A Christmas Wish in Hudson

Greetings, salutations, and a seasonal welcome to all you movie aficionados. Here are my considerations and recommendation for A Small Town Christmas Wish.

Story: 0.75/2 - Direction and Pace: 2.00/4 - Performances: 1.00/2 - Enjoyment: 1.00/2

Total 4.75/10

The idea of a Christmas in small-town America has been romanticised to hell and back and then back to hell again. So when a film possesses the magic words Small Town along with Christmas Wish, you're forgiven if you think it's going to be good. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings in the season of joy, but the film ain't all that. Thanks to the poor story, it's a smidgen below average. Would anyone really travel miles upon miles to talk to a stranger they'd seen on TV? Okay, so I had this thing with Michelle Pfeiffer, but the courts and the hundred-mile injunction chilled my Amore - now I have to make do with Batman Returns and a cold shower - too much info? Kidding aside, can you say scary stalker? And that is the crux of my dislike, the distinct lack of realism. Everyone appears okay that women from all over America are now stalking Fireman Pat (I thought Pat was a Postman and Sam was the Fireman?). It says a lot for you American guys. And the atmosphere of bland nonchalantness doesn't simply stay with this storyline. No. It weaves its narrative-shredding claws through everything. It doesn't matter what subject comes up it's given the same vapid treatment. Though the actors and actresses are decent, they're not given much to tackle in the way of dramatics. They wander around the town with silly smiles glued to their mugs that don't quite make it to their eyes. And though the director attempts to add some heartwarming touches, I think he was relying on the performers' grins to add the best part of that mood.

I can't recommend A Small Town Christmas Wish, AKA A Christmas Wish In Hudson, as a must-watch Chrimbo Flick. It's more of a movie to watch while you're doing something else, like replying to e-mails or social media.

Please check out my HO! HO! HO! Christmas Belles list to see where I ranked the movie.

Take Care, Stay Well, And Best Wishes For A Merry Christmas.

I absolutely loved this movie!! Largely, because I live in the St. Croix River Valley and it was fun to see a movie that was filmed in Hudson. It was, I suppose, a cute movie... I've been oddly attracted to dopey Christmas movies this year, which this most certainty is. I enjoyed it because the acting and script were so bad that it provided a lower end by which to judge other TV shows and movies. For example, I watched "Dead to Me" the following night (with Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini) and was blown away at how good the acting and writing were in comparison. "A Christmas Wish in Hudson" reminded me of a porno flick (bad acting, bad plot and male/female attraction)... only the sex never came. So unusual that it was good.

Best part of the movie was the location. It was beautiful, charming, breathtaking! I would love to visit. The movie tried, but it really fell flat. Some of the acting was good, some of the acting was fair. Storyline , unfortunately, was same cookie cutter that we see in most Christmas movies. It had potential.

Most of the snow looked beautifully real! That was an added bonus! And most of the Christmas decorations felt joyful!

I'm glad the movie was made during a cold time of the year it made it feel more Christmassy and more real. Lot of these movies are filmed with fake snow in the warmer months and it feels fake.

A Christmas Wish in Hudson/ A Small Town Christmas Wish (2021) -

This film was like some sort of lame, poorly made and cheap ass version of 'Sleepless In Seattle' (1993), but without the joy or decent humour.

Although I'd probably check him out in the gym showers, I wouldn't call Rib Hillis much of a looker in the same way that others in these films have been usually. Luke Macfarlane, Jesse Hutch and Brendan Penny would all get more than just checked out, but Rib would probably be what I call a bit of a neck down, because his muscles did look nice, but otherwise he looked a bit like a cousin of Steve Buscemi or something.

However, just for balance I'd like to say that none of them would look at me at all, I'm not a Hollywood star though.

The leading lady, Alex Rinehart looked like she would be a miserable so and so or some sort of weird hybrid cat person. I wasn't bothered in the slightest by either of their characters or performances and didn't really care if they got together, because I just felt no connection between them.

And the daughter was like an even sicklier sweet version of Kirsten Dunst from 'Spider-Man' (2002) and with all the emotional range of a spoon. Please, don't get me started on her love interest Chase.

And although it was a relatively small role, I have to mention the character of Jason, who was just ridiculous, like something from a kids programme. And he wasn't the only supporting actor to really ham it up, but the leads weren't much of a step up either.

The props and costumes were really quite questionable too and the other production values all seemed very cheap as well, with bad lighting and camera filters among other things.

The delivery of the concept was done in such a daft and thoughtless way, as if they were just rushing out another film, so that they could move on to the next one without any care at all and it all felt very forced, even more so by the way the daughter kept pushing them together, which made it hard to believe.

There were too many things to do and for them to attend as a couple, so that nothing flowed, because they were too busy to actually form any sort of connection. The setups in to it were all so contrived too.

And the amount of times she tried to tell him why she was there and something happened to get in the way was really annoying.

I thought about turning it off a few times, because it just bored me and the acting was so twee. If it hadn't been such a short film, I probably would have ended it and saved myself the pain. Not one to watch again.

3.07/10.

This is pretty much all the usual Christmas romance movie stuff. The idea of Patrick attracting hordes of single women based on a random cooking show appearance is a bit unusual, but after that it is all the usual stuff. Lori is hiding that she came to town because of the show which Patrick has already said is stupid. They meet almost by accident and then do a lot of Christmas activities together. But there are no highs or lows or surprises. The only tension is Lori's secret. The conflict is totally expected but it seems overblown.

The acting is barely fair. The dialogue is totally flat. There isn't really any good humor. Everything is so flat that it's hard to see any chemistry between Alex Rinehart and Rib Hillis. The most appealing character is Patrick's daughter Nicole and she is part of a secondary romance.