The title and cover would have you believe "Navigating Christmas" is about romance, with the lighthouse central to the story, and it is... But, not just as the meeting place of our primary couple, the lighthouse owner, Peter (Stephen Huszar👍) and the divorced, single -mom, Melanie (Chelsea Hobbs). It's a metaphor for Melanie, her son (Jason), and Peter to "navigate" their way through the pain of divorce, its effect on children, and the difficulty, from both sides, of single-parenthood. Once you get to the core of the movie (past a bit of shaky acting by Melanie and Jason, which kept my rating from 9.5), their back histories fold into the story - Melanie makes a rash (without planning or research) decision to stay at the lighthouse to appease her son's heartache, over a missed opportunity to spend time with his dad. Peter has waited too long to deal with his guilt of avoiding his dad (now deceased), so long, that he must return to settle the mounting debt of the estate, or risk losing the lighthouse to a heartless developer. Of course, Christmas traditions (especially from a tight-knit small town) are instrumental in stirring up the good feelings from the past, and distract Jason from his teenage angst by leading him to a crush with the mayor's daughter. Melanie is distrustful and harsh on Peter, a few times, despite his connection to Jason. He reads what Jason is experiencing, perhaps better than Melanie, because he sees similarities to his own life-experience. The film-directing is also complimentary to the storyline. There's a feeling of true magnetism between Peter and Melanie and there is good timing (ie. Tension) with eye gazes and the kisses (not obligatory). There is also some clever use, a few times, of foreshadowing, that is meaningful. Hallmark lost many of their stars to Great American, but fortunately, kept Stephen Huszar, whose steadiness benefitted this cast, immensely, and led to a pleasantly rewarding watch....
