Following Yonder Star

I love all her movies, I think she's very charming, funny, and earnest. I look forward to her Christmas movies every year. And this one did not disappoint.

First off, this movie is legitimately funny. Hallmark doesn't always hit the comedy beats but this one did. John Brotherton is also awesome and he has not only a great screen presence, but he's also quirky and hilarious. I think he crushed this role.

The story was sweet. Obviously the "meltdown" wasn't that big of a deal and people were acting like Abby murdered someone. But that was also funny because people were SO horrified. The store clerk was a jerk, tbh.

I loved the stuff with the stars, too. Hallmark makes about 40-42 Xmas movies every year and this is easily top three and might be the best one out of them all. And there have been some good ones. I'll be watching this one again on December 25th.

This movie starts out with some of the usual stuff. Abby is an actress famous for being the perfect TV mom, but she has a run-in with a store clerk whose unreasonable refusals result in Abby losing her temper. This goes viral and gets blown out of proportion so she flees Hollywood to Vermont for Christmas. She just wants to keep her head down. She ends up at an Inn where the innkeeper is a widower with a little girl. He happens to also be a director of a kids nativity play. So Abby helps. You can figure out how the middle of the movie plays out more or less. Like so many movies with a cute kid, Brook D'Orsay has about as much chemistry with Isla Verot's Lucy as with John Brotherton's Tom, the innkeeper. The interplay between D'Orsay and Verot is almost worth the price of admission alone, but the romance is nice too.

You might be able to guess, at least in general terms, what cause the conflict. That leads to some discussion about life choices and trust and then a very cute climax during the nativity play that isn't exactly expected. Things are wrapped up after that while watching the conjunction of the planets to create a sort of Christmas star.

A few comments about star watching that have no bearing on the enjoyment of the movie if you can ignore the fallacies of such. Foremost, no planets or stars ever move across the sky that fast. Also, it's hard to see planets or stars with so much background light in the viewing area. There are several other issues, but I will leave it at that.

;'

This is an interesting film and very well acted. It involves an actress coping with getting vilified by social media during the Christmas season - a unique premise. For the first time, we enjoyed Brooke D'Orsay's acting. We usually find her movies to be mediocre and her acting sort of robotic, probably because the scripts are so routine. But, here, she is given a good story and the opportunity to act with nice subtlety and expression. At times, she says nothing, but it is her face and movements that convey her feelings and emotions. Very nicely done. And John Brotherton is excellent - just as good as he was with Kimberley Sustad in "Lights! Camera! Christmas!".

His character is sort of a Nervous Nellie and it is endearing how he has feelings for D'Orsay's character.

Brotherton is a very multi-faceted actor - you can check him out in two episodes of the "911" series that aired earlier this year - in a performance that is stunningly evil.

But, here, he demonstrates just how diverse he is because this character is caring and sweet natured.

D'Orsay and Brotherton work well together and they make this movie fine and watchable holiday entertainment.

Following Yonder Star is the story of a popular actress who discovers that everyone is the press in the social media age when a minor run-in with a store clerk blows up into a big scandal.

Brooke D'Orsay as Abby retreats to Vermont to let it blow over and winds up in a bed and breakfast run by John Brotherton as Tom.

He, among other things, is directing a children's Christmas play that includes his young daughter, but he is out of his element. Abby offers to help.

Commence bonding and all the usual Hallmark stuff.

D'Orsay is her usual sweet, vulnerable self. Brotherton has a nervous energy, totally appropriate for the part, but it made me uncomfortable.

Supporting cast is good, and as always, I really appreciate the inclusion of faith and the Nativity story in these movies.

Jack was right about the Astronomical stuff, that was silly. Made me laugh, Jack.

All in all, not the greatest ever, but very watchable.

Seven.

7.8 stars.

While this film is following the Hallmark blueprint right down to the last cross of the t and dotted i, it still brings much emotion.

Brooke is amazing in this role. I've seen her do a few amazing performances, this is one of those. I've seen her do some blah, and a below average performances is too, in fact it seems that she's improving over time. She moves up a few slots every time I see her in a new film. I love her transformation into a much more effective and passionate performer.

The male lead is great as a blubbering fan, at first. He's too authentic at portraying an awkward admirer. This detracts from the romantic aspects of the film for the first hour, but eventually his character becomes more comfortable as her friend and eventual boyfriend.

The story is formulaic, so I won't bother to explain the plot. But I must say that it's engineered to entertain and it absolutely achieves that goal.

If you don't mind formulaic, watch this one. It's a classic.