Cranberry Christmas

I'm a huge fan of Nikki DeLoach. She usually does movies for Hallmark that have a little more depth than all the fluff out there.

There are plenty of rekindling romance movies., Like at least one other reviewer, they are not my favorite. My enjoyment is in new developing relationships. This was a little different than most of the rekindling ones in that it involved two married people who had been together since they were very young. And it didn't involve a time travel, alternate universe, or dream reset. Nikki did one a little like this a couple of Christmases ago.

Nikki does her usual good job reaching down below the surface to pull up the feelings that are most important for her character and ones that most of us value. Benjamin Ayres plays well opposite her. There is chemistry, but it's quiet because that's what the setting requires.

The problem is there just isn't anything that makes the movie stand out like I usually expect from Nikki. That's more because of the story than anything. No great highs or lows. No surprises. The only tension is the future of their relationship. There is a little secret Gabe is holding until "the right time", but it was disappointingly trivial. There were some clues. "The right time" turns out to be about half way through.

This is a mature and well acted offering that explores what it takes to have a happy marriage despite the challenges. Nikki DeLoach and Ben Ayers were fantastic and have wonderful chemistry. It was like they were really married and in love. They were a perfect match. Nikki is so sincere in her delivery, you really believe that everything that comes out of her mouth is from her heart. The whole cast was great, except grandma was a little teensy bit over the top. Sorry Grandma. The script was excellent with humor, heart, and a few tender moments. And it managed to avoid most of the Hallmark set pieces. Even the big misunderstanding near the end was handled with maturity and aplomb. The challenges to the happy ending were complex and real. No phony silliness at all. A breath of fresh air.

There's been quite a few Christmas movies I've watched this holiday season that had a bit too much unnecessary giddiness in them. But this one was an enjoyable watch. No over the top giddiness, the characters were likeable and it had a good story. The leads had great chemistry together and the supporting cast did well too. I would definitely recommend this to family and friends.

Potentially, there was a really good movie to be found within the broad outlines of the overall situation and the plot. In this adaptation, however, while the actors pleasantly went thorough their assigned paces to reach a meaningful conclusion, there was almost no chemistry between any combination of the actors -- just a little, here and there. No Zing! No spark. Kind of like watching paint dry.

This film, with a great cast, is more interesting than the usual romcom that we're so accustomed to on at least three Christmas channels on cable and one other service.