Joy to the World

Great cast and storyline Chad Michael Murray is outstanding. This movie made me laugh out loud and cry like a baby. If you haven't seen it yet put it on your watch list! A perfect Christmas snuggle up on the sofa with a hot drink and some snacks, watch on your own or with others, moving and warm watch.

So many Christmas movies feels so similar, almost like they go according to a formula. This one was different. It was reminiscent of Christmas in Connecticut with Barbara Stanwyck but still different enough to stand on its own. The cast was wonderful, not just the leads although I love Chad Michael Murray and it was nice to see Emmanuelle Chriqui doing a Christmas move. But every person seemed so well cast to the character they were playing - the kids, the housekeeper, the postman, the neighbor, the boss. I felt like they really took their time choose the right people for the particular roles. I love the twist with the boss at the end of the movie. This movie was just really sweet, feel good, not lots of drama, just fun. Visually, it was beautiful, too. I really give high marks for a movie so for me to give this one 10 stars means I really enjoyed it. This one is going in my annual watch list for Christmas movies.

7.0 stars.

This one is hard to rate. The only thing that comes to mind is that it simply fails to launch -- 3-2-1, no liftoff. Anyways, what to say, I'm actually at a loss for words, because I wanted so badly for it to be good.

I really like the actors, most of them did very well and had a lot of chemistry. The only reason this film is rated 7.0 is because of the synergy and presence of the performers. Chad Michael Murray is a regular for Hallmark and has been in a plethora of family romance films on multiple networks. He rarely fails to add mystique, although he is sort of a one-trick-pony. That's fine, his schtick works. If it aint broke...

I don't see Chriqui very often, but she is smoking hot for fifty. Heck she'd be smoking hot for a thirty-year-old. To look at her, I woulda guessed maybe forty-two. What's her secret? I totally recognize her from a major show or movie, but can't put a finger on it, so I looked it up and it was 'Entourage'. Been a good 15 years since I watched that, but I loved it. I see that she was in 'Superman & Lois' as well, but I never saw that.

Back to 'Joy to the World'. A lot of little things are missing from this film. Whether it's the timing or the flow, I'm not sure, but there are constant misfires. It would be like driving a car with a bad transmission and it never gets to cruising speed. And just like that car, we are stuck in second or third gear through the whole movie. So many missed opportunities and I feel it's the director's job to sort this out.

This is so close to being great, and frankly I think one major problem is the lead female. Her character is insensitive and emotionless, and doesn't seem genuine. I can't tell if that's intentional or just a poor performance. The supposed romantic feelings that he has for her are somewhat believable, but her response is not organic.

The usual script for these tv-movies is quite booring and predictable bcs they are basically the same. This movie was slightly better mainly because the great performance by the lead actress Emmanuelle Chriqui. Even though this was a simple tv-movie she carried this movie all by herself.

I dont think Ive seen Emmanuelle Chriqui being the main lead for a movie before so it was nice to see her in that role.

With that said, not even a stellar performance by a main lead actress can give a tv-movie with a lazy script a lift to the stars so dont expect a very memorable experience.

5/10.

This movie reminded me of wittier and more interesting plotlines, like in Surviving Christmas or even We're The Millers. Not enough character chemistry to properly pull off the "pretend family" trope. Hollow and stiff. I imagined the actors reading their lines the whole time. CMM drifted in and out of an accent in the beginning, not sure why. The redhead cafe owner character just confused me. Poor writing, poor delivery. It's not the worst low budget holiday Hallmark-type movie I've seen but let's be real, that bar is pretty low. Skip this and go watch Surviving Christmas - you might even laugh!