Christmas in Carolina

I really wanted to like this movie, but the acting was just not good at all, with the exception of the cousin. I don't even know what was going on with the writing, because it seemed like they told 5 different people to write a scene for a Christmas romance and then put them together. It's like they ran out of time at the end and just said never mind what just happened 5 minutes ago, everything is fine!

The writing is uneven, the cinematography is odd (close-ups of wine glasses and barbells; camera not in line with the actor's eyes so it looks like he's looking elsewhere), and there are numerous montages that last way too long of actions to music without dialogue. And so much doesn't make sense! Don't bother rewinding, thinking you missed something; any background, relevant part, or connecting scenes aren't there. For example, Elle is missing, and the brothers leave to find her. The next scene, it's the next day, and she's in the house, like she never left, asking for a ride to the airport, and Wesley, who was out looking for her, opens the front door dressed in a sharp red suit (not what he left dressed in). If what I wrote doesn't make sense, understand that's how I felt most of the movie. I enjoyed family interactions and some of the actors, and those are the only redeeming factors of this movie.

When I see so many 1 star reviews, I get suspicious. Don't be. It's legitimate. This movie is truly terrible and I'll give the reasons why.

The first most obvious thing you notice is the sound. Most scenes have that slight echo like it's being recorded in a big room. In the first scene, the bar background noise competes for the viewers attention with the main actors. Incoherent conversation and even silverware and plate noises.

The acting is universally bad. The quality of acting across the board is below high school drama club. Sometimes it seems like the actors are trying too hard, overacting. Wesley's brother is distracting.

I would say the story is unusual except it's hard to find the story. For one thing, the leads don't get to Carolina until well past half-way. The transitions are horrible. Things progress without making sense. Elle's attitude toward everything changes completely without any explanation. She goes from crabby to nice instantaneously. Events progress at the end that don't make sense because they aren't explained. Wesley's brother brings up something that is never explained why he thought what he said. Elle shows up where I couldn't understand how she got there based on what happened immediately before that.

The dialogue is terrible. It's boring. It seems like the writers knew they had a problem because on Wesley and Elle's first real date, there was no dialogue. For that matter, Wesley and Elle had almost no screen time together. They each had more conversation with their confidants than with each other and that conversation was repetitive and boring. There were at least three sequences of a minute or longer with music and no dialogue.

There were some weird camera shots which were a directing fail attempting to look artsy, but adding nothing worthwhile.

I add 1 star to the minimum because this movie did one thing right that is usually my pet peeve. That was making text messages readable to the viewer.

If I could give 0 stars I would. This is a terrible movie.

The plot is disjointed, the acting is poor.

If you're looking for a nice Christmas movie this ISN'T it !

I watched it hoping it would improve but sadly it didn't !

Your life is too short so don't waste your time watching this one !!!

Absolutely horrific. The acting was horrendous, & soo was everything else, right down to the lighting. Take this movie off of all platforms.