Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday

We love these two actresses. But they never stopped talking. The rest of the characters never got a word in edgewise. And the girls voices were like listening to a squeaky record. There was no balance between male and female voices. We gave it 30 minutes and just couldn't take listening to those voices another second.

My title is a quote from the character Simon about a bow tie. If you stretch your imagination a bit, you could think of these two movies that way. I'm a fan of Ashley Williams so I was ready to enjoy the pair of movies no matter what.

The hook in this movie is the multiple relationships. The story is nothing great. Have to sell our family ________ (movie theatre). The lead couple are working together to repair it. The premise is especially a bit of a stretch which is where "ridiculous" comes in. In this movie, the family relationships are just as significant as any romance. The sisters (real life sisters) love each other and it shows. Jennifer's son, Simon, forms a kind of fraternal bond with Eric's much younger daughter. Plus Meg and Jennifer's parents. There is a romance story, but it has to share the spotlight with all the other things.

I would think the story encompassing both movies could have been squeezed into one movie. As it is, the sister movie (yes it's a pun) steals several scenes from this one while a few of the same events are shot from different perspectives and maybe changed slightly. The stories run parallel and the other movie continues a little past the ending of this one. But combining the two into one who have squeezed everything a bit too much.

There's a lot of fun and energy in both movies. It's strange, but I don't think the two movies should be separated, but it also creates some confusion a little like mental whiplash. Also, while this movie is broader than a simple romance, the second movie is a little more focused on the corresponding romance.

I liked both movies, but not as much as I anticipated. I got the fun and energy I expected, but as another reviewer said, it's kind of all over the place. The two movies together use a lot of the common tropes which are overused this time of year. On the other hand, the parallel stories and how they are combined give a different feel to it. When it comes down to it, I think each person's enjoyment will be influenced by their predisposition to the two main actresses.

Jennifer (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) and Meg Swift (Ashley Williams) are sisters and best of friends. Jennifer runs a restaurant which got a coveted spot in a contest. She comes home for Christmas and grows concerned over the sale of their beloved late uncle's theater.

I've always loved the Williams sisters. They are great at being positive which plays well against some comedians. They have been great partners to many TV male comedians. It's rare that they do stuff together. That's the intriguing twist to this Hallmark partnership. Their real-life sisterhood makes it easy for them translate it into on-screen chemistry. The problem is that the structure of the premise leaves them mostly in separate movies. It loses the power of that something new. The constant dive into the off-screen other movie just cuts down the time for their own story. It doesn't really matter anyways because the story isn't that worthwhile. Hallmark should just put the two sisters in the same movie and leave them together. They could solve murders if they want. They would probably do it with big goofy smiles.

I am a fan of the Williams Sisters and Mark Deklin. I watched this movie but I really don't know what it was about. I could not figure out any story line and it seemed like people and the story line was all over the place. I am hoping the sequel next week will be better.

I was a whole hour in before I figured out who Dave was and the man in the wheelchair. And I watch Hallmark movies every day! I think the writers wasted the two Williams sisters. Did they not want to act together? The son was very good in this one. Unbelievable that the city sister would leave her big restaurant competition to her sister!