Christmas She Wrote

Danica and Dylan, such an odd couple. Her ex doesn't match her either. Dylan could play Danica's father. I like Dylan with the detective.

It is an unexceptional Christmas movie, I'm afraid. The premise of the story is fine and quite relevant given the decline of journalism across many Western democratic states (it's difficult to find steady work as a journalist, e.g.). However, the script, at times, was rather generic, I thought. The writers could have done a better job (as other reviewers on here have pointed out) of setting up, developing the romance between the lead characters. The acting was decent. Danica McKellar, a Hallmark regular, had a strong performance, though it was not one of her better Hallmark movies (e.g., the scene where she gets fired seemed awkward, some strange reactions, I felt). Let's be honest, without her on the top of the bill, this one would have tanked. Dylan Neal is a good actor; I have seen him in many Hallmark films, and he usually comes off well on screen. However, casting got this one wrong, I'm afraid, as he and McKellar were not a good fit. The chemistry between them seemed forced, which is never a good sign. I still have the ice-skating scene with him chasing after her in my head. Unpleasant viewing, I thought. Simply put, they just did not work well on screen in this one. The chemistry was not convincing. The supporting cast was strong. For example, Andrew Francis (playing Stephen) had a strong performance. Indeed, it was the dialogue between Francis and McKellar, which stood out for me in this film; casting got this one right. The scenery, props, and sets were well-polished and festive (a Hallmark trademark). I did have a bit of a laugh reading another review on here: I agree, Hallmark needs to stop pushing hot beverages in their Christmas movies (if they do, make sure the actors' cups are full). No complaints about the music or music editing; this has been an issue in several Lifetime Christmas movies this year. All in all, it is a run of the mill Christmas movie with a Hallmark favourite at the top of the bill (which will no doubt draw many fans to this one). To be fair, I did not find myself grabbing for my iPad during the movie, so it did engage me; i.e., it kept my attention for 84 minutes at least.

Let me start by saying the acting here was good, and it should be, because most of these actors have probably done these same scenes over and over. It played like a checklist of predictable, rushed scenes, that all seemed forced, especially with the reappearing ex. Not only was the chemistry bad between the leads it bordered being creepy. Recycling scripts is expected with Hallmark movies, even still they can still be enjoyable, this one was not for me

Danica did her best and so did Dan Payne, whom I love. He should have been the lead. Dylan Neal was so cold, stoic, and hard to like. Always dressed to the nines, even during a winter carnival. lol. Put some boots on that guy! This was not a good match personality wise for the leads but I did like the story in general.

6/10 - awkward chemistry dampened the festivity of this Hallmark flick