Time for Her to Come Home for Christmas

This movie is part of a series based on the song, "Time To Come Home For Christmas", Blake Shelton is the song's cowriter and movie's Executive Producer. This is the story of a woman, Carly, a Music Teacher, (Shenae Grimes-Beech) facing her first Christmas without her mother so to avoid loneliness, she takes a job as a temporary Church Choir Director in a small quaint town. Matthew (Chris Carmack), has returned to his home town, after serving in the Army, and plans to take a job with the Fire Department. He is also interested in trying establish a romantic relationship with an old friend, Jenny, (Lauren Jackson). Carly, convinces Matthew to join the choir, and she has her work cut out for her with only two weeks to shape a motley crew into a real choir. There's also a mystery brewing surrounding Carly and her family history.

The fun part of the movie is Carly's upbeat personality and special connection she has with each person she encounters, and the way she brings the town's people together. (Shenae really shines in this role). However, there are mixed signals from Matthew, is he trying to win over Jenny or Carly??? Caramack brings a cordial and sympathetic role to the Matthew character, but there really isn't enough actual romance between Matthew and either woman, he comes across more like a good friend. A really awkward and odd moment in the movie is how Carly overreacts when the mystery is revealed, but then way too quickly she does an about-face and she's suddenly very calm and returns to normal as she easily accepts what transpired (Jekyll and Hyde character moment). The ending was also a bit lackluster because of the lack of romance between the leads. It started out to be an interesting movie, but just lost something along the way. It's not a bad movie, but could have been better.

In the first minutes of the movie the male star appears in uniform and the most visible element is the division insignia on his left shoulder. Couldn't wait for the star, Chris, to get out of uniform into his civilian clothes. It would have been so easy to get a quick consultation on simple elements like the unit insignia. The10th Mountain Division patch was turned on its side and was grating to watch. Doing a Google search for the 10th Mountain would immediately present the proper postioning of the shoulder sleeve insignia.

While walking out of doors he should have been wearing a cover until ready to board the bus. Simple elements make a big difference.

I found this to be boring and kind of contrived. My spouse even fell asleep during it. There are some glaring plot holes here and you've seen this type of material many times in the Hallmark movies. The cast is likable and they work hard to give this story some oomph, but the script is just not that interesting. There is nothing special about the sets or the locales - it's all recycled stuff that you've seen before. Plus, as soon as the lead character says "My father left right after I was born" at the beginning of the movie, you can probably figure out how this was going to end. We did - and that was before my spouse fell asleep !

The latest in a string of similarly titled Hallmark holiday romances produced by Blake Shelton, this one lacks the chemistry of those I have seem previously.

Shenae Grimes-Beech stars as Carly, a music teacher from Philadelphia who agrees to travel to the small town of Waterford Creek to help a church choir with its Christmas program. When she arrives, she finds that the choir is a vocal mess.

She also meets Matthew (Chris Carmack, who you may remember from "Nashville"), a returning soldier who hopes to join the local fire department. He has feelings for local girl Jenny (Lauren Jackson), but has not seen her for five years.

Carly convinces Matthew to join the choir. She connects with each choir member on an individual level. And she bonds with townspeople, in general.

In the end, this is a story about people without families, who may feel "lost", especially during holidays. It's a worthwhile subject, but this production lacks energy.

This is a terrific Christmas movie and one that I would happily watch again. The 2 leads were sweet together. I love the nuances between them - casual interest, then more curiosity and a natural progression that not all of these Hallmark movies contain. The plot itself actually seems new-ish, an accomplishment in and of itself. Truly had me wondering if there'd be a romantic interest for her at first. Bravo.

The surprise within was done well and kept me guessing almost till it was revealed. Just enough cast members to make it work and they all worked well as an ensemble. The pastor was a shining light ( as he should be) with just the right touch of sincerity and kind truth and humanity.

Chris Cormack is amazingly likeable and perfect in his role and Shenae Grimes-Beech was great as well. Could we please get rid of the wigs, tho? There were times when the hair over- powered her face to the extreme - not everyone should wear bangs. Please. A stylist issue, I know, but ... very distracting for an otherwise great watch.