A Match Made at Christmas

My Christmas film viewings over-time have been a very mixed bag. With some surprisingly good hits, where regardless of how predictable they are succeed in being full of charm, warmth and heart so succeeding in being light-hearted and undemanding fun. But also some quite big misses, where the characters are not likeable, everything is forced and shallow with implausibility too in some of the worst cases, the acting and writing being weak and basically with just nothing to them.

Personally have seen worse Christmas films overall than 'A Match Made at Christmas'. When it comes to Christmas films made in 2021, which was a very mixed bag (some surprisingly good, some average to decent and some average or less), 'A Match Made at Christmas' is one of the worst. The premise was a quite nice one, despite not being exceptional, but one major thing brought it down significantly and made it impossible to enjoy as it affected many other aspects as well.

'A Match Made at Christmas' has good things. Micah Lynn Hanson is charming in the female lead role, she looks comfortable and never overacts or undersells.

The production values are also quite nice, especially the scenery.

Sadly, they are not quite enough to salvage the film from being a complete mess everywhere else. What dooms 'A Match Made at Christmas' is as others have said the excessive unlikability of the male lead character. Overdone character flaws are a major pet peeve, especially if the character in question is meant to be likeable or/and rootable later on, and have not seen arrogance and disrespect this blatant in a long time. Tim Llewellyn is very wooden in the role. It is true that there are plenty of flawed people out there and that they do change and grow, but the flaws here are so overdone and any change or growth felt rushed and underdeveloped. Didn't detect any real chemistry between Hanson and Llewellyn, where it looked under-rehearsed or like they didn't like each other much, and their relationship is underdeveloped.

Character development is pretty limited in quantity and quality and the supporting cast look lost and at best forgettable in underwritten stock roles. The story is rather flimsy and it drags a lot, due to finding Llewellyn's character so mean spirited any charm or heart was very difficult to detect. What there is of the story is very little different to what has been seen before many times and better, while the final quarter is too pat and contrived. The script is stilted and can be very corny and too often mundane, also found it over serious.

Overall, pretty weak. 3/10.

First, they throw way too many of the generic movie plot points in. It's like a mash up/rip off of several different movies jammed into one.

Second, the male lead is a complete ahole. The look in his eyes when he's telling the old woman off was genuinely chilling. I actually turned it off at that point. I understand he hasn't grown up with love in his life. I understand he has issues. But the real message the movie should have sent is that he needs to deal with those on his own before entering into a serious relationship. Very disturbing that many people see this as ok and think she should be expected to fix him. She deserved better.

Holly Everton has watched her great aunt make perfect matches for people all her life. But never for her. Small town, works at a fishing shop, dreams of travel and finding her perfect match. Her brother is home for his Christmas wedding, and he brings his college roommate along to be best man. He dislikes romance, she dreams of the perfect wedding, he can't stand Christmas, she loves it, in short, they don't like each other. He's rude & she's a people pleaser; it's not a good look. But it's what you expect in romance, right?

I like that the people look like real people and the houses look like real family houses, and the shop (the fishing part, not the Christmas side) looks like a real shop. The widowed mom looks like a good age for a widowed mom. The great aunt is suitably aged. The decorations are a bit over the top everywhere but that's just par for the Christmas movie scene.

The second-half turns into a much deeper movie in the first half was setting up (though not well), which may be partly responsible for all the bad reviews. The romance is hard won & the characters both have some growing up to do. Hers is all on screen while his is just a brief grumpy montage with no particular motivation except enough time passes that he's not mad any more.

This film ends up asking some real questions about helping versus taking over, what you owe to your family and your friendships, and living your life for and through other people instead of for yourself.

There was zero connection between the leads and too many red flags already. It really was painful to watch so I had to accelerate the speed of the movie and skip some parts so it ends quicker. The girl was nice but the main character was just too rude and wooden. Like, come on, he didn't have to be super nice to everyone, but just some basic politeness and not being a douchebag, please.

Also it's suspicious to see so many 10* reviews, especially considering that almost for all of these commenters it's an only review hmmmm

All in all, would NOT recommend and if you think the main male character's attitude is ok and romantic I'v got some bad news for you (and better run it by your psychologist)

Really don't know how to feel about it. The heroine is really sweet, but I do feel it's a pity that she doesn't end up being treated witht the same level of kindness and love by the world and people around her. I really wish she could just have more self-esteem and be more emotionally independent.

The male lead is so inconsiderate and snobbish most of the time, but he could also be very nice and heatening when he wants to. He thinks he is a rational being and everything in life can be deconstructed with financial theories. However, life may be more sophisticated than that, and sometimes, you should be more open hearted to see the beauty in life as it is, not as it should be.

What kept me finishing the whole film is that I see in these leads some parts of myself and confusions I struggle with in my life, which lends some depth to the movie, so I really hoped the movie would offer some well-thought solution in the end, but unfortunately the ending is too hasty and falls into the old cliche of happy-ever-after.

Anyway, an acceptable film with some reflective plots but a disappointing conclusion, recommendable to those who's happy to come up with their own thoughts and feelings after watching some ambiguous films.