Rescuing Christmas

A jaded, stressed out woman wants a break from all the festivities and obligations of Christmas. In a moment of fury, she wishes for it to all just go away. The next morning, she wakes up to find that all the Christmas decorations in town are gone, and nobody except her has any memory of the holiday. She then scrambles to revive Christmas.

It's a funny idea -- having the protagonist reintroduce Christmas to her family and to the town, and they point out how absurd the holiday traditions sound.

The male love interest is very likable in this movie. And the actor playing jolly old Saint Nick did an excellent job.

The radio intern emerged as the unequivocal star of the movie, delivering a performance that not only breathed life into a lackluster storyline but also set a standard of excellence that the other actors failed to match. His acting prowess, marked by a professional and captivating demeanor, showcased a rare talent that surpassed the mediocrity of the film's lead characters, Sam and Erin. While the radio intern's authenticity and refreshing presence enriched every scene, the shortcomings in the performances of Sam and Erin were glaring. In comparison, the radio intern's unbothered attitude and nuanced portrayal stood out, highlighting his superior acting abilities and making him the true highlight of the production. His contribution was not just commendable; it was a masterclass in elevating a movie beyond its limitations.

In some ways the premise is common. It's a quest where the romantic leads work together to achieve a goal, in this case to bring back Christmas. It is a not so common subset where the quest is to restore some reality that has been changed, usually by a wish. In many cases, the lead is the center of the quest and has been given a new life. In some cases like this one, the entire reality has been changed for everyone, that is if you accept the reality of Santa and Christmas magic.

It takes a while to set up the quest. And enlisting Sam doesn't seem to be the obvious choice, but Erin needs help from someone. The romance development doesn't receive a lot of screen time and therefore it may seem like "falling in love" was rushed. Rachael Leigh Cook and Sam Page still manage to display some chemistry.

There is a strong thread that the meaning of Christmas is family and friends and love and spending time together. Also some stabs at Christmas commercialism.

There are a lot of good lines. I typically don't laugh at lot at movies but I found myself laughing out loud a few times especially early on. The acting is good if you allow for some necessary silliness. I think RLC has good comedic timing.

My title says "Clever". I thought this was shown in imagining of the results of trying to get people to celebrate a Christmas that they have no basis for. Tennis balls for ornaments is just a small example. Or the mom complaining about what Erin was telling her kids which was actually kind of creepy.

Wanted to love it, but the cast didn't grab, hold my attention. I found myself doing other tasks while checking back in periodically. Sam Page is a good anchor, but felt monotonic in this particular offering. Rachel Leigh Cook appeared a bit off, perhaps being executive producer took away from her usual shine. The ending seemed to be a bit of cut ins pasted together to wrap up the ends. The elves were annoying which in an odd way brought some sort of emotion. The optics of a non White Santa was irksome. Non White, female, Christmas overlord was bothersome. In fact, a good reason to downgrade further.

Shocked! A film not solely in Canada,pretending to be another place.. Just for that will give this positive stars,especially because it was Duluth.

Now on to the rest where it was a bit dumb so she wishes away Christmas & instead of enjoying it but coming to realize,the mistake therefore figuring out how to return things back.. She goes from wishing,waking to the change & trying to get back what not even 24 hours later bothered her.

Considering the whole story plot it felt a bit hypocritical for her statement,about skipping Christmas next year & going to Hawaii.. Because again she is caught in her own feelings over things not going accordingly,as the movie is nearing being over.

RLK acting is a bit bland maybe,it's her voice or something.. Otherwise it was cast ok,acting average & cinematography decent.

Thankfully music didn't overwhelm the talking,like in past Hallmark movies.

Full of clichés,plotholes & a storyline been done before.. Again,it's Hallmark!

Overall worth a watch but,not a rewatch like other Christmas movies.