A Hollywood Christmas

I enjoy a cheesy bad Christmas movie, but this one went too far with force-feeding you the "formula." I think if the writers took out the role of the PA spelling out the analogy between the Director's real-life interactions and the happy-ending Christmas movies then it could have really saved the movie. I hate it when scripts are too on-the-nose and GOD that assistants voice was annoying which only made it more excruciating. I think in any real life scenario, if someone behaved like that regarding another persons love life it would have immediately shut down any chance of romance. The second-hand embarrassment I got from her pointing out the chemistry in an unnatural way was out of control. I didn't hate the acting, which is typically the issue with these types of movies, but I couldn't get past how much they shoved the plot in your face. Let me live in the fantasy that the characters have no idea they will have their predictable happily ever after.

As someone who has watched dozens of these Hallmark Christmas movies (ok, been in the same room while the wife has watched them), I thought this idea had promise; unfortunately this movie just didn't deliver. The writing was flat, and the acting wasn't any better. Honestly, this should have been on the Hallmark Channel. For HBO to release this seems hard to believe. The lead actors seemed wildly miscast. The character of Reena, who played the perpetually optimistic sidekick, was about the only good thing about the movie. I was honestly disappointed to see the always fun to watch Missy Pyle in this. This could have, and should have been much better.

I have read a couple of reviews for this movie where they obviously didn't get that this is a deliberately awful movie encased in a deliberately cheesy Christmas movie. I admit that the first ten minutes were going hard until I realised the intentional cheesiness, and also thought that Anissa Borrego's fake voice was wonderfully awful, until I realised it was her real voice, I'm so sorry! This is simply a comedic look at Christmas movies, but done in an interesting way. Yes, it's not to everyone's taste, but when you realise how over the top it is you've got to find it funny. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it.

I very much enjoyed the movie, and I certainly appreciate the actors who made this "movie in a movie" setting worthy. Well acted and the movie itself moved along well as it riffed on the formulaic Christmas Movie theme. Despite other reviews that dinged the writing, I thought it was well done and entertaining. I know this is not a deep story (and that is said tongue in cheek in the movie), and nor did I want it to be. Some Christmas movies do pull the emotional strings more versus this movie, but I was fine with that, and again quite enjoyable all around. And again cudos to the lead actors for making a Hollywood Christmas Movie better than the rest.

First, Josh never removes his shirt. Any movie with Josh where that doesn't happen is already down.

But, the movie kept me guessing just enough to make me keep watching it. Unfortunately, it did not deliver enough surprises, which I guess is to the form on Christmas movies, but again, just 1 surprise might have been nice. Can we not have 1 Christmas movie where it turns out one of the main characters is unknown to be gay, or something. Everyone can still end happy, but some major diversion would have been nice. In this one, maybe the b!tch executive could have wound up with the director in the end and Josh, coming out of the shower in just a towel, could look up and realize he had fallen in love with the all knowing assistant.