Christmas with the Singhs

There were parts of this Hallmark holiday romance that were nice...like the sharing of some East Indian culture, but there were parts that were awkward like the say anything/Bollywood dance moment.

Jake and Asha meet in the ER during Christmas thanks to an icy sidewalk injury. A year later Jake asks Asha to marry him and goes to spend Christmas with both his parents and her parents the Singhs.

The spicy food, superstitions, lack of footwear in the house, sari's, etc were all fun to see as was the explanation of the small number of Christians in India. I thought the classing seemed forced because everyone seemed open and reasonable.

I really enjoyed Manoj Sood, who played Asha's father Samuel...for me he was the star of the show.

Colorful and quasi romantic. I wanted more from this film...including a few less stereotypes.

This film uses the joining of two families over Christmas to rerun the Meet the Parents theme, while showcasing Indian celebrations of the holiday.

Ultimately dry and lifeless, this effort is not worth your time. I felt uncomfortable for our leads for having such annoying families who spoke in long, robotic and way-too-complete complete sentences.

One bright side, our leads. They could have carried the movie alone, had they not been busy playing caricatures of "regular white guy" and "modern Indian woman."

Change the channel on the Singhs.

Measuring Christmas magic: no magic, but good representation of Indian culture.

Cast Kudos: I'd like to see Anuja Joshi given another lead role, but with less responsibility than representing the entirety of her culture.

Alternative titles: Christmas engagement clash; Blending Culture Christmas.

The 'Singhs' truly hit all the marks of a Hallmark movie at Christmas-time. It weaves the complexity of joining two distinct cultures with the signature kindness that makes a Hallmark movie pleasurable to watch.

Each character had valid concerns, while still managing to remain endearing for me. Even Mr. Singh, with his gruff insistence, was likeable and pretty hysterical. I loved both Moms, and the dynamics of each family. It was heartwarming to see the added element of Jake's parents reuniting. Regarding casting, the cast was absolutely brilliant; I can't imagine a better selection of people. I also loved the little details, like the montage depicting the passage of a year of time, to help the viewer accept the fact that they were ready for engagement. These are really great touches that make Hallmark the top player among similar networks.

Reading these reviews, I knew that there would be criticism of the movie's attempts to depict Indian culture. I disagree, as it's honestly refreshing to see this effort happening. It's not perfect, it is progress. They did get much of it right, in my experience. A favorite scene was the simplicity of Asha's family playing Indian music together in their living room.

More than all things, the movie was not just empty feel good moments; it taught most of us something about picking battles, reaching compromise, and learning to accept things that we can't control, for the sake of having lifelong love and valued relationships.

This is a movie that delves into territory that isn't always super-common on Hallmark, and it also was such a comforting movie to watch. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a side of realistic drama/conflict with their helping of effervescent Hallmark Happiness.

Asha is a nurse practitioner who one Christmas night encounters Jake, an old high school classmate. They hit it off immediately and go on an impromptu date that same night. Fast forward a year later, they get engaged and it's time to go back home and meet the inlaws.

I'm a bit biased because I love Benjamin Hollingsworth and I think he is a great leading man, full of carisma and charm. I've seen Anuja in the Resident and I think it's her first Hallmark movie. I thought the chemistry was there. I'm definitely not mad about the early kiss. It instantly breaks the formula we are all used to.

Yes, this movie is full of stereotypes. And you can imagine how this goes, Indian family on one side and Irish descendants on the other, everyone proud of their cultures. The problem is that the main characters get stuck in the middle and the relationship struggles because of that. The parents should know better.

This movie is quite fast paced, it has a big secondary cast, meddlesome parents, sweet scenes between Jake and Asha and unnecessary drama. If they do get married, I recommend they elope.

Well, not without ALL the daggers.

A WASP young man and a woman whose heritage is from Christians from India have (almost) love at first sight, bumping into each other after they knew each other in High School, where she tutored him in Chemistry.

After a year of happy dating, he proposes and she cheerfully accepts. Then comes the issues ... meeting each other's families and the families meeting each other.

The daggers? Looks the two fathers give each other over the preference for baseball or cricket.

The poison? The extra spicy food the young man gets (sort of) tricked into eating at a family dinner in the Indian home.

Eventually, family issues threaten the relationship, and that happens all too frequently in real life.

The conclusion is satisfying. I'm not sure this will bear repeated viewings, but we wouldn't avoid it. Thre are a few truly amusing moments.