Hats Off to Christmas!

No chemistry Haylie Duff she needs to give up acting so awful usually like Anthony Cupo but this is an awful

I was a reluctant Hallmark holiday movie watcher until I could see the joy in a repetition...a gazebo...a snowstorm...a miscommunication...tradition...and happy resolution finding the deeper meaning. My favorites are when the couples seem like they really like each other and you can play Hallmark Bingo. It took awhile to get to the Christmas part, I couldn't really play Hallmark Bingo and I wasn't sure if the couple liked each other very much.

This story had good potential. Add one key element to the usual widow with a son breaks in the new boss plot-line. That element is that the son is in a wheelchair, injured in the accident that killed his dad. I also give this movie some small creativity points that Nick didn't come in trying to make Mia's life miserable by changing everything without asking.

I thought the execution was choppy. I expected more from Hayie Duff. At times she was OK, but at other times she seemed clumsy in her role. I got tired of seeing her tilt her head down in her humility pose. And she was clumsy at times with Antonio Cupo. They didn't seem to have chemistry and it sure didn't seem like Mia wanted to give Nick a chance. Most of the courting going on seemed to be Nick courting Scott, not his mom. There just wasn't enough of Mia and Nick connecting.

The company in trouble theme was also executed clumsily. (You don't leave your conference room door open when you are discussing ideas for cost cutting that affects employees.)

On the other hand, there were definitely some good moments especially toward the end. But they seemed like items checked off on someone's list of plot devices. Overall though, I guess there were enough positives that I give this movie a thumbs up, but barely.

So im only writing to critique the supposed business model of the supposed single location Christmas store that operates year round. First off, the sell Christmas hats, and very limited other Christmas items. They have a warehouse on top of a back room at the store. They also have a corporate office with a reception desk employee. Now I only have a BS in Business Management, but I know that a 1500 sq ft retail store that sells merchandise for a single holiday, probably doesn't need a warehouse, and it's definitely doesn't need a corporate office with a reception desk. If the average hat costs $20 (and that's very generous), their sales would need to be in the millions, which im not seeing from that tiny store front. And yes, I know, it's a movie. But it's not too hard to do a little research.

Widowed Haylie Duff works at a small-town store where all they sell is Christmas-themed paraphernalia, all year round. When it turns out that sales are down for the last couple of years, her boss, whose immense office bespeaks the millions he has made off this venture over the years, parachutes his Wall-Street son, Antonio Cupo, over her. However, when he helps her wheelchair-bound son in a pumpkin-carving competition, things start to turn around in this ridiculously detailed but very watchable Hallmark romantic comedy.

At least part of that is due to some very fine acting on the part of the leads. Neither of their characters wish to be in this situation and they behave in a way that bespeaks their dissatisfaction and professionalism -- pardon me if I think the actors felt this way about the movie and used that for their performances. Given the ridiculous assumptions as well as the obvious and cheap cries for sympathy in the script, this should have been one of the worst of the twelve Hallmark Christmas romcoms this year. Instead, it is surprisingly good.