Christmas in Pine Valley

I write my reviews as if I'm talking to my grandmother, so I always try to find something nice to say.

I think I would have to tell her to watch Gilligan instead.

The plot involves a small company selling hand made products from a farm who inadvertently create the impression they are a family, and are forced to carry out the deception in order to obtain the big order that will save them from foreclosure.

The lead actress is ok, she has her moments, but the leading man is basically a male model type who has yet to learn the acting craft.

I did enjoy the "sister" character, and some of the scenes involving wood-chopping and jealousy were almost amusing, but the plot was trite and the ending illogical and forced.

I can understand why GAC buried this one in mid-November.

Sorry, that's as nice as I can be.

This had potential with a fun cast of characters running the business. However, the actor playing the reporter ruined this for us. He was not only a poor actor but also offensive and gruff. In what should have been a fun interview of how the older "couple" met, he kept on asking "and then?" which was annoying since they already answered his question. If he wanted more details, he should have asked follow-up questions like, "that must have taken you by surprise, or what did your family think? The female lead chose to stay in character with her overacting, phony, fast-talking bit which was completely devoid of humor and charm. Lies are always tricky and they have to be executed in a way that is not only funny but endearing. Again, this missed both marks. Instead of telling the truth to the distributor, the female coworker stepped on the lead's foot, then she kept hitting her in the side. Nothing funny about that, it actually made me wish the lead hit her back since she was being annoying. All this within the first 20 minutes before we turned it off.

The plot went from bad to worse. The male lead looks great, but is so monotone. Not sure where the writers came from, but they definitely need new jobs, because writing is not a strength for them. I kept thinking with time things would get better, but it kept getting more ridiculous and painful to watch. The actors and actresses were probably fine and with the right script they may be great, but this was a terrible movie and I think the fault lies with the writers. The male lead was boring also. Good looking, but boring. Oh, and who splits wood on a porch? Do your research people. I only gave it 4 stars because it was family friendly and was a safe movie for my family to watch.

This movie had so much wrong with it I wouldn't know where to start. Awful acting by leading lady, she seemed so fake and overacting every scene and line you just can't find yourself caring about her at all. There was ridiculously corny, terrible dialogue and even the filming left a lot to be desired ....I kept hoping it would get better. I can't imagine this channel will last long with this kind of production garbage. The supporting characters storylines should have been developed more as they were more interesting and their acting was much better. Save yourself the agony and find some paint to watch dry. It will be more entertaining.

An "innocent" lie or secret is a common trope in Christmas movies. Likewise big contract needed to save the "family" farm. Throw in reporter, Josh, sent to do a piece on the business which threatens to become an expose. There is also a fake fiancé and a fake marriage. Many of these have slight twists in the way they are presented especially the fake fiancé situation.

The acting is poor at times but mostly OK. The dialogue can be a bit odd, but there are some cute sequences too.

Another reviewer pointed out that the "family" is so inept at explanations to Josh. What's sad is that so many of the explanations should flow naturally even if this group is not really biological family so why would they fumble?

It is also uncomfortable that the lies grow more serious and less innocent, less "white". How the fake fiancé is established is a little ridiculous. So many of the gags are high on the silly meter. The basic lie comes up constantly one way or another.

Kristina Cole has a sweetness consistent with a typical girl next door. She definitely seems low key for the CEO of the business. She and Andrew Biernat have the potential for great chemistry but two things interfered with my appreciation of it. First Biernat has almost no spark in his performance. Second, and more significant, is the lying.

I don't think it is a spoiler to say that the underlying theme of the movie moves toward a sort of redefinition of what a family is apart from strictly biological. This is not a new idea especially for holiday movies. Many would consider the idea that family includes our closest friends to be valid. What might be different about this movie is the this "family" excludes any biological relatives.

So why is it a lie as far as the movie premise goes? Part of that is in misrepresentations in the blog, but even those are not unusual in the world of blogging. The movie is a little vague but implies Natalie wrote about traditions that were never followed by this "family". I think that and the perpetuation of the lies with Josh is where I have a problem that makes it hard for me to enjoy the inevitable HEA.

This movie has a ton of potential and a lot of positives, but for me the dishonesty, the intent to deceive, trumped that. Note to self - skip watching this again.