Jolly Good Christmas

I enjoyed the more sophisticated plot and atmosphere of this as opposed to the small town v. City life plus festival. I loved the London setting. Although the plot was certainly not original, it almost was. I liked both characters and the actors portrayals of each. The chemistry between them really sizzled. And it was romantic rather than friendly as is all too common with Hallmark.

An American architect working in London has got himself almost engaged to the bosses daughter. He goes with a gift card for a Christmas Present, it is a big red flag. When a professional gift buyer mocks him for it, he decides to hire her to pick out the perfect gift for his girlfriend. They have shopping adventures all around London and as they get to know each other, they fall in love. He learns the value of family and Christmas blah blah blah. And she learns love is the perfect gift.

I remember Reshma Shetty from Royal Pains, and she was great in this. Will Kemp was just as charming. Good mix of romance with professional drama. I loved the small dose of Indian family life and culture as well. Definitely a Winner.

'Jolly Good Christmas' (2022)

Opening thoughts: The 2022 Hallmark Countdown to Christmas block was a very mixed bag at best, though better than the Christmas Movies and Mysteries one. Of the previous Countdown to Christmas films, there were a couple of good ones such as 'A Kismet Christmas' but also a couple of disappointing ones such as 'A Cozy Christmas Inn'. Did like the concept for 'Jolly Good Christmas', so there was potential.

Potential that was thankfully lived up to. Not only is 'Jolly Good Christmas' easily the best of the 2022 Countdown to Christmas films up to this point it is also one of the best of the entire block. Also consider it one of the best 2022 Hallmark films, not just the Christmas ones (probably the first above good one) but overall. Was really pleasantly surprised how good it was and recommend it without hesitation.

Bad things: Getting the not so good things out of the way (bear in mind my couple of criticisms may be interpreted as nit-picky), the ending for my tastes was a little too rushes and tidy. Which is not uncommon for Hallmark, and was one of the more frequent issues this year for them.

Also thought that the music at points was a little too loud and intrusive.

Good things: However, everything else in 'Jolly Good Christmas' is good to great. It is elevated hugely by the charming and likeable lead performances of Will Kemp and Reshma Shetty, it is nice too to see non-Hallmark regulars in the lead roles once in a while and this is proof that non-Hallmark regulars are capable of good performances. Their chemistry is very witty and sweet, never coming over as strained and it is used just right. The supporting cast are very solid in roles that could have been too stock but just about weren't.

Furthermore, it is well made, with it being slickly shot and clearly loving the lovely location. Never did the editing come over as choppy. As well as the script, a high point is the script, which sparkles in wit, with the plentiful comedy never feeling forced and the less comedic parts not falling into over sentimentality. The story is pure light hearted fun and is full of charm and warm heart, it didn't feel dull and despite having typical elements and tropes it felt surprisingly fresh.

Closing thoughts: Overall, a jolly good time.

8/10.

6.4 stars.

A Hallmark movie set in London with people from London and an American with a strange accent. I don't know what that was all about, but he sounded like he was trying to sound American?

The setting in London is great, and the rest was Hallmark. This is just like the million based in Chicago, Boston, upstate Maine, and maybe the occasional Seattle, or NY. It had a British feel to it, credit where credit is due, they must have had some staff who knew how to give it that European sort of flair.

The dialogue was ordinary, the sets were good, the acting was good, the theme was tired, the chemistry was late. Please do another one in London with a better script and energy. Please, please, please.

Will Kemp is usually good but this movie he suffered from BadAccentitis. I found myself parroting the phrases or words that sounded really ridiculous. Was the accent New Yorker or Southern? I have no idea. I would have been very happy to have both leads be British. He could have been British born, states raised and now returned. Whatever I'm hyper focusing.

Overall, the movie is pleasant. Other than the fake accent, I like both leads. Love the London Christmas setting, it makes up for fact that there are only like 5 characters total. I'm happy we saw a little dancing from Mr. Kemp, but I was hoping for a waltz.

This is a Hallmark movie that worked, with a British cast and filmed in London, England. Strange to hear Will Kemp with an American accent, it wasn't perfect but it worked. Reshama Shetty was very good as Anji, she was very natural. The leads had chemistry which always shows on the big screen or small one. The supporting cast of James Faulkner, Callum Blue, Jules Knight and others were very good.

This wasn't the usual Hallmark movie, the lead character is a male not a female and it had more depth to it. There were screwball comedy elements and a Christmas market that was very Dickensian. Will Kemp was a ballet dancer and the dancing scene at the charity event was probably choreographed by Will.