Nantucket Noel

I watched this based on Sarah power being one of the leads. I love her in Good Witch. I liked how it dealt with a few real world issues and families of divorce. And I loved Molly. She is so sweet and liked her acting! I'm going to see if she's in anything else! And bring me more Sarah! Love her!!

From an overdone storyline and weak character development to the less than stellar production value, 'Nantucket Noel' is somewhat of a disappointment, I'm afraid. That said, the movie did keep me moderately engaged throughout with some solid performances by the cast, which is a plus. The story centers on Christina (played by Sarah Power), a Nantucket native who recently inherited her mother's toy shop on the wharf after her passing, and Andy (played by Trevor Donovan), a confident and driven real estate developer who is spending Christmas with his father (played by Bruce Dawson) and daughter Wink (played by Payton Lepinski) in Nantucket. What is supposed to be a father-daughter Christmas begins to turn into a working holiday for Andy, as he is tasked with helping his father redevelop the wharf. This puts him in direct contact (or conflict) with Christina, who intends to save the Nantucket Warf, especially her mother's shop. As others have pointed out, the plot is well-trodden territory for Hallmark. Indeed, the writer even hints at this in the story. This alone is not a problem for me. Let's be clear, one of the reasons why Hallmark movies are so popular is because of their highly formulaic and predictable plots, which people seem to enjoy and take comfort in. However, the writing in this one had other flaws. There are issues around character development regarding, for example, Wink and her relationship with her father and Oscar (aka the father/grandfather). The dialogue too, at times, felt generic. That said, the ending was at least more realistic and the underlining message here was a noble one. What kept this movie afloat was the acting. Power and Donovan both had strong performances, I thought. Power, in particular, had some lovely scenes with Wink (Lepinski). Unlike other reviewers, I thought the chemistry was good. Though it took some time to develop on screen, the last 20 minutes were great, starting from the very convincing kissing scene. I also enjoyed the kooky and corky performances by Fiona Vroom (playing Harriet) and Daniel Bacon (playing Jacob). They were fun. Finally, I was very disappointed with the production value in this one, as Hallmark usually does an excellent job. For example, the shop looked like a shed that did not seem to have any consumers or sell very many toys. Indeed, the absence of people in the town, in general, felt a bit strange. I did like the lighthouse tree topper though. Very nice. All in all, 'Nantucket Noel' is a pretty ordinary Christmas movie, entertaining enough in the moment but easily forgotten once it ends.

Will agree with those that say that 'A Nantucket Noel' doesn't feel like a Christmas film, with the Christmas setting being underused. It did feel more like a late Fall Harvest film if anything. It was not as if expectations were low. Have liked Sarah Power and Trevor Donovan in other things, though Donovan is very inconsistent in his work with Hallmark. Nantucket is wonderful, haven't been there but have seen photos and was wowed. And while familiar, the story had potential to be heart-warming.

'A Nantucket Noel' underwhelmed me though, though more in a mixed feelings sort of way rather than outright hating it. It is not one of the very worst 2021 Hallmark Christmas films, despite being one of the few in the block to not feel like it was set at Christmas, though it is in the lesser half of the block. 'A Nantucket Noel' however was one of those films that this reviewer wanted to like a lot more. Not awful, but there is nothing special here.

To me, the acting was above average despite the flawed character writing. Power and Donovan give it everything they've got and make real efforts to make their characters interesting and engaging. Payton Lepinski is the standout of the rest, very cute and heartfelt while not being sickly sweet.

Despite the lack of authenticity in the setting, the scenery is still lovely and the photographers were clearly in love with it without being too much so. The music is pleasant and at least fits. There are some sweet and charming moments and while the romance is not developed enough Power and Donovan do have some nice low key spark.

However, a lot of things could have been done better. The story has its moments, but does nothing new with very familiar ground (everything here has been done before and better and that shows in the tired execution of most of it), so it was excessively predictable. It also felt too thin, with too little content to sustain the length and some of it was stretched out to compensate, and needed a tighter pace. While the acting is acceptable, the characters are typical Hallmark cliches with development that is never skin deep and not particularly likeable due to their flaws being exaggerated. Especially the father. The most likeable character is Lepinski's.

Furthermore, there are changes of heart that are too suddenly introduced out of nowhere and rushed, also not ringing true in the slightest when you take into account how they behaved throughout the rest of the film. The script can be too corny and could have done with a lighter edge, a bit too over-serious.

Concluding, not that bad but could have been a good deal better. 5/10.

Hallmark needs to do a better job of site surveys since there are no mountains visible from the real Nantucket Island. The island would not have flowers in bloom at Xmas time and trees would not have leaves.

5/10 - Hallmark movies are known for the warm sense of familiarity that they bring but this one was a bit too heavy handed with the familiarity with absolutely no originality and it ended up being rather bland.