Destined at Christmas

The first GAC Family Christmas movie I've watched in 2022 was pretty good.

A fresh story: two people meet whilst shopping on Black Friday, feel a spark...and then are separated and spend the next month or so trying to find one another with very little in the way of detail about one another - all they each have is a first name. Of course, there are the usual plot devices that you get in these movies, like a few near misses between the two main characters and the introduction of and old/new love interest. Nonetheless, still a pretty good watch. I haven't seen Shae Robbins or Casey Elliott in a film before, but they were pretty good in this one. All in all, just enough original material to keep you (well, me) interested.

When Kim and Theo lost each other at the sporting goods store because the power went out, why didn't they just wait at the front door to meet back up again?

Very obvious ending that they would finally meet up again and start a relationship. Reminded me of a bad Serendipity, where the viewers get frustrated because the main characters keep missing each other and everyone in their circle meet the person that they just keep missing.

Particularly bad acting by the child playing Theo's daughter. Absolute train wreck. Nice scenery. Shot in Utah. I didn't recognize any of the actors in this movie, including the main characters.

I don't recommend this film.

This movie has no big pretenses. It is a simple story. Kim and Theo, a single father, casually meet on Black Friday and develop a strong attraction. Unfortunately, they lose track of each other. In the following weeks, they search and keep missing each other, while carrying on with their lives. The conclusion is quite predictable. There is no serious drama, as both lead characters are wholesome people and all of the others, family and friends, seem equally nice. Some details are quivery, if not illogical. For one, why Theo's divorced wife appears nonexistent in their daughter's life?

Yet, the movie moves well and manages to be entertaining, while remaining uplifting. Shae Robins and Casey Elliot work great together, projecting warm and sincere, reciprocal feelings. The daughter, Ashley, is captivating. By the way, is she Casey Elliott's real daughter? The movie highlights plenty of Christmas, and everyday, values, such as kindness, generosity and love. If the goal was to provide a family friendly Christmas tale with simple, honest, uplifting emotions, the mission is accomplished. Based on it's values, GAC is my Christmas destination.

I like the movie, but it does have an issue in the plotting design.

The couple meets at the beginning of the movie, develop an affinity for each other, then are separated, each only knowing the other's first name.

They spend the rest of the movie trying to "detective out" the other's identity, plus of course a few near misses. That makes the plot dodge most of the Christmas romance cliches (except he of course is a single dad with an adorable daughter and no mention of what happened to his wife ... but they can't dodge them ALL LOL).

The issue is that after the very early minutes of the movie, the leads can't appear together again until, or course, the very end. I don't think that's a spoiler. ;-)

I like the story and the characters, but a lot of the scenes don't build the story and just fill time. It's worth a watch but I don't see it being on our repeat list despite the fact the ending was well done.

My wife and i really enjoyed this. This movie has none of the political platform traps that we are starting to see, which seems to go along with the GAF label, current trends free.

The synopsis for the movie is misleading, making me believe whoever wrote the thing did not in fact watch the movie. While it is true they are looking for one another after meeting, what is not said is that they each have vague clues to go by, which gives it an extra layer.

But, the real kicker is that unbeknownst to each, they are connected at so many different levels through interpersonal relationships. This adds many more multiple layers to the story.

They took some time planning out this one --Thnx.