'Marry Us for Christmas' (2014)
Opening thoughts: As much as it pains me to say, 'Marry Us For Christmas' is not a good example of relatable and less than modestly budgeted family drama being done well. The idea had promise, but the idea was wasted by too often downright bad execution. Is 'Marry Us For Christmas' unwatchable? No it isn't, it does have a few good things but even those good things have been done infinitely better elsewhere. Could it have been much better? Absolutely yes and it was a shame that it didn't turn out well.
Good things: Beginning with the good things, the scenery is good. It does lack authenticity, it is clear that this wasn't done in Winter but it is at least nice to look at. The actors to me did do a decent job with what they were given, regardless of the character writing the performances were surprisingly above average. Particularly Victoria Rowell.
Some of the music is pleasantly listenable.
Bad things: The film however does suffer from a lot of drawbacks. The editing is very choppy and lacks fluidity and the photography could have been less drab and more focused. While the music is pleasant on its own, it could have been used less and with more subtlety. While the actors do well and their characters didn't irritate me, the characters also didn't feel fleshed out, personalities could have been stronger and behaviours less confused.
When it comes to the script, pacing and story, 'Marry Us For Christmas' is pretty much a mess. The script is very stilted and has too much awkwardness, humour is too far and between and what little there is is cheesy and not funny. The sentimentality also gets too much, as does the over hostile bickering that tends to come out of nowhere and unprovoked. The pace frequently feels very dragged out in a story that is very thin and filled with overlong padding, what little story there is is very predictable and bland. Structurally, the film jumps around as much as the editing, which did make events incomplete and muddled and affected the coherence.
Concluding thoughts: Overall, had potential but rather weak.
3/10.
