Christmas films can go either way, which has been my experience watching overtime the festive output of Lifetime and Hallmark. 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 'Christmas on the Vine' did have the sort of premise where the execution could have gone either way.
Lifetime's 2020 Christmas film batch, like all their previous years, was pretty hit and miss which was not unexpected. 'Christmas on the Vine' is somewhere in the middle. If one was to judge it from its early portions, it could have easily passed for being one of the worst if it didn't get better. Luckily 'Christmas on the Vine' did get better though still stayed uneven, providing that one is willing to stick with it. Was really umming and erring at first whether to but generally don't regret my decision to stick with it.
The film is a long way from perfect. It starts off terribly, with some truly laughable dialogue that makes one cringe at its awkwardness and cheesiness, lifeless pacing and characters that one dislikes quickly. Also thought that the film ended underwhelmingly too, too abrupt and rushed with a truly implausible out of character 180.
Jon Cor was rather iffy as the male lead, he comes over as rather stiff and dull and also slightly creepy. His chemistry with Julianna Guill (who acquits herself well) isn't there at first.
Guill however is truly beguiling and easy to like from the get go. Meredith Baxter is a lively presence and the rest of the supporting turns are very good, only Cor doesn't work. The chemistry between Guill and Cor took time to settle but when it did settle it was quite charming. Luckily there is a lot seen of the relationship and it moves at a relatively realistic rate and grows. Didn't care for the characters at first, but they grew on me throughout the film.
A great job is done with the Christmas atmosphere, where it does feel like Christmas and in an affectionate way. Some lovely Christmas touches and there are some very sweet, but not sickly, scenes. The script is poor to begin with but gets better once one gets past the terrible first quarter or so, where there are a fair share of funny and poignant lines. The story is very predictable with pretty much everything being what one expects, but also has a lot of heart and charm. It doesn't take itself too seriously while not taking things as too much of a joke.
In conclusion, doesn't start off well at all and runs out of steam at the end, but much of what happens in between is pleasant if nothing mind-blowing. 6/10.
