Christmas Class Reunion

I love that the Liberty commercial guy is in this. He's actually very charming and was probably the best actor in this movie. I was a huge Friday Night Lights fan and Aimee Teegarden was really great in it. What this says to me, is that the Hallmark writers need to work a little harder with the dialogue they give. Next year I would love to see the successful girl go back to her hometown...she can still fall in love with the one that got away or whatever....just make the man move to the big city. You wanna know why? City life is AWESOME! And you absolutely should live there if you can. Not everyone wants a life in the suburbs.

The teaser text for this movie would have made a great movie, potentially. But the writers didn't even try for that. The idea of a class reunion with surprises and successes and disappointments could have been dramatic and humorous at the same time, but the reunion only appears in the last act and the script never really focuses on it very much. Yeah, they have a room full of people, but do nothing with it.

We have a female lead whose firm is collapsing, but they spent so little time on establishing her in it that 'Who cares?' They made a weak pass at an antipathetic romance when she distrusts the "high school goof off" as an event organizer, but they didn't really make much of that, either.

We did find ONE funny moment, when she tells a company that "The North Pole" is a deceptive name for a company, given that it's devoted to "exotic dancers".

Otherwise, these lazy writers showed no originality and wasted our time.

Hallmark has released a string of disappointing Christmas movies in 2022. The Christmas Class Reunion movie in 2022 is so predictable and slow moving to the point of being boring. The movie has a great cast with Aimee Teegarden from Friday Nights Lights as one of the lead characters. But the writers didn't put together a decent script for the cast to perform. The storyline was even more predictable than most Hallmark Christmas movies but most of the movie was depressing with couple breakups, conniving business folks in the class, and workaholics classmates who have made a mess of their lives in the big city. Hallmark should focus on quality versus holiday drivel.

I have loved Aimee Teegarden since the Friday Night Lights days, and I have enjoyed all her Christmas movies for Hallmark - last year's 'My Christmas Family Tree' and 2018's 'Once Upon a Christmas Miracle are standouts - to this point, and enjoyed them all.

So of course I was anticipating 'Christmas Class Reunion' which sees the "cursed" class of 2007 reunite at Christmas (because everyone is already in town for the holidays) fifteen years after they graduated high school.

There are a number of intertwined stories but Elle's (Teegarden) is the main one, as she plans the reunion - which doesn't exactly go to her meticulous plan - whilst being torn between her high school crush and the guy who she didn't really like back then, the class clown who has matured and has a daughter.

It's a fairly predictable movie in the sense that you have a pretty good idea of exactly what's going to happen, but there are some nice moments throughout the film that definitely resonate. Christmas is a wonderful time for nostalgia, and what is more nostalgic than a high school reunion at Christmas?

Don't over-think a movie like this. Just watch and enjoy. Yes, everything ends happily, but that's fine. That's what you want from a movie like this! You could do a lot worse. Indeed, Hallmark HAS done a lot worse this year and in past years.

Elle (Aimee Teegarden) was an over-achiever in high school and still is. I could not figure out why on earth she would want to continually try to oversee class reunions especially since each one since their graduation has been a disaster for one reason or another. She even states that "it's the job of the class president to plan reunions." Devin Ryan, her classmate, says he didn't realize that it was a lifelong position. I thought the same thing. I know our class reunions were never planned by the class president. She is really rude to Devin. A lot. Repeatedly. While Devin with stars in eyes, is the ever-longsuffering male lead who puts up with her excessive, whiny demands just hoping to somehow merit a sideways gland and a smile from the diva who can do no wrong. Crumbs from her table.

Yasmeen Kelders, who plays Devin's daughter, was adorable and spot on in her acting. Watch for this kid. She will go places.

Samantha's assistant, James, is so over-the-top with his gay-ness he is not even believable. I get that Hallmark is trying to make a statement that they are not homophobic, but damn, tone it down a bit. James was literally a caricature.

And WHY is Aimee ALWAYS AND FOREVER clearing her throat? That is so annoying! She does it in every single movie.

And lastly, This movie has little or mothing to do with Christmas other than the word is its title. There were not even any beautiful street decorations to admire. But then again, we were spared the timeworn clichés of the snowball fights and the tree lighting. Finally "Santa" shows up and "saves the reunion". Way to go, Santa. But he can't save the movie. It's a snoozer.