Happy Howlidays

I agree that the two leads took away too much from this story that otherwise had potential. The dogs were the attraction and Penny was the most likeable human. In this genre, most of the time the romantic leads start off antagonistically toward each other. Max did so a little too much. For example, I don't care how much you are trying to help someone, a man basically off the street doesn't walk into her bedroom while she shouts no, no, no, no. That is so far out of bounds it is a dealbreaker.

I can understand how a novice with dogs allows him to make a mess the first night, but any idiot would have made at least some changes before the second.

The backstories go part of the way to explain some of Mia and Max's behaviors, but don't nearly justify them. These backstories are obscured until later in the movie to the point of being a twist, at least Mia's. The viewer gets a few hints that all is not smooth at the shelter giving a slightly fresh approach to one of this genre's most common premises.

Shipping dogs, rather than people, is another fresh approach. Their antics were entertaining. And I wanted to see more of Penny. Jessica Lowndes, whom I normally love, had no chemistry with rookie actor and contest winner Ezra Moreland. This isn't that surprising that a veteran professional might not easily bond with the newcomer. This was bad enough that it was very hard to buy into the idea that they might be in love.

I think many viewers will be disappointed with the failure to capitalize on the potential here, especially when you have two likeable dogs getting so much attention. I give the movie way more stars than it probably deserves because of the dogs, Penny and some of the elements of the story.

The storyline was cute. The dogs were cute. The male lead was not cute or compelling. While print model, Ezra Moreland's performance had flickers of authenticity, it was for the most part wooden & superficial. If he went to acting class and got some real training maybe it would help. That said, this was his first acting attempt, so he probably was anxious about his performance, but right now, he seems to be "modeling" through the role & not finding his character. Like several others, I was surprised when Ezra was given (yes, given) the Hallmark "Mr. Christmas" title over the more talented and charismatic, Hayden, who was always the stand-out; the one your eye was drawn to in every ensemble//group shot and every acting scene. Hopefully, Hallmark will rectify their original decision & sign Hayden to a contract, too.

This is another Hallmark movie where the writers went all over the place with their various story tropes.

Did they want a funny dog movie? Well, they started out that way and then abandoned that idea.

Did they want an old girlfriend shows up to threaten the romance? They did that too, but killed any tension from it immediately.

Did they want a tense story about a broken person? Well, the female lead was a doctor who lost a patient and ran from the profession, but that's really only important for the scene where she admits that.

Did they want a heart wrenching dog story? They hinted at that then never got there.

The male lead is fairly wooden, except for a couple of scenes where he suddenly goes from wooden to berserk, and he didn't manage the transitions well.

It's watchable, and the dogs are well-trained and the best part of the movie. And women may like the male lead's abs, which they put on display in one scene just for that purpose. We won't be viewing it again.

Followed Finding Mr Christmas through it all, we were confused with much of it in terms of the challenges. We loved the support of four female actors/directors who shone in their help in this process and the oh so cute Jonathan and Melissa were great of course, but one thing I found curious was why they were never put up opposite a guy (they fudn't know), as there are many roles opposite a brother/best friend/potential competitor etc. The loss of Daxton to eye damage was sad as I felt he was our clear choice early on, and we do hope they bring him back in future competitions. We stuck with it, and sadly Ezra was our last choice to win the competition.

We looked forward to Ezra's debut in his first movie, and then heard he had two big challenges to his first show...#1 working with beautiful dogs, who were incredible actors and stole the show - FULL STOP, and Ezra was paied with Jessica Lowndes. I understand she is a good singer/composer, and liked her song in this movie, but I am not a fan of her acting, and certainly not in this movies. I have seen her in quite a few of her movies and not one did i enjoy. So having Ezra come out of the blocks working with dogs and Jessica felt like a double whammy and quite unfair to him. The movie's story was uninspiring and obvious to the outcome. The dogs were just charming to watch and we both would have watched another five or six movies with them.

Ezra is an extremely handsome model with an incredible, great build, but that doesn't translate to a 3-d performance...emotions and heart just aren't there on screen, which we saw lots of with the other two.. So if they do decide to make another with him, please gjve him a decent opportunity with an experienced actor (any of the four from this competition would be great) and with no or minimal animals.

6.1 stars.

What everyone else already said. But the actors both have screen presence. It's a weird feeling watching several bad actors in one film. It's deliberate they cast these awkward leads, for sure.

The producers see something in the male lead. He has potential, he's getting there. But yikes, he's off sometimes. Lowndes is who she is. All of her characters are generally the same. She needs help too. She creates too much tension and drama in characters, so we often get the wrong impression.

The male lead's little sister seems cool and maybe she will get more opportunities in the future. The woman who is Lowndes' character's boss and best friend is likable too. So this movie is not all bad for casting choices.

The "other" woman should have been the lead actress. She is a good actress. I am going to repeat that the male leads younger sister is actually pretty good and should have had a more prominent role.

Hallmark took an average script and made a cheap movie. You can see how inexpensive this was. There are no big city scenes or major sets or props and I'm sure the actors weren't paid much. It's a free plug for spreading the message of animal adoption and such.

Her parents seemed out of place as if they were three strangers in an uncomfortable way. We soon find out what the problem is with her character, and it's an emotional moment, but she doesn't fit the mold for who she's supposed to be. I think you'll see. I think her parents were portrayed well for the short screen time. A shame they got stuck in this dead-end story.

Why am I wasting so much time criticizing this film? All said, this movie is grossly underwhelming, but I still felt the need to finish it.