La recette d'un Noël inoubliable

'Our Italian Christmas Memories' (2022)

Opening thoughts: To be honest, for me the overall standard of the previous 2022 Hallmark Christmas films (with a couple of exceptions of course) was not great. The worst being very bad. Did like the premise for 'Our Italian Christmas Memories' (lovely reflective title) and applaud any film etc that explores or portrays Alzheimer's. Hallmark are no stranger to serious, quieter films and attacking difficult sensitive themes and relatable relationships.

Quite a lot of Hallmark's have succeeded in making good films with a more serious tone and heavier subjects, though others fall into the over sentimental and heavy-handed categories. 'Our Italian Christmas Memories' doesn't fall into those traps, but it would have been a better film if it tried to do less. As a film, it is above average and well intentioned, at its best actually with the Alzheimer's portrayal. But it could have been a good deal, as not all the storytelling works as well as ought. As far as the 2022 Hallmark Christmas films go, it is not one of the worst but also not one of the best.

Good things: Starting with the many good things with 'Our Italian Christmas Memories', the best thing about it is the performance of Beau Bridges. Very classy and moving. Every bit his equal is the charming and heartfelt Sarah Power. The chemistry is sweet and genuine, never sickly, while the supporting cast are solid too despite their material being variable.

Furthermore, the production values are pleasing, with slick photography, beautiful scenery and the editing is always cohesive. The script generally flows well and doesn't feel contrived or self-indulgent, it comes over as sincere and doesn't take things too seriously. The story has enough compelling parts, is very sweet and handles the subject matter tactfully. 'Our Italian Christmas Memories' is at its best in its portrayal of Alzheimer's, very moving and honest as well as tactful. Also succeeding at showing better than most films etc revolving around it how it affects not just the person diagnosed but also family and anybody else close.

Bad things: Against all this, 'Our Italian Christmas Memories' is too over stuffed with too many subplots. What makes this a problem is that it gives a choppy and rushed feel structurally and a few of the subplots are severely under-developed and under-cooked, especially for the doctor.

Have actually highly appreciated the same sex couple relationships and welcomed the increase in diversity in Hallmark films, but the one here is so underwritten and hardly there so it was not needed. The ending is unrealistically pat. The title, as has been said already, is misleading, as said there is very little passing for Italian, the traditions not being Italian and the cast would never pass for Italians, and there is also very little that is Christmassy. There are also too many cliches with nothing fresh done with them, which make most of the situations and character decisions very easy to predict prematurely.

Closing thoughts: In conclusion, decent and with good intentions but very uneven.

6/10.

I went middle of the road with my rating because, honestly, I didn't finish watching to the end. I was drawn to the title "Our Italian Christmas Memories" because I come from a family that is Italian on my father's side.

First of all, the casting was disappointing to me. Most of the cast is not Italian and doesn't even look Italian. Most are Canadian. The late matriarch of the family floats in and out of an Italian accent.

Second, they pepper the few obligatory Italian words and phrases throughout the scenes: nonno, nonna, Buon Natale, sugo (which they pronounce incorrectly as "suko" the entire time).

Third, which I realize is essential to their plot, they contend that none of the children or grandchildren in the family wanted to learn how to cook. This is unheard of in Italian homes. Kids are brought into the kitchen very early and they are very excited to be taught how to cook and bake by their mothers, grandmothers, fathers, whoever might be teaching.

Fourth, the feast of the seven fishes on Christmas Eve was barely mentioned. Of course, that was at least up to the point where I quit watching.

What really made my head explode was the CHRISTMAS PICKLE! That is a GERMAN tradition!! Not Italian!! Hallmark has even mentioned that being a German tradition before in their movie "Christmas Getaway."

I'm guessing whoever wrote, cast, directed, produced and acted in this movie has never spent any time around an Italian family at any time let alone Christmas. Very disappointing.

This movie was shown on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel and like many of the movies there it is less about romance and more about family. Sarah Powers' Anna is the central character along with Beau Bridges' Nonno. Anna has traveled the world as an adjunct professor which has left her with relationship problems with her siblings. A further complication is that Nonno has Alzheimer's which is progressing to the second stage.

The movie touches on the pain families endure as their patriarch loses vitality and worse. It deals with tension when one family member chooses a life away from the family home while those who stay behind must carry on and deal with the work involved in maintaining a family home, business or farm.

There is a romance which I thought should have been left out. There are a lot of things going on without it, and that particular relationship doesn't get much attention. It doesn't get enough attention to see any chemistry between Powers and Markian Tarasiuk's Dr. Greg.

The overall running theme of the movie is the importance of family no matter what. An ongoing thread in the story is the search for Nonna's favorite recipe.

This movie offers an alternative to all the Christmas romance movies. The acting and other production values are good.

There is some good in this one, although the Alzheimer's angle is cheap and cliched. Bridges and Power are very good, actually almost excellent, although she makes some questionable hair and costume choices. There are the tiresome Hallmark broken family tropes. Hallmark never seems to hire a hair styling crew.

The diversity police must be happy, though. Every couple is mixed race, including the pregnant lesbians.

Perhaps Hallmark is reacting to the new competition from GFAC, with more recognizable actors and slightly more complicated production design, but there is not enough here to make it stand out.

First of all, please consider that what you see in American movies is American-Italian and hardly ever Italian. Immigrants brought their traditions with them, often from small towns, they became famous there and now everyone believes they are in Italy too. For instance, I had never heard of the Feast of the Seven Fishes until I watched the American movie by the same name: nobody knows about it here, apart maybe from some small area in the south (Like mandolins, for God's sake please stop using them in every Italian movie you make :-) ). It was funny to hear them say "Sugo is regional" when the word just literally means sauce (sometimes used to describe tomato sauce, as you can imagine not a regional thing). Unfortunately the movie is right about one thing, kids not wanting to learn how to cook, people stopped learning a couple of generations ago or more. The movie itself is not bad compared to others in its genre, at least it's not just the copy/paste big town person going to a small town and falling in love, there's more here. Just one more thing that makes me smile: nono/nona means ninth in Italian, you need to add an "n" in the middle to make it grandparents. Would I recommend this movie? If you, like me, are addicted to feel-good Christmas movies I would definitely say yes.