Have said many times about my love of Christmas and getting a lot of pleasure out of in particular watching films, cartoons and specials during this period, something that most years has been much needed. Wanted to see some more festive films that were more recent, lower in budget and were not childhood favourites, so in a way to broaden my horizons and have been doing so since November 2019. Decided to see one that wasn't from Hallmark or Lifetime.
'Christmas Au Pair', or 'Snowed In at Christmas' in other places, could have been a good deal better than it was though. There are things that are good, but there are too many areas where it is lacking for me to recommend it. It is a long way from being one of the worst Christmas films seen recently, but it is also a long way from being one of the best. In my mind, 'Christmas Au Pair' is one of the average middle films, Christmas or otherwise from UPTV's 2021 output.
There are good things here. It is well above average in the acting department. Kayla Wallace did do a good job with what she is given, despite not being a fan of her character, and injects the role with a good deal of feeling. Jeremy Guilbaut's performance is beautifully understated but not phoned in. The children are not too sugary cute or too petulant.
Furthermore, 'Christmas Au Pair' is attractive enough visually, particularly in the scenery. The music has a pleasant nostalgia and isn't overused or overbearing. There are moments of charm and heart.
On the other hand, 'Christmas Au Pair' could have been a lot more. Wallace and Guilbaut have next to no chemistry together and both are disconnected together, individually they are committed but together there is never a sense of attraction or caring for the other let alone romance. The chemistry in general is too distant and the romance is really underdeveloped. Didn't care enough for the characters despite the cast's best efforts, Wallace's is far too judgemental to such an overblown degree and Guilbaut's is too in his own world.
Did find the script too stilted and schmaltzy. Although it did have charming and heartfelt moments, the story is thin, drags a lot and takes itself too seriously and safely (it shouldn't have been afraid of having some playfulness and light hearted-ness). Culminating in a blatantly predictable and unrealistically pat ending that doesn't make that much sense concluding the contrived conflict that came before it.
In summary, watchable but rather average. 5/10.
