Dancing Through the Snow

Story of romance and the balance of family that is irreplaceable. Also the struggle of blue collar living and dreams. And the value of giving. It is important to mention that another review stated that this movie is unrealistic because it does not address covid. The reality is the world is multifaceted. There are people who are immunized in different ways and express different beliefs. This is the reality of the world. Depending on the situation, covid is addressed in different ways such as with masks or without. Some businesses demand masks and a vaccine. Some don't.

The change of title, from the original "Dancing through Christmas" should tell you all. Lifetime should begin most of their seasonal movies with the disclaimer "Any reference to Christmas, and entertainment, is purely casual". At start, the movie is fresh and and charming. Then, it turns progressively more insipid and boring. It looks like the writer had a good spark, but could not find enough inspiration to fill the time allotted for the action. The cute moment of a single father dancing with his daughter is insufficient to carry the weight of an entire show.

I felt the same about Nicola Posener and Brad Johnson in A Crafty Christmas Romance. Colin Lawrence was 50, Anna Lynne McCord 33 - DESPITE her real life choices - the clear age difference is visually and viscerally, yuck!

There are lots of young actors that she can be paired with, and more mature actors he can be paired with.

Also, McCord looked heavy-lidded, bored, depressed and zombie-like throughout the whole thing, her pale purple lip color didn't help.

Bianca Lawrence was a wonderful breath of fresh air, the rest of the cast made up for the bland, struggling storyline also.

A single father who is also a hot fireman gets caught on video doing a ballet dance with his young daughter. It is adorable. It goes viral and he is anointed America's Favorite Single Dad. He is inundated with women trying to date him and media trying to interview him. But he is a low key down to earth kind of guy and doesn't let his sudden 15 minutes of fame go to his head. Meanwhile, he meets his daughter's ballet teacher, and the attraction is mutual. The romance is mature, slow burn, and realistic. They are well aware that any relationship must be serious with no rush into a temporary fling. Although there are some humorous moments and some dramatic suspense, the overall tone to this one was serious and steady.

During one of their dates, she confides that her ballet studio is in trouble and she is being nagged by her parents to move down to Florida to live with them. I immediately thought, "Uh Oh here comes the "I need a big loan or I'm going to leave" scam. But then I remembered this was not a Lifetime movie, but a Lifetime Christmas movie. The other roadblock to their happily ever after is his young daughter. She starts acting up out of jealousy. The young actress is a highlight of this movie. She is adorable and sweet when required, wise beyond her years when required ("Dad don't patronized me!"), and a petulant little brat when required.

Thanks to some wise advice from his happy-go-lucky brother and a "woman-to-woman" talk between grandmother and granddaughter, the family roadblocks are removed. A neat resolution is also found to her financial trouble and it is one that comes full circle to the original viral video. The hint of romance at the end between Noah, the brother, and Olivia's best friend is very cute.

There seemed to be something slightly different about the romance in this film, but I can't quite put my finger on it. There wasn't the struggle as much as I've found in other films.

It's mature for a change, there's no silliness or over the top moments or comedy characters, no "Is he the real Father Christmas" at the mall to make it magic! It's just simple and effective. I've seen some reviews stating that it's not Christmassy enough, but I don't agree. I felt very cheered by it and the seasonal warmth it brought.

Generally I liked it, but personally I would have pursued a relationship with Noah, because I'm shallow and he was better looking, but I could also see the appeal of the lead male.

If I had to criticise, it would be to say that the Grandma was not a good actress, but she doesn't really get in the way too much.

Not the best that you will ever see, but definitely worth checking out.

6ish.