Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen

I love Erin Krakow in When calls the heart but this film is a bit disappointing. It has its moments but over all the story is just too shallow. Hallmark movies are of course Hallmark movies and you shouldn't expect too much depth but this script is just not good enough. The title suggest that it has something to do with Jane Austen but in reality it does not. Too bad that these two actors didn't get a better script.

This Hallmark holiday romance takes place in Chicago, where two sisters---Ella (Erin Krakow) and Marianne (Kimberley Sustad)---run a party-planning company. They have difficulty, naturally, with one client named Edward (Luke Macfarlane), who is the CEO of Ferris Wheel Toys.

I enjoy Erin Krakow, but the relationship between the two sisters was annoying. It seemed like Marianne was always dismissive of her sister. As for the Edward character, he is meant to be somewhat annoying. And he suffers from Impostor Syndrome. Eventually, their oil-and-water relationship turns to playful teasing , then to actual sharing. Still, the chemistry was somewhat lacking.

The script offers little originality, though the "Sense &Sensibility" theme is loosely relevant.

5.6 stars.

Reminds me of my high school days. This is not something to take seriously. It's as if a bunch of awkward teenagers inherited multi-million dollar companies, and were left to their own devices to run them into the ground.

The older sister and responsible guy have the burden of keeping the younger ones focused and on track. Younger sister and her guy are acting like 16 year olds, and their older counterparts are like parents, yet they are all basically the same age. Younger sister is trying to get her older sister to be proud of her, but is she really? I don't know to be honest, it's all over the place.

It's a semi-fun movie, like a couple of kids are doing a school project with no sense of responsibility.

What's not to love about the cast? I like all of them, they rarely disappoint. This looks like it was a fun script, but who is the targeted demographic? Doesn't seem to be a kids movie, not for the YA fans, so whom? I am getting mixed feelings, but nothing is coming to mind but one word: silly.

Go into this with no expectations, just to smile and have some fun. Break out the hot chocolate, put this on if you have no agenda for anything with a particular theme or purpose.

We start off with the cliche of the "Holiday Spirit challenged exec", and it doesn't really get any better. That was disappointing, because there are three people in this movie that we enjoyed in other Christmas movies (Nine Lives of Christmas, Mistletoe Promise, and the "Finding Father Christmas" trilogy).

Here, however, the entire foundation of character interaction is built on awkward conversations. That would be OK, except there is far too much of it, and the actors try to sell it by "act cute", rather than just performing. The result comes off very stilted, unnatural, and at times just annoying.

This won't be on our rewatch list.

Holiday enthusiast helps business addict lighten up and enjoy the season...meanwhile he helps her with her business acumen and he acquires an international contract in the process. Our heroine is sweet and I love her red and white peppermint candy scarf. Our hero is handsome and kind. I appreciated that they used a German Christmas village in their sets. Light holiday fun that we expect from hallmark.