Unlocking Christmas

I enjoyed this Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Original Christmas movie. The story was not as strong as, for example, A Little Christmas Charm (such a wonderful film, by the way), nonetheless, it was a warm and charming Christmas mystery. The adventure begins when a mysterious key and a holiday riddle arrive at the doorsteps of Kate (played by Taylor Cole) and Kevin (played by Steve Lund), the two protagonists in this story. As the two solve the riddles and clues, we watch their relationship grow thru some warm and playful conversation and banter. Moreover, the story is engaging and has a kind and heartfelt feel to it (gets you in the Christmas spirit). The acting is superb and is what makes all the above work on screen, of course. Taylor Cole, a Hallmark regular, had a very strong performance. Steve Lund too was great (he was easy to connect with). The chemistry between the two was brilliant, I felt. The banter and kind/warm conversation were quite convincing, believable, which is always a plus in a romance film. As another reviewer here has pointed out, the writers could have done a better job developing the romantic connection. It just felt like there was a step missing between the warm and playful/flirtatious conversation and them falling in love. As I alluded to above, the movie did have a nice Christmas feel to it. The scenery, props, and sets were quite festive in Cedar Park. Overall, it is an entertaining movie, which is driven by some strong acting and delightful chemistry between the leads. It is a nice edition to Hallmark's 2020 Christmas movie lineup.

Christmas related quests are the latest thing. That's pretty much it for story except for where the quest comes from - many or even most viewers probably figured that out early. There are no great highs or lows and zero tension except for "greener grass". The conflict is manufactured and a bit clumsy based on the usual misunderstandings. I will give points for the ending being a slight role reversal in terms of grand gestures.

The leads, Kate (Taylor Cole) and Kevin (Steve Lund) are lead through a few Christmas activities leaning towards doing good for others. Many reviewers thought they had great chemistry but it seemed average at best to me.

This movie is OK and will appeal more to viewers who haven't watched dozens of similar ones already this year.

Taylor Cole and Steve Lund do a great job with what they are given, but the writers have really let them down on this one, The leads have good chemistry together but the story is weak, there aren't any interesting subplots, which makes the makes the pace seem slow, and the script doesn't really allow for any romantic connection to grow. You can see the possibility for romance in many scenes, and you're thinking any second now, but due to the writing, it just never happens. Lund's character remains aloof for nearly the entire movie. Luckily Cole and Lund are entertaining and fun to watch, so it's worth watching just to see these two work.

Bickerimg Kate and Kevin each receive keys on their doorsteps along with cryptic poems. They must decipher the poetry to see where the keys lead.

I had hoped for of a mystery story. You know, they find a hidden stairway in Kate's new house starting a treasure hunt through town to . . . Well, that's for the writers to decide. But along the way they learn to depend on each other. Not a mystery full of blood and corpses, but with quaint old secrets that need to be aired in time for Christmas.

Personally, I'm sick and tired of the "dark side" in movies and TV and novels. Whenever anything is described as dark I avoid it.

On the other hand, I don't care for sweet and cuddly and innocuous. I had high hopes for a sort of Nancy Drew for adults.

I like a good mystery-romance between equal boy/girl sides who learn to trust and depend on each other, but this isn't so much a mystery as two independent people learning to open themselves to helping others and inviting others into their worlds. And each other, of course. "Giving back" as the modern phrase goes, coined by people who think that sort of behavior never occurred to anyone in human history before they happened along. Well, this thing is based on a novella by a woman who writes that sort of book. Look her up, if you like this. She's churned out dozens.

But don't expect a mystery in any conventional sense.

Fortunately, the giggly girls (one a doctor; I don't think I'd want to go to a giggly doctor) are very pretty. It's nice, but not enough in itself. Other viewers describe the guy as cute (whatever happened to the word "handsome?") But I'm no judge of that. He leaves me as cold as an icicle.

...with some of the other reviewers: this was nothing special. The plot barely kept the movie moving forward until it staggered to a Hallmark end. Steve Lund and Taylor Cole, two old hands at these things, were the only thing that made this worth watching, although the actress who played Liz, the female sidekick, was a bright spot. It's ok, I certainly wouldn't recommend against watching it, but it's not great.