The Christmas Contest

I never understood Candace's character. The male lead went from egotistical to caring in just a matter of a few scenes. It didn't develop naturally. I never felt chemistry between the leads. The mother daughter relationship was hard to define. I usually love Candace Cameron Bure's movies. I like Barbara Nevin. But this could have been better.

Who doesn't love Candace Cameron Bure in almost anything? Two (just about past their freshness date) ex-lovers and friends reconnect during a baking and dance contest and the catty foreplay is obvious to the audience they were meant to be together. Ben (John Brotherton) is a successful sports jock and Lara (Candace Cameron Bure) is living her dream as a successful CEO. Both being very competitive, they relish the opportunity to once again compete against one another.

This is not one of those thought provoking Christmas themed films where the piano and a tandem of melancholy horns lead the audience to a big reveal that brings tears to your eyes. Rather, this is a romantic Christmas themed film where the leading man Ben, mentors an introverted 12 year old boy named Jayce (Matteus Lunot) break through and adjust to making new friends. Lara on the other hand stops listening to her mother who is always trying to motivate Lara to be better at everything, to where Lara just wants to enjoy a fun little contest and find true love.

Mrs. Shullivan and I enjoyed this simple story line and romantic themed film, especially since Candace Cameron Bure starred in it.

I give the film a 7 out of 10 IMDb rating.

Being a fuller house fan and actually then hoping she would end up with her fellow pet doctor, this seemed to be a home run.

But o boy... The beginning! They were both very very unlikable and I actually stopped watching. Barbara Niven almost has the same role as in chesapeake shores but her role gets better too.

After a few days, I gave it another chance and it's just the first 12min. Then Ben's grandma enters the story and the movie gets so much better! Too bad there will indeed be people who remember only the bad start or won't give it another chance.

'The Christmas Contest' is a fairly entertaining Christmas romantic comedy, not one of Hallmark's best this season nor one of their worst. Although the comedy falls a bit flat at times, the banter between the leads is fun and engaging. The story itself is formulaic. Hallmark fans, I suspect, will find this comforting, while others may not. Our two protagonists in the movie are Lara (played by Candace Cameron Bure), a successful company executive who feels something is missing in her life, and Ben (played by John Brotherton), a former professional Baseball player and hometown hero. The two exes are thrown together (years after a painful breakup) when they enter a week-long televised Christmas contest to win $50,000 for the charity of their choice. As the competition progresses, we watch the two begin to rekindle their relationship while battling each other to win and become Denver's Queen/King of Christmas. As noted above, the plot follows the standard Hallmark playbook. That said, the writer does a decent job with the dialogue and banter between Lara and Ben, and Lara and her mother Donna (played by Barbara Niven). Though I never had a laughing-out-loud moment, I did smile and chuckle a few times during the movie. The writer develops a couple of sub-plots in this one as well, both of which are warm and heartfelt, especially Ben's relationship with his grandmother. The Christmas competition, at times, is over the top, as you might expect in such a film. The humor, I'm afraid, fell flat more times than not during these scenes. The acting overall is strong. Bure, a Hallmark regular, had an impressive performance. As others have pointed out, in addition to her comical abilities in such roles, she had a couple of very good scenes where she did an excellent job of portraying Lara's anguish and distress over her relationships with Ben and her mother (Niven's performance was excellent). Brotherton had an entertaining performance, which was comical at times. The chemistry between the two was convincing. As I noted above, the banter was great. Given that the story was about a Christmas contest, there is plenty of holiday spirit and festive cheer in the movie, which I enjoyed for the most part. All in all, 'The Christmas Contest' is a fun and light-hearted movie. Fans of Hallmark romantic comedies will no doubt enjoy.

4/10 - while Candace Cameron Bure is a Hallmark mainstay, she is simply going to have to get better scripts and stories if she expects us to stick around after the uninspired and frankly boring Christmas movies she has put out the last couple years (this one very much included)