The Great Christmas Switch

The premise starts out as a copy of the Switched for Christmas movie of 2017. After that, I can't even compare it because I can't wrap my head around how ridiculous it was.

I agree with another reviewer that there was no good reason for it in the first place. If you want to destress, you don't go to work in a job you never had before. Maybe Sophia's reason almost made sense, but why keep it up when the kids return. Sophia was beyond irresponsible in starting a romantic relationship when she's supposed to be married, even given that irresponsible was her norm. There are so many other ridiculous choices by both twins. I agree with the same reviewer - "Just tell them", especially Sophia to Patrick as things developed there.

The story was too chaotic for me mostly going back to the question why for almost everything.

I saw no chemistry between romantic interests which was difficult to begin with because identifying who they were was confusing. I wasn't impressed with Sarah Lind in this movie. I don't think she clearly defined her characters. They seemed to run together, but some of that might have been that the director did a poor job of always giving the opposite twins distinctive features (if hair color is the same, then how about hair style, or clothes) as scenes switched.

It sure would have been fun to hire a lawyer to sue James because even though technically employment almost always has a clause that technically allows any reason for termination of salaried workers, Sophia had plenty of ammunition to make a good case for wrongful termination.

The second-ever GAC Family Christmas movie is a bit of a let-down, especially after such a wonderful start with Much Ado About Christmas. It is another Christmas switch storyline, which has become popular over the years with movies such as The Princess Switch (and subsequent installments), Christmas in the Heartland, A Christmas Switch, and Switched for Christmas. Though the story conveyed some heartfelt messages, which I appreciated, it was not an engaging Christmas movie. I struggled to get through it, if I am being honest, having to stop myself on several occasions from multitasking. The story follows twin sisters Kaelynn, a mother of two who has recently separated from her husband, and Sophia, a single girl with a demanding boss. Both wish they could take a break from their lives. Having swapped places in the past (e.g., for the high school prom), they decide to swap again as a means of getting away from their problems for a little while this holiday season. And so, the story begins, as we follow their adventures during their Christmas switcheroo. As other reviewers have pointed out, the plot has several weaknesses related to the switching of places by the sisters. However, the real problem is the writing. Simply put, it was not very good at times. To be fair, some of the messages the movie conveys are noble ones. For example, the scene at the end between Kaelynn and her husband Patrick (played by Dillon Casey), where they discuss how to make their marriage work, was warm and heartfelt. I even felt my eyes water a little. Unfortunately, these elements of the story were underdeveloped. The acting, overall, was subpar. Lind's performance, I'm afraid, was not very convincing. It was difficult to distinguish between the two sisters, acting-wise. Moreover, her performance, in general, was not that engaging; it was a bit flat. There were also several scenes with some awkward performances from the supporting cast, which did not help. The movie too lacked that Christmas vibe, which was so beautiful in GAC's first movie of the season. It did not get me into the Christmas mood/spirit. All in all, it is an unexceptional Christmas movie, I'm afraid.

Sarah Lind pulls off playing twin sisters who switch places. Sounds hokey, but it's but better than GACs "Much Ado About Christmas". Not the best but it works, the single sister in San Diego, CA changes places with her separated sister with kids in Hudson, OH. Clunky in places just like Hallmark movies, but the script and cast pull it off and it works.

If GAC keeps going like this they will rival Hallmark.

There were only about twenty times during this where I was shouting at the screen - JUST TELL THEM! It's not like switching places is a criminal act. So many things got royally screwed up because they were trying to keep this "secret" when there wasn't a good reason to keep it. Like, there legit wasn't a logical reason other than because the writers were trying to string it out. Super lazy writing. They could have come up with some kind of compelling rational that made the whole thing work better.

I also found the lead, Sarah Lind, not all that interesting as ONE character, much less as two. Just not especially charming/compelling/watchable/cute etc etc. Rather dull, IMHO.

As "twins switch places" movies go, this was truly mediocre and underwhelming.

I've watched all the new Hallmark and GAC movies so far this season (2021) and I'd say this is a the bottom of the list.

A new take on the idea of twin sisters exchanging lives at Christmas time. Hallmark somewhat made it work, a couple of years ago, with Candace Cameron Bure.

Past the unbelievable reality that a husband and two children would not tell their wife and mother from a twin, the story moves well, the situations feel real enough, and the ending , albeit predictable, is on line with Christmas spirit. Overall, the movie is captivating and worth your time.