Christmas Movie Magic

Considering how many bog-standard Christmas movies get ridiculously high ratings on IMDb, it's astonishing that this refreshingly different, well written and thoroughly engaging film can only muster a 6.

Sure, it's not a masterpiece, with some slightly below par acting in places and the usual missteps that this type of movie tends to have now and again, but its strengths far outweigh its deficiencies. It dares to be bold, reasonably intelligent and thoughtful, and by the end actually has some of the real sparkle which the old Hollywood movies it's referencing had.

Trust me, you can do many far worse things than spend 90 minutes watching this. And, I suspect, you might even enjoy it!!!

Greetings, salutations, and a seasonal welcome to all you movie aficionados. Here are my considerations and recommendation for Christmas Movie Magic.

Story: 1.00/2 - Direction and Pace: 2.00/4 - Performances: 1.00/2 - Enjoyment: 1.00/2

Total 5.00/10

Welcome to the atypical Christmas movie. There were so many opportunities to make this a memorable and more potent tale that I was saddened at the route the writers took. Though they have the great idea of a small American town celebrating the anniversary of the Greatest Christmas Flick Ever Made, which was filmed and premiered in their town, the writers try too hard to make it memorable. We see the movie's opening sequence and witness the boy meets girl walking a pig on a leash moment. Yeah, you read that right - walking a pig on a leash! It was the moment I found my thumb hovering over the off button. The performers are in super-cheesy mode, which makes it worse. Upon realising it wasn't the primary tale, I retracted my thumb from the button. And, even though the story smooths out a little, it falls heavily into the quagmire of Christmas movies. There's very little new in this picture. Another element that turned out poorly was the twists. The writers attempt to add some intrigue into the narrative in the shape of a secret love. Regrettably, they make this outcome too obvious. No sooner have our lovers found the clue than we, the audience, have guessed who it is - and how it'll bring our two principal players together. Sadly, the cast doesn't make the picture any better. They're not awful, but they aren't exceptional either. Better acting and direction were required to lift the film. The performers are as unremarkable as the narrative. Luckily, the director is a little more on the ball - but only a little. And they add a subtle sense of heart-warmingness and pepper a few decent scenes throughout, but it needed more mirth and merriment.

Because Christmas Movie Magic is un-magical, I'd only recommend watching it should your other entertainment possibilities run dry. And, in this season of joy, plenty of better Chrimbo Pics are on offer - some can be found on the list below.

Please check out my HO! HO! HO! Christmas Belles list to see where I ranked the movie.

Take Care, Stay Well, And Best Wishes For A Merry Christmas.

I really liked this one! I loved that it revolved around a hometown mystery and a 1950/s musical complete Let's with a dance routine at the end. As a fan of old musicals especially "singin in the rain" I loved the homages. As lifetime/hallmark Christmas movies go this was one of my faves so far this year.

This Christmas RomCom has writing that is layered, acting that is fun almost goofy and yet the characters are true somehow. Then there is a magnificent scene with actress Jill Frappier. The leads are fun to watch as they give much more than the average RomCom expects and before I knew it I was completely buying into the rose colored Christmas RomCom slow burn. The film sets up and delivers on all it's premisses. After the nice build up it concludes with a very satisfying and unexpected climactic declaration of love(s). I wanted these characters to get together much more than I normally do in most RomComs. But for me it is the scene with Jill Frappier that made me actually spend money to buy the movie. She gave the whole love story(s) themes credibility, even if love rarely reaches the conclusion her character achieves. It's rare for me that an older actor in a supporting role inspires me to want to own a movie but Ms Frappier did just that. I wont spoil anything but do turn on the subtitles for the last quarter of the movie so you can get the full revelation of the setup and the superior writing this lightweight movie. I watch a lot of RomComs and this one is wonderful. But let me be clear it is still a cheesy RomCom, just a very good cheesy RomCom.

While I can agree with some of the other comments on picking this movie apart for its rough spots, all in all, this is a very sweet and Lovable story. I just loved it, and, I thought that the song and dance at the end was beautiful. It was very nice to see a Christmas movie that wasn't just another boring, repetitive version of the typical Hallmark movies, which for me, have become nothing more than elaborate layouts for Folgers coffee and Hallmark's products. This little movie is in a class of it's own, loved the singing voices and the song. Good job guys!