User reviews

After watching Trading Christmas the other night, and enjoying in very much, I was astonished to see that I had only given it a 6 on IMdB.I must have been much more discriminating way back then. Or the movies that Hallmark produced were so much better across the board. After years of looking at Hallmark movies, I guess I am more surprised and delighted when they deliver a movie that has some excellent acting, a plot that has some freshness, and more than cookie cutter characters. Trading Christmas has all 3, so I bumped it up to an 8. who knows? Maybe in another 7 years, it will be a 10!

The 4 leads were excellent, and playing characters that diverged from the Hallmark template just enough. Tom Cavanaugh, always entertaining, plays a real Christmas grouch, and has a knack for delivering his real snarky lines. His slamming the door on the Prince and Princess Super-cute Hallmark neighbor children was almost a knowing send up of the usual reaction our typical nice-guy Hallmark Hero would have. Snowball fight! Snowman! Sledding! Well in fairness, he does do all 3 later on, but only when his character starts to warm up with Christmas cheer (After all this *is* a Hallmark Christmas movie.)

Gabrielle Miller, who played the bad girl in another Hallmark favorite, Holiday in Handcuffs, was hilarious. Her character could have been very annoying, but she was just off the chart charming with her pushy, assertive personality, and gives as good as she gets from put-upon Tom C. I couldn't wait until they fell in love and got together.

The older couple, Faith Ford and Gil Bellows, were less interesting, but Faith is a really good actress, and so made her nice, daughter-dependent, and small town perky Mom character likable and relatable. In a less talented actresses hands she would have been dull as dishwater and irritating. Gil Bellows was her bored, sophisticated, wealthy match. At first, I wasn't too impressed with him (wow, has he aged!) but then I realized he had a real Jack Nicholson thing going on.

The plot was pretty much a rip off of The Holiday with Kate Winslett and Cameron Diaz, but I enjoyed that movie, so I enjoyed the Hallmark take on it. Hallmark, break out your cookie cutter characters and gimmick reliant cookie cutter plots and make more like this 2011 Hallmark classic! Grab some out of work *talented* actors that are not interchangeable with any others in your usual "stable", and get some writers who aren't afraid to write characters that break the mold a little bit!

This one is a bit of a three ring circus until the three couples get matched up. The story is based on a house swap between a lady who just lives for Christmas, and a man who has decided to avoid it.

The story keeps you going as it switches back and forth and the acting is fine. I never got invested in any of the three romances, but that doesn't mean they didn't do a good job building the relationships. I just didn't find that any of the characters really appealed to me personally. As far as the usual formula, I thought it was funny that a full half way into the movie, Charles and Faith had gone from just irritated to full out belligerent and had yet to start moving together.

There was good humor throughout. At one point, the director did a cute thing with a split screen and coffee cups.

The story was mostly predictable, but then this is a Hallmark Christmas story. I'm sure that many will find the romances more engaging than I did and as a result completely enjoy the movie.

This was a fun movie with likable characters and a good story. It's hard not to like Faith Ford and the characters of Charles and Faith Kerrigan were so fun together. Ray was a good guy too although he was a bit stoic. This is one I watch several times during the season if I can.

This movie was pretty good. I love Hallmark Christmas movies, and I love Debbie Macomber's books. It is a good holiday movie, and I loved it. However I believe that the portrayal of Faith and Charles was much better than that of Ray and Emily's. It was a very good family movie with a cute and entertaining plot. My sister and mother and I watched it. We all enjoyed it, but we all agreed about the problem with Ray and Emily. Sometimes Hallmark movies seem the same, but this one is different and has a nice plot. This makes you want to settle down with a batch of cookies under a blanket and a mug of hot cocoa while you watch it.

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM HONEST

In this film Emily is disappointed her daughter Heather won't make the cross-country trip from Harvard to visit at Christmas. Emily decides to surprise Heather and trades houses with Charles Brewster, a college professor who lives in Boston. Emily is the one who is surprised when she finds out her daughter left for Florida with her boyfriend and has only Charles' brother for company. In this holiday tale about twists of fate, Emily and Charles find love at the most unexpected time and have the best Christmas season ever.

