Christmas at the Golden Dragon

This is a definite 9 in the Hallmark Christmas movie category. Some might categorize this genre as a guilty favorite this time of year. But I just call them a seasonal favorite. I'm a manly guy and I like them and that's that. Not ashamed. Ha. But back to the Golden Dragon. The first line nearly made me shut it off, as it talked about a PC kind of meaning of Christmas that had very little if anything to do with the meaning of Christmas. But as it goes on it draws you in with a pretty big handful of stories about different people tied to the restaurant, and it is a lot of balls in the air, but it manages to juggle them pretty well. There's a lot more going on in this one than the usual gingerbread contest to save the bakery, fake relationship to get the big promotion, or amnesia and love at Christmas type stories. Shock of shocks, there's even a nativity play that is quickly featured among the many stories. Usually you can be wrapping gifts or putting up decorations with a Hallmark movie on and still get the whole story because they've done it a dozen times before. Not this one. Give this one a watch, It's just a pretty darn nice movie-- some love, some family drama, and most of all a Merry Christmas.

My goodness, it was just all-encompassing. They had massively far too many characters to follow, or always to care about, but I still enjoyed most of them.

Whoever wrote this does have a flair for character development, which I enjoyed, but it was a case of almost pure overload. Remember to focus not-so-much on 20 main characters, but more like 6. That way we can really get invested and have the time, in 2 hours, to really care and root for people and hope for their best.

I'd say, though, most people will still enjoy this. Despite it thinking it's gone with the wind, it's still a semi-coherent storyline with enough going on to make you feel good about the characters and just xmas in genera. Give it a whirl and I think you'll enjoy it; but mentally just give up on the characters you aren't especially invested in,

'Christmas at the Golden Dragon' (2022)

Opening thoughts: 'Christmas at the Golden Dragon' was mainly seen for Hallmark film completest sake. Their 2022 output, like all their previous years, was unsurprisingly uneven. With some highs, some lows and plenty somewhere in between. But considering the tumultuous couple of years, the standard generally could have been worse. This is obvious in their Christmas block, which was very patchy in its first half but on the whole it did improve quite a bit. The type of location is a familiar one, but it didn't sound as formulaic as most Hallmark films and have always appreciated it when Hallmark explore family relationships and more serious themes.

There are better 2022 Hallmark films than 'Christmas at the Golden Dragon', not just their Christmas output but overall too. There are also worse. 'Christmas at the Golden Dragon' is in the high middle category. It could easily have been one of the best 2022 Hallmark films, with so much being as well executed as they were, but the less than promising first portion stopped that from happening. Stick with it as it does get better.

Bad things: Starting with the not so good things, 'Christmas at the Golden Dragon' Starts off very badly, didn't see the point of the montage, it didn't add much and doesn't really say anything.

Didn't warm to the characters straightaway, the character flaws being a little overdone which was a common problem in the 2022 Hallmark output. And it is slow to begin with.

Good things: With all of that being said, the film does get a lot better and there are a lot of good things. Kara Wang and Osric Chau (always nice to see non-regular Hallmark performers every now and again) are very engaging leads and are as good as any popular Hallmark regular when on form. They have a sincere and easy going chemistry together and the relationship is not too hurried or aimless. They are well served by the supporting cast, with the standouts being charming Genevieve Buechner and the ever classy Barbara Niven.

Moreover, the character writing does improve a lot, the characters become more likeable and grow. Production values are suitably slick, lovely locations as is often the case with Hallmark (though the locations' authenticity has always varied) and the music has a nice festive cosiness. There is a lght hearted and never awkward or cheesy script and the story has a lot of charm and warm heart, while having some familiar elements they are not done too predictably. The family relationships are handled honestly, movingly and tactfully.

Closing thoughts: In conclusion, starts rough but mostly good.

7/10.

7.3 stars.

Talk about an exceedingly sluggish start to a film, this one is in the top of the charts for sluggishness. 'Christmas at the Golden Dragon' is so slow starting I almost gave up, but I have taken note of the fact Hallmark continues to air it about once a month, so I decided (after passing over it many times) to give it a shot. I was not disappointed. You absolutely must give the story time to marinate. This is a very steady slow burn that literally gets better by the minute, and I mean every single minute it continues to improve. To provide you with my boring analysis, this film starts off at about 3/10 but an hour in I was up to a 5.5/10, and by the end it crested the 7 star mark. Give it a try, you might be glad you did.

I really enjoyed this movie. Lots of characters/storylines to follow along with. I loved that the common tie was The Golden Dragon restaurant, because many families have traditions like this, my family included. The stories felt natural and the acting, too. Each story evolved naturally, I thought. We've seen this format before (many intersecting stories in a movie), but I thought this one was well done. I didn't get lost trying to keep track of all the storylines and I'll say again it just felt natural and came together beautifully. Definitely a great new addition to the Hallmark Christmas lineup.