Undercover Holiday

I LOVE hallmark Christmas movies but man this one was a huge flop! I didn't even finish the last 20 min. I just couldn't! I really really tried. Except for the grandma, the acting was terrible. Noemi Gonzalez, who plays the main character, sadly was not a good actress. Beautiful but couldn't sing and wasn't believable to be a famous singer. The chemistry between her and Stephen Huszar was the worst I've ever seen. I know "Christmas chick flicks" can be cringey but this was the cringey of them all. Please don't waste your time with this one. Skip it and go to another less cringey Christmas movie.

This is a predictable story the follows along the usual lines for a fake boyfriend. The fake boyfriend is also her bodyguard. Jaylen, a rising pop star, apparently has a stalker. Unfortunately it is all much ado about little. One of the themes of the story is about Jaylen standing up for herself - "always courageous". The people who seem to be holding her back are her own family, but that angle is oversold.

Noemi Gonzalez and Stephen Huszar have a little chemistry but it doesn't stand out. The acting doesn't seem too good, but I think a lot of that is the script.

Gonzalez gives a couple of good performances including singing in both English and Spanish.

I like Christmas movies. I just want fun entertainment. I LOVED the portrayal of traditional Hispanic holiday making. The Spanglish, dancing, and dual language songs were great.

Now the singing, however. Most music was fine, but when Jaylen and Abuela were at the piano, wow. Incredibly bad. Better editing would have helped. Wardrobe should have dressed Jaylen for her shape. Some of their choices were not flattering.

And the "soldier" turned private security. #1 if he was in the Navy he was NOT a soldier. #2 if the character had been an actual Navy Seal, he would not have had to mention it so much.

Nothing against either lead, she was very bubbly and fun, and I've seen him in other shows where his character appears to be a better fit. But as far as chemistry, I didn't get it. Didn't see it, either. When they are walking own a sidewalk discussing are we/aren't we, she is holding his flaccid arm. He was not participating, not at all.

The whole Fake Boyfriend trope has been done, and done much better before.

Mexican American family with Puertorican/ Caribbean accents lol! Do they have to explain in detail every single "tradition" to the white man? As if Mexican Americans are new to the country. Hallmark do better. Everything seems forced/fake, how about base a movie in a real Mexican American neighborhood? As a Mexican American myself this movie looks 100% foreign to me. Just because you throw words like "tamalada, nacimiento, cumbia, etc" it doesn't make it relatable to us. Tamaladas are not a Mexican tradition! Are you kidding me? Is this family the only Mexican American in this town? Stereotypes are also rampant in this movie, everyone lives in a household. Seriously do better.

There were things I like about this movie, and a few cute scenes, but it seems like they have to do one of these "fake mystery boyfriend" movies every year now. We've seen a ton of them of them, and a few of them have been really fun. Those few came years ago when the concept hadn't been run into the ground.

This one had nothing new to offer for that trope, and certainly wasn't as imaginative as some. Our favorite is "A Boyfriend for Christmas", and that one was ALL THE WAY BACK from 2004 ... so you can see how old and tired that standard plot has become.

Not to judge, but this also seems to be the year of the overweight female romantic lead. I'm not against overweight people. I've got PLENTY of overweight friends, my wife could stand to lose a few pounds, and I just lost 30 pounds myself in the last year and a half. This lead actress needs to do what I did and lose 30 pounds herself. These romances are all a fantasy, and somehow that loses the fantasy. LOL.