Christmas in Notting Hill

I gave it five stars for effort! All the actors seemed very enthusiastic about their roles, but they really had nothing to work with and none of them rose above it, either.

The premise was promising, but the execution was abysmal. I was sitting home alone, bored, the night before Thanksgiving, and decided a cheesy Hallmark Xmas movie was what I needed. This didn't disappoint. I laughed at myself for the entire time because I kept watching it. Kind of like watching a train wreck.

The writing was amateurish, the dialog was totally cringe, the conflicts were silly and shallow, and about the only thing really interesting was the reference near the end to the excellent TV series "Ted Lasso".

But I had fun making fun of it. Just wish I'd had someone here to laugh with.

I agree with most people about Georgia and her terrible acting. Her makeup alone was clownish and completely distracting. The only thing worse was her terrible personality. I felt zero romance or chemistry between the two. I am not even sure what he saw in her, it wasn't her charm because she had none. There was little to no humor in this like Notting Hill. Just a girl taking out her insecurities on everyone else. The plot dragged if there even was one, and the ending was sloppy and incomplete. There was zero character growth and zero romance. I love the lead gentleman and he is quite a good actor but I still would never watch this again.

I really like the cast of all but Georgia. This role is so annoying and the actress is even more annoying. No idea why the character Graham is interested in her. As a football player I would have thought he would want to be around professionals as well as a partner like himself. Georgia is either crying, angry, nagging or acting like she is 15 years old. All the other family members made me laugh and really enjoy their time on the screen. It was great the location of the movie was actually in London I enjoyed the architecture of the buildings and the homes. Would like to have given it a better score but due to the terrible acting for the Georgia character it only gets a 5.

The main character spends the whole movie getting childishly upset over things that aren't worth getting upset over. She gets mad at the guy because he doesn't say he's a famous football player, so what? She gets mad because, well, a lot. And he supposed to suddenly care about her because she's funny it's smart etc.. I don't see her being funny and smart I just see her being a pill. And he likes her because she treated him like a person, but she stopped treating him like a person really early on. Just ridiculous. Kudos for a nod to the original Notting Hill, because the dad is seen reading a copy of "Horse and Hound."

I enjoyed the opening parallel between a group of small kids playing soccer and a professional UK football team playing to the tune of Elton John's "Step into Christmas". Georgia Bright (Sarah Ramos) travels to London to visit her baby sister for Christmas. When she arrives her sister, Lizzie (Joelle Rae) has a whole British Christmas itinerary...including shopping and getting Christmas crackers even though neither one knows what they are. While out shopping alone, Georgia runs into a gentleman...or maybe he runs into her, either way s one of a kind ornament is broken and Georgia, not knowing he is the famous captain of the local football team (soccer) Graham Savoy (William Moseley), treats him like a regular person. The novelty of being treated like a regular chap intrigues Graham who eventually helps her finish her shopping trip...including the Christmas crackers. What they both eventually find out is that their younger siblings are not only dating, but Graham's younger brother Henry is actually planning to propose to Georgia's sister Lizzie this Christmas. This throws the two of them together and eventually makes them accomplices.

Meanwhile there is this whole sub storyline about both Georgia and Graham questioning their futures and their chosen professions.

Things to like: there were some cute nods to the movie Notting Hill, Georgia and Lizzie's dad with his Hawaiian shirts was a kick, the two girls seemed to have nice camaraderie, there are some great touristy British things and Christmas traditions like the Christmas crackers. I think the drag queen Christmas special was a little over the top. I did enjoy the extended family for the holidays.

Things that kept this from being in the top tier of Hallmark movies...the injury recovery was unrealistic, Georgia's anger at Graham seemed inappropriate, and finally the leads seemed to lack chemistry with one another. The fight between sisters over the potential marriage of the younger sister seemed disproportionate to their relationship...making them seem close sometimes but like strangers others.

Overall, it was a good film that I think romantics will appreciate. I recommend it to hallmark fans and Anglophiles alike.