Christmas Collision

I saw how low the ratings were but I thought I try watching it anyways. No expectations. The acting and plot were so so. The filming was awful. The camera kept moving unsteady like no one had anchored it down. I started getting motion sick after awhile and had to stop watching the movie.

It doesn't claim to be a Hallmark movie and the quality shows that. The acting is fair, but slow and non-professional. The lighting bothered me the most. Many scenes were fuzzy and dark. Natural sunlight was pointed towards the viewer and very distracting.

The story was similar to a Hallmark movie, but it wasn't cheerful or nearly as decorated.

The scenes were dreary. For those of us who are familiar with Hallmark movies, it must be very expensive to have top lighting professionals, but this film just doesn't have what it takes.

It is a movie with a happy ending, and that's always a pleasure to see.

For starters, there are many of the usual formula plot lines. Save the farm. Send Theodora to close the deal, but instead a romance develops. Friends telling the leads that they are in love. (This one got used way too much.) A cookie contest. Overbearing dad.

There is an element that starts out as a small mystery and grows more ominous as the story goes on. How far this goes is not normal in Hallmark movies, but this isn't Hallmark.

The script is very clumsy. For one thing there are plenty of filler moments that have nothing to do with the main story and are stupid besides. The romance is clumsy. It is not uncommon for the leads to start out with blatant animosity and then have that melt. In this movie, Theodora is downright rude and uncaring. Then the animosity doesn't melt slowly, it disappears entirely and instantly. If Sebrina Scott and John Wells have chemistry, it is hard to find. Which leads me to the terrible dialogue!!! The misunderstanding which creates the conflict is also clumsy. Then more friends saying you really do love him/her. By the climax, there is no mystery or surprise but even that is dragged out and goes too far.

The acting by all but the leads is horrible. Oh, wow, the mayor is cringeworthy, but other supporting people are not far behind. The leads are just so-so. Almost the entire tone of the movie lacks any fun or joy. There is no Christmas energy.

I wondered about ballot box stuffing for reviews and ratings. Two of the highest reviews are one timers. The rating distribution has a huge gap between 10 stars and 5 stars with another spike for 1 star.

I am a little at a loss as to how I feel about this film and I have read some interesting reviews by others. First I want to agree that there are full scenes that are stilted and awkward, making them uncomfortable to watch and taking you out of the film, like the first scene with the choir practice and the town mayor...I don't think it was the actors, I think it was the dialogue and the timing. Anyway, it could have used some better direction. Also, I have seen criticisms of the main actress who played Theodora by individuals who claim to only have watched the first ten minutes...which I think is unfair since they did not get to see her soften, in other words I think they should wait until the two bake cookies together or share a meal with meatloaf and pie at the diner before they judge her or her acting...I thought her transition from severe to softening seemed natural and worked with the chemistry between her and Charlie.

Now the story, Theodore has come to town to foreclose on a farm quickly for her firm during the holidays. What she doesn't know until she gets there is that the owner has just passed and they are holding a memorial at the farm where she interrupts to speak to the son Charlie who has been kept in the dark, because of her time constraints. Of course, Charlie doesn't understand how this could happen as his mom keeps good records and he asks for some time to look in to it. Meanwhile, Theodora falls on the property and severely sprains her ankle...having to stay with Charlie at the farm for a few days. It is at the farm that Theodora starts to soften and she starts to get suspicious that this foreclosure isn't as straightforward as she was lead to believe.

This was a little different than say the Hallmark holiday offerings, but still kind of a middle of the road romance.

Christmas Collision (2021) -

As if the depressing beginnings of this film weren't bad enough they underscored it with a comedy soundtrack of plucky violins, which was totally inappropriate for a funeral.

Sebrina Scott as Theodora was an actual b!tch and John Wells performance in the role of Charlie wasn't exactly Mr. Charming either.

I couldn't ever see that the two of them could come back from their initial meeting, which was tense to say the least and that meant that any relationship that might have developed would have been farcical or impossible for me to believe and he wasn't attractive enough to put up with that.

Theodora's boss was obviously pure evil too and I wasn't prepared to watch another hard time Christmas, with nasty characters.

I could tell that I wouldn't enjoy this one, even after ten minutes, so by the time I got to the first advert break I turned it off.

Unscored as Unfinished.