Whether it is easy to not take 'Rock and Roll Christmas' (love anything music related so the premise appealed) and similar films seriously is dependent on whether the good things outweigh the bad and vice versa. Dependent on how many flaws there are and how big they are. And dependent on how well the film executed its good things. In some cases it is easy to not take it too seriously. In other cases it is very distracting when there are so many annoyances and done to an incompetent level.
'Rock and Roll Christmas' is not one of those films. It does have things wrong with it, then again when has a Hallmark, UPTV or Lifetime festive film (or similar) been perfect, and the flaws are a few of the usual ones. 'Rock and Roll Christmas' does achieve its aims though at being undemanding light-hearted entertainment that has charm and heart. It doesn't quite rock, but it doesn't roll with a thud at the same time. Anybody who loves anything to do with music and who relates to the premise should check it out.
It is not flawless. It is agreed that the bickering is too much, there is too much of it and a lot of it came over as too forced and over-heated. Also didn't buy the sudden out of nowhere 180 that happens with the two lead characters, going from self-absorbed and hurting people around them to being the complete opposite very late on with little build up and like what happened before did not happen felt far too rushed and far too neat.
The story is very slight and very predictable, everything that happens happening exactly what was expected and being obvious well in advance. Beverly Mitchell did have some stiff moments early on.
She does relax though and gives a deeply felt performance that saw her having fun at other points too. She has great and easy to relate to chemistry between Catherine Mary Stuart, who brings pretty much the same while being more comfortable. The best performance comes from charming and honest Kelaiah Giuel as the most likeable character in the film and her chemistry with the two is very natural and genuine.
It looks good too, especially the scenery, and the soundtrack is catchy and puts one in a good festive mood (wish though there were more renditions done in full). The writing is not great to begin with, but is very well meaning and with a heart of gold while also not being over-serious. The story is predictable and is not believable at the end, but is mostly charming, sincere and heart-warming with some nice light-hearted-ness when necessary. The characters on the whole feel real once the bickering dies down and Mitchell's character relaxes.
Overall, above average film if not a great one. 6/10.
