Noël tout feu tout flamme

Sometimes it seems like all these movies have someone about to lose their business or their jobs. Olivia's dance studio is in trouble. Neither she nor the widower Michael are dating anyone before they meet each other.

AnnaLynne McCord and Colin Lawrence have modest chemistry. Briefly McCord's bright charm personality shines, but briefly.

There were two unusual things as these movies go. Michael is caught on video doing practice ballet with his preteen daughter. It goes viral. It's cute. The second thing is Lilly, the daughter's reaction to Michael dating her dance teacher. These two things drive the story in a non-formulaic direction. The middle of the story seems to stall a bit, but stick through it. There is a nice, slightly sappy, climax and ending which couldn't have happened without these two unusual threads.

Even though it has the word Christmas in the title, this TV movie doesn't feel very christmasy. The movie started well, and the actors playing the father and daughter gelled, little did I know they were real life father and daughter! Unfortunately I found the second half rather flat. An okay watch, but didn't have the sparkle. With respect to other reviewers, I fail to see why Covid needs to be seen in a movie, it is rammed down out throats enough in the real world. Movies aren't real!

I have made my feelings clear about these formulaic Lifetime Christmas movies.

They are made for those round the clock Christmas channels that start in September and minor television channels.

In Britain, this was shown on the BBC in the afternoon.

Michael Foster is a widowed father and a fireman. His daughter Lily likes ballet dancing and a video of Michael dancing with his daughter goes viral.

Michael gets the attention of Olivia. She is beautiful, single and is Lily's ballet teacher. They go on a date but Lily is not entirely happy that her father is seeing someone else.

The best you can say about this movie is that it is inoffensive. There is some romance, some music and plenty of schmaltz.

It is also far away from reality. Made in 2021, this is a world where Covid never hit.

The change of title, from the original "Dancing through Christmas" should tell you all. Lifetime should begin most of their seasonal movies with the disclaimer "Any reference to Christmas, and entertainment, is purely casual". At start, the movie is fresh and and charming. Then, it turns progressively more insipid and boring. It looks like the writer had a good spark, but could not find enough inspiration to fill the time allotted for the action. The cute moment of a single father dancing with his daughter is insufficient to carry the weight of an entire show.

There seemed to be something slightly different about the romance in this film, but I can't quite put my finger on it. There wasn't the struggle as much as I've found in other films.

It's mature for a change, there's no silliness or over the top moments or comedy characters, no "Is he the real Father Christmas" at the mall to make it magic! It's just simple and effective. I've seen some reviews stating that it's not Christmassy enough, but I don't agree. I felt very cheered by it and the seasonal warmth it brought.

Generally I liked it, but personally I would have pursued a relationship with Noah, because I'm shallow and he was better looking, but I could also see the appeal of the lead male.

If I had to criticise, it would be to say that the Grandma was not a good actress, but she doesn't really get in the way too much.

Not the best that you will ever see, but definitely worth checking out.

6ish.