Mistletoe Magic

I want to start off by saying that I couldn't even finish this movie. I already know how it'll end so what's the point? I'm a lover of the "cheesy" Hallmark movies and also a fan of Jessica from Chesapeake Shores but this movie fell flat. It's just very bad acting and a weak storyline. Very disappointed. I'll stick to Hallmark.

This movie avoided the usual, corny Hallmark trademarks. There was no "whipped cream" on the nose scene nor any Christmas cookie baking flour throwing scene. There was plenty of witty dialogue. Jessica Sipos is always natural and always solid. I thought that Alys Crocker was a real find and a hoot.

The movie was alright. It was sweet and charming in places and I liked it.

Christmas films can go either way, which has been my experience watching overtime the festive output of Lifetime, Hallmark and UPTV. They can either be well-meaning, charming, warm-hearted and don't feel too heavy. Or they can be too over-sentimental, cheesy, contrived and bland. There have been many films of theirs that have fallen in both camps and in the camp where there is a bit of both. And 'Mistletoe Magic' did have the sort of premise where the execution could have gone either way.

'Mistletoe Magic' does have elements of both camps, but actually is not too bad a film. While it is an example of a film that starts off badly and makes one unsure whether to continue, it did for me thankfully get a lot better and turned out to be a moderately decent film. Was not expecting a classic and didn't get that, but did expect in a way an at least average film that didn't have me wrenching my hair and teeth out. Luckily that was the case here with 'Mistletoe Magic'. Not an essential, but there is nothing massively offensive about it either at the same time.

As said, the film does start off very badly. It takes a while to get started and one also has to sit through painfully awkward dialogue, bad acting from the supporting cast and not really investing in any character. The story is very predictable, due to nothing new being done with familiar tropes.

The supporting acting is not always great (leaning towards the over-compensating type), especially that for agreed the boyfriend and the best friend. Very annoying "negative characteristics taken to extremes" characters that are overacted, particularly in the case of the latter.

Luckily, 'Mistletoe Magic' does get better in pretty much every way. Jessica Sipos and Stephen Huszar are immensely engaging in the lead roles, their characters are easy to like, believably developed without being complex and their chemistry is very genuine and always at ease. The relationship also plays a big part in the film and doesn't feel overused or underused, doesn't feel like it goes nowhere most of the time and then has a development just like that and rushes that and basically it develops at just about the right pace. Once the film gets going, the characters are more interesting and the acting generally improve excepting for the boyfriend and the best friend.

Furthermore, 'Mistletoe Magic' pleases visually in particularly the scenery. The music doesn't come over as intrusive, overused or drab, while not enhancing anything it doesn't distract from anything either and there is a sense of occasion. The script does flow a lot better later and doesn't get over cheesy or too schmaltzy. The story is predictable but also has a good deal of charm and light-heartedness, leaving me with a warm glow. The ending is not as easily prematurely telegraphed as it tends to be.

In summary, the early portions are a turn off but improves drastically. Not great but not dreadful on the whole either. 6/10.

The movie gets off to a horrible start. The acting of almost everyone involved seems like the actors are trying too hard to deliver their lines. The dialogue is a combination of bland and stupid. The whole thing feels like hearing fingernails on a chalk board.

Either the acting got better or I got immune to it, because I stuck with it and I stopped noticing these problems.

The story is mostly predictable. The leads, Harper and Luke are thrown together for almost all of the screen time by a quest to find "magic mistletoe" from Harper's family's legend. Harper is pretty much a grinch, and not at all likeable for the early part of the movie. Being a "scientist" she doesn't believe in magic. It was unconvincing to me why she would spend so much effort for the mistletoe when she hates Christmas. Meanwhile Luke loves it. So you'll never guess what happens with Harper and Luke. OK, yes you will. The story has no great highs or lows, or surprises. Other than the lost mistletoe, and Harper's current absentee boyfriend, there is no tension. The conflict before the climax is even weak.

Jessica Sipos and Stephen Huszar, who as leads, dominate the story despite this website's cast listing showing them way down the list and it lists minor players as the stars. These two leads begin to generate some chemistry fairly late in the movie. Sipos' Harper isn't just uninterested at first, but she is rude and arrogant with Luke. Of course this changes, but I thought it was put off too late into the movie.

There are efforts at humor through exaggeration and silliness which fell flat for me. I did like a musical montage with Sipos trying on different outfits, including some Christmas theme costumes, mostly because she was dancing to the background music in a flirty way.