Rock and Roll Christmas

Nothing about this movie I could ever recommend. Writers should be embarassed for really weak lines. The male lead could have been replaced by almost any karaoke singer I've heard. By far, the very worst performance came from Mickey Gooch Jr. I now rate him the worst actor ever (and yes, I'm including Shelly Duvall in The Shining.) He was trying so hard to become the leading character with his horrible antics. I don't care whatever the Director may have told you, I would be ashamed to have my name listed in the credits. The plot is weak and not believable. Characters are not very well developed and the roles are very weak.

Terrible acting and even worse singing, can't sing their way out of a paper bag. Her voice somewhat better than his. Not worth the time. No chemistry and no talent.

Blech...

The female lead is really good as far as the singing and acting, but the male lead was a horrible singer and the rest of the casts' acting was sub-par. It's a good thing I rented this. Couldn't even finish it. Barely made it 15 into it before pressing the stop button.

'Country Christmas Album' sounded like a film that would get marginal enjoyment value by me, even if it was formulaic. Christmas is my favourite time of year. Music is a big part of my life and very important to me. And while country is not my favourite type of music, that has not stopped me from having always appreciated it, the singers that revolutionised it and its importance. The concept sounded interesting.

While 'Country Christmas Album' is a long way from being among the worst Christmas films ever and it is not even among my very worst recent festive film viewings, it is in the lesser end and could have been much better considering the potential it had. My review summary does sound harsh, it is not a must skip though it is a long way from an essential and doesn't have enough to it to be worth playing more than once. Even getting through the whole thing is not entirely easy.

It does have good things. The soundtrack is a charmer and affectionately handled without being random in placement. Hannah Barefoot is a very likeable lead with a lot of personality that is easy to engage and identify with. Found her character a breath of fresh air amidst a film that was sore need of more of that.

The photography is also quite nice if exceptional, it doesn't look cheap at least.

However, the rest of the cast are poor. A mix of bland and annoying and the male lead is devoid of charisma and charm. He has no discernible chemistry with Barefoot, any attempts are stilted and like they actually did not get on, and does not have a voice strong enough to make the premise of his character being a former pop star halfway believable. Only Tess is worth liking or engaging with of the characters, one can care less for the others. The story is really dull in pace and has no personality of any kind let alone charm, which makes that one is at least two steps ahead of the film in knowing what is going to happen next the entire film impossible to forgive.

Likewise with the constantly forced and cheesy dialogue that has no flow or direction throughout. The direction is routine at best.

Concluding, very lacklustre apart from one good lead performance. 4/10

This movie is pretty normal quality for a Christmas movie in terms of storytelling, however the choice of singers left something to be desired.

The movie is about two singers who are partnered up for a holiday album to rejuvenate their careers. They navigate a budding romance while deciding whether to go on tour, leaving each other behind.

Neither of the characters seemed like they should have a career in music. Considering the musical talent a lot of these holiday movies manage to tap, it's embarrassing they didn't swing for the best they could get on this one. The actors did their best, but the songs were truly awful.