This is a very enjoyable film. I love the fact that in reality there wasn't a nasty person in the cast. It was nice to see a "CHRISTMAS THEME" film that wasn't a variation of "A Christmas Carol". The casting for the most part is great and the various story-lines are 60% plausible. I thought it was interesting to have various locations and climates to show how "Christmas" is celebrated in different parts of the country. (More should have been done with that angle)

It is nice to see a film where you do like everyone in it and you are rooting for love for everyone.

It is nice to see a FAMILY SAFE FILM that isn't a cartoon.

LOVED this film....ESPECIALLY loved characters played by Faith Ford and Gabrielle Miller....perfect film for the holiday season! Myself, my mom and sister really enjoyed it. A real feel good film, it made you want to bake cookies and decorate your Christmas tree! And the cast excelled with solid performances...hoping this is going to become a holiday tradition, like watching A Christmas Story or Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer! In this day and age, it's refreshing to watch a film of this quality. Nudity, drugs, sex, and violence do not always have to be included in a film for it to be successful. OR, touch a heart....and Trading Christmas DELIVERS! Kudos, cast, crew, and Hallmark! :)

Fun Christmas magic with a sweet storyline. I love the change of location aspect of the story and the growth of the characters in those changes. This storyline has been stolen by the movie The Holiday, but in Trading Christmas it is more family friendly and the characters are deeper. This is worth the watch. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 12/28/2020

Well acted! Well written! Enjoyable and fun!!! Totally loved this Christmas film.

This romantic comedy drama sees a widow and a frustrated writer exchange homes for the holidays. They both deal with new possibilities and learn to embrace change while in new environments with each other's friends. Some great, honest-feeling performances from Faith Ford, Gil Bellows, and Gabrielle Miller (Tom Kavanagh's character can be a little cartoony at times), mixed with some light moments made for a very enjoyable movie.

"awful" was exactly the word I had in mind for this movie. I'll add boring and annoying too!.......The two males looked and acted like they would be ideal for an (ahem!) "undesirable" type of movie. ..............The one brother mumbled and looked grubby with that slight beard...and seemed like he was only looking for a place to crash, so he sold his business to latch on to Emily..... Emily's friend chattered relentlessly, which was extra annoying and highlighted her ignorant manners ......None of the players had impact or conveyed sincerity...but then again, neither did their lines or plot ......From beginning to end, it seemed like it was just thrown together haphazardly....... Not what I would expect from Debbie Makecomer.

I really liked this film. Yes, it was almost a complete copy of "The Holiday" but without the budget or the A-list stars, but it was a good re-telling of that story. The characters were easy to associate with and they were all nice people in their own way. Nobody was irredeemable.

I personally adore Tom Cavanagh, his delivery was just so fun and I could empathise with his characters need to be alone and peaceful to write. Gil Bellows came off a bit creepy, but still a nice guy and all of the leading ladies were very good too.

There wasn't a huge seasonal vibe with regards to the content to fill it, but the story brought a joy and romance that was festive. There was a tree decorating or two, but it wasn't over the top.

They have got to stop using Dead Christmas Trees though. The one in this should have been on the kerb at least a month before they made this film. It's a big peeve of mine when props and the other little details are not thought about properly, especially when everything else was quite well done.

In theory it wasn't the standard formula that most of these TV films use, which in itself as a good thing, but it was also just well put together and is definitely one that I could watch yearly.

I usually reserve the under 5 star ratings for movies I couldn't even finish, but this one started at an OK 6-7 and went downhill!

I find that I hate kissing scenes in most movies, but there was just no chemistry here which made it worse. The couple they forced together didn't work at all.

The background story that was supposed to drive the emotions was somehow dropped. It was still a thread throughout the movie; it just lacked conviction. One of the 'I hate Christmas because...' storylines was even partially reinforced!

The ending doesn't just feel forced. It felt like they tried to put a puzzle piece that doesn't quite fit into that spot with a sledge hammer. They made it work only to notice the final piece belongs in a different puzzle.

My rating slipped in the last 1/2 hour of the movie. There's just nothing here to love, in my opinion.

Schoolteacher Emily Spengler (Faith Ford) loves Christmas. The widower is beside herself when her daughter Heather decides to stay at Boston College with her boyfriend. Meanwhile, Christmas-hating English professor Charles Johnson (Tom Cavanagh) in Boston is looking for a quiet place to do his writing. The two of them go on a website to switch homes for a week. It turns out that Heather went to Phoenix with her boyfriend. Emily does meet Charles' brother Ray (Gil Bellows) under panic circumstances. Charles is stuck dealing with overly helpful and nosy neighbors. Then Emily's troubled friend Faith (Gabrielle Miller) shows up.

