A Carol for Two

I don't like liars but there can be times when characters get caught up in it. No problem. But that guy made me cringe every time he appeared on screen. He actually spoiled the movie for me.

I think the annoying guy was supposed to be funny as well. Epic fail there.

The idea for the movie was great and many of the singers were very good. I imagine the acting world is as cynical as it appeared but that was a bit hard to take too. What was with being mean to the customers in the restaurant? Is that supposed to be a New York thing?

So it was a valiant effort and the two main characters were fantastic. Because of that, I feel a little bad rating it so low. And so I added a star for the great number at the end.

I caught the last few minutes of this rom-com and was mesmerized by a catchy duet - Who Knew It'd Be You This Christmas? I liked the song so much I played it again a few times, then found the full movie on Peacock.

The two leads have amazing voices, but they haven't been in many movies, in fact, I didn't see any for him. Quick Google search, they've both had leads in Wicked! She's played Galinda and he's the current Fiyero on Broadway. Blew my mind! My favorite musical!

Their stage presence translates really well to this film and they have good chemistry together. Throw in a handful of classic Christmas songs, some great New York street scenes and you've got a great little movie. Time very well spent!

Just this morning, I thought it was too soon to hear Christmas songs on the radio. After this movie, chock-full of Christmas songs, I'm in the holiday spirit. And the movie theme's of singing wait staff prompted me to look and see if that themed Manhattan restaurant with the Broadway singing wait staff, Ellen's Stardust Diner, is still open. Google says yes! Need to go back there soon.

"Who knew, who knew it'd be you this Christmas?"

I confess I didn't see the whole movie - I found it while flipping channels. At first, I didn't think that the leads were all that appealing, but as I watched I felt a good chemistry between them. Ginna has a real girl next door vibe and, well, Jordan was kind of dorky in a Clark Kent way. They grew on me, though.

Then they started to sing. Wow. This is not a classical musical in the way that the characters spontaneously break into song, but where the singers are characters doing their jobs. Doesn't matter, they have great voices and I hope that Hallmark casts them into similar roles in the future.

I see some of the other reviews complaining about the 3rd corner of the triangle, and I can't disagree, but it makes more sense than the many Hallmark movies where a (usually female) character dumps a long term, perfectly nice partner for a guy she's just met. I thought that Gino's character was just annoying enough to deserve the dumping but appealing enough not to appear actively evil or mean.

The story of aspiring singers hoping for Broadway roles isn't that inventive, but the male and female leads are attractive and nice in their roles. Separately, their singing is very fine, and it was nice to hear some real Christmas carols with religious overtones, since Christmas is ... as often seems to be forgotten in these films ... a religious holiday.

Unfortunately, in their duets, the leads can't seem to find just one key to agree on. Their duet on "The Christmas Song" was downright painful in places. Ginna Mason could never find the key Jordan Litz played and sang, and they both hit a couple of clangers along the way. Hard to believe they couldn't tell that and correct it in post, at least.

However, the BIG problem with this film is Gino Anania, the second male lead. His part was poorly written, making the character a annoyance with every appearance. And Gino overplayed the role to make it double or triple as annoying as it might otherwise have been, making me tempted to just bag this thing a few times. I'm not sure why, but we managed to stick it out, wasting two hours of our lives.

I was fine with the movies storyline. Both leads can act and sing-would like to see them together with a better script. With a little more chemistry, they might become a very watchable duo. The owner of the restaurant did a great job-the cousin, not so much. He drug it down it by being so over-the-top. Perhaps that was the part he was supposed to play? But he needed a good bit more editing. And he needed to be believable. Movie needed a little more depth(why the lead was never, ever rightly irritated by his crass cousin, more of the bond between dad and daughter, and was Violette promised a part already in the show that never got off the ground). Anyway......it did have some very good moments. Enjoyed the final song too.