Natal em Dose Dupla

Rebecca (Carly Pope) and Chris (Kristoffer Polaha), while vying for the same promotion, are forced to work together to organise the company's Christmas party, where they will be courting a potentially large client. Through this they learn more about each other and their very different celebrations - she learns more about Christmas and he learns all about Hanukkah. Very nice film whisked along by a slightly different story, a nice variety of locations, and their great chemistry.

Obviously the two opposites working together thing has been done before, and of course they learn their counterpart is nothing like they thought. That being said, the leads were incredibly likable and believable. I also truly appreciated the celebration of Hanukkah throughout the movie. The lead's family seemed loud but realistic and they truly added rather than being a distraction.

I wasn't sure about this film to start with. I think it was because I didn't fancy the lead male this time, but rather the spare instead. However, as the film developed, the lead grew on me and actually has a very natural way of acting. The rest of the cast do a good job too.

The story is sweet and full of Christmassy things, morals and romance, but what separates it from others is the fact that it takes the time to acknowledge Hanukkah at the as well. We say Happy Holidays, but for most of us I think we still associate that with Christmas, so it's nice to see the blending of the two in this film. After all, there must be hundreds of families out there that celebrate both or even just those that want to see themselves represented.

A nice story no matter what you celebrate.

"He" and "She" share a cubicle at work. She is Jewish, fairly driven, when her boss quits suddenly she wants the promotion to VP to fill the vacant slot. But he celebrates Christmas and has been with the company longer, maybe he is the logical successor.

The company is wooing an important client and both he and she get chosen to work together to design a festive holiday event at the boss' home. The outfall of this is they learn things about each other that never came up at work. They each seem to have characteristics that the other values.

This is an entertaining movie, very well made and acted. My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library.

I can imagine that this film may not appeal to the majority of Hallmark's viewership, but as a person who celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas, it was really nice to feel represented in the Hallmark holiday countdown that I watch every year. The storyline was simple but cute and Hallmark presented Hanukkah tastefully and appropriately. Storyline aside, the actors were good and their chemistry believable, making the movie one of the better Hallmark films I've seen this season. Well-done!