Christmas Bells Are Ringing

We enjoyed the movie very much. I do understand filming is difficult but BC does not substitute for Cape Cod. Different vibe all together.

This is the same plot as umpteen other Hallmark sentimental movies. As soon as you meet the two love interests and hear about their personal plans you know exactly what will happen which means that you only need to see the first ten minutes.

And for the love of Pete, get a new hair stylist for the woman. Every single woman in every single Hallmark movie has an identical hair style except women of color - but Hallmark is woefully lacking in using anything but Caucasians in their drivel.

And while on a hiring kick, get a new technical adviser for any of the myriad of fake photographer plot lines and have them teach the character how to hold a camera correctly!

Was not expecting to like 'Christmas Bells are Ringing' this much. While certainly not having any bias against Hallmark Christmas output (far from the truth and have always made that clear) and a fair share of them have fallen into the better than expected category, their output has always been very formulaic and can be very cheesy and schmaltzy and the characters and acting have always varied. 2018 was a hit and miss year for Hallmark's Christmas output.

'Christmas Bells are Ringing' was for me one of the surprising hits and easily one of the best of their 2018 batch of Christmas films. As well as actually their Christmas films in general. As far as their overall films for any occasion or genre goes, 'Christmas Bells are Ringing' is somewhere in the top end in my view. This opinion is from judging the film on its own terms without comparing it to anything else, so am not saying (never have, never will do) that it is on par with something else that has gotten the same rating that will make some scoff.

Sure, the structure of the film and what happens is very familiar territory for Hallmark so there is a seen it all before vibe throughout. Did find the ending a bit too rushed and too tidy, as well as easily telegraphed.

A lot of the dialogue early on is heavy on the cheese and corn factors and doesn't flow very naturally, so there were moments where there was admittedly some cringing into my seat.

However, 'Christmas Bells are Ringing' at least looks nice and professional. Although the authenticity of the locations can be, and has been, questioned, the scenery still looks lovely and appropriately festive, complemented very nicely by the photography. The soundtrack is nostalgic and isn't as intrusive in tone or placement as most other Hallmark Christmas films, as that has been a common criticism from me and quite a number of others. The direction is accomodating while not going through the motions.

The dialogue is less than great early on but if one sticks with the film it does improve, it is tighter and less stilted and the cheese and sentiment isn't as much. The story is very predictable admittedly, but it still engaged me and was charming and heart-warming while not taking itself too seriously. The characters may be well worn cliches, but they came over to me as likeable enough and any negative character traits didn't come over as over the top like can be the case in Hallmark Christmas films. Emilie Ullerup and Josh Kelly are very appealing leads, they look comfortable and don't overdo any habitual mannerisms. Their chemistry came over as genuine, took time to unfold and didn't come over as contrived. The supporting cast also do very well.

In conclusion, surprisingly very well done. 8/10

I give this an eight out of ten for these reasons. Although not a single frame is filmed in Cape Cod there is an effort to mimic the town. The lighthouse is a nice touch but again not found in Massachusetts. The acting is a little better than usual and Emilie plays a convincing part but someone should have taught her how to handle the Cannon camera she uses in the movie. So to be fair, this is a Hallmark movie, put together in a few weeks and the production company has but one thing in mind... make a movie on a shoestring budget that will bring a bit of "holly jolly" to the viewer. Because it's a Hallmark movie it is exactly what I expected, a little romance, a little holiday spirit, with a lot of boy gets girl in the end!

I enjoy watching Emilie Ullerup and she's as watchable as ever in this movie. But the story seemed off.

Samantha hasn't been back to her family's summer home in Cape Cod for 13 years, even though it's barely more than an hour away from Boston where she works? Huh?

She lost her mother, quickly, 13 years ago and somehow that kept her away? That didn't make sense to me. At all. Her father kept going back and, 12 years after his wife died, he met and fell in love with the lovely Helen (Rebecca Staab). But Sam never went back and took advantage of her family home in Cape Cod. Even though it's the perfect weekend getaway, for the perfect price- free.

And I get that Sam misses her mother, but I lost track of how often they had her rubbing her mother's necklace and looking wistfully off into space. We get it; she misses her mother. Even 13 years later.

Her old summer buddy Mike Phillips works at Phillips Property Agency in Cape Cod with his parents, but somehow he is being considered for a job with a "commercial leasing company that handles a lot of the high rises in London"? Why would such a company in London want to hire someone who only has experience managing residential rentals in a small town in Massachusetts? Mike has ZERO knowledge or experience with the commercial leasing of high rise buildings, and it would be in a completely different country, with different laws and different industry practices. And what's the draw to London? After growing up and living in Cape Cod? He has one married friend living there, but that friend married a girl from England.

Also, property managers don't do repair work- they hire people. Despite that, Mike is sent to try and fix a "leak at the River Street rental". And he takes a caulk gun into the attic to fix a roof leak from the inside. From the inside. What a shock that it started leaking again.

Viewers might not realize this, but freelance photographers like Samantha don't make any money. That's why the "staff position" she wants at the Boston paper is important if Samantha wants to pay her own bills and keep photography as a career and not a hobby. So it made no sense that one of the photos Samantha submitted to get the prize job (based on the theme: "Christmas, something we haven't seen") is a fog enshrouded lighthouse that isn't even lit up. And, like everything else in this movie, that lighthouse isn't even in Cape Cod.

Also, without spoiling anything, the decision making in connection with that job was somewhat disappointing. And the decision making in connection with the family's summer home seemed unrealistic.

But the biggest problem for me is that Samantha really showed no interest in either being in a relationship, or being in a relationship with Mike. She basically avoided him for 13 years without anything remotely resembling a reason to do that. Even though he was just a short car ride away. I never really saw them as more than platonic friends although I can certainly understand why Mike wanted more.

On the plus side, Emilie Ullerup was great playing Samatha. She showed real emotion and real joy. And Rebecca Staab is one of the most beautiful 60 year olds working on TV. She looked like Samantha's older sister rather than her future stepmother. She's also a talented actress and played a very likable character.

There were also some other nice touches: all the scenes with Rebecca Staab; Samantha's gift to her future stepmother; the gathering of pine cones; Santa's maritime arrival; and the matching photos of Sam and her mother (the picture of Sam was actually better than any of the pictures that Sam took).

This was probably more of a 5 or 6 star movie, but there was a comforting holiday warmth to most of the scenes and I really like Emilie Ullerup. Plus, I grade Hallmark movies on a curve.