Christmas Sail

I have to disagree with the low star ratings from other reviews.... I found the story a delightful change from the "traditional" winter wonderland holiday romance movies. Thank you Hallmark for going a different direction with this movie! I did not find that there were any real issues with the lead, it is more a case of you either like Katee or you don't...so thinking the lower reviews simply don't care for the lead. I like to think I am a bit more open minded and can actually rate a movie on the entire film and cast and not on one actor! I am neither a fan or not of Katee but I enjoyed her in this movie. There should be nervous laughter, the two characters that are rekindling their childhood romance are nervous and unsure, it should be expected, it certainly would be in real life... Was the result expected, of course... it's a Hallmark and that is the way we want our Hallmark movies to end. But, the unexpected part, and you all know who watched this know what I am talking about, well that did make me cry and it was beautiful.... so after the horrible year the world has been through in 2020 and now 2021 it is an absolutely joy to be seeing a NEW Hallmark Christmas movie and I for one found it a delight!

I really enjoyed this Christmas movie. It is, what I call, a classic Hallmark Christmas movie: a warm and engaging romance with a good script; quality acting and performances; and plenty of Christmas spirit and festive cheer. Hands down, one of my favorites thus far this season (though we are only two weeks in). The storyline revolves around Liz (played by Katee Sackhoff). After receiving news that her father, Dennis (played by Terry O'Quinn), injured himself saving a child from a falling Christmas tree, Liz and her daughter Hannah (played by Emma Oliver) head home to Portside for Christmas after many years away. On their arrival at the docks, they are greeted by Liz's old friend Luke (played by Patrick Sabongui), who points out that their family sailboat has not been sold after all. As they clean and decorate the sailboat for Portside's upcoming Christmas Boat Parade, the two pick up where they left off. And so our story (and romance) begins. The story touches on the issue of dealing with loss and grief during the holidays (via the character Dennis, the father), and how dealing with such loss can impact others (how Dennis's grief has impacted Liz, especially during Christmas). The plot, of course, was predictable. That said, the script was well-written. In particular, the dialogue between Liz and her daughter, Liz and her father, and Liz and Luke pulled me in; it engaged me. There were several touching scenes. For example, I shed a few tears during the heart-to-heart between Liz and her father towards the end of the movie. Overall, the writer did a good job in many scenes capturing something that felt authentic, moments that pulled you in as a viewer. This was all made possible, of course, by some quality acting. Fans of sci-fi will be happy (or surprised) to see Sackhoff in this one. She did not disappoint. She had a very convincing performance. In addition to her scenes with her father, she had some great mother-daughter dynamics going on with Oliver. The chemistry between her and Sabongui was excellent, with a very romantic dance scene towards the end, to boot. The supporting cast too had a superb performance. Oliver's performance was adorable. O'Quinn too had some lovely scenes with both Sackoff and Oliver. Finally, there was plenty of Christmas cheer in this one. The scenery and sets in Portside were very festive, along with some beautiful scenery of the harbor. The Christmas Boat Parade at the end was also a nice touch, a very good ending, I felt. All in all, it is an entertaining Christmas movie, providing some holiday warmth, Christmas spirit, and festive cheer this 2021 Christmas season. Fans of Hallmark will no doubt enjoy.

Cute movie but I've seen better from Hallmark clearly the other boats in the parade were prettier and the movie had wrong lead actors. I agree Hallmark has lost it's Christmas stuff.

Expectations were mixed prior to watching 'Christmas Sail'. Have liked the cast in other things, am a huge fan of Terry O'Quinn's acting on 'Lost' (a brilliant show at its best) so the casting was not a problem. Liked the different sounding concept. The mixed to negative critical reception did turn me off a little though, though all films and television are always watched with an open mind by me, with the criticisms being very strong, and the scenario didn't sound anything special.

Watching 'Christmas Sail', my thoughts on it were mostly positive while also having some quite big reservations. Not a great film, but above average and much better than what has been said in my view. Comparing it with the previous 2021 Hallmark Christmas films, it is not as good as 'Christmas in My Heart' for example (that and 'Christmas Promise' also had grief and loss as themes and handled them better and more consistently) but it is a lot better than 'Boyfriends of Christmas Past' and 'Coyote Creek Christmas'.

'Christmas Sail' does a lot right. The best thing about it is the acting. Katee Sackoff was charming and heartfelt in her role though will agree that she overdoes the smile. Patrick Sabongui is a likeable presence too. It is a case though of the supporting cast being even better, Emma Oliver is absolutely adorable and never too cutesy, while also adding a good deal of mature depth, her chemistry with Sackoff is charming and much more convincing than the central romance. The best performance comes from heart wrenching O'Quinn, especially in the beautifully written and acted heart to heart.

Furthermore, there are some effective scenes. There is the aforementioned heart to heart towards the end, which was raw and very honest. The other standout was the ending, which did make me cry. Did have problems with quite a lot of the endings in this year's Christmas offerings but this was one of the few where not only was it not a problem but it was one of the best things. The film looks lovely and the boat setting is believable. The script when the film gets going is well meaning and thoughtful and the story handles the grief and loss themes and the aftermath movingly on the whole.

It is a film that takes a little too much time to get going and is very slight to begin with. There could have been a lot more chemistry in the central romance, it does engage when there is finally some development but it is far too subdued and very awkward to begin with (that first dance scene agreed was yuck worthy). It is also underdeveloped, with the family relationships being a lot more convincing.

Some of the dialogue, particularly early on, is very cornball and stilted and while Sabongui does well in his role the role felt underwritten.

Overall, above average though didn't blow me away. Starts off pretty questionably but gets a lot better. 6/10.

I Thought it to be a very entertaining movie and really enjoyed seeing Katee Sackhoff from the LONGMIRE series again, Yes I will recommend it. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 11/10/2021.