Christmas at the Catnip Café

I am not all that familiar with Hallmark romances. I've seen a few over the years and they seem to be harmless fun. However, one bit of advice I have about this one...use a pay service to see it without commercials instead of watching it for free on Philo. Why? Well, the channel puts more and longer commercials in the movie the more you watch it...and later, I noticed several five minute commercial breaks spread about ten minutes apart. And, towards the end, the commercial breaks were six minutes long!! Now I do NOT blame the people who made the movie...they can't help that the film was shown this way. But just don't see it with commercials on Philo...seriously.

The story stars a pretty 40-ish lady who has no family and whose only ambition is buying this one piece of property. So, when her aunt dies and leaves her 50% interest in a cat cafe, she just wants to sell it as soon as she can in order to buy her dream business. But, of course, the other co-owner is a sweet, hunky vet who is her opposite...instead of a workaholic, he's a 'helpaholic'...always helping others at the expense of having a life himself. Can the two manage to fall in love by the end of the movie? What do you think?

Predictable? Yes. But also very enjoyable and cozy...sort of like a Harlequin romance in movie form. While I would not like a steady diet of this, it's a nice holiday film and even if you aren't a Hallmark fan, it's an enjoyable film with the expected quality of acting and settings.

Paul Campbell is always featured in heartfelt stories. I was leading forward to seeing this hallmark production, but somewhat disappointed. I truly felt that could've been more interaction and stories wrapped around either the veterinary practice or the catnip café itself. Frankly, all animals of all types of the stars of every production. We need to be more conscious and aware of how precious the animals on planet earth are.

Gingerbread. No, not a house building contest. A cat. What a cat. The movie is almost worth watching for this cat. And I'm not a cat person.

In some ways this story is filled with overused Christmas movie tropes. A will leaves both our leads half the Catnip Cafe. And Ben doesn't want to sell. Meanwhile the two of them work together to put on a series of Christmas events.

But in the process there are a lot of unusual and cute details along the way. Not the least of which are the cats, assuming you love cats. I may not be a cat person, but I can appreciate them in a story like this.

One line I loved, unrelated to the cafe, was Olivia commenting that her undecorated Christmas tree was currently "au natural". Ben responded "birthday suit". It wasn't decorated yet.

Hallmark in recent times loves to have some of their more prolific stars do cameos in various movies. Kimberley Sustad has done cameos in several Hallmark movies. In this one she reprises her role from two much earlier movies about a fireman and kittens.

One of my favorite Hallmark actresses is Erin Cahill. She and Paul Campbell have good chemistry but both of these actors usually do with their opposite lead. Funny that as of this writing, this IMDb website main page for this movie does not list either one of these actors. They do appear on a secondary page.

It doesn't surprise me that this movie with lots of fun moments is directed by Lucie Guest.

Despite the simple and familiar plot line, I really enjoyed this movie.

Olivia Pierce (Erin Cahill) is a marketing executive who is close to finalizing her plan of purchasing her dream condo, but she's a bit short on the down payment. She learns that her Great Aunt has passed away and left her half of a cat café, she thinks it's the Christmas miracle she needed, she plans to sell the cafe and use that money to purchase the dream condo! However, Dr. Ben Kane (Paul Campbell), the veterinarian who owns the other half, has no intention of selling! The café serves an important role in the town and also helps homeless cats find forever homes. He realizes he can only stall Olivia for so long before she can legally force him to sell, so he comes up with a plan that hopefully will change her mind and heart. Olivia agrees to be in charge and continue with her Great Aunt's Christmas traditions and festivities involving the cafe and cats, and Ben agrees to sell after all the festivities take place. The movie takes both Olivia and Ben on a journey which makes them reflect on what really matters in life.

Erin Cahill is perfect in the role of Olivia, and she has terrific chemistry with Paul Campbell. Paul Campbell always brings a likeable, charismatic, humorous and witty style to his roles, as well as conveying his character's deep emotions. He is flawless in his portrayal of Ben. The story might be predictable, but the acting and sharp dialog keep you interested and engaged. Then of course there's THE CATS that steal your heart if your a feline fancier like me! There is also a good supporting cast too. An enjoyable, sweet and charming movie--four paws up!

You have never seen so many cats in one movie so this is a must for cat lovers. Otherwise, there is nothing very unique about this film. The themes of the script have been done many times before in Hallmark Christmas movies. That said, Paul Campbell and Erin Cahill are such good performers and they play their characters so endearingly that it may keep your interest throughout. As a fan of Campbell, I watched it to the end. So, if you are a fan of Campbell, Cahill, or cats this one is for you. Otherwise, you may give up on it. One plus is a delightful cameo by Kimberley Sustad reprising her Marilee character from "Nine Lives of Christmas." So fans of Sustad or that movie might not want to miss that.