A Christmas Dream

The story line had promise. The promise of a movie in Italy drew me in. Then...NOTHING in the entire movie had ANYTHING Italian in it! Yes, there was a small smattering of Italian spoken. The ranch and the surrounding countryside were DEFINITELY not in Italy, the music wasn't anything Italian, no great Italian food shots...nothing to make this believable to be in Italy.

The acting was weak, the accents kept changing, the story kept dropping off parts of the story and deserting them, never developing them, the house looked like a modern home, pop top wine from the nearby town?, oh my, there were SO many inconsistencies: fall leaves and ice skating at the same time in Italy before Christmas?, the town where they went on their "date" was not believable as an Italian village...a fake stone street with a red carpet all over them...the list goes on and on.

The best part of this movie were the horses and the dog.

Not I. The style or writing of Hollywood. Thank goodness for the difference. There are many weaknesses in this movie. The premise is reasonable and was at first interesting but it didn't really get off the ground as an intriguing movie. Slow but there is no reason to rush. Conversation is stark and spread out. Viewer must determine what the story is. A mother and her daughter, hard boiled New Yorkers must travel to Italy and sell the ranch/farm that was owned by the Mothers parents, now deceased. Ashley is the daughter and she is quite different in personality from her stubborn and unreasonable mother. We will leave aside the numerous continuity problems and non-sensical bits. Such as the ranch is not really on a major arterial road but the For Sale sign is placed right in the front drive. Interested buyers seem scares but that all right. The second interested buyer is perfect. This will change Ashley'd life. Already revealed in the bit here so I'll not count that as a spoiler. OK? Ashley first loves the horse which sh knows from trips to grandpa's house as z as young girl. This is a common passion between the young man who wants to buy th red ranch and Ashley. She explains that she is from New York. She asks if he had ever been to New York. No, only Texas he says. It looks like a sure sale and moms is pleased...except is it really? Ashley falls in love with him and will eventually chose to be an expatriate giving up NYC for quiet, peaceful life in Italy. Of course. What else is going to happen. Sell the ranch fall in love with the handsome, smart, and well mannered Italian gentleman and live happily ever after.