as they hit the spot where many of these movie miss by a long shot.

My two favourites so far this year - Christmas 2018.

7.4 stars.

Slow starter, but cute all throughout. Gorgeous blond (Burns) flight attendant meets little girl unaccompanied minor (UM). Dad (Scott) is waiting for her in Chicago. Dad is of course a good looking man... circumstances dictate gorgeous blonde and dad must meet, so she accompanies them to their home for Christmas. Love begins.

This is a slowly built up romance, but the flirtation and the momentum continue at a perfectly steady pace. I was impressed by the timing. She twinkles, he smirks, light flirtation... harmless at first... everyone is trying to hint at them to continue with the courtship, speed it up, but we in the audience are saying "don't rush them, let this beautiful flower blossom on its own".

And as each special moment comes and goes, the attraction grows, and it's ever so gradual, like the melting snow in spring.

I remember Brooke Burns on Baywatch, and I've seen Tom Everett Scott in stuff. I don't particularly love either one of them as actors, however they have wonderful chemistry. She makes him a better man, and he grounds her (pun intended) with his family values and great parenting (wife is deceased). It results in a symbiotic relationship which makes her more family oriented and pulls him out of his safe place. We only need one more ingredient... a perfectly delightful little girl.

Slow starter, great in the middle, unrealistic and bland conclusion. Flimsy ending guys, come on now.

This movie has a story within a story. A reporter, Jonathan, and a flight attendant, Sydney, grow into a relationship while tracking down the story of her parents' meeting on Christmas day. The parents' story is enough of a mini-mystery to give a little suspense while the daughter and the reporter spend a lot of quality time together.

The reporter's daughter, Leah, adds a nice touch as she and Sydney develops affection for each other as well.

This is pretty good casting for Brooke Burns. Sophie Neudorf does a good job as Leah without going overboard in the cute department.

Granted, the plot was weak, but it did provide the lead characters a chance to interact, throw in a cute young daughter, well you have what Hallmark strives for.

Let's face it, by the time December 23rd rolls around the average Hallmark viewer can repeat dialogue from a number of it's Christmas movies. We can guess the movie by the first couple movie frames. The decision is whether to watch or switch to some Christmas cookie competition on the food channel. I always decide to watch The Christmas Connection. Brooke Burns is believable as a flight attendant down to her smooth side bun and bright red lipstick. And then there's Tom Everett Scott and his easy going delivery. Great chemistry-decent double plot. And there's no prince in sight. It's repeat worthy!