A Lot Like Christmas

I am a fan of Maggie Lawson and her energy and upbeat personality. I was very pleased to see that Clay didn't march in oozing with arrogance and privilege. The character needs to be confident, almost to the point of overconfidence, but Russell didn't overdo it. Clay is actually a pretty nice guy and there is no mean and antagonistic confrontation with Jessica like so many rom/coms seem to think are necessary.

Unless the story has a special sentimental draw, I want upbeat in my Christmas movies. Tension is necessary, but this movie spends a great deal of screen time showing how small businesses and small towns are being ruined by big corporate ones. It's a fact of life. It's not an unusual story angle especially in Christmas movies, but there was too much of it in this case.

This movie diverts from the formula by having Clay's secret revealed around the half way point. This makes it possible to take an unusual tack through the rest of the movie, but unfortunately it was annoying. "It's not personal, it's business" immediately disqualifies Clay as any kind of romantic interest given Jessica's circumstances. Perhaps the appropriate response to him is "It's not business, it's my entire life". Clay has no clue. The ruined the rest of the movie for me and despite it was the only way to end this type of movie, I couldn't believe what happened.

I thought this was going to be yet another big-bad-executive-comes-to-the-small-town-to-ruin -it holiday movie. But in A Lot Like Christmas, the Big Bad executive is Clay Moore, who is one of those guys who everybody likes. He comes into town from Manhattan looking for a Starbucks. He asks these two elderly men that are sitting on a bench and they tell him that of course there is no Starbucks in that small little town, but there is a local diner. After getting the directions, Clay asked them if they wanted anything. They give him a big order which Clay remembers! Clay is just a nice guy who can talk to anybody about anything, buys random strangers breakfast, and helps older women with their groceries, etc ect etc

There were so many cool things about this movie. I loved the fake falling snow. The mayor was an African American woman. There was thankfully just two small town traditions. Too many can ruin a movie.

Jessica and Clay meet when she hits him with a tree she is cutting down on her family's farm. Oh and one of the things I look for in all of these Hallmarkish romances is a dance scene btw hero and heroine. After Jessica declares Clay her enemy, they have this we're-not-dancing-together dance to Jingle Bells, which was sooooo cute!!!!

And did I mention how much I loved Clay--with his lilac shirts and purple suits!

This is not a Hallmark movie but is made just like one, with the same type of story arc. Two 40-ish people are attracted to each other, a big issue gets in the way to make them leery about the other, and it all gets resolved before the end. It even has what my wife and I call the "Hallmark kiss" during the last minute of the movie.

My biggest detraction is Maggie Lawson who plays Jessica Roberts, the Christmas tree farm owner (with her brother). She isn't a particularly good actress but she has a really annoying voice, sort of a gravelly quality to it that both my wife and I found off-putting. Maybe that is why she is making TV Christmas movies.

Anyway, their little community farm, established in 1947, is struggling but the holiday season is usually a good one for them. This season a Manhattan based company has opened a big multi sales store that threatens to close down the smaller community owned businesses. But their marketing manager is a handsome, single man that takes to Jessica right away, and she to him.

The story has a good message, sometimes being where you want to be is more important than business success at all costs. We enjoyed it as light entertainment after dinner at home streaming on Amazon Prime.

Should you look for originality, you may take a negative view of this film. Big business crushing "mom and pop" enterprises, business competitors attracted to one another are themes that abound in shows. This time, though, they are developed with the appropriate tones. Love and hate situations, resentments among friends, hopes and dismays are rendered soberly, therefore credibly. Maggie Lawson and Christopher Russell are a good match and make their story appealing. Good will and kindness prevail, as expected in a Christmas movie. The result is not a home run, but a solid Holiday movie, one that it may be worth watching. GAC seems to have found the thread lost by Hallmark in many of its recent productions.

It's "Clay" (Christopher Russell) who arrives in a small town just as the animated snow is falling onto such an obvious studio set - so now we know what we are in for. He's there to help set up a new superstore that's going to be just what the townsfolk need for jobs and prosperity. Meantime, the "Roberts" farm is facing a tough time. "Scott" (Matt Visser) keeps telling sis "Jessica" (Maggie Lawson) that they are on the brink of bankruptcy! The last thing they need is the new shop, especially one run by his old pal "Xavier" (Ian Collins). Scene set? Well now we have to create the gently convoluted scene in which she and "Clay" meet, then there's the bit when the start to fall for each other before the bit about him about his owning up to why he's there. Will she forgive him? Can they have a truce as the all important Christmas market will be crucial for her family and his job, yada yada... The denouement? Well come on now! I didn't hate this, and for the festive season it's your typical cheesy drama with some very light humour (mostly contained at the very start) and just the hint of a frustrated bromance between "Scott" and "Xavier" that's disappointingly undercooked. Nope, there's no way you will ever recall watching this, but it's harmless fodder to shove on in the background whilst you wrap, or stuff, or snooze through December.