Dial S for Santa

I am a connoisseur of Christmas Movies. This one had a great premise and was an enjoyable watch for the most part but I do have one criticism and I really don't like having to say this but all of the actors were wonderful except the primary actress playing Lana. She had the acting ability, depth of character, and personality of a wet sock. She seemed to have one look on her face at all times as if her face was frozen, one monotone delivery for pretty much every scene and I was bored to tears by her acting. Now, that said I will say that I am sure I could not have done better and as I said I really don't like to be this negative but I also don't want to shower praise where none is warranted. Maybe in a different part she would be better but not this one. As I said the rest of the cast delivered a thoroughly enjoyable experience and the writers did a great job delivering something unique. I love a good whodunnit with a Christmas twist. They should definitely utilize the actor who played Nick in more leading mens rolls. I also liked the Santa. He was a subtle Santa and had the right aura for the roll.

While the story is cute I found Lana to be annoying. I don't care if you lost your dad years ago during Christmas time, that's no reason to be a rude b*tch to your mother, interfere and insert yourself where you have been explicitly told not to, and crush the belief of an eight-year-old child.

The actress playing the role of Lana also didn't help things. She's a bit stiff or something was off in general. The had no facial expressions it was like she was emotionally detached, either reading her lines, or only rotely reciting memorized lines with no feelings... somehow her face couldn't match the emotions of the time. The one scene where she wakes up with a fully PERFECT face of make-up and lipstick is also annoying, lol. Not even realistic, not that movies that are just for "fun" have to be realistic, but something things should.

I do get "loss" having an affect on a person for longer than just a year, but her attitude just made her an unlikable character. Her mother is doing everything she can to accommodate Lana, yet Lana still behaves like a 12-year-old that doesn't get her way and has a tantrum when she doesn't like that other people have moved on.

I knew who was the culprit pretty early on as it seemed kind of obvious to me.

Overall, it was mostly a cute distraction, but one of those seen it once was enough movies.

Insurance investigator Lana Lawton (Sarah Dugdale) returns home to visit her mom who owns a Christmas store on main street. Someone broke in. There has been a spree of small robberies. Policeman Nick Fallon (Julian Haig) is on the case where few crimes are committed. The store has hired Kris Kringle to be the store Santa, but Lana tells her nephew that he's not the real Santa.

The town needs to be smaller. This needs to be one street of small stores. Otherwise, I like the premise and the mysteries. This is Hallmark's Christmas in July. The investigation stalls around the middle and so does the movie. I do like the Santa suspicion. She could do more like comically stalking Santa. On the other hand, I don't like her talking down on her mom. I really don't like her sex-shaming her mom. Writers need to stop doing that even if the character learns a lesson. She is a fine lead although the guy needs a bit more time at the beginning. Finally, I have an issue with the final act. This is mostly fine.

I rarely take the time to review a Hallmark movie - they are lighthearted entertainment so my expectations are not too high but they are usually pretty reliable. However, the main character Lana (played by Sarah Dugdale) ruins what would otherwise be a decent movie. Her acting is so terrible...like really really terrible. I really hope Hallmark doesn't hire her again. It is sad to hear they are getting rid of some of the older actresses that can actually act in favor of young actresses like this one that ruin their movies. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. I couldn't even make it to the end because of her.

I've watched a lot of Christmas movies and this one was hard to watch and I held out hope for the end but it never got better. Sarah was simply unbelievable. There were no feelings or emotions developed. Not realistic at all and by the end there was no feel good emotions connected to the story. The best acting was by the robber and the friends back at the office. Ugh!!! Even the relationship between mom and the new man was void of feelings. The engagement ring scene was completely unbelievable. Mom's reaction to her daughter ruining a monumental event was flat. Maybe the script wasn't good enough. Not sure. But the development of the characters left a lot to be desired. Especially applicable with Lana.... No real believability.