Natale a regola d'arte

Brant Daugherty was okay in this but if i'm being honest, as much as I found Jaicy Elliot decentish in Grey's Anatomy, I must say she was a bit awful in this film. Still, it's Christmas season and I'm going to binge on the glut of films that are coming out. It's just like an adrenaline rush of happiness, which I really love at this time of the year.

Not an awful film at all but you will find better plots and slightly better story lines and casting. Still, you'll feel warm afterwards which is a plus and you know where the endings going from the start, which is reassuring. Hope you enjoy it; the highlight was the beautiful scenery for me. Such pristine landscapes.

Cute storyline with lovely French backdrop but the wrong female lead ruined it for me. It is refreshing to see Hallmark embrace body inclusivity so I was rooting for the female lead but she didn't do the character justice. Very deadpan in her expressions - she was simply hard to like and root for as a character as a result.

I was also distracted by the wardrobe choices. I felt terribly for the female lead that they kept her in a boring neutral jacket the whole movie that was too small for her. You could see her adjusting it in every scene - it must have been distracting for her as well. Give the gal a colour that flatters her skin tone and actually fits her!

A romantic painting of a Christmas market captures the imagination of copy editor and wannabe reporter, Lea. She is sent to France with pragmatic reporter "moody" Mark to uncover the mystery behind the artist. While Lea is all eager to solve the puzzle, Mark is less excited, somewhat annoyed at being sent on an assignment which is beneath him. Lea and Mark are total opposites. Lea tends to correct Mark's speech, which is annoying. Mark has his own view on how to research a story.

The French Market town is very festive, decorated with Christmas lights and featuring an accordion player, multiple shops, hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts and singers. Lea goes around the shops but it is embarrassing how she speaks to vendors and passersby. Meanwhile, Mark tries to get some sleep (jet lag) but is bothered by Sophie, the landlords daughter. The cute gnomes left around by Sophie are a highlight. Wonder why she isn't listed in the cast on imbd.

Jaicy Elliot, as Lea, is the wrong person for this role. She has deadpan delivery and facial expressions are equally blah. She dresses in a boring coat and beret and her French accent in pronouncing "Merci" is also blah. There is no chemistry between herself and Brant Daughtery.

An interesting feature of this movie is that the plot was written by Brant Daughtery's wife, Kimberly. Maybe she should have been cast in this movie along with her husband.

6.2 stars.

Joyeux starts out with a lot of promise, but immediately I was deflated by the way they forced a potential adventure to become a flat non-event. She finds something by chance, but the chances of this would be about one in 10 billion, that's just a guess. Astronomical does not begin to calculate. You'll see what I mean. And then after she finds it, goes low key about the whole ordeal and then finally has to fight her way into getting the story, and is stuck with a guy whom we can see shares no chemistry with her. Then they are in France and the whole story had so many missed opportunities and so much potential was hamstrung. Just a really fowl production, something that could've been one of the greats. Wow guys, you really blew chunks on this one.

I'd normally award it 5 stars, but the acting was good, the little girl's games and pranks were refreshing, and the city scenes and backdrops were breathtaking.

Brant Daugherty is always good, I especially enjoyed him in the "The Baker's Son" and "Just for the Summer". I've seen Jaicy Elliot in a few rom-coms which have been hit and miss. Brant and his wife Kimberley wrote the script and I give them credit, it's different in a good way. At this time of year when Hallmark cuts Autumn movies short and rolls out Christmas movies that aren't very original, it's refreshing to watch one with a different plot.

The slow pace could have been deadly dull, but the leads and the supporting cast kept it interesting. It wasn't the ending we anticipated but it wasn't a cliched ending of "they lived happily ever after". Don't know where it was filmed, on a soundstage in the US with European exteriors, the old City of Quebec in Canada, Belgium or France, but nice locations.