These are four solid actors in a fine Hallmark movie. It's a little better than the average Hallmark. At least, half of this is a little better than the average. Emily and Ray is strictly standard Hallmark. Their initial meeting doesn't make sense and they are nicely bland. It's solidly average. Charles and Faith are much more comedic. Both are good comedic actors with plenty of love-hate between them. As for Heather, that story can be mostly cut out. I would stick with Charles and Faith. A funnier Emily story would have her chasing Heather around. If she meets a Ray along the way, that would be fine and he could join her.

This is a truly funny Christmas movie, mostly due to Tom Cavanagh, whose crusty author with writer's block drives half of the story and provides most of the chuckles.

The movie provides travel mix-ups aplenty, and Cavanaugh's half of the story is a perfectly done antithetical romance.

The other half of the story has amusing moments, but is mostly straightforward and sweet.

The romances work, the comedy works, and the stories work.

Watch for Cavanaugh, and be entertained. :-)

Recommended.

Though I do recall seeing this many years ago, I found this more engaging second time around, perhaps not noting its merits on first viewing.

Here we have a clever plot with three strands, which sees two disparate couples finding romance unexpectedly after last-minute change of Christmas plans in the USA - where the characters are all based in different states.

The main plot has the romance, the subplot has the comedy and the third plot involves Emily's daughter, who's a bit annoying but whose own romance proves to be a useful distraction from the romance and the comedy of the two main romantic stories.

The two romantic leads have superb chemistry - I wondered if anything developed off-set? A nice factor here is that these two characters contrast strongly and live completely different lives which may explain the added frisson to their unexpected romance.

Apparently this is based on the same story that was used for the A-list screenplay 'The Holiday' with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. I've seen that and I can assure you this TV film is vastly superior, in that it is far more engaging than that big budget Hollywood movie.

The romance is right, the comedy is right - it works, and rookie romcom writers would do well to keep this one as a standard to aim for.

Though made in 2011 (TV films seem to have a shorter shelf life than theater movies) this will play on some channel a few times each yuletide.

The title for this film, "Trading Christmas," begs a question. For what, or with what? Well, it's based on a novel of the same title by Debbie Macomber. The film starts out interestingly enough, introducing characters who eventually will be traveling somewhere else for Christmas. So, there are scenes in South Woodbourne, Washington, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and Phoenix. Two unmarried brothers, Charles and Ray Johnson, live in Boston and see each other once in a while. Emily Spengler is a widow of three years who lives in the smaller Washington State community. Her daughter, Heather, is attending school in Boston. Emily expects her home for Christmas, but Heather wants to do something different, so she instead flies to Phoenix with her boyfriend, Jason, to spend Christmas alone at his grandparents' home, swimming pool and all.

Faith Krrigan is a younger friend of Emily who grew up in their hometown but now lives and works in San Francisco, and she has been divorced for a few years. When Emily tells her that Heather won't be coming home, she suggests that Emily do a house swap and be a little daring to do something else for a change. Back in Boston, Charles is having trouble getting his last novel finished - he needs to do a major rewrite. Ray suggests he go away someplace and not tell anyone, where he can work without interruptions.

Unbeknownst to all the others, Charles and Emily go online and connect for a house and apartment swap. Emily was going to Boston to surprise Heather; and Charles was going to South Woodbourne, Washington, for seclusion to work on his book. Then, Faith decides to go back home to be with Emily - and surprise her for Christmas.

So, with that all set in the first few minutes of this film, the audience knows what to expect and how it will turn out. This isn't a new plot, but some of the nuances are a little different. The fun and enjoyment then will be in seeing how this plays out, with the characters. And, much depends on the screenplay and cast.

One oddity of the film is that Charles and Ray didn't grow up with much Christmas observance, and as adults they don't observe it. There's a little more background to that. Their lifestyles and backgrounds - and tastes, are mostly ultra-modern, where Emily still lives in a more traditional and historical style. Faith works in the modern world, but keeps in touch with her traditional background. The scenes in the film switch between locations with the women talking to one another and checking in. They finally find out who went where for what purpose. Faith Ford gives a good performance as the middle-aged mother and widow finally getting over her grieving and finding a good man in Ray played by Gil Bellow.

