'Christmas Joy' did have potential. The premise was very appealing, not the most original on the block but it sounded very cute and charming. And there have been a fair share of Hallmark Christmas films that have been both of those things. Have overtime been seeing as many Hallmark Christmas films as possible, some are a lot better than others but this is not coming from somebody that hates Christmas or dismisses Hallmark straight off the bat.
More could have been done with the premise in my view in 'Christmas Joy'. It is a long way from wasted, it wasn't raw at least. It could have been cooked through more. It is not one of the best Hallmark Christmas films or one of the worst, and when it comes to their 2018 output it's towards the better half in what was a very mixed year fot them. Personally didn't think that 'Christmas Joy' was great but it was a long way from terrible, actually quite liked it while not loving it.
Am going to start with the good things, as there is more of them than there are bad. It is very professionally filmed and the locations are beautiful. Danielle Panabaker is an amiable female lead, it was great too to have a female lead character that didn't irritate or have their flaws over-emphasised (too many Hallmark films make that mistake), and Matt Long once his characters becomes more likeable is charming as well. The two work beautifully together and look at ease with each other, their relationship is prominent and develops more realistically than most other similar relationships with Hallmark.
On the most part, the characters didn't bore or irritate and the supporting characters seemed to be having fun. The script is not too cheesy or schmaltzy in my view and doesn't sound awkward. The story is heart-warming, is light-hearted, doesn't come over as too serious and is moving without being sugary sweet.
Do think that more emphasis could have been had on the cooking aspect, that was underused. Likewise, there could have been less of the music score and it could have been a lot more subtly handled in a film that sounded too over-scored. Ben was not likeable to begin with, it was hard to see what people saw in him with such a jerk-ish and uptight attitude. Thankfully this lessened when he was developed more.
The story is flawed, one should know that the Hallmark films are not to be seen if you want a Grade A story. It at least is not bland but it is very predictable, due to a done to death formula lacking freshness, and has dull stretches. Some suspension of disbelief is needed later on, such as how too easily everything is resolved.
In conclusion, above average but didn't strike me as great. 6/10
