An Unexpected Christmas

Similar to last year's 'Five Star Christmas' and 'The Christmas House', 'An Unexpected Christmas' has a natural and witty feel to it, making it one of Hallmark's most entertaining Christmas movies this season. Our two protagonists in this story are Emily (played by Bethany Joy Lenz), a successful ad agency executive sent to her ex's hometown before Christmas, and Jamie (played by Tyler Hynes), the ex-boyfriend in question, a man who feels stalled in his career but who is spending this Christmas with his energetic, and sometimes chaotic, loving family. After an ill-timed run-in with Emily at the train station while picking up his sister, his family mistakenly thinks the two are still a couple. Jamie then convinces Emily, with an 'I'll help you, you help me' arrangement, to pretend they are still a couple to avoid ruining Christmas for his family. Thus, our story begins as we watch these two engage in a week-long deception, participating in the family's holiday traditions and activities together. Pretty soon it becomes clear that the pair are doing more than pretending. The writers do a great job of combining several popular plot devices and themes to advance the narrative of the story: deception (here, it's a pretend relationship), the 'stuck together during the holidays' device, and the classic 'a second chance at love' theme. These are done in a way that I found deeply satisfying. The script too is witty and the writing is heartfelt and compelling. This is displayed thru some engaging dialogue and banter between Jamie and Emily. Indeed, the characters, especially the dynamics between the two, feel genuine. They come off as two people who could have really been together but are now working through their post-breakup awkwardness and feelings. The acting, along with some good direction (by Michael Robison), is what makes this all work on-screen of course. Lenz and Hynes were brilliant. They had fantastic chemistry from start to finish, which pulled me in, engrossed me. They look and feel incredibly comfortable together on-screen, which is an appealing aspect of their performances. Lenz, in particular, is brilliant in this one. She did a wonderful job of portraying Emily's tenderness and vulnerability, and the longing she has for a place in, and the closeness of a loving family. I found it easy to connect and engage with her performance. This, combined with some funny and entertaining back and forth with Hynes, make for some very entertaining viewing. Hynes too did a great job of portraying Jamie's vulnerable side, which was quite convincing on-screen. The supporting cast was fun to watch as well. The big family vibe was front and center in this one, adding to the warm and festive atmosphere of the film. All in all, 'An Unexpected Christmas' is a fun, warm, and heartfelt Christmas movie. It's one of Hallmark's best this year. Highly recommend.

I will watch anything with Tyler Hynes in it but wasn't sure about how he would pull this one off -- in the previews, it's clearly shown that he's the one who is messing up and messing up even further by lying to his family. But Tyler is so much fun that he's even enjoyable when he's pouting, which he does a bit. There's a costume event gone awry, Bethany Joy Lenz spilling the beans to a horrified waiter, and a sister and other family who bring the Christmas cheer. Paul Campbell's writing reminds me of the best of the old ensemble romantic comedies -- I like him as an actor a lot but as a writer he's one of the best Hallmark is showcasing right now. One point off for making Paul McGillion old enough to be Tyler Hynes' dad -- especially since it wasn't so long ago that he was a romantic lead. Also, it's driving me crazy trying to figure out who plays the mom, and I can't find it in the cast list.

Tyler Hynes Bethany Joy Lenz are both good actors and they have a great chemistry together; both of them seem so natural that we forget that they are playing a role. They also seem like they're close: they're what makes the movie enjoyable.

Love the writing in this one. Witty and smart comedy in the fake couple genre. When you know where the story is going (which is a big reason we watch Hallmark) it's nice to have some unexpected laughs and set ups along the way.

I really enjoyed this one. When compared to other Hallmark/Lifetime movies - it's one of the better ones. The performances are all strong and the leads are fabulous! Great pace and fun storyline too. Highly recommend.