Christmas in Harmony

5/10 - the story was fine and I love Ashleigh Murray, but I was so thrown off every time her character sang because it sounded like an entirely different person did her singing which is deeply confusing given that she is a very gifted singer (why did she not get to do her own singing???)

Christmas in Harmony is another decent Hallmark movie this 2021 Christmas season, with solid acting and some 'wow' musical performances. The story revolves around Harmony (played by Ashleigh Murray), a music exec expecting a promotion to Senior Director of Acquisitions after 10 years of paying her dues. However, to her surprise and frustration, she is let go due to the company's recent merger. Furious, she heads home to spend the Christmas holiday with her family. Her mother (played by Loretta Devine) sets her up with a gig directing the Holiday Chorus at the local church. Little does she know that her ex-boyfriend Kyle (played by Luke James) is co-directing the choir. The story follows Harmony and Luke as they rediscover their passion for music and each other, as they prepare and rehearse for their big holiday performance. The script, I thought, was decent. The writer had some very good dialogue (and banter) between Kyle and Harmony early on in the story. There was also a nice scene (and dialogue) in the living room with Harmony and her mother and sister drinking wine, having a girl's night. That said, about halfway into the movie, I did start to lose interest. The dialogue between the leads, which started strong, started to fall flat. It wasn't until the last ten minutes, at the concert, that things started to pick up again. Which leads me to the music. Wow. It is good. Indeed, the movie's strength, as other reviewers have pointed out, is the musical performances. Both Murray and James can sing; they have great voices and perform wonderfully in this one. The movie is built around these musical performances. However, I did find the pre-recorded music scenes - where they lip-sync when shooting - to be a bit of a distraction on a couple of occasions (e.g., the Christmas caroling scene). These scenes just did not feel real. Why not shoot them live? Sure, they might not sound like they were produced in a studio, but they will sound real and feel authentic. In terms of acting, both Murray and James had solid performances. The first few scenes were excellent. The back and forth between the two in the church, while they waited, was brilliant. I could feel the chemistry on the screen. However, as the movie progressed, I found their performances increasingly less impressive, though the ending was strong. Their scenes were, simply put, a bit dull at times in the second half of the film. Their performances stopped engaging me. The supporting cast was a bit mixed. I enjoyed watching Devine as Mama; she is great to watch. Michelle Williams (playing Melo D), on the other hand, was difficult to watch on screen. It felt like she was acting, especially her first scene, which is never a good sign for an actor. All in all, it is a decent Hallmark film, not one of their best, nor one of their worst this season thus far.

Previously, the Hallmark Movies my wife and I watched pigeonholed the Black performers into a White behavior mode. This script gave the Black leads more Black colloquial dialogue, which made the characters more believable.

As much as I appreciate Hallmark for finally being more inclusive & diverse, I hated this movie & it barely held my attention. It was mostly due to casting & some story. While I was familiar with Loretta Devine & Michelle Williams work, I had to IMBD the 2 main leads. They didn't have much of an acting resume. So outside of casting & the story, I just didn't like this movie. There are very few Hallmark Xmas movies I can say that about. Sorry!!

'Christmas in Harmony's' premise is not a new one for Hallmark, films of theirs centered around music are actually relatively common from having at least one every year. Likewise with Lifetime, except Hallmark does them better generally despite being fairly samey from a story level. Have always really appreciated gospel music, though it is not my favourite musical style, and it was lovely for Hallmark to do a music themed film with that style in alternative to country and pop.

Despite the very low rating as of now, 'Christmas in Harmony' on the whole impressed me. In no way is it a classic or one of Hallmark's very best, Christmas and overall, but it is nowhere near close to being one of the worst 2021 Hallmark Christmas films and is much better than the previous two Countdown to Christmas films from this year. That is saying a good deal, as unlike those two this was actually above average and in general even quite good.

A lot is good with 'Christmas in Harmony'. The best thing about it is the music, which is like an exuberant celebration of gospel and plays a big part in the story rather than being just background. As the film is one with music as its theme, this was more than appropriate when normally in other familiar Hallmark scenarios this would be a problem if done badly. It is also beautifully performed, Hallmark don't always score when it comes to having actors that can sing (and sometimes singers that can act) but they absolutely do. Some of the vocals here are amazing, despite the obviousness of it being pre recorded being a distraction at times, and all the numbers are performed and staged with real gusto.

Most of the acting is well above average and even good. Ashleigh Murray really endears in her role and gives the early scenes especially a lot of energy and heart. Luke James is an accomodating partner and matches what was so good about her performance adeptly. Absolutely loved them together, especially in the first half where there is a lot of charm and wit between the two, and connected with their characters mostly too. Loretta Devine steals every scene she's in and the easy standout of the mostly decent supporting cast. The script avoids being cheesy and schmaltzy and doesn't sound awkward generally. The story is light hearted and heart warming.

Not that the story is executed perfectly. It does lose its way in the final act, where the film starts to feel rather draggy and padded and there is not enough of the verve and charm that the rest of the film has. The dialogue also sounds less natural and the characters aren't as interesting.

Did feel too that while the cast were good on the whole, there is one glaring exception. That being Michelle Williams going through the motions in a rather flat role.

Summing up, nice film. 7/10.