Christmas Beneath the Stars

Every ounce of joy and energy is sapped from this deeply substandard TV movie. It's fifteen minutes of script hyperextended into a feature-length TV movie, each scene a molasses trickle. It feels like a Hallmark movie that was left out in the sun to bleach and dry up. The actors take deep breaths between each line of dialog and repeat plot points (scant as they are) over and over. The two leads are obviously under heavy sedation. The main character's aunt reads every line as catty. Even the actors' hairstyles (or wigs?) are strange. The acclaimed local cafe serves what appear to be Hungry Man turkey frozen dinners with a side of cocoa. The father and son at the heart of the story seem to be estranged at the start of the film for reasons never explained and evidently instantly resolved. WHAT EVEN IS THIS.

Where to start? Alaska right before Christmas. Where's the snow, it looks like a few pieces of cotton laying around. It looks like the sun shines many hours a day? I thought Alaska only has about 6 hours of sunlight in winter.

The girl is out a night with a light jacket, unzipped. Did anyone review this before it went on TV?

Oh my word! No words can describe how unimpressed I was with the scenery. The movie is supposedly set in Alaska. I could be wrong but have always assumed most if not all of Alaska has snow on the ground during the Christmas season. I am almost certain the trees, unless evergreens, do not have green leaves. In the movie, there was minimal snow, fake or otherwise, no pretense of the weather being cold and green leaves on trees. The actual story line was very similar to most "romantic" movies ... girl meets boy, girl is not interested in boy, boy likes girl, girl and boy have misunderstanding and in the end, after only a few days / weeks, girl and boy are madly in love.

Setting is all-important when supposedly in the bush of Alaska. Where's the darkness? When there is light, there is no Aurora. I loved how the horse tripped over the cotton blob of snow. I feel for the actors having to pretend it's winter when there's obviously no signs of winter, but then again, the acting was as mediocre as the fake Alaska. Oh yeah, open windows in winter while they're sitting around a table? And who drinks hot chocolate when it's warm? Someone should have actually visited Alaska before releasing this sad and laughable movie. Hannah and her aunt should have stayed in Sacramento.

Supposedly set in Alaska, around Christmas. Where's the cold? Snow? Darkness? And what's with the green leaves on maple trees? It's all just too much to take. The 'B' list Canadian cast tries, but the direction and script make that an uphill battle. This film is filler for holiday cable schedules.