The idea sounded cute and it was nice to have an attempt at doing something different by Hallmark Christmas film (which do tend to be very formulaic in their stories) standards. Kimberly Sustad has often struck me as a very watchable actress and easy to be engaged by, though Kathie Lee Gifford is more take or leave elsewhere. Christmas is and always has been my favourite time of year and in my school years the only "looked forward to every year" period and have never had anything against Hallmark, even though their output is hit and miss.
As far as their films go, this one generally leans towards the hit side of the spectrum while in my view not quite being one. Personally don't think it is quite a great film, but as far as Hallmark Christmas films of 2018 and even overall go it fares reasonably favourably (don't think it is quite among the best though from personal opinion). There is a lot to like here and it is an above average film, but there are some things, that are quite major, that could have been done better.
Shall start with what was done well. It has an at least professional look to it, the scenery is very pretty with a cosy look to it and the photography is slick. The music is generally not as constant or as over-scored as Hallmark Christmas films can be, with some nice soundtrack choices throughout. The direction is assured enough. There are enough moments that made me smile and go "awww".
While the story for me was a flawed one, it had a sincere charm often and it did warm the heart enough. Paul Campbell looks more than comfortable here in his role and had charisma and likeability. In a role that is easy to overplay, Gifford manages to be beautifully understated while showing no signs of autopiloting. The film though belongs to Sustad, who is immensely endearing in the rootable lead role. Her chemistry with Campbell was a natural and sweet one. And yes the car is great.
Having said all of this, the film for me had its problems. Too much of the story felt contrived and unrealistic, other than the way of help in the film in determining what direction to take in life angle it is typical Hallmark plot-wise and it could have done with a lighter edge and more subtlety. Found everything to do with that angle too heavily emphasized on and too preachily executed, and what was it with those cheap, cheesy and very gimmicky sound effects and music cues.
No better news with much of the dialogue, which did sound awkward too many times and was heavy on the schmaltzy sentiment. The equivalent of having twelve sugars instead of two in your tea or something like that. While not disliking the characters, they could have done with more development.
Concluding, decent but not great. 6/10
