12 Pups of Christmas

So my wife has me watching Hallmark Christmas movies and see how these movies go. When she says that ION Television has Christmas movies. So pups and Christmas,how could a network screw up this movie. They did; it might have pups in the movie and some decorations on houses and one small party around Christmas time. But more about a company going through a tough time and some very bad acting from Charlotte Sullivan, she was better in Rookie Blue (she was bad in that too). This truly is not a Christmas movie. Let the Hallmark Channel show you how to do a proper Christmas movie.

I love holiday movies and get used to the redundant story lines but here the acting was just too painful to watch.

This was abysmal, even for a Hallmark movie. Nothing about it makes sense. Why is a man who's smooth enough to have six girlfriends too cowardly to break up with one? Why does a rich CEO whose dad is willing to hand him a pile of money at the drop of a hat think he's in financial danger? Why does a CEO who has a home in Silicon Valley and a penthouse in NYC seem completely unfamiliar with the concept of flying? Why was an entire staff of tech professionals unable to come up with the idea to "make this product smaller"? Why does the lead actress have more chemistry with any woman on screen than with the male lead? Why did the screenwriter think Animal Track is an amazing app name? (At least give me a Pooch Ping or a Critter Getter) Why is there a montage of two people doing literally nothing? Why are people riding jetskis in the Hudson River in December?

I understand that ION Christmas movies can be a little darker and more adult-themed than the typical G-rated Hallmark fare, but this film was too over the top for me.

My main problem is with the lead role. She comes across as snide, condescending, and spiteful throughout them film. While a few of her comments seem to be on-target at first - with her so-called friends well deserving of her scorn - after a while it just becomes boring with the relentless tirade of insults.

But she isn't the only problem. It was really hard to relate to any of the other supporting characters in this film at all. They all just seemed so trite and phony.

The only good moments are the pitifully few scenes of the puppies being delivered to their new owners. But this takes up hardly any screen time at all. The rest of the film just meanders through relentless scenes of mean-spiritedness and cynicism, where the viewer is jarred by alternating scenes of tenderness and downright hostility.

Eventually, there is some resolution, but it is not convincing and the character remains vindictive almost to the very end. The film just can't seem to overcome the lead character's extreme unpleasantness.

Overall, there is air of cruelty and cynicism that pervades, decidedly not what these Holiday-themed should be all about.

A canine therapist moves to Silicon Valley to work for a GPS tracking company after her boyfriend cheats on her. New boss gives her 12 puppies to re-home before Christmas.

Okay in theory, but Erin is an atrocious character. She claims to be a therapist, but she's rude and lacks compassion. She's truly the hag that steals all joy from the movie. The real problem? The movie doesn't seem to notice how awful she is. The boss even tells her how much she has helped him understand his company and taught him humility!

The continuity is also pretty poor. The dogs pop up and disappear without explanation. Overall the puppy plot goes practically nowhere, another letdown.