O Acampamento de Natal

I actually wasn't that interested in this one from the previews, but wound up watching it since i liked the cast and was really surprised. The acting came together well, the storyline was not a cheesy as I thought, and I genuinely laughed throughout. It was fun while not coming across as too much.

Listen, I know Hallmark movies (especially Christmas movies) are utterly predictable... BUT...

There is no big city business boyfriend nor uptight exec trying to buy the camp, Peyton's job doesn't leave her too stressed to enjoy the week, and the side characters actually have decent storylines. As an added bonus, the younger actors in the flashbacks do a great job at mirroring their older counterparts.

Hallmark movies are typically my background noise while I clean and I hardly ever sit down to rewatch ones I've seen before, but this is one that has made the rewatch list.

• It was actually a bit funny, especially parts of the first half. Unlike other reviewers, I actually liked the premise (however well trodden as it may be). But it fell into the Hallmark trap of leaning too much on sentimentality.

• Speaking of which, in order to feel sentimental you have to feel something towards the characters. This didn't work in this movie for two reasons: 1) not enough time getting to know and care about them and 2) there was little chemistry between them. The two leads were miscast.

• I couldn't figure out why the female lead would be so torn up over the male lead. And it isn't just because of looks; his personality was pretty wooden too.

-Other reviewers have commented on the overacting, but I honestly could have used more theatrics from the cast.

Aspiring writer Peyton (Tori Anderson) works at a publishing company as an assistant. Her boss says that she has no personal connections to her writing. Her parents are retiring and giving up their summer camp. They would like Peyton to take over, but she is desperate to be a writer. The camp is throwing one last Christmas in July for the alumni. Peyton is surprised to see her former flame Thomas (Corbin Bleu) attending. She decides to write about the camp.

It's another Hallmark Christmas in July. Tori Anderson is fine as the leading lady with issues. I don't know what happened to Corbin Bleu. He seems to have lost his mojo after cutting his hair. None of the other side characters really popped. The story is bland. The camp itself is a little too clean. It's well-manicured family cottages. A rustic camp is much more charming cinematically and visually. This is Hallmark at its most average.

I like the premise, but this could have been much better because the acting was particularly good. I like the male lead but not with Tori so again, Hallmark casting is horrific. I will give them a bonus for the side characters because i thought that worked well but the male lead with Tori seemed unbelievable. Maybe i should have gotten into casting because i think the reason Comedy and Romance can't make a comeback is because we don't have a Tom Hanks currently so to speak. Casting is a lost art especially with Hallmark type movies.