Christmas on the Menu

2020 was very variable to unimpressive when it came to Lifetime's Christmas films, and there was definitely the sense that the films were made in a rush with not a lot of preparation time. Yet enough of them were far from amateur-hour efforts and were still watchable all things considered. Lifetime just have done a lot better in previous years, although their festive output is very hit and miss it should not be dismissed outright as enough have left me pleasantly surprised.

'Christmas on the Menu' was though more or less what was expected, which was a watchable enough film with good moments and better than expected acting. But also one that is nothing extraordinary and does nothing new with pretty familiar plot tropes. Lifetime did a lot better than 'Christmas on the Menu', but also worse than what is a somewhat middling effort for them. Considering the difficult circumstances though, it did make do perhaps.

Am going to start with the good. The best thing about 'Christmas on the Menu' is the acting. Both Kim Shaw, though she overdid it at times early on, and Clayton James are very likeable leads and of the uniformly solid supporting cast Cynthia Gibb is a particular breath of fresh air. The characters are overused stereotypes but don't irritate or bore at least. Actually thought that the chemistry between Shaw and James was quite good and genuine once the relationship found its groove, have seen a lot worse lead chemistries in other Lifetime films.

The film also looks pretty decent all things considered and has some professionalism at least in its look. Especially the scenery. The music didn't sound too intrusive and some of the dialogue is cute, emphasis on some.

However, 'Christmas on the Menu' has its issues. The story never properly grabbed me, as well as being very predictable it is very thin on the ground and drags a lot from too much stretched padding and an uncertain feel most of the time. There isn't enough of an emotional core or charm which made the film come over as bland and lacking in substance too. The direction is competent in some parts but is disorganised and hesitant in others.

Furthermore, the script on the most part is too verbose and the flow is very stilted, had a feeling of it being written in haste and that it had not been proof read. The conflict completely lacks tension and it didn't actually feel like there was much at stake with the indifferent and too hasty way it's written in. A lot of ingredients in the story that are done very little with.

Overall, just about edible but didn't come over as cooked enough. 5/10.

This movie didn't hold my interest. It was boring, predictable and the lead actors had zero chemistry.

I agree with other reviewers here. The acting in this one was pretty good, especially the leads. However, my daughter had to keep throwing popcorn at me to keep me awake. So, acting aside, it was quite a snooze-worthy.

For the person who put their review title as SMH you might want to get your facts straight. You said Cynthia Gibb who plays Kim Shaws mother in this movie is only 11 years older than Kim Shaw, you are 100% wrong, they are 21 years apart in age. Did you even bother to google their ages before you made that incorrect comment? Cynthia Gibb was born in 1963 and Kim Shaw was born in 84. Cynthia just turned 57 on December 14th and Kim is 36. That is not an 11 year difference. Thats 21. You might want to relearn how to do math. So yes. Their age difference is perfectly normal for mother daughter as ALOT of people have children at 21. It just baffles me people that don't take time to actually fact check facts they think are accurate.

I liked Kim Shaw's performance in this, but a lot of the movie didn't make sense. First, the ages. Cynthia Gibb, who played Kim's mother, looks way to young to be the mother of a 35 year-old. (Good for Her!) Also, the actor that played Kim's ex- boyfriend is 7 years younger than her. At first, I was confused by his role in this, and why he was working in such close proximity to Kim's mother.

The love-interest/restaurant critic was handsome but kind of a non-entity. And since when does a food-critic agree to only give a good review or no review? His editor, Pepper, was the antagonist who doctored honest reviews to make them more mean and better click-bait. And the food critic just let her do that without a peep. What a wimp. Where is the integrity? Also present at the grand opening were two nationally known reviewers who loved everything. If the little newspaper gave a bad review, it would reflect on them, not the chef (who was also famous and lauded in her own right anyway.) Also she ate a whole big bowl of Kim's special whip cream to sabatage her. And she didn't even deny it! LOLWUT?