The Great Christmas Switch

The second-ever GAC Family Christmas movie is a bit of a let-down, especially after such a wonderful start with Much Ado About Christmas. It is another Christmas switch storyline, which has become popular over the years with movies such as The Princess Switch (and subsequent installments), Christmas in the Heartland, A Christmas Switch, and Switched for Christmas. Though the story conveyed some heartfelt messages, which I appreciated, it was not an engaging Christmas movie. I struggled to get through it, if I am being honest, having to stop myself on several occasions from multitasking. The story follows twin sisters Kaelynn, a mother of two who has recently separated from her husband, and Sophia, a single girl with a demanding boss. Both wish they could take a break from their lives. Having swapped places in the past (e.g., for the high school prom), they decide to swap again as a means of getting away from their problems for a little while this holiday season. And so, the story begins, as we follow their adventures during their Christmas switcheroo. As other reviewers have pointed out, the plot has several weaknesses related to the switching of places by the sisters. However, the real problem is the writing. Simply put, it was not very good at times. To be fair, some of the messages the movie conveys are noble ones. For example, the scene at the end between Kaelynn and her husband Patrick (played by Dillon Casey), where they discuss how to make their marriage work, was warm and heartfelt. I even felt my eyes water a little. Unfortunately, these elements of the story were underdeveloped. The acting, overall, was subpar. Lind's performance, I'm afraid, was not very convincing. It was difficult to distinguish between the two sisters, acting-wise. Moreover, her performance, in general, was not that engaging; it was a bit flat. There were also several scenes with some awkward performances from the supporting cast, which did not help. The movie too lacked that Christmas vibe, which was so beautiful in GAC's first movie of the season. It did not get me into the Christmas mood/spirit. All in all, it is an unexceptional Christmas movie, I'm afraid.

There were only about twenty times during this where I was shouting at the screen - JUST TELL THEM! It's not like switching places is a criminal act. So many things got royally screwed up because they were trying to keep this "secret" when there wasn't a good reason to keep it. Like, there legit wasn't a logical reason other than because the writers were trying to string it out. Super lazy writing. They could have come up with some kind of compelling rational that made the whole thing work better.

I also found the lead, Sarah Lind, not all that interesting as ONE character, much less as two. Just not especially charming/compelling/watchable/cute etc etc. Rather dull, IMHO.

As "twins switch places" movies go, this was truly mediocre and underwhelming.

I've watched all the new Hallmark and GAC movies so far this season (2021) and I'd say this is a the bottom of the list.

Okay, maybe because the premise has been used several times before I had low expectations for this movie. Luckily I was wrong, In short, it is a fun movie to watch. The producers even did a good job of getting details straight throughout and tried to keep the events plausible. Kudos to the lead actress who was in every scene playing two versions of one character. The movie was fresh and original and there were many funny scenes. It is definitely worth watching again and I can only hope that GAC will do more like this which are not 100% following somesort of Hallmark/GAC formula.

Sarah Lind pulls off playing twin sisters who switch places. Sounds hokey, but it's but better than GACs "Much Ado About Christmas". Not the best but it works, the single sister in San Diego, CA changes places with her separated sister with kids in Hudson, OH. Clunky in places just like Hallmark movies, but the script and cast pull it off and it works.

If GAC keeps going like this they will rival Hallmark.

I thought GAC's opening Christmas movie was wonderful (Much Ado About Christmas). This one on the other hand was a bit of a dud. The acting seemed off at times, the script was not very engaging, and I did not feel the Christmas spirit in this one. If you are a Christmas movie junkie, then this might be for you. Otherwise, you should consider passing on this one.