Um Natal Para Lembrar

Leah's "milestone" 30th birthday is coming up on Christmas Eve, the same day her brother is getting married. She is a little down because she thought that by now, she would have made more of a success of her life like the rest of her family. In particular she has never acted on her life long dream of travel. In addition, she has a feeling that her family is going to forget this most important birthday because of all of the excitement over her brothers wedding. Holy Molly Ringwald in Sweet Sixteen!

When she confides in her childhood friend and former crush, Drew, who is also visiting town, he decides to do something special with her almost daily to help her celebrate. In the background we learn that the reason why she hasn't done more with her life is that she is afraid to leave her Dad, who has had a few health scares. The airline has lost her brother's fiance's wedding dress, sending it to all the wrong destinations. "Her dress is better traveled than I am!". The fiancé is a type A personality and though nice, is a little picky and difficult. Her brother has decided to "surprise" her by buying back her beloved childhood home and changing the wedding venue to there from Leah's parent's home behind her back. So there's some cloak and dagger going on while the fiancé is getting more and more anxious that her wedding won't be perfect and something is being kept from her. Also, Drew has decided to sell his Nana's home because he no longer has ties to the community and that makes everyone sad, including Drew.

In summarizing the plot, it sounds like there is a lot going on, but there really isn't. This one doesn't aim for high comedy or drama. It is gentle and low-key, yet I wasn't bored. There were a lot of layers to the story and doesn't always take the obvious path. Drew and Leah's love story takes center stage and it is sweet. It develops slowly and tentatively but was engaging and romantic. The chemistry ended up being very strong. I felt the uncertainty and the emotion. The climax is touching and I loved the ending which wound everything up in a creative and upbeat way instead of with a lone chaste kiss. I must add, parenthetically, that Hallmark and the clones have really jazzed up the kisses this year.

Despite the lost wedding dress, this movie is mostly upbeat. No one is about to lose their job or under pressure to achieve something for a promotion. There are no great highs or lows or tension. As a result, the movie is about the relationships, and it does a pretty good job there.

I thought the chemistry between Emily Osment as Leah and Casey Deidrick as Drew was quiet but good. Also, Emily shines in her unselfishness kindness toward Julia.

There were some nice moments, some sweet and some funny. The reveal moment by the brother Paul to his bride was nicely done. The first presentation at the wedding dinner was a little different and also sweet. The car driving up to the house after the wedding was a cute touch. Some or all of these things may have been predictable, but they were still nice.

All in all, many little things added up to an enjoyable movie. I will probably watch this again when it comes around next year.

I loved how deep the story went into the background relationship between Leah and Drew. It was fun to see them making alfajores and Emily Osment looked great in all the blue comfy-looking sweaters. I really don't think they needed to explain what a milestone birthday is three times, but whatever. Also, who would have their wedding on their sister's/future sister-in-law's birthday? That said, they did a good job not making Julia seem like bridezilla (for example, she apologizes very quickly when she thinks she may have offended the family and is not quick to blame or yell at the airline associates on the phone). I thought the line about someone putting the ornaments on the tree before the lights was pretty funny!

A Very Merry Bridesmaid (2021) -

This film contained a believable romance that was delivered with aptitude by two good actors. I felt their interest in one another and I liked it. I also liked the whole setup of the film and the structure of the wedding as the backdrop.

Drew, played by Casey Deidrick was hotttt!!! I look forward to seeing more of him when I finally catch up on the 'Teen Wolf' (2011-7) TV series and I will look for his other appearances too. It was nice to see a new face for a change and a handsome one to boot.

Even Paul (Patch May) was cute in a wonky kind of way, a bit 'Samwise Gamgee' almost.

Emily Osment was quite a lot to take, playing Leah, but definitely likeable and I was happy for her to get together with Drew. I have been wanting a lot of the leading men to get together with the brothers and other players in many of the latest films I've seen, because there has been no chemistry between the leads whatsoever, so it was nice to feel that they worked more on this occasion.

Julie (Frances Leigh) however was high maintenance. Just because her parents had died, she was treated like a spoiled brat. I mean get over it! She was also quite an annoying actor. I did feel sorry that she was abandoned a lot throughout the film though. After all, according to Darlene Love, nobody wants to be alone at Christmas.

One criticism that I have for the films released this year is that last year they actually released some films with same sex leading couples, but this year they just seem to be saturating all of the other films that they've made, like this one, with sideline LGBTQ+ characters. I've actually started lesbian spotting, because they seem to be in them the most.

They also need to stop using mistletoe as an excuse to kiss as well, or at the very least, less often, because it suggests that they don't really want to do it otherwise, which makes things awkward and harder to believe and it's slightly lazy on the part of the writer.

I did love the fact that there was actually real snow used for a change, even if it was a bit inconsistent. Either that or it was a brilliant facsimile.

But, I don't care how many patio heaters they squeezed in to that tent at the end, it would be way too cold to sit outside in December in a place that was already coated with snow.

Also, I laughed when I saw the note in the Sex and Nudity section about cleavage, but those babies really were out there for everyone to see. Yikes! As I'm not a boob fan I had to look away, but be warned that they're there.

It was a nice film though. Charmingly filled with love and the season, without going over the top and apart from Julie everyone delivered well.

7/10.

Leah Taylor (Emily Osment)'s birthday is Christmas Eve. For this year, it's her 30th and it's also her brother Paul's wedding. Her childhood neighbor and crush Drew Vaughn (Casey Deidrick) is back in town as the best man and more importantly for him, her birthday. The wedding plans get changed and Leah's birthday takes a backseat. It's often the case that her dreams take a backseat like traveling the world.

Emily is adorably cute and this is a very sweet couple. It has all the elements of a Hallmark Christmas romance and not much more. This is perfectly fine and probably better than most.