Christmas at Plumhill Manor

This is the first Christmas movie I couldn't make it through this season. I only lasted until the first pub scene.

The redubbing of Margot's lines near the beginning was painfully obvious. The words just didn't match the mouth. And she just seemed so harsh and unlikable.

What finally drove me out was the annoying character of Jackie. Her over the top cheerfulness and overacting was really grating. I couldn't understand half of what she was saying. And those giant teeth were very distracting.

I obviously can't comment on the rest of the movie but I'm sure there was some kind of misunderstanding with 20 minutes left that threatens to blow everything apart. Followed by the "follow your heart" speech and a kiss with one minute left. Just going on on a limb there.

Skip this one.

I liked this movie. The lead actress is brilliant, the manor house pretty and the scene stealer is cute kid Beatrice who is one to watch. She was perfect despite a limited role and the total lack of any other children at all to bounce off.

The filming should have taken place in winter and aside from some of Ipswich in Christmas lights this was mostly achieved with a filter over summer flowers - if you're a gardener it will grate that the poinsettias being repotted are clearly plastic ones and the beautiful snowdrops are actually white aquilegia.

The ensemble had fun making it and didn't take themselves too seriously, and norshould you. Switch off your brain, be thankful for a budget movie with the sole aim of bringing wish fulfilment and good cheer for all it's many flaws it was filmed in Suffolk and people from here will recognise that. The black horse pub in Ipswich you can visit if ever you're at the New Wolsey theatre. Support the arts in UK and in Suffolk and enjoy!

The story seemed disjointed or perhaps what I mean is that it didn't seem to flow real well. Margot's NY life just didn't mix with her English manor life. Maria Menounos seemed to coast through her role as Margot above the fray so to speak. I could easily see this woman being the Lady of the Manor. Or I'm sure she could be a team motivator in high value real estate. What I couldn't see was Menounos fitting in down here with us mortals. Oh she tried and made some brief efforts but still seemed to be above it.

Nor did I see a lot of chemistry with Kyle Pryor.

The very first sequence in the story left me with a bad taste. I started wondering if this movie was going to push the opposite of almost any similar Christmas story - in this case, ditch the historical and replace it with empty glitz.

It takes a while to find out what the catch is in her inheritance. Meanwhile Margot is following clues left to her by Victoria. Are the clues the catch, or do they negate the catch?

This is not a bad movie by any stretch, but I didn't really enjoy it.

Margot Stone is a successful architect. When her Great Aunt - Lady Victoria - passes away, Margot is informed she is the sole beneficiary. The codicils stipulate she can either retain or sell the property (Plumhill Manor), but that she must stay seven nights on the property before making up her mind.

Believing it to be a joke at first, Margot's mother convinces her otherwise, and Margot accepts the offer. So, she heads off to England to stay at the manor. She meets Jackie, who is to be her liaison for the week, and I thought Caroline Colomei was just fabulous as Jackie.

She also meets the handsome Alfie, the groundkeeper's son, who off course - predictably - becomes the romance interest. Clues are left throughout the house for Margot to solve. She also learns her Aunt used to throw big Christmas parties at the manor for the townsfolk, and she decides to continue the tradition, since she will be at the Manor for Christmas.

Yeah-yeah, we can foresee the outcome a mile away, but this is a feel-good movie of note, and rather delightful, actually.

This film made me laugh a lot! The leads both did well with their insane plot and managed to be quite charming. As soon as she gets to England the mad accents and cliches are just great - the annoying housekeeper(maybe? She seems to do everything in the village) who's insanely scottish despite this being suffolk, the pub scenes, the bell ringing, the xmas pudding class, the hero's pet lamb - all completely mental. Many things make no sense - why focus so much on the gardening when it's all wrong? The "snowdrops" that aren't (they're aquilegias) and it is clearly summer flowers everywhere, and the plastic poinsettias they plant up...plus the "norman" arch that is gothic, a hidden "castle", some really strange ideas about "residential taxes" that don't exist in the UK, no concept of planning laws for historic buildings and yet then a bizarre fantasy about the national trust saving the day (if only that was really possible!). I really enjoyed it! Well worth watching! I can see the manor exterior and gardens is the beautiful Crow's Hall in Suffolk as others have said, but none of the interior scenes look very convincingly old. Just adds to the weirdness! Enjoy!