My Norwegian Holiday

I am Norwegian and I read about this movie in a newspaper referencing the legendary X-Files episode with Norwegian talking. It delivered as expected and I enjoyed this movie quite a lot. The cringy German sounding Norwegians and the deadpan delivery of Norwegian clichés.

At the same time, the research into Norwegian culture was pretty good and I liked the filming on location in Bergen.

The overall story even worked quite well.

While this may be a run of the mill Hallmark movie for everyone else it could easily become a cult movie in Norway.

(The angry reviews from other Norwegians must be seen in the light of them taking the movie seriously in the first place.)

Jessica Johnson (Rhiannon Fish) is in a coffee shop behind Henrik Strom (David Elsendoorn) who is getting dumped by a girl also named Jessica Johnson. It's a series of name confusion, uncomfortable confrontation, slapstick chaos, and an offer from Henrik. He has an extra ticket to Norway in the name of Jessica Johnson. She has existential doubt and a free plane ticket may be what's needed. She sets off for Bergen to find an origin story while he is attending his sister's wedding.

I like this couple and they have stuff to do. Bergen is not a top tier destination and that's what is interesting. I've seen one travel show do Bergen in one episode. That's it. So I do know about "Bergen?", but not so much else. I'm sure the locals would have some issues. I have none. This is as good as Hallmark is going to get.

I love how half the population of Norway has submitted low reviews about this movie. I would also be annoyed if I was Norwegian, but my review is going to rate the actual movie since I have no idea how authentic the Norwegian content is.

I liked the production value. The settings were nice, the feel was right, and it was unique enough to merit watching. I also really liked Rhiannon Fish's character. She had quirks to make her relatable but not so many quirks as to be annoying. I was neutral on her before this movie, but she is the best part of this one and now I'm a fan.

If I had to crticize the movie, I would say the setup for the plot was ridiculous. Rhiannon's character was WAY too trusting after this random dude tracked her down at her workplace (in a school, no less) and showed up to see her. That's when you call for help, not decide to travel with him to Norway. Then when she mentioned she should Google him, he begged her not to. Not alarming at all!

An actual plot line - Hallmark can do it - I was beginning to doubt it.

I like this film. The setting was special. I travelled through Norway about 20 years ago and so know Bergen a little. Such a lovely city and Norway has such an unique interesting culture and I thought this film showcased it beautifully.

Of the acting; I love the character of Nora she was fun and I loved watching her dance with Henrik. I know Rhiannon from Home and Away so to have her rock up in Hallmark films has been a transition cos she has tended to play the exact same character in every film she has been in which feels staid, however is her best thus far.

The meet cute was ridiculous but I liked Henrik and JJ together they were sweet. All in all a nice way to waste away a few hours.

First off - yes, this was a Hallmark Christmas movie but there were absolutely zero typical Halmarkisms here. If I were playing the Hallmark drinking game I would have lost (or stayed sober) as no cliche scenes or moments were put into the film.

The cast, all of them, were great and worked well together. Also, having Bergen as the location added quite a bit. Often, these movies filmed abroad work better than their USA-Canada counterparts. Not sure why, but they just seem fresher.

This was a quality production from start to end and kudos to the acting and production talent. Oh, and this is a biggie - this was rare Hallmark movie which actually wrapped up the story for all characters and we weren't left hanging and wondering how things would work out. Nicely done.