Under the Christmas Tree

What a waste of time. No chemistry at all, no good script, no interesting characters, weak history. Such a cliche. You'll not miss anything if you do not see it.

Under The Christmas Tree (2021) -

Lesbians!!!! And not just in bit parts as the best friend! They even used the actual word "Gay!". I've never come across that before in one of these films. Well done to the producers for finally delivering that.

The characters were all very typically lesbian too, they were so stubborn and they couldn't see any grey areas, which fit with what I know from the lesbians I've met in my life. They also had a strong desire to love and couple quickly, because they easily found the beauty in each other, which once again felt typical.

And I could easily see that they were attracted to each other right from the start! They were proper flirty and highly sexed like they were on heat almost, but not in a "Get a room" way, at least mostly.

I actually really liked how the romance blossomed, because it was as a normal one would and not some forced story or silly situation where someone else is trying to pull the strings of it or enemies to friends to lovers.

The story had similarities to 'The National Tree' (2009) and 'Miss Christmas' (2017) with hints of 'You, Me & The Christmas Trees' (2021) too. Tattiawna Jones, playing Charlie, needed a tree for the governor and she wouldn't let the crush she had on the tree's owner get in the way. And Elise Bauman, as Alma wasn't going to give up her tree that easily, despite her immediate attraction to Charlie.

We all knew what would happen, but the journey and the delivery was sweet.

As a raving homosexual, I would like them to deliver something similar with two men, instead of the silly comedies that they always tend to make, with overly outrageous characters that are used for laughs, but this was a nice one that I'm sure that the girls would enjoy too.

6.5/10.

I'm giving Under the Christmas Tree a positive review. With all its faults, its still a step in the right direction in the largely ignored world of gay, or in this case lesbian romance films for the general public.

The story: Charlie is a "tree whisperer" scouting for the perfect tree for the state's holiday display. Alma is a local businesswoman running a struggling Christmas shop with her parents, who are about to retire.

Charlie finds a tree on Alma's property that would be perfect, but it has been cherished by the family and is in fact the logo for the shop.

While Alma says no, at the same time sparks fly between Charlie and her. From there, the story follows Charlie's attempt to change Alma's mind and the gentle flirtation between them.

The flaw here is there is very little romance in this rom-com. I know there were constraints. This is a TV movie after all, but there weren't even many longing looks between the two, making it a bit sterile. Apparently, this was the director's first film. Perhaps a more experienced hand might have been able to get something on screen not on the printed page.

Still, I'm giving this a great grade. I've watched it several times and enjoyed it. The ending definitely leaves open the possibility of a sequel. That would be a very good thing.

I don't understand the low rating for this movie at all. It is very sweet and easy to watch. I think it's a great movie to watch on a dark, cold December day. My only criticism is that it's incredibly chaste but I know that's par for the course for a Hallmark movie. Other than that I think it's a well acted and lovely Christmas movie with two leads who have great chemistry. The story is very Hallmark but I don't see an issue with that....life is serious enough, a little levity is no harm. Well done Hallmark for producing something a little different.....a change is nice and we all appreciated it in our house.

There is a lack of outrage Under the Christmas Tree as it deals with two women falling in love.

Christmas tree whisperer Charlie Freemont (Tattiawna Jones) has to find a suitable replacement tree in time for the Christmas Eve tree lighting ceremony. A last minute job when the town's own tree got damaged by an ice storm.

Charlie finds one in the town of Camden. Only she needs to persuade Alma Beltran (Elise Bauman) to part with the tree.

In doing so both Charlie and Alma strike romance. However some corporate shenanigans are not far behind.

The movie is light, the two leads are appealing enough. The formula is varied though with the low key lesbian angle.