Ein Filmstar zu Weihnachten

This is my first ever IMDB review and sorry for poor English, but I leave in Eastern Europe.

Watched recently Christmas in Homestead as recommended by a family friend. My wife is a fan of Hallmark Christmas Romance movies, but while watching this she got so bored that she fell asleep, which doesn't happen very often. I still tried to resist the whole movie, as I wanted to see Taylor Cole. We watched her recently in Matching Hearts, her last movie, and she delivered an outstanding performance.

On one side, this is a typical Hallmark B movie, with poor script, low budget, things happening in slow motion (not that one would expect to see action thrillers on Hallmark, but...) and Michael Rady is a big disappointment.

On the bright side, the landscape and filming are nice, Katrina Norman is a nice surprise and the little Sophie girl is very cute. The scene when she first meets her favorite actress Jessica McEllis is epic, so is Taylor's mimic.

And then you have Taylor Cole. She is probably the most beautiful Hallmark actress, jointly with Tricia Helfer. Doesn't look at all a B-movies actress, even if I noted that she did 14 Hallmark movies in the last 6 years. Heard that she married recently. Perfect for this kind of roles.

If you have seen your fair share of Hallmark Christmas films, like me as a big fan of the holiday, it would be safe to say that you are very likely to know what to expect and one shouldn't expect any more. Have always watched the Hallmark Christmas films, which have been many over the past few years and especially at the end of last year, with mixed expectations. That are either met and even exceeded, or the film completely misses the mark and does little with any potential.

'Christmas in Homestead' met expectations and was another one that was actually better than expected. Am not going to go as far as calling it a Christmas classic, because to me 'Christmas in Homestead' is not that and does fall short of being great. As said a few times in the past, the Hallmark festive films are a very mixed and hit and miss bunch. 'Christmas in Homestead' fares favourably if to compare and is one of the better ones.

There are many good things here. The production values are very pleasing to look at, nice use of locations slickly shot. The music generally captures the Christmas feel very well and is not near as over-scored or intrusive as too many of a lot of Hallmark films. The script can be very corny, but mostly flows nicely and has a light-hearted and sweet tone without being too sugary sweet. It's sympathetically directed without being routine, while Taylor Cole and Michael Rady are amiable leads. Brooklyn Rae Silzer is also a charming watch and doesn't come over as too cutesy.

Although the story is not exceptional and is derivative of 'Notting Hill', it is charming, is light on its feet and is heart-warming with nice use of the festive setting. It doesn't take itself too seriously that it becomes too dreary, while not treating things as too much of a joke at the same time. 'Christmas in Homestead' has characters that are likeable, with lead characters that are not annoying or stiff like they are in other Hallmark Christmas films. The leads also have a nice chemistry that is not overdone or too low-key, it doesn't move too fast or too slow either or feel forced.

Like all Hallmark festive films, 'Christmas in Homestead' is admittedly very predictable with an easily foreseeable and too neat ending. While the music is not too bad generally, it could have been used less too and been less noisy.

Some of the dialogue is as said very corny and the cheese factor in some parts is high.

Overall, nice film as long as you don't expect to be blown away as such. 7/10

Although the topic has been covered many times, the movie was interesting and done fairly well. You'll find the daughter adorable and root for unlikely love to win out.

When a famous movie star travels to a small town and falls in love with a single dad, will it work out or will their different backgrounds get in the way? In Christmas in Homestead, the incredibly beautiful Taylor Cole and the handsome and sensitive Michael Rady are paired up together. They have great chemistry together, and from their first scenes together, it's easy to root for them.

While the basic story of the movie isn't the best or most complex in the world, the romance makes up for it. Plus, it's always fun to watch beautiful people on the big screen, and Taylor is gorgeous! Brooklyn Rae Silzer, Michael's daughter, is also very pretty, and her sweet personality makes you hope she'll have a career when she gets older. I have a soft spot in my heart for this movie because it reminds me of a real-life experience of mine, so since everyone has different memories, I might like this Hallmark Christmas movie more than the average Jane. Then again, if I found it accessible, you might too! Give it a try the next time it's aired on television and see if you get swept up in the romance between the beautiful actress and the small-town hotel owner.

This is a great family movie that has a number of different themes and some wonderful surprises. I really enjoyed the writing and plot of the story and the casting of the actors. There was more humor than I expected and even the minor characters had some good story lines. In addition, the plot took some twists that I hadn't predicted and I was left wondering about the fate of the characters until the end. The backdrop of the Christmas town was well thought out and provided a good surrounding scene for the development of the story and added that wonderful Christmas atmosphere. This is a movie worth recording on your DVR and watching while it's snowing outside and you're sitting under a blanket with a hot chocolate.