Christmas by Starlight

When I read the story line I was a bit disappointed but these two did a great job and saved the movie from another predictable story line. They have great chemistry and had me laughing much more than most hallmark movies.

The best dialog of any of the Hallmark movies. Reminds me of snappy repertoire from the old classic movies. Good job writers and lead actors.

This is a very good Hallmark Christmas movie; it is one of the best thus far this 2020 season. The plot, of course, was quite predictable: I knew the ending already 10 minutes in after the scene at the coffee stand where the leads make a deal. However, to be fair, most people watching Hallmark films are not in it for unpredictability. I think, what is most important is whether the film pulls you in, engages you. This one pulled me from the start. I wonder if the writer was at all influenced by the film Two Weeks Notice (starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock), as this film reminded me a little of that one. The script, I thought, was well-written, especially the dialogue, the banter between the two leads. It was fun, cute and touching. Regarding the latter, I especially enjoyed the scenes with the gift Annie gave William and the one near the end where they have their first kiss (Annie's response to William here was touching, I thought). Overall, the acting was great. Kimberley Sustad's performance as Annie was impressive; for example, she did an excellent job with her dialogue (her banter) with William (played by Paul Campbell). Campbell had a good performance as well. I typically enjoy his Hallmark movies. The chemistry between the two was good but not great, not as good as the leads in, e.g., The Angel Tree (another very good Hallmark film this Christmas) or Lifetime's A Welcome Home Christmas. That said, the banter between the two was excellent. The supporting cast also had a good performance. Darren Martens had a strong performance in the role of Lyle. Finally, the scenery, props, and sets were all well-polished and quite festive. I did not notice any, e.g., fake snow in this one. Overall, this is a very entertaining Christmas movie, a nice new edition to Hallmark's 2020 movie lineup/collection.

Despite the fact that the setup for the story was crazy ridiculous, there are still elements of the same old plot lines. Annie marches off in her pajama bottoms to save the family café from being torn down by the evil developer. The irresponsible son of the company's owner needs to grow up. Annie turns out to be brilliant. I had to get over hating the premise, because really it was all just a vehicle to let Kimberley Sustad and Paul Campbell give the audience some delightful sparring and great chemistry.

Campbell is a veteran at the irreverent and carefree male lead. I'm glad to see Sustad is becoming a regular for Hallmark as the leading lady. And as many reviewers have noted, these two have been together before. Both of these stars are involved in writing for the movie.

As I said, there are a lot of the same old plot lines right down to the final scene in the movie. It's all predictable. There's no real surprises and the only tension is that one thing you know will get resolved somehow. But this movie is about the stars (not to be confused with the starlight).

This movie is genuinely funny, heart-warming, and well-written. I can only hope Paul Campbell and Kimberley Sustad do more writing for Hallmark, specifically because I love the comedic touches put into this film (for all the rom-coms they put out, Hallmark frequently forgets to be funny). Paul Campbell is a force to be reckoned with when humor is in the picture, and I personally feel he thrives in those charmingly funny roles much more than when he plays overly earnest, serious characters (his best performances for me are his roles in Window Wonderland and Surprised by Love, where he plays Shawn-Spencer-like characters that you both want to roll your eyes at and love with all your heart). Even as a businessman, he gets to be authentically funny here, and paired with Kimberley's equally sharp comedic chops (she absolutely nails awkwardness in a way that's super amusing), the movie just works. It moves fluidly, believably, and the scenes are just fun to watch even if you already know how the whole thing will end.

Funny enough, I don't think the chemistry between Paul and Kimberley's characters was particularly strong (nor in their last movie they starred in together), but they're such a great writing team, I'd love to see them work together again.