The Sweetest Christmas

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 Christmas MOVIES.

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I AM HONEST! I REVIEW Christmas MOVIES AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN!

Hallmark seems to cast the same ladies in their films. I think its great. It seems every year they have Candace Cameron, Alicia Witt, Erin Krakow, & Lacey Chabert in a Christmas film. To me Lacey always has a film that I enjoy watching. SHe is now like an old friend you see during the holidays. Here she shines again in this drama that plays to her strengths.

In this film: A struggling pastry chef Kylie Watson (Chabert) learns she's made it to the finals of the American Gingerbread Competition, she thinks her competitive spirit has finally paid off and hopes the publicity will help her jump start her new café. There's just one problem — the oven she's supposed to use breaks down right before the contest. Determined to enter, she reaches out to Nick Mazannti (Coco), her old boyfriend from culinary school who gave up his dream of being a pastry chef to take over his family's pizzeria.

The film is one of those movies that you just sit back and enjoy. I love the fact that this film was logical on how people would react in real life.

Worth Watching

As Hallmark holiday romances go, this abides by common storylines. A young woman (Lacey Chabert as Kylie) runs into her ex (Lea Coco as Nick) just as her boyfriend is revealed to be an unromantic, clueless dweeb. They catch up on old times while Nick assists her attempt to win a baking competition.

Lacey Chabert demonstrates why she is a Hallmark favorite, with her cheerful, affable demeanor. The amount of chemistry between the two leads is acceptable, making this a decent film, but not one of the best.

Cute movie ... I liked all the characters except for the leading man, Nick! He was annoying and such a jerk sometimes! I especially loved the sisters' dynamic! it was so fun and very real!

TV Guide this week labeled Lacey Chabert the current holiday champ of Christmas leading ladies and she doesn't hurt that reputation in this movie.

This movie is filled with the clichés of plot devices. 1) A contest the protagonist must win to either seed a business or pay debts; 2) The protagonist is invited to a special dinner where she expects a ring but doesn't get it; 3) The lady falls off a ladder into man's arms; 4) Snowball fight (2 in this one); 5) High school sweethearts parted for their careers; 6) A kid with an absent mother that one of the protagonists befriends. And so many more. But wait. The movie laughs with us at some of these. The best example is the aftermath of the failed special dinner - one potential suitor explains to the other why Kylie was mad when she left the dinner.

The story teases us with what we think is predictable, and is to a certain extent, but then slightly twists it. Yes it's Hallmark and yes it is a Hallmark ending, but it is still worth watching.

I loved Jonathan Adams as Ralphie. He added so much humor along with sage advice. I criticized Lara Gilchrist is All of My Heart: Inn Love, but I loved her here, again with Chabert, as Kylie's wise sister. Kylie and Nick are almost comical in their sad behavior and they definitely need wise heads beside them. I wish I could say I thought Lea Coco had great chemistry with Chabert, but to me it was just slightly above average.

This is a typical, cute baking storyline. The male lead is kind of forgettable, but Lacey shines and Johnathan (Ralphie) is a hoot! I love him on Last Man Standing. Anyways, I'll watch this movie if it's on but probably won't go out of my way to watch it on purpose.