I appreciate Hallmark's continuing efforts at being more diverse and inclusive, and the presentation of Mexican American holiday traditions in this movie was pleasant. Noemi Gonzalez was often fun to watch and authentic as Jaylen Rodriguez, the winner of an American Idol-like contest called Pop Star USA. But the premise seemed more forced than normal.
Somehow, Jaylen lives in a gated multi million dollar mansion despite having just won the contest. And then, because someone left flowers and a card that says "Happy Holidays My Love" on her doorstep, "The Label" decided to order up a 24/7 bodyguard.
Why?
Jaylen's not Taylor Swift and what, exactly, was so threatening?
And why was nothing caught on the video security system?
And then, after hearing about the incident on TV, her family expressed great concern for her safety. One would think they would be thrilled that "The Label" had hired her a 24/7 bodyguard. But Jaylen decides, for reasons that are completely unclear, to tell her family an elaborate lie, requiring a week of more lies, that Matt, played a bit stiffly by Stephen Huszar, is her boyfriend and not her bodyguard. Huh?
Ironically, the purported reason is that she didn't want her family to worry (even though the added protection would presumably alleviate their worries) but then she hypocritically gets upset when she learns that information has been withheld from her (so she wouldn't worry).
I realize that Hallmark loves the fake boyfriend trope, but the setup and phony conflict really didn't make any sense (although I did like Abuela Luisa, played by Gabriela Reynoso).
But the biggest problem, quite frankly, was that I just couldn't picture Jaylen with Matt. And that's essential for a Hallmark romance to work.
