I'm Not Ready for Christmas

I used to really enjoy Alicia Witt. She's done great work on really good films, but it seems she is overacting now. It's a little distracting. She's such a doll...but it's really hard to focus on the actual movie.

My rating for this one when I saw it 5 years ago was a 7. I'm bumping it up because I have come to appreciate Alicia Witt's talent when compared to the current crop of Hallmark favorite actresses. Most are not bad, but very few have Alicia's acting skills or comic talents. I found her very funny in this role, and the plot steps out of the current cookie cutter lines that Hallmark has fallen into in recent years. Special kudos to Mia Bagley who played the young niece. She was absolutely adorable. And it was great to see Brigid Brannagh again as Alicia's sister. One quibble: I hate it when either the hero or the heroine gives up the career opportunity of a life time to stay with the love interest. So instead of the guy going to be the musical director at NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY at twice the salary, he is going to stay with the high school? That is not going to end well.

For some reason, the people producing many of the Hallmark movies think there needs to background music going ALL the time. Not only can it get tiresome, but often is so loud it is hard to hear the dialog by the actors. The music itself is ok, but it just never stops. Totally unnecessary.

This movie follows your typical Hallmark plot line, but has a nice twist. The main character, Holly, is a single, workaholic whose sister and niece often beg to spend time with her. Holly's main problem is that she has a knack for telling little white lies. This is accentuated when she promises her niece, who is in elementary school, that she will attend her Christmas program but doesn't. Later, when Holly arrives at the school after the program, she comes across the music teacher who she met earlier, who confronts Holly about a lie she told. Holly's niece asks Santa to prohibit Holly from telling lies, and as Holly walks out the school to the car, that wish comes true. Holly cannot lie. This throws a wrench in her otherwise normal life and she finds the true spirit of Christmas.

Alicia Witt...one of my least favorite Hallmark ladies that I always seem to watch anyway. She's supposed to "sell the truth" in her advertising job but honestly Alicia doesn't sell that she's human. I think she's secretly an evil robot sent to gain our trust through wholesome Hallamrk. What a perfect cover!

Her trying to imitate Jim Carrey's wonderful comedic outbursts from Liar, Liar is SO HARD TO WATCH! It actually made me cringe, but somehow I kept watching. Her "truth spills" feel super robotic and where is her eyeline? Someone needs to update her programming.

As for the movie, I appreciate that the main character has flaws. Sometimes Hallmark characters can be too polished. The story is cute and moves along well. It has a decent sense of humor, so I suppose I'll be back again next year to watch, dammit.

PS The title/reoccurring song "I'm not ready for Christmas" is sung by the one and only Alicia Witt! So rare to get an Actor/Singer/Robot trifecta. But I'm not going to lie, the song goes from annoying to infectious.