Joy for Christmas

The bones of this story are very much like many other movies where the romantic leads are thrown together to save a family institution. But in this case, it's a charity they are trying to save and the reason for the problem is not the usual slow business but because the family was scammed out of the collected donations. And instead of working on a pageant or a festival or a ball, Holly is trying to inspire Jack's Christmas spirit. The dynamics are different than the usual.

What impressed me in this movie was how natural Cindy Busby and Sam Page were together. Their conversations sounded natural. They really enjoyed their time together.

The climax creating the conflict is interesting and kind of ticked me off. For one thing it didn't make sense why a third party did what he did. And then there is a bit of a twist even if it leads to the expected.

Wesley MacInnes (Wes Mack) plays and sings a few Christmas songs and he sounds great.

Sam Page is such a good actor, but even he couldn't save this movie. I'm not sure why they paired such a serious actor, who is so good at heartfelt roles, with an actress who is so different from his style. I try to like her, but her reactions in scenes are always so overacted. She comes across as a bratty kid in and adult body. If she would bring it down a few notches, she would be more believable in her roles. This was a nice story idea, but the script was poorly written. The only good thing about the movie was Sam Page. Too bad they wasted his talent on this movie. He works better with more serious actors like Lacey Chabert.

I'm still catching up from last year, and I just got around to Joy for Christmas.

This was actually pretty good.

The story involves a charity that has been ripped off, who's administrator is desperately trying to find a way to obtain toy donations by Christmas. She devises a plan to utilize the celebrity of a ballplayer, who's foundation has been similarly duped.

Sam Page plays the ballplayer, and he does a nice job. I'm kind of hit or miss with Sam. However, in this instance, he has excellent chemistry with his co-lead Cindy Busby. I have never been much of a fan of hers.

It might be just me, but it seemed to me there were a lot of shots of her...posterior regions. I've never noticed that before. I might like her a little better now.

Her sister is played by Erin Boyes, who has always been one of my favorites ever since she played Zoey in The Mistletoe Promise. Do yourself a favor and watch that.

All in all, worth a watch, if only once.

The script is more original than usual for this genre, and reaches out more to the heart. The cast are on their toes, and demonstrate great chemistry. The plot and action get on a role and never lose momentum and entertainment value.

Sam Page and Cindy Busby balance each other out; he calms her anxiety, and she motivates him to do some good. Everyone can come away from this film feeling the good in life, and wanting to do something to make the world better.

Glad it is decent for my family's viewing. And Cindy, you one fine, pro actress!

Joy For Christmas (2021) -

I did not like Sam Page's character Jack at all. I just didn't connect with the cocky sports star type that he played and didn't really fit to be honest. He had none of the charm of his characters from 'Annie Claus Is Coming To Town' (2011) or 'A Godwink Christmas: Second Chance, First Love/Christmas Coincidence 3' (2020).

I couldn't see him giving in to her whims so easily, unless he really wanted to get in to her pants, which didn't seem likely. He was just so awkward in an odd role.

If Sam hadn't had a proven track record, I would probably have given up on the film altogether and I repeatedly felt like doing that.

Cindy Busby as Holly had an eternal optimism that was very annoying and she made everything too daft. Her dress at the end was absolutely hideous too.

The storyline was a very typical collection of clichés and a farcical concept where the leads had to come up with a massive event in a few days and in time for Christmas. It was even worse than other versions of this story that I have seen before.

The Step-Brother (Madison Smith) and Step-Mother (Lauren K. Robes) were stereotypically awful as well, as if they couldn't be bothered to explore their characters or give them any depth.

Not to mention the fact that her Sister Eve (Erin Boyes) could have done so much better than Bob (Wesley MacInnes) who was actually a bit grim and quite irrelevant to the story, as was their lacklustre flirtation.

The whole film felt like the people in charge were still working from old values, because I might have forgiven it more if it had been made 20 years ago, but for a 2021 effort it seemed more than a bit poor just two years later.

The ultimate result of the film was so unbelievable and I found it really unlikely that Jack managed to achieve so much in 24 hours. I believe in Christmas Miracles, but even the elves and Saint Nick would scoff at what they can achieve in these films sometimes.

As much as I like Sam, the performances overall and the story weren't enough to bring me back to this one again.

3.75/10.