'Twas the Date Before Christmas

I kept trying to figure out why I love this so much, when it IS a bit over the top. It's the great combo of fine character actors supporting two charming leads who have sweet, natural, vibrant chemistry from the start. There are many laugh out loud moments of light-hearted fun, which frankly, I could use more of right now. Family Christmas events have a fun twist on the usual tropes. Even if the conclusion to the conflict is a little pat and rushed, it makes us feel happy. What more can we ask out of an uplifting family movie? Love these two leads together and hope to see more of them in future Hallmark outings.

I really enjoyed 'Twas The Date Before Christmas for its well thought out storyline, talented topnotch leads and excellent supporting cast.

Jessie (Amy Groening) and Bryan (Robert Buckley) meet via a dating app. She's been nursing a broken heart for a year and is looking for a date to bring to her family's wacky, over-the-top Christmas party, and he is encouraged by his close friends to get back into the dating pool. After they work out the logistics of their first date with some cute texting banter, we soon see them on their way to her mom's house for the big event, where Bryan meets her boisterous, loving family and is introduced to a 23-year-old tradition called the Chamberlain Family Christmas Olympics. They partake in all the events as a couple, while keeping the fact that this is actually their first date a secret. Is their secret eventually uncovered? Maybe. And is there a plot twist that somehow connects Bryan to someone in the family? Maybe. Am I going to ruin it for you? No.

Robert Buckley (charming and likable as ever) elevates every show/movie he's in, and wasn't it about time that Hallmark finally promoted the warm and witty Amy Groening to top billing?! Both give performances with real heart, and their chemistry is easy and palpable. I had high hopes for this particular movie, and it rose to the occasion in spades. Very much worth the watch, and I highly recommend it.

Hallmark kicked off its "Countdown to Christmas" with this holiday romance. Jessie (Amy Groening) "meets" Bryan (Robert Buckley) on a dating application and asks him to accompany her home for Christmas. He accepts, and the family is led to believe Bryan is her boyfriend, but they are merely on an extended blind date.

It doesn't take an Einstein to deduce where the story is going, but there is the usual complication, which involves a real estate deal. But most of the story is heartwarming. Jessie's family accepts Bryan, and he participates in their "family Christmas Olympics". The games provide a format for the "date" which feels real and looks like fun.

This was a good way to start Hallmark's season-long holiday fest.

To prevent her family from canceling the "Chamberlain Family Christmas Olympics," Jessie (Groening) lies and says she's inviting a date to the long-standing holiday tradition. She meets Bryan (Buckley) on a dating app, and he agrees to spend the holiday with her and her family. As Jessie and Bryan engage in eccentric activities like the search for the Christmas tree star, gift wrapping contest and snowball fight, they start to develop real feelings for each other. Soon her family begins to catch on to their secret and Bryan suspects she may be hiding the real reason for her unusual Christmas date request. As the celebrations continue, Jessie must work to keep all her stories straight and save her date with Bryan.

Firstly, it is rigidly formulaic, but the formula is applied sensibly, with no childish misunderstandings or extended histrionics, so that's a good start. The two leads ooze chemistry -what man could not have chemistry with Groening, right?- and their fun banter comes very easily with each other. Also the growing attraction is paced perfectly, and not based on one single event that suddenly made them both realise they'd fallen in love. The script is way better than a lot of budget christmas films, and it feels like this one has had some time spent on it. The direction is great and the sets second to none. The film oozes christmas, romance and family fun. Many christmas films aren't rewatchable because the story is just a one off love-'em-and-leave-'em plot, but this one is different. It's lots of fun and a few laughs too so I would be happy to re-watch now and again.

It has a warm and happy vibe to it and I am more than happy to give it a solid 6.

I was pleased to see Amy Groening in the lead role here (Jesse). She has been in a number of Hallmark movies playing the sidekick, where she proved herself to be funny and likeable, and that is the case here as well. There is a fair amount of silliness in this movie which is typical for Hallmark, but she and Robert Buckley (Bryan) have a natural chemistry which carries things. Bryan is kind and curious, and ready to take the zany ride with Jesse's family after meeting her in a coffee shop, where they both sense potential. There is the necessary misunderstanding near the end, but the characters talk things through and all is well. And by the way, the Christmas decorations throughout the movie are wonderful. This is one of Hallmark's better Christmas movies, and I'm glad they led the "Countdown to Christmas" with it.