Christmas Pen Pals

The acting in this one was strong, especially on the male side with Niall Matter and a surprise appearance by Michael Gross. It took me awhile to warm up to Sarah Drew whom I am unfamiliar with but I did not dislike her by the end. The supporting characters, especially on the female side were very good.

Writing was better then average. Yes as usual with these movies much was already telegraphed 15 minutes in but there were quite a number of moments that brought a smile to the face. As with all these movies you have to overlook all the plotholes and make assumptions about the resolution of many secondary stories which is a bit unfortunate as several of the secondary characters had a nice way about them.

The films seen in my recent Christmas films quest, done to broaden my horizons a little, were variable in quality. Some were surprisingly well done, some were decent/above average, some were watchable but nothing special and some were really not good at all. No masterpieces, the highest rating given so far reviewing them slowly here has been an 8 given to a few, really but there were not many actually that were irredeemably awful as well.

'Christmas Pen Pals' is one of the decent ones. It didn't wow me by all means but considering that the premise didn't leap out at me as amazing and could have been really mundane if done badly, this was a nice surprise and a pleasant diversion as long as one doesn't expect too much. A message gotten throughout this particular quest, though sometimes when a component is done really badly, like no likeable characters, a story that never grabs, poor acting and chemistry and cringe-worthy dialogue, it is not easy at all to overlook or forgive. Luckily, 'Christmas Pen Pals' doesn't suffer too awfully from those problems compared to other films from the quest.

Sure, 'Christmas Pen Pals' has issues. Am another person that found Hannah difficult to warm to at first, her shrill and try-too-hard manner did grate. The dialogue is corn and cheese filled at times and can be quite weak.

Was expecting the film to be pretty predictable, and that was exactly what the story was. Much of it was easily telegraphed early on, granted it has a pretty cliched though relatable premise in the first place and nothing is particularly creative here in the execution of it.

On the other hand, 'Christmas Pen Pals' is very nicely shot with the scenery having a cosy charm. The music is not over-bearing or syrupy and is quite nostalgic. There are enough amusing and sweet moments in the writing, even having a nice and not too preachy message, and the film is hardly without soul. Actually found much of it still very charming and heart-warming, as well as easy to like. The direction didn't in my mind come from somebody who didn't care, the character interaction was not stiff or static and the spirit of Christmas is handled just about right.

Despite not being sure at first, once Hannah calmed down as a character and Sarah Drew relaxed more the characters were engaging and hard to not relate to and the leads' chemistry was sweet without being sappy. The actors all do well, apart from Drew overdoing it at first. Niall Matter is charmingly understated and so easy to endear to, and Michael Gross is entertaining veteran support.

Summing up, decent. 7/10

This is another twist on the famous movie where instead of email, they use good old fashion US Mail. I thought the whole premise of reviving the WWII tradition was a nice take on it.

Nial Matter is always good in these movies and Sarah Drew is new to me, but they worked well together as they danced closer and then away and back and forth.

There were some secondary mystery romances also.

There are some really interesting little twists near the end even though the viewer always knew how it was going to come out in the end. The last scene was sweet and made better by not getting there the easy way.

This Christmas movie is my favorite this year. Love the chemistry between Sam and Hannah. Story line is adorable and old fashioned. Perfect for the season.

My biggest obstacle to enjoying this was Sarah Drew as Hannah, whose piercing voice and manic manner grated against a mostly charming plot.

First we get Hannah's automated, colorless attempt at life, met with shrill anxiety about her company's failing dating app and stock. So Hannah goes home to visit her father and married sister to regroup and find the 'spark'.

Home, Hannah quickly chooses the 'love' option of the town's anonymous pen pal matching effort. Her doubts turn to intrigue as smart, thoughtful letters from her match arrive.

Then, with her shrill sister's input, Hannah promptly obsesses over the identity of her pen pal-despite knowing all will be revealed in 2 weeks.

Anxiety is Hannah's consistent theme. Which reaches a fever pitch of stress as she makes dumb and desperate moves guessing at her soulmate.

It's a shame for the film. Hannah's love interest/ex Sam is a perfectly cast Niall Matter, whose subdued kindness hints at the long hurt underneath.

You may like this much better if you can get past my 2 nagging questions. 1) Did the Lifetime folks really consider Hannah likable? If you dated someone for 4 years, wouldn't you easily be able to rule in, or out, their handwriting???