Coup de foudre à l'auberge de Noël

I've seen my fair share of bad Christmas movies over the years, but B&B Merry takes the cake for being amongst the worst I've ever seen. From its cringe-inducing acting to its nonsensical plot, this movie is a disaster from start to finish. The acting is truly terrible. The actors are all wooden and unconvincing, and their delivery of the lines is laughable, especially the older ladies. The dialogue is also incredibly cheesy and forced, making it even harder to take the movie seriously. It's as if the screenwriters didn't even bother to try to come up with a plausible story.

Overall, B&B Merry is a complete waste of time. It's not funny, and it's not even remotely entertaining. If you're looking for a good Christmas movie to watch, avoid this one at all costs.

Once the premise is set up, this movie follows the usual lines for a movie in this genre. The premise has a tiny twist on blogger sent to review a place to stay in a small town. In this movie, Tracey has already accepted an invitation to a struggling B&B as an independent reviewer on a romantic getaway. But a big magazine offers to hire her for a review on another more traditional hotel in the same town. She figures she can do both, ignoring the obvious conflict of interest. So as she checks into the B&B, she has one secret but quickly adds a second - her boyfriend breaks up with her while she is literally on the porch before checking in.

From there the usual stuff unfolds. The break-up secret is revealed quickly and actually generates some sympathy. It also makes her available romantically. There are Christmas activities. There are discussions with intimate friends or relatives about the fact that there is no romance. Tracey helps Graham make the inn more appealing. They decide to revive a Christmas dance tradition. There is an expected conflict and the resolution is much the same as many movies with a similar premise.

This movie is family friendly. The acting is decent. The dialogue is also, but not sparkling. There is chemistry between Jen Lilly and Jesse Hutch. Once aspect was overplayed. Graham's mom and aunt who really run the inn go overboard drastically in doing things for Tracey in the name of hospitality. Were I the guest here I would run away from the intrusive attention.

If you want a stupid but cute Christmas movie, this is a decent option. The acting is not the greatest, the lines sound very mechanical and the reactions are sometimes way too much (seem more like a child movie), but it is very Christmasy and overall it has a positive vibe and a festive atmoshere : what you look for in the end while watching this kind of movies. The lead actrice managed to be both cute and annoying in the same time because of her way-too-much reactions. Aprart from that, the story is ok, adapted to the year we live in, beautiful decoration and beautiful image. If you don't expect too much from it, you won't be dissapointed.

The plot isn't new ... a travel reviewer arrives at a property (in this case a struggling B&B) which needs some good publicity to combat the business they're losing to the new hotel in town.

Of course, the reviewer comes with secrets. Her boyfriend--who was supposed to come to the town and stay with her--just dumped her, and she's ALSO supposed to review the new hotel.

In my mind, the first 3/4ths of the movie was better than the end, as it had all the secrets and angst and meetings and funny awkward moments. But that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy the movie. It also has what all these movies need and not all provide ... legitimate relationship building scenes and enough of them.

Recommended, and we'll watch again.

I enjoy holiday movies any time of year. I also enjoy romantic comedies involving the holidays, such as is the premise of this movie. Unfortunately, although the plot and theme of the movie was attractive, I never saw or felt any chemistry between the leads. I especially felt that Graham was just going through the lines, no emotion, no connection and no chemistry at all. , I never got the warm, touching, and feel good emotions that I generally get when watching the Hallmark movies. If only the chemistry would have been there and perhaps Grahams part could have been written better or played by a different actor, but I don't think even that would have made that much difference. Sorry, but that's the truth.