December Bride

The characters in this movie are annoying. They enter into a FAKE engagement for no good reason and the guy really needs to shave the peach fuzz. It just makes his face look dirty. The girl is really really really annoying in that she suckers the guy into being a part of the fake engagement, which he goes along with because he likes her. He doesn't grow a spine until close to the end. I really think he would be better off with another girl. She is WAY too high Maintenance!! Can we please GROW UP ALREADY and act like adults??? Anyway, apart from the dumb relationship, there is a lot of Christmas decorating and a great place to get ideas for decorating your own home.

A nice change of pace from the usual Christmas romance plot. A lively plot, well acted with some sparks and pizazz by likeable lead characters. Don't want to say too much more for fear of spoiling some of the plot twists. I'll just say that it was a pleasure to watch.

I am a sucker for the Hallmark formula, but this film was lacking in emotion. Unfortunately, the decorations had more soul than the leading lady.

Though this film could have been better; it really wasn't that bad.

I am amazed at all of the glowing reviews for this movie and Jessica Lowndes in her role as the "December Bride". I had seen it before, and apparently didn't hate it, but upon catching a few minutes of it here and there last night, I just have to articulate my frustration. Jessica Lowndes is gorgeous, glamorous, and stunning. This role, as a jilted, hurt, insecure young lady, needed a more Sandra Bullock type rather than a Scarlet Johannson or Angelina Jolie type. It needed someone we could feel sorry for and relate to. It needed an actress with some comic timing, not a line reader. Her acting was the worse I have ever seen in a Hallmark movie. She did not inhabit her part, I was just listening to an actress read her script with some expression. I am sure I will get nothing but "not helpful" votes for this. but I just had to get it off my chest.

In fact, I just looked up her resume and she has been in only one other Hallmark movie, Merry Matrimony. Same comments on her acting there, so now I know I am not crazy. Daniel Lissing was quite good, and she was probably the beneficiary of his reflected glory in this one.

Am not saying that with malice. Hallmark Christmas films do have a tendency more often than not to be very predictable, cliched, very cheesy, too schmaltzy and over-scored. There have been many times where they have also been very cute, warm hearted, heartfelt, charming and appealingly acted. Really did want for 'A December Bride' to be all of those latter adjectives, as Hallmark have shown quite a number of times that they can make watchable films.

Which sadly 'A December Bride' is not. It has a few good things and is not quite down there with the very worst Hallmark Christmas films. It is said with regret though that to me 'A December Bride' was pretty much all of the negative adjectives mentioned above complete with bad acting and characters not worth caring for. Judging from the previous comments that criticism is going to be met with a mixed response, but it's just my thoughts.

Daniel Lissing is the best thing about 'A December Bride'. He has a natural charisma and has a charming appeal as the only halfway likeable character in the entire film.

The decorations are quite striking in design and colour. The scenery is generally nice as is some of the photography.

Most of the photography though is quite unfocused and drab and the film felt rather indifferently directed. Other than Lissing, the acting is poor. Jessica Lowndes came over as expressionless and under-rehearsed and the rest of the cast overdo their roles to an embarrassing degree. Almost all of the characters were irritating and unsympathetic, have not seen such a hateful family on film for a long time and that is saying something, and there is no real chemistry between the two leads. The music needed more subtlety in use and in placement.

When it comes to the dialogue, it is very awkward in flow and there is no heart to it. Both the cheese and sentiment go overboard, and because of disliking the characters so much there was nothing in 'A December Bride' to connect with emotionally. The story is not much of one at all for most of the length, much of the first portion is endless and pointless filler and what there is of the story is very dull and makes no sense. Character motivations are confused and compared to the mean-spiritedness of much of the rest of the film the ending felt really tacked on and contrived, one of those belonged in another film type endings.

Overall, quite weak. 3/10