Christmas in Tahoe

Gaslighting booking agent, clinging fans, paparazzi, meddling mothers, unappreciative father, overly persistent guest. Isn't this fun. Don't forget schemes to get past security. Actually, some of those were vehicles for humor, but annoying isn't funny to me. Then there are the three top acts that cancel at the last minute. (What no broken pipes?) It does get better in the last half.

Beyond all the efforts to sign up acts, the story is pretty much the usual stuff. Finally after a while, Kyle Selig and Laura Osnes get a chance to show some chemistry.

There are a few musical numbers here and there, mostly in the closing show. I was disappointed that Osnes wasn't one of the performers.

Hallmark produced 42 Christmas movies this season (including one for 'Christmas in July'). Naturally, some of these were going to get lost in the crowd as it were. I'm afraid, 'Christmas in Tahoe' is one of these movies. Don't get me wrong, the movie is entertaining. It is a lighthearted and fun story with some strong acting performances, though the musical performances are a bit of a mixed bag. The movie follows Claire (played by Laura Osnes) who helps manage the family's beautiful hotel in Lake Tahoe. While she loves working with her father at the hotel, a place she has fond memories of growing up, her passion is in the entertainment industry, and her dream job is a talent booker at the Resort Center Entertainment in Las Vegas. To make this dream a reality, all she needs to do is make sure that her Christmas Eve variety show at her family hotel is a success. However, the main act cancels and the show quickly falls apart. Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend Ryan (played by Kyle Selig), the lead guitarist for Wild Lynx a popular band she used to manage, returns home to Lake Tahoe for the holidays. And so, our journey begins as we watch these two team up to save the Christmas Eve variety show (and potentially Claire's dream job) while (re)discovering their deep feelings for each other. Though formulaic and unoriginal, the storyline in this one is entertaining nonetheless. The writers do a decent job with the dialogue between Claire and Ryan, and Claire and her father. However, there is nothing about this story that makes it stand out in the crowd. It has no 'X factor', no real noteworthy quality. The closes we get to this is Osnes's performance, which was very strong, I thought. She has an air of sweetness to her performance with a touch of scorn (as those who have been dumped often do). As another reviewer put it, 'she is the IT factor' in this one. It took me a little while to get used to (or, rather, get over) Selig's youngish looks. Once I did, I started to connect with his performance, which was pretty good overall. I was also impressed with his singing at the end of the film; a pity he and Osnes didn't do a song together. The chemistry between the two was OK, I guess. They came off as close friends, which worked well on-screen, but I wasn't completely convinced of their romantic chemistry. Given the 'second chance at love' theme of the story, I will give them the benefit of the doubt in this one. Another aspect of this movie was the musical performances. As noted above, these were mixed. I thought Pat Monahan from Train was surprisingly entertaining as both an actor and musician. It was a bit amusing when Claire was speaking to Jackson (played by Monahan), trying to come up with a replacement act for the show. As others have pointed out, the acapella group wasn't very good. I'm not sure what the producers were thinking or, rather, listening to. Finally, the film had a decent Christmas vibe to it. For example, the decorations in the hotel were beautiful, and though not filmed in Lake Tahoe, the snow-covered landscapes were a plus. If you're a lover of Hallmark Christmas romance movies (with a touch of comedy), you should check out 'Christmas in Tahoe'.

6/10 - I will admit to really enjoying the trope where one of the exes has made it big and is now super famous and this certainly captured the heart of that trope which made it stand out ever so slightly among the rest of the 2021 holiday movies.

The story was good enough, had a couple of twists not obvious in the first ten minutes. The main complaint i have is that tahoe is beautiful but i doubt it was actually filmed there. Other than one line, this could've just as easily been christmas in kansas city, or albany, or anywhere. The few outdoor scenes were not in identifiable locations; the most tahoe the viewer sees is in the opening montage, possibly all stock footage.

I dunno there's times I enjoyed the film and other times I found d it annoying. Again a girl gives up her dreams cause her family wants her to stay like come on hallmark that is not the answer. It's an ok hallmark film at best.