A Very English Christmas

For anyone not acquainted with the Cotswolds, they are a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that feature some of the most picturesque villages and countryside in the U. K. I selected this film as easy watching for my wife and I as she dislikes anything with much drama/action/violence/noise. When I selected it the location was a big selling point. Call me old fashioned but when i select a film called Christmas in the Cotswolds i expect some Cotswolds! There were none ! Some aerial shots of non descript countryside but none of the rolling hills and beautiful villages of the Cotswolds!! You may think i am being unfair as the film is the main topic but when you also have dreadful acting, a cast with little or no chemistry, characters with no depth, an unnecessary age range of people - one daughter is in her late thirties her half sister is 9 - so it appears the cast was designed to fit in anyone that wanted to take part, a script that may have been written in about an hour with little or no wit or humour, you would think using the ******* Cotswolds as a distraction would be one of the first things anyone would do.

Anyway rant finished the Mrs thought it was harmless hence not getting lower marks but seriously dont waste your time.

Channel 5 wanted to show this film and insisted on the title change to place it in the Cotswolds. Not the production team's plan, as it was filmed in Dorset by an English company, but funded and commissioned overseas (Canada, I think).

A small cast, sourced in the UK (hence a Welsh girl acting as an American and not importing an actress). Nice locations. The pub scene is very true to life, the decor of an Old English Inn at Christmas - could make people nostalgic.

Unfair to compare with big studio productions - small budget - light-hearted entertainment to fill schedules.

It is what it is. Made for off-prime time TV.

We all know there is a seemingly endless production of these kind of Christmas movies, but this one has all the production values and sentiment of a day time tv life insurance advert.

Supposedly set in the Cotswolds but clearly not shot within a 100 miles of said location. All action takes place in lifeless indoor locations with horrible, harsh lighting. Acting is of the carpet eating variety. Script and dialogue apparently written with the express intention of making the viewer despise every individual involved in the production.

Genuinely depressing to watch, which I'm fairly certain was not the intention.

My first impression was that the female lead is definitely not American and is putting on an accent, which was true because she's Welsh. Would it have been hard to find a real American for the American lead? They mention she's from the States in every other line. I am American, so I can't speak to the authenticity of its Englishness, but I will say that it is filmed in England and the producer (and one of the directors) is English. Some of the reviews say that it it would bother real English people but it is actually made by English people, which is kind of funny.

The worst parts of this movie were lighting and sound mixing for me. The plot and acting weren't great but I don't expect that of Christmas movies. The lighting was always at least slightly uncanny. At times it made it seem like they were in front of a green screen, or maybe they were. The music sometimes got incredibly loud compared to the dialogue. I couldn't just turn it down because then I couldn't hear them talking.

It didn't take me long to hate Emma. She is negative about everything. She even criticizes the hot chocolate gift from her sister. She really works at raining on the wedding parade, even after she learns Emma is pregnant. After a bit she mellows and gains enthusiasm for the wedding.

Amy is a little too cheerful, but at least it is a counter to Amy's negativity. I have to admit that I can understand some of Emma's frustration with Amy. I thought it was rude not to be home when she arrived. I half expected Emma's luggage to disappear when she walked away from it for a long time.

It's not unusual for the romantic leads to get off to a rough start, so check that off. I'm not sure who is trying harder to annoy the other. But like so many Christmas movies involving a wedding, the two are thrown together to plan it.

The acting is not great, not even the main characters. The relationship development should have been fun. I noticed that the dialogue between Emma and Dylan could have been playful as it was written, but it came off as not quite critical, but almost. But there is also some actual tension between them. Lewis Griffiths' delivery doesn't help. It lacks enough emotion. This really hampered the enjoyment of the entire movie. Eventually they seem to be hitting it off.

Most of the story tension comes from Emma trying to impress a potential client and by doing so seems to be betraying what Amy and Harry really want for their wedding. As for the relationship between Emma and Dylan, I just wasn't convinced that there was enough there.

All in all, the movie lacked the polish I am used to with Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies. I just didn't enjoy it.

BTW: I have to give kudos for the text messages being large enough to read. Absolutely most movies that have text messages make them too small.