A Christmas Treasure

Other than working my way through watching and reviewing as many of the 2021 Hallmark Christmas films as possible, my other one of two reasons for seeing 'A Christmas Treasure' was for Jordin Sparks Thomas. Really liked her on 'American Idol' and wanted to see how she would fare as an actress, despite reservations. What has been seen of Michael Xavier (who has done a good number of Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas films in the past 2 years) has been very hit and miss, but he is far from unwatchable.

'A Christmas Treasure' is also watchable, but to me it didn't live up to its name and isn't a treasure. As far as the previously aired 2021 Hallmark Christmas films go and how it compares to them, it is neither one of the best (i.e. 'Christmas in My Heart') or worst (i.e. 'Coyote Creek Christmas'). Somewhere around the low-ish end of the middle of the pack category. The aspect that had me intrigued but also nervous prior to watching came off better than expected, but on the whole 'A Christmas Treasure' could have been better.

It has good things. Apart from some stiff moments early on, Jordin Sparks Thomas was a charming lead and was a lot better than expected, managing to just about make her character not too perfect or overdo any flaws. As an actress, she didn't blow my mind but there have been far worse examples of singers that try to act (i.e. Kellie Pickler). Xavier has likeability too, though it takes a little time for him to warm up.

The music is pleasant and appropriately festive, as well as beautifully performed. Some of the production values are nice, like some of the exterior scenery.

However, there are a number of shortcomings. The story never properly grabbed me, it does have moments of gentle charm and cuteness (without being too sugary), but the pace tends to be too languid, the tone could have been lighter and absolutely nothing new is done with a familiar formula for Hallmark. Would have liked more chemistry between Sparks Thomas and Xavier, they would be believable as good friends and come over that way but the romance is bland, with the relationship itself being underwritten (a big problem with it being focused on as much as it is). While both are acceptable on the whole, they don't grow properly into their roles immediately.

Did generally find the supporting cast flat and that the characters were tired cliches and not real people. It would have fared better with a couple less subplots (the nephew's cooking one was not particularly interesting) and given more time to the female lead's subplot and in particular the time capsule, which should have been primarily focused on but felt underdeveloped and incomplete feeling. While having nice moments, 'A Christmas Treasure' is one of the cheaper looking 2021 Hallmark Christmas films. The interiors being limited and will agree that the photography generally lacks focus. The charm and tension are absent pretty much and the ending is too on the pat side.

Concluding, watchable but rather average at best. 5/10.

Another Hallmark "boiler plate" plot. They need to make fewer movies of better quality - the best one this year, so far, is My Christmas Family Tree. I love the vintage - Hallmark Hall of Fame movies - they just don't seem to make many movies like that anymore.

This movie was better than most of the other Hallmark movies. A bit of a different story line. The leads were a better couple. Their characters were comfortable. Hopefully the rest of the Hallmark Christmas movies get better. Maybe Hallmark started listening to the bad reviews.

What can I say about A Christmas Treasure? As I watched, the dishes they prepared and discussed made my mouth water a bit. And I do want to try some of that Christmas Caroler's stew, of course. That said, I found the movie to be a bit dull if I am being honest. Moreover, I never really connected with the characters, with the story. That is, the movie did not engage me; it did not pull me in, I'm afraid. The two protagonists in this story are Lou (played by Jordin Sparks), an aspiring novelist getting ready to move to NYC after the holidays, and Kyle (played by Michael Xavier), a chef spending the holidays with his Aunt (Marcy, played by Lossen Chambers) while searching and interviewing for jobs in Chicago. The two meet at the Pinegrove Restaurant (Marcy's restaurant), as Lou and her friend mistake him for a cute waiter. At the annual Pinegrove Christmas show, Lou's father opens the town's 60-year old time capsule, revealing some interesting artifacts. The two start spending time together while, at the same time, exploring and (re)discovering the artifacts left in the time capsule in 1961. In their pursuit to find themselves via the connection to their past, the two begin to find each other, the romantic connection that hopefully leads them into the future. The writers do a good job of intertwining several sub-plots in this one that, at face value, tell a warm and heartfelt story. However, the story seemed to be stuck in third gear with no real highs or lows. Moreover, the dialogue was quite ordinary and dull at times, which made engaging with the movie difficult. This is partly a result of the acting, of course. Though Sparks had some beautiful singing, she had a rather stiff performance, I'm afraid, which was difficult to connect. Simply put, she is not the most expressive actor. Xavier, who is becoming a Christmas movie regular, had a decent performance, I thought. But here too there just seemed to be something missing. The chemistry between the two was not bad, and you could see their relationship develop as the movie progressed, which is a plus. The movie also had a warm and gentle Christmas feel to it, with some interesting items and backstories discovered in the time capsule. And of course, the scenery, props, and sets were well-polished and festive, classic Hallmark. All in all, it is a decent Christmas movie, not one of Hallmark's best nor one of their worse.

The actors play off each other really well and the characters have decent chemistry. But the story has too many sub plots to really stay invested in the main story. The description of this movie puts a bunch of emphasis on a time capsule but it's hardly ever mentioned. The main focus seemed to be more on the tavern and the nephew's cooking. The lead actress has a story line of becoming a novelist wanting to go to New York but there's really no explanation as to why New York and not San Francisco where her ancestors actually wanted to get to 100 years prior.

All in all it's a decent movie with good charm, but the story is too muddled to stay interested.