Grounded for Christmas

The ex ostensibly forces them together into the charade, but he never seemed like a realistic possibility. The actor overplayed his lameness a little. Actually, most of the acting was less than stellar especially in embarrassing confrontations. The exception was Julianna Guill and Corey Sevier together. The antagonism turning to romance seemed real, albeit rushed.

There is more of a twist near the end than I've seen in a Christmas movie in a while. Caught me totally by surprise. The implications disturbed me a little at first and lowered my respect for one of the leads.

First off its not a "holiday" movie its a Christmas movie. Get over it if that offends you. Secondly, RELAX people, its a CHRISTMAS MOVIE. On LIFETIME. Its cute, nothing heavy, so if you actually are able to just enjoy things, you'll probably enjoy this movie. Better than I expected, good romantic story. Enjoy.

One of my favorite romantic plot devices is the bringing a fake boyfriend home for what ever reason. This one did a great job thanks mostly to the great chemistry between the two likable leads. Cheryl Ladd as the warm and loving mom was a welcome addition. I have seen her also play a cold ruthless boss this Christmas movie season. She was equally believable in both roles. So that must mean she is a very good actress. And she still looks beautiful. The ex-boyfriend was really creepy, by the way. It was hard to swallow how Nina could ever had had her heart broken by him. Very cute and romantic ending

I really liked this movie. The lead characters had great chemistry, and I thought Julianne Guill played her part perfectly. I think perhaps Lifetime is trying to do more realistic Christmas movies than Hallmark. Nina is a commercial airline pilot who has had to struggle to be accepted in her industry (she's not a bookstore or bakeshop owner, thank goodness). She meets Brady, a fellow pilot recently joining her airline, who admits that rumors have unfairly painted him as a player, and he hates it. Even Nina realizes that she is pre-judging him without even knowing him. You can always find some leaps of faith, so to speak, in these Christmas romance movies, such as the airport being closed for several days. And the fake boyfriend ruse has been probably overused in romance movies, but it's still a popular premise (even in books), and I thought it was handled well. So many Christmas romance movies are goofy (lead males named Nick drive me nuts and the town having a Santa character who magically intervenes), and kudos to this movie for avoiding some of that typical sap. I enjoyed getting to know Nina and Brady. I even thought a sequel (never done in these romance movies, it seems) would be interesting.

Nothing to expect about a Christmas film but being charming. And this is it. First, forCorrey Sevier. Second, for the story itself, for humor, ingenuity and complications. And, sure, for the atmosphere. Two colegues. A problem in routinethey becoming a sort of couple. And a predictable frame. And, not the last, rrasonable game with cliches. So, just charming.