Noël au château enchanté

Though predictable and unoriginal, 'Christmas at Castle Hart' is entertaining nonetheless with some beautiful Irish scenery and landscapes, appealing performances, and some lovely Irish dancing and Christmas celebration. At the center of our story is Brooke (played by Lacey Chabert), a thirty-something divorcee who, along with her sister Margo (played by Ali Hardiman), were recently fired from their (waitressing) jobs with one of the most sought after event planners. Margo thinks they should start their own event planning business, but first, what about a trip to Ireland for Christmas to search for their father's Irish roots? They're off. While at an Irish pub, they meet Aiden Hart (played by Stuart Townsend), who offers to give them a personal tour of Castle Hart. While there, they are mistaken for (or rather pose as) the elite event planner they used to work for and are hired to plan a Christmas party at the castle hosted by the Duchess of Abercorn (played by Kate O'Toole). The catch is, they only have 12 days to plan this grand Christmas event. All in all, it is an entertaining story. The writers do a good job of developing the dialogue between the sisters, which made me chuckle a few times. Indeed, the (light) humor is entertaining throughout the movie. I especially like the 'the partridge is still in the pear tree' scene. It made me chuckle. The romance and dialogue between Brooke and Aiden were pretty good, a bit of a soft touch in this one, which I felt worked fine on-screen. The family roots element of the story gets lost a bit in the narrative. However, it does remerge with a twist in a touching scene at the end. Many reviewers took issue with the morality of the movie's message. Of course, I understand the points made regarding the nature of lying and deception in the film. However, if I am being honest, I didn't think much of it while watching the movie. That is, it did not take anything away from my viewing experience. Given that deception/mistaken identity is a very popular plot device used by writers in this genre of film, maybe I have become immune to it and its implications. Or maybe, I don't take Hallmark movies too seriously. It's probably a bit of both. The acting overall was strong. Chabert, a Hallmark regular, had her usual warm performance. Townsend, a well-known Irish actor, was also convincing in his role as Aiden, the Earl of Glaslough. The two had pretty good chemistry as well, which kept me engaged with the story. Hardiman does a good job of portraying the corky, goofy sister Margo. And I can't forget the no-nonsense performance by O'Toole. Well done. From the snow-covered Irish countryside, along with the beautifully decorated castle, to traditional Irish dance and song, the film has a pleasing Christmas feel to it, which most will enjoy. If you are looking for something warm and fun with a touch of Irish holiday cheer, 'Christmas at Castle Hart' might be the Christmas rom-com for you.

5/10 - I love a Lacey Chabert Christmas movie as much (or even more) as the next person, but I felt like her charm was a bit buried in this rather boring 2021 Hallmark Channel offering.

This movie not only worked on every level, it is heartbreaking since Lacey's sister in real life passed away a few days before this came out. She said how much this movie reminded her of her sister. Another brilliant performance from Lacey. Watch it, you will love it! My only complaint is the one who played her sister didn't work for me. A little too silly.

For the last few years Lacey Chabert has done Hallmark Movies that were filled on location. It seems like she is using it as a paid vacation. She seemed to be phoning this one in. She didn't have a lot of chemistry with her co-star, and the sister character was annoying. She also didn't look anything like Lacey.

This 2021 Hallmark Christmas movie actually have me sort of conflicted.

On one hand, the movie was actually rather enjoyable and proved to be more than the usual Hallmark Christmas cheese of over-the-top romance. Sure, the movie had romance in it as well, but the romance didn't feel overshadowing for the storyline and the rest of the movie.

Then on the other hand, the storyline sort of indicates that lying through your teeth and identity theft is something that is okay to do, and you won't even get a slap on the wrist for doing so. On that account then writers Bonnie Fairweather, Paul Campbell and Rick Garman sort of dropped the ball.

But if you can look past the blatant disregard for the identity theft and the criminal implications that leads to, then the storyline told in "Christmas at Castle Hart" was actually entertaining and enjoyable. And director Stefan Scaini did manage to deliver a wholesome Christmas movie.

There is a good cast ensemble in this movie, with the likes of Lacey Chabert and Stuart Townsend in the lead roles. They carried the movie quite well, and definitely had good on-screen chemistry.

If you enjoy Christmas movies, then you certainly should give "Christmas at Castle Hart" a chance, provided you get the chance to watch it. I was genuinely entertained by this movie.

My rating of "Christmas at Castle Hart" lands on a six out of ten stars.