Campfire Christmas

Aspiring writer Peyton (Tori Anderson) works at a publishing company as an assistant. Her boss says that she has no personal connections to her writing. Her parents are retiring and giving up their summer camp. They would like Peyton to take over, but she is desperate to be a writer. The camp is throwing one last Christmas in July for the alumni. Peyton is surprised to see her former flame Thomas (Corbin Bleu) attending. She decides to write about the camp.

It's another Hallmark Christmas in July. Tori Anderson is fine as the leading lady with issues. I don't know what happened to Corbin Bleu. He seems to have lost his mojo after cutting his hair. None of the other side characters really popped. The story is bland. The camp itself is a little too clean. It's well-manicured family cottages. A rustic camp is much more charming cinematically and visually. This is Hallmark at its most average.

The idea is silly, the cast is mismatched, and the movie is boring! Tried to watch it and could not go far into it twice. I used to long for Hallmark new Christmas movies and some I have viewed repeatedly. Last year productions mostly missed the mark. I dread to think of what's coming this Holidays season!

I would like to start by saying, two of the reviews clearly didn't actually pay attention to the movie. It has a beautiful back story that is opened up to the viewer throughout the whole film. It is explained why "Christmas in July" and it is a reunion for campers from years past.

That being said, now my opinion: I felt that this movie hit the mark for the "season". I appreciated that unlike most Hallmark movies (which I also love, what can I say), there was no committed relationship in the big city that was abandoned at the reminder of young love. It was fully about the main character and their hopes and dreams. This movie serves as a great reminder to never give up on your dreams, no matter how many people stand in your way.

A summer camp with a week of Christmas in July is clever and it worked. There were some interesting twists on traditional Christmas things and a couple that were closer to the traditional done in July. But that was just setting.

The story boils down to some of the usual suspects. A PA is trying to impress her boss that she is actually a writer and gets an assignment. Mom and Dad are ready to retire the family camp business with one last hurrah. Peyton and Thomas had a bad breakup but the week at camp throws them back together. And there is a big misunderstanding that threatens the rekindled romance. So predictable from there on out.

There is a secondary romance story between two men. A third story is a longtime married couple working through some issues.

Tori Anderson and Corbin Blue have chemistry. The transition from Peyton avoiding Thomas to them being perfectly comfortable was invisible. There was no transition. One minute avoidance, the next it was like no problem. But then they spent some good time together.

For me the clever take on Christmas in July at summer camp was enough to hold me despite the story that was otherwise a repeat of many other Christmas movies.

We started this movie for the idea of a Christmas in July, which was evidently filmed last year to go with the Christmas in July deal Hallmark has done the last couple of years (at least).

We have a young women frustrated by the continual rejection of books (or book ideas) she floats to her boss. Okay, I could get interested in her finding one that works, and her boss tells her the pitches need a 'personal approach'.

So there's two things that could have made this movie a go for me.

The problem is nothing else did. The boss was just flat, with no personality and no upside, and for us, that pretty much applied to everyone in the film, and the otherwise tired romance cliches. We've seen all of them done with more inspired acting and better crafted stories. We gave up a half hour in.