With Love, Christmas

I'm the first to review this movie? Very cool! I'm becoming a regular with 'firsts' on the reviews. I like this movie's script because it's different. It's got some good humor in it as well. Well, I'm just a sucker for Hallmark Christmas movies and this one is quite cute and clever! The seasonal settings and decorations are just exquisite, so there's lots of great holiday eye candy. And this kind of movie could open some minds about social activities and getting involved more, during the holidays and beyond. I'm sure we all could use a bit more skills in the teamwork department. And I'm certain a lot of small towns could use a big horse-drawn sleigh ride as well. I've been on one and they are so cool. But about this movie, it is definitely worthy of a viewing!

As part of my 2024 December Christmas movie marathon, I had the chance to sit down and watch the 2017 movie "With Love, Christmas", from director Marita Grabiak. Of course I had never heard about the movie prior to sitting down and watching it, but then again sappy Christmas movies is usually not my go-to type of entertainment.

Based on the cover alone, and with it being a Hallmark movie, it seemed that this movie would be particularly sappy. But I still opted to give writers Danni Hodson and Marcy Holland a fair chance.

And I am glad that I did, because "With Love, Christmas" turned out to be one the better sappy Christmas movies that I have watched. The storyline was well-written, and it had all the right contents to be a good, albeit archetypical, sappy Christmas movie. But isn't that something that Hallmark excels at, really?

The acting performances were good, and the chemistry between leading actress Emilie Ullerup and actor Aaron O'Connell was good. They carried the movie quite nicely, and I was rather impressed with their performances. In fact, the acting performances in general throughout the course of the movie were good.

"With Love, Christmas" looked and felt like a proper Christmas movie, complete with fake snow and all. If you enjoy the sappy Christmas movie genre, then you will definitely enjoy this movie, that I guarantee.

I was genuinely and wholeheartedly entertained by this movie.

My rating of director Marita Grabiak's 2017 movie "With Love, Christmas" lands on a well-deserved seven out of ten stars.

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 ( C H R I S T M A S ) MOVIES AND SPECIALS.

PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

Someone keeps reporting my reviews. I guess they are jealous because I do tell the truth. I want to point out that I never make snide remarks about actors weight or real life sexual orientation. If there acting is terrible or limited "I talk about that". If a story is bad "I will mention that" So why am I being "picked on"? IMDB will not even tell me what someone found offensive. Well on to the review :

When the office assignments are distributed for Secret Santa, Melanie is excited that she was given her crush, Donovan. Donovan however doesn't celebrate Christmas. He is not close to his family and so Christmas to him is just another day. He is not a Scrooge. However he doesn't understand what the big deal is.

Melanie however is now his secret Santa. She wants to find a perfect gift. After she finds she herself working side by side with him her feelings for him continue to grow. His eyes and heart also begin to grow.

Now my gripe with this film is that "A Christmas Campaign" kicks off way before "Christmas". Here this project kicks off 2 days before. Also I think Donovan however has been working for years at his job. He would have known how big of a deal his office made about Christmas.

Now it seems to me Hallmark loves casting AARON O'CONNELL as a stuffy business man. I think he is capable of doing more. I hope Hallmark cast him again and let him have a "Fun Role".

In all this film is enjoyable. Above Average

I've watched this movie several times and thoroughly enjoyed it. Emilie and Aaron have enough chemistry to make it work. The scenery is nice. My only complaint is that in the last scene when Emilie is in that gorgeous red lace dress, the wardrobe director should have told her she has a very noticeable panty line. Some form-fitting formal wear show everything and this is the perfect example. Other than that, I enjoyed the movie.

Cute idea. This was an unashamed ripoff of You've Got Mail right down to at least one crucial line. Melanie is a woman who has trouble saying no, but she also loves Christmas like no one else. Donovan is a pretty stiff guy who has absolutely no love for Christmas.

I love Emilie Ullerup, as Melanie. She is so upbeat and has a megawatt smile. For me, she was what made this movie enjoyable. Aaron O'Connell, as Donovan, does stiff and business like so well that he never really lightened up or connected. He talked about having a new attitude about Christmas, but he still came off as stiff. I also liked Melanie's friends and family.

I was generous with my rating because I did mostly enjoy the movie.