But the best part of this film, and the slightly greater part of it, is with Faith showing up in South Woodbourne at Emily's home to the surprise and chagrin of Charles. Gabrielle Miller gives a very good performance and provides the best humor and life for this film. Tom Cavanagh is good as Charles, but I think he overacts and overplays his role as something of a Grinch. But who could withstand the charm, common sense, down-to-earth, cheerfulness and helpfulness of Faith for very long?

Well, it's not hard to figure how this one will come out, and the ending is quite nice for everyone. Yet, for all the cross-country back and forth, and checking and updating between the women, this film seems to drag on a bit. There's very little scenery or sets that show or give a feel of the Christmas holidays. But for the constant Christmas cookie deliveries to Charles at Emily's home, and the stockings she hangs in the sterile modern apartment that Charles has for a home, there isn't much of a sense that this is a holiday film. None of the three romances (Heather and Jason are the adult college student couple) seem very authentic.

The interplay and humor with Faith and Charles saves this film from otherwise being boring. I like to check out locales where movies are set, and the big cities in this film are familiar to most people - in name, at least. But there is no South Woodbourne, or Woodbourne, in Washington State. Since this place is 150 miles from the Seattle Airport, according to the story, it would have to be somewhere east of the Cascade Mountains - a little beyond Yakima to the southeast or beyond Wenatchee to the east. That distance north or south of Seattle would put one in Vancouver, British Columbia, or nearly to Vancouver, Washington, which is just across the Columbia River from Portland's international airport.

Here are the best couple of lines in this film.

Faith, "Okay, Charles. So what do you like to go by - Chuck, Charley?" Charles, "Charles." Faith, "Mmmm - one of those."

Jason and Heather sit down to watch "It's a Wonderful Life," which he has never seen before. As the movie starts, he says, "Wait! It's black and white." Heather says, "You'll get over it."

Trading Christmas is great! It's different from most Hallmark movies and is a must watch every year for me. There are of course positives and negatives, but that doesn't make the movie terrible. The romance was good. I did not enjoy the chemistry between Faith Ford and Gil Bellows. It seemed like she was trying and he was just bland. However, Tom Cavanagh and Gabrielle Miller chemistry was fantastic. They were the superior couple. Overall, it's worth the time and is very entertaining.

I loved watching the movie, but it was a bit different than the book.

You might be able to tell from the title: Trading Christmas involves a house swap like the theatrical film The Holiday. It's almost a comedy of errors to set up all the swapping, and it's very funny as different characters decide to spontaneously visit other people during the holidays. A woman shows up on her friend's doorstep, only to find she's flown across the country to see her daughter in Boston, who's incidentally run off with her boyfriend.

I really liked this one, and although it took me a while to discover it (I had no idea that it was ten years old when I first watched it last year), I'll look forward to rewatching it this year and in the following years. Tom Cavanagh and Gabrielle Miller have great chemistry and comic timing together. Faith Ford is beautiful and has a very interesting character as she discovers she has a second chance at life and isn't as old and hopeless as she thinks she is. But unfortunately, when she falls in love with her house host's brother (yes, sound familiar?), he comes across as a total creep! Gil Bellows corners Faith alone in her apartment after she's just gotten out of the shower, looks over his shoulder suspiciously, then mumbles, "Do you, uh, know anyone in town?" She doesn't, and he gives a shy smile. "Then there will be no one around to hear you scream!" he shouts before he strangles her - Just kidding!

But it certainly seemed like a plausible buildup. Seriously, he's the creepiest love interest I've ever seen in a Hallmark movie. If I hadn't seen the comic beginning, I would have thought it was a horror movie. That one criticism aside (and once you get past it, you can laugh at it) it's a very enjoyable Christmas comedy. Hopefully you'll understand what I mean when I bestow this compliment: Tom Cavanagh is too good for Hallmark. His comic timing is impeccable, he's clearly focused on his craft, and he treats the scene as though it's going to be broadcast on the big screen instead of the small one. I still would have liked this movie if a different actor had been cast, but definitely not as much. He really elevates this tv comedy a notch above the others.