The Art of Christmas

Cute although predictable story, spoiled by choppy, clunky dialogue, no chemistry between the leads, and odd fashion choices - a sleeveless tank dress in the middle of winter, Flashdance-esque casual wear, and plenty of deep cleavage-revealing formal wear. There is a solid message to be found about authenticity and finding your authentic self although the best parts of this movie were really the characters of Tricia, Reggie, and Brit. Frankly, the quick wit and singing talent of Darin Brook (Reggie) and natural chemistry with Kelly Kruger (Brit) were the real highlights of this movie, along with the beautiful voice of Ariella Cannon (Tricia).

Unlike some of the other reviewers. I kind of liked this one. It had Christmas themes throughout without being overly Christian and its execution. I like the premise of the artist not liking the work and throwing it away she's in someone else finding it and thinking it's beautiful. That's not a spoiler, it's in the description. I also like that the characters are obviously falling for each other without any pretense of starting off in a negative fashion. They obviously have feelings for each other throughout the entire movie and afraid to admit it to one another, either. This is refreshing to me.

I almost didn't watch this because of the negative reviews, but I'm glad I finally did. I thought it was charming. I didn't have any expectations going in, and I found it to be on par with most of the movies of its genre on these networks. Predictable? Yes. But I thought the acting was good and that the characters did have chemistry. Their facial expressions, especially those of Joe Towne, the leading man, were quite effective. Darin Brooks made the character of Reggie fun, and it was interesting to know that he and "Brit" (Kelly Kruger) are a couple in real life. If you want to see a movie about how helping others can help you follow your heart and find your way, then give this a try.

This movie was very hard to watch. I did finish it. The story line was a decent one. The writing felt a little weak at times. The acting was very amateurish. They talked very fast and in choppy sentences. They are older actors so it shouldn't have been this way. They are experienced actors on many different shows. I think my biggest beef was with Reggie ( Darrin Brooks). He's mostly been on soap operas. His acting felt very forced and inauthentic. He was so cringy. Fun fact: He's married to Kelly Kruger (Brit) in this movie. This movie you can pass on. Nothing great to see so you're not missing anything.

I never heard of these production companies and some of the elements of this movie come off as amateur. The script by the lead actor Brigette Kingsley is clumsy and makes the acting look bad. I don't think the actors are fully responsible for how bad it seemed. Kingsley has some wardrobe that is very attention getting, but perhaps a little too fancy. The background music is distracting at times. It shouldn't be noticeable, but in several cases a strong melodic line draws attention from the dialogue.

The story follows some usual lines but isn't exactly the same old stuff. I mentioned the script being clumsy and it is in several instances. One of the best examples is the two part break up between Liv and Bradley. One positive in the story is the birthday surprise for Liv by Jake and the kids. It's cute.

The movie is family friendly with the possible minor except of at least one dress worn by Kingsley. On any other network it wouldn't be noticed. Otherwise, there isn't a lot of tension in this movie.

The movie closes with the show and a nice performance by Ariella Cannon.