Hot Chocolate Holiday

There are very few really original ideas that come from the Romance TV movie genre and that's fine, don't feed us the same plot every movie and we're okay; but chemistry is quite important in romance, and the ability to act would help.

Ho-hum movie about a hot chocolate shop owner who is accusing another hot chocolate shop owner of stealing her grandma's special recipe. The writers of these shows must be all utilizing the same brain cell. They certainly are NOT using the one about new, inventive ideas. I do not care for Aubrey Reynolds in anything. Her acting is wooden and stiff. I get the idea that she is just "playing herself" in each role. The only thing that salvages this film is Jonny Swenson's megawatt smile. It lights up any space he is in. On the bright spot, to help you plod through this slow-moving quagmire, turn it into a drinking game and every time they say "hot chocolate" take a drink. You will be snockered by the end of the film. Talk about hammering something home.

Also, what is it with these Hallmark/Lifetime/GAC movies and the hot drinks? The cups are obviously ALWAYS EMPTY. You don't take a hot cocoa from someone, throw your head back and gulp it down. Not unless you want a scalded throat. Even THAT you can't make believable? A hint: it's the little minutiae that drives viewers nuts.

Christmas films can go either way, which has been my experience watching overtime the festive output of Lifetime, UPTV and Hallmark etc. They can either be well-meaning, charming, warm-hearted and don't feel too heavy. Or they can be too over-sentimental, cheesy, contrived and bland. There have been many films of theirs that have fallen in both camps and in the camp where there is a bit of both. And 'Hot Chocolate Holiday' did have the sort of premise where the execution could have gone either way.

Mostly, the execution fares reasonably well in 'Hot Chocolate Holiday'. It is a long way from great, even when judging it for what it was trying and aiming to be and taking it for what it was, and it is easy to see where those that didn't care for it are coming from. It is a hot chocolate that could have done with some warming up, but it is hardly stone cold. Which actually was pretty much what was expected. There are a lot of good things here and there is a good deal to be charmed by.

By all means it isn't perfect. It is another film where it did take time for me to warm to the female lead character and the story. The female lead character could have done with more personality to start with and her character traits are not too endearing, her competitiveness seeing her combative attitude towards others being overdone and she seemed too uptight. Aubrey Reynolds is a bit too stiff to begin with.

Story-wise, 'Hot Chocolate Holiday' is a slow starter, with it taking too much time to get anywhere in terms of story development. The hostility is somewhat too overwritten and has a bit too much of a mean spirited edge, while the tension is too lukewarm which does make the final quarter fall flat.

That sounds like 'Hot Chocolate Holiday' is bad. Have already said it isn't and there was a lot that works. When her character softens later and eases, Reynolds looks and sounds a lot more comfortable and is charming. Jonny Swenson, as the more consistently written and likeable character, is very easy going and liked that he was charismatic but in an understated way. He and Reynolds do have some nice natural chemistry together, even if it doesn't fire completely on all cylinders. The supporting cast are fine and of the characters there were only issues with Reynolds' one early on.

Furthermore, the festive atmosphere is very well done and there are a fair share of sweet though thankfully not sickly scenes. Was not crazy about the script early on, but it did have a nice mix of funny and poignant lines. The story may be thin but has a warm heart and charm and doesn't take itself too seriously. The scenery is typically lovely and the music is overdone in tone or placement.

In summary, decent but not great and inconsistent. 6/10.

Hot Chocolate Christmas/Holiday (2020) -

My opinion of this film was probably skewed by the fact that Jonny Swenson in the lead male role of Marcus was absolutely adorable. The face, those eyes and that smile - Swoon! With a bit of work he might even be able to learn to act too. He wasn't the worst by a mile, but he needed a better director, bless him.

The character of Frank Banner was very odd though, as if they had dubbed his voice afterwards and not considered how weird it was and Colette's Mother was a tad special too, like something from a cartoon rather than reality, which this film mostly seemed to be otherwise.

I liked the slightly different storyline and the friend dynamics. Sometimes having too many other characters can take away from the main romance, but they really bolstered things in this film.

I could see the appeal in Marcus from the off, but I needed her to calm down before I started to think that Colette might be worthy of him and when she realised that she had been a crazy lady it definitely got easier to believe that they might be falling for each other.

The film was full of Christmas and mostly cheerful. Jonny's smile really was so charming that you couldn't help but want him to succeed, even with the occasional bad line delivery and in the end, even she wasn't so obnoxious that I wanted her to fall flat on her face.

6/10.

I went into this figuring I'd shut it off after 15 minutes. I've found myself doing that with several Hallmark movies this holiday season, much to my dismay. They did a good job casting the male lead. He's gorgeous and his acting wasn't awful. I'm surprised at the negative reviews on here. The female lead was a bit stiff but not awful. I sensed more attraction on her character's end than on his, which shouldn't have been the case. There was chemistry just not as much as there should've been. My goodness when the male lead smiles though, I can forgive a lot. Hallmark needs to cast better looking actors tbh and give their male characters better personalities, because I haven't been able to enjoy most of their movies this season. Their male leads are either unattractive or their characters personalities come off almost toxic to me. That's why I have been giving other networks a chance this holiday season and have been pleasantly surprised. Anways, I enjoyed this movie. I didn't love it, but I haven't loved any movies this season. Still, it was an enjoyable watch.