A Merry Christmas Match

Not sure where the director was in this painful movie. Some of the worst acting. Some talent there but writing and directing fell really short. Hallmark is stretching things way too thin just to have stuff out there. They should focus on good original writing.

I usually love Hallmark movies but this one was a snoozer. The two female leads (Ashley and Lindsey) are pretty competent. Unfortunately almost every male character has been cast with subpar actors including the male lead (Kyle). There's absolutely no chemistry between the romantic leads and the film just suffers and drags.

Was it boring, as some reviewers have said, or was it more that it was awkwardly done. A little off here and there. Clumsy.

Ashley Newbrough has real presence. She is unquestionably beautiful. She has a good voice and delivery. But in this movie, I don't think she shined in a way that lives up to that description. It felt just a little off. A lot of that may have been the actors around her. She really didn't have chemistry with Kyle Dean Massey. It was like they were both acting AT each other rather than acting together. Something else that I don't think helped her was some of the dialogue. And some of the speeches that were supposed to have impact, didn't. That also may have been overused tropes.

The story wasn't sparkling, but many Hallmark movies on the other channel do quite well with similar fare. Most often, those are carried by veteran actors. Newbrough isn't quite a newbie, but she doesn't have the breadth that many of the Hallmark vets do and it shows. But back to the story, it had those overused tropes (he fails to reveal the truth before someone else does, save the family store). The story just didn't grab me. And add to that, the story lacked the touching element that usually makes movies on this Hallmark sister channel (HMM) stand out. It also lacked any real conflict. I thought the apparent conflict toward the end was a little contrived.

An interesting side note. I remarked reviewing Two Turtle Doves (a much better movie) that Hallmark loves to contrast the small town and family values with the big city rat race.

This movie isn't awful, but I can definitely see how one reviewer fell asleep (more than once?) watching it. The characters are pleasant. It's watchable (barely).

Typical early Hallmark fluff...not a lot to it... Problem is the leads dont match, actor just seems too gay and not interested in the (any) actress...woulda been better if he was interested in a guy in the movie and the story focused on the other actress and her beau more.... Nice folks, interesting side characters, all Hallmark Christmas movies are fun...this is ok.

The plot here is nothing special, but the writers did make an effort to create the classic antithetical courtship. It started out well, but didn't carry much force through the course of the film.

Massey, however, made the film interesting enough to watch all the way through. He portrayed a character who was sensible and in control of his space, which was a refreshing change from characters who get pushed around by their circumstances.

It was worth the watch, but it isn't one we'll put on our list to watch again in coming years.