A Nashville Christmas Carol

I agree with another reviewer on here about the Nashville and Graceland Hallmark movies. They are not my favorites (though they are not bad either). I do not understand why the producers cast singer/songwriters if they can't act. Sara Evans (as Belinda) and RaeLynn (as Alexis) were unimpressive (they are not good actors...hmm...where was the direction, the director?); I would have preferred some better acting as opposed to a few minutes of their singing. Don't get me wrong, they sounded good, but the writers/producers could have worked them into the script to (just) sing and cast some actors in their roles to actually do some acting. I thought the story was fun and cute. It is, of course, unoriginal and predictable, but I do not come to Hallmark movies for those things (i.e., originality and unpredictability). I like watching Jessy Schram (as Vivian) on screen; she does a good job in such roles. I found her performance engaging. Wes Brown (as Gavin) also did a decent job, though he might want to tone down on the use of tanning lotion (kidding, of course). The chemistry between the two was pretty good, believable; they had some nice interactions together. The Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present were fun too. Overall, it was a cute and fun movie. Not at the top of my list this season, but an entertaining movie, nonetheless.

There is a scene with the lead getting into a cab and the cabdriver is shown wearing a mask. Wonder when this was made? There is not that much snow in Nashville.

Why was Wes Brown's face, who is one of my favorites in Hallmark movies, so SHINY?!

This is the second leading man during the Covid lockdowns who seemed to be too tan and was very very shiny!

Are the men doing their own makeup?

Most of us have seen many takes on the Christmas Carol originally by Dickens. There is nothing that unusual about this one except possibly that it is definitely a romance story.

There are some good songs performed in this mainly by Sara Evans and RaeLynn, including two duets. I think at least one is an original.

Jessy Schram and Wes Brown have chemistry.

Unfortunately for me, I am a huge fan of the energetic and cheerful Jessy Schram. I just couldn't buy into her as a Scrooge. The efforts to make her look like one seemed weak to me. She is just too likeable. Schram has a varied resume, so it is probably just me and my perception. I'm disappointed that she didn't get a chance to feature her singing because she is talented there as well.

This is a pleasant enough rendition of the Christmas Carol but lacking any real tension nor surprises, highs, or lows.

I might have only stuck with this one for Wes Brown if I'm honest. He's no Brendan Penny or Luke Macfarlane, but he does have a certain roguish charm and quality about him.

The 'Christmas Carol' idea has been done so many times and not always well. I actually prefer the traditional versions myself (The Muppets/George C Scott). This isn't a great example of the theme and I think it would have been better if they had stuck more to the standard story with the three ghosts, Etc. Although I understand why they were trying to shake it up a little, the message was a bit watered down and may have been lost on people that don't know of the Dickens classic, you know, the people that died before it was written.

You could tell the singers from the actors, because the singers couldn't act, but at least they could sing, which isn't always the case in these films. It was also nice to recognise the leading lady, who did a good job, from something other than appearing in Christmas romances for a change (One of the blondes from Pitch Perfect that isn't Rebel Wilson). As a Brit, I don't really know who most of the casts in these TV movies are, having not seen the US TV shows that they've all been in, so their fame is lost on me.

Not the worst, not the best.