Moonlight & Mistletoe

Have liked Hallmark regular Candace Cameron Bure in many other things, primarily Hallmark's festive output, and consider her one of Hallmark's better regular leading ladies. Have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of some of her films as well. Am a lot less of a fan of Tom Arnold, who often has annoying characters that he tends to overdo and tends to be a not very likeable presence in. While loving Christmas and liking a fair share of Hallmark's Christmas films, part of me was expecting the two to not gel at all.

2008's 'Moonlight and Mistletoe' was a very pleasant and welcome surprise. It didn't blow me away and is not one of my favourite ever Christmas films, but expectations were not massive in all honesty for the film and it was to my relief that it turned out much better than expected and among the best of Hallmark's 2008 Christmas films. There are a lot of good things about 'Moonlight and Mistletoe' and what sounded like they would be problems were not problems at all.

'Moonlight and Mistletoe' isn't perfect. The story does have some too easy and over too quickly conveniences in the latter stretches that felt forced and pat. There is conflict with the misunderstandings but it is forced and rushed again, not unusual for Hallmark.

While the characters generally didn't bore or annoy me, part of me felt like there could have been more development to them. A couple, including Nick, seemed too perfect from the start or too prematurely in alternative to going on a character journey that sees growth. The latter of which being the case with Bure. Barbara Niven overdoes her role and her character was over the top annoying.

A lot is great here however. Bure is immensely charming and her likeability is difficult to resist. The biggest surprise of 'Moonlight and Mistletoe' was seeing how good Arnold is, he is surprisingly very likeable and sympathetic here and not irritating at all. One of his better performances in a long time in my view. The chemistry between the two was another welcome surprise, that sounded like too much of a gross mismatch because of the two different acting styles and character personalities but there is a real warmth between the two and their attraction is believable.

The production values still manage to be pleasing. It's not too drab or garish in photography, the editing didn't seem rushed or disorganised and the scenery has a real charm to it. Some of the music has some pleasant nostalgic moments. Dialogue isn't stilted and doesn't go too heavy on the cheese or schmaltz. While the story was problematic, it was not a disaster by any stretch. Is light-hearted and really warms the heart without going into over-saccharine territory despite being familiar territory in tropes and thematically

Despite not being mind-blowing this surprised me in a good way. Definitely worth seeing. 7/10.

This is a fairly run of the mill story for Christmas. Candace Cameron-Bure as Holly scrambles when she finds out her dad has failed to manage Santaville, the family business, and the debt is huge.

I thought that Holly changed her tune about Santaville a little too quickly from - I want nothing to do with that place I grew up unnoticed by my father; to - I have to save MY home.

There was barely any screen time for the romance. There wasn't much in the usual stock of Christmas nostalgia besides Santa and lighting the tree.

The story is pretty much predictable from early on. The acting is decent.

(Since I watched Christmas Land first, I didn't realize how blatantly Christmas Land stole its plot from this movie only the ending was more insulting than this one.)

Holly (Candace Cameron Bure) grew up helping her father Nick (Tom Arnold) run his Santaville Christmas theme park but now she is a successful sales executive without any Christmas spirit. When her dad is hurt, she has to return to Santaville to help out and discovers the bank is about to foreclose on the place. She tries to find a way to save Santaville while dealing with her daddy issues and two potential suitors.

Nice little Christmas TV movie. Nothing groundbreaking but sweet, sentimental, and charming. Candace is beautiful and very likable. Tom Arnold's great although he sounds like he has a cold throughout the whole movie. One of Candace's guys is a little too good to be true. He's handsome, kind, and "went to college for like a decade and got several degrees" before going to Santaville to work for free making toys while he waited for Candace to come back because he met her once as a kid. Yeah right. But stuff like that is to be expected from this kind of movie. This is the first Christmas TV movie Candace did. She's done several more since and they're always pleasant and enjoyable.

Overall, a pretty good story for a Christmas season diversion. A year round Santa's village type place is suffering budget problems, and nearing bankruptcy. Tom Arnold stars as the owner/operator of the sentimental amusement center, but his dedication and festive spirit are not matched by any business sense. The place has fallen from better times, and is now nearing extinction through bankruptcy or sale.

Tom Arnold is usually an annoyance in any movie he appears, but he was pretty good this time out. He plays Nick as confused and frustrated yet faithful to his dream. Nick feels lost, as the world doesn't seem to care about this Arctic fantasy wonderland any more, even though several locals express fond memories of the once popular resort. He maintains that childlike hope that the crowds will soon return. To him, the era of this magical place is not over; it never will be over.

Enter Nick's daughter, a shrewd businessperson, who Nick fools into returning to her home town. She thinks she's there to tend to her ailing father. The only thing that's sick is the business, with thousand of dollars worth of unpaid debts, and creditors closing in. The shrewd businesswoman relies more on a sentimental approach, appealing to people to rally together to save the landmark institution. The sparks over their different approaches to Santaland, and a mysterious visitor to the town who woos Nick's daughter, provide for the main conflicts.

Some events seem just a bit too convenient for the story, but with enough Christmas spirit like Nick has, the movie works. Acting and direction are up to par for this style of movie. There's a nice spirit and message to it, and plenty of heart.

"You can never be too busy for Christmas." Another formulaic story but does it work? Eh, so so. This made-for-TV movie from the Hallmark Channel stars Candace Cameron Bure (D.J. Tanner in Full House) and the usually entertaining Tom Arnold. She stinks but he's great and really brings true charm and Christmas warmth to the screen. Great location in Chester, Vermont -- that's the name of the town it takes in and the name of the town where it was filmed which is different from so many movies where a fictional name is used. Overall, not a terrible Christmas movie but nothing special.

5.5 / 10 stars

--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener