Holiday Road

A heartfelt, well written movie about strangers who are forced by circumstances to travel together to get to Denver in time for Christmas. Done honestly, without silliness and with great heart and soul. The ensemble cast was great, with each story emotionally powerful. It was just lovely. I loved the current trend subplot of the vlogger. What delight. I was surprised and had sych low expectations after so very many silly movies so far this year. I had almost given up hope that we would see a heartfelt movie in the old beloved Hallmark tradition. Definitely a winner! There were even a few sweetbsurprises in the subplots. Watch this one.

I have watching Hallmark channel since it started and can honestly say this is the best holiday movie it has ever produced. Kudos to the writers and entire cast. It was a perfect ten in every way. Finally a great holiday movie from Hallmark. Since I don't want to put in any spoilers. I would like to encourage every one to watch this excellent film. It grabs your interest from the very beginning and keeps you entertained through the entire film. All nine characters have their own story and problems and each character is give his or her complete story. It was so good I am thinking I will watch it again, thank Hallmark for a totally new romance movie!!!

When you set out to watch "Holiday Road", you instantly think, oh, here's another take on "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles", which is an all-time classic. If you've seen it, you know it's a cornball comedy with heart, that leaves you feeling positive about human-relations. Overlook the sometimes sub-par acting and over-the-top silliness, here, and you actually can experience the goodwill between people of different creeds (purposeful), when they share a common experience (like a long bus/van trip), as in tragedies and disasters. It's unfathomable, in this world, that nine strangers would ever collaborate to rideshare a long distance, so you have to be open-minded (and patient) about the initial prep of the storyline. Nine central characters are a lot to follow (you have to pay attention), but the directors allot enough dialog that they each stay inter-connected in the ongoing journey. You begin to have empathy for each of the characters in their personal quests. I commend the background music, as well - the Christmas songs were original and played only in appropriate scenes. Social-networking (somewhat new in Hallmark movies) was also well-incorporated, and cleverly instrumental in the unfolding drama. As the movie comes to a close, each character receives a poignant moment, which leaves you satisfied for the enrichment you receive for "riding" this one out to the finish...

I know the romantic leads have to start off disliking each other, but this was too much. I hated Clay so much at first that if I saw him in real life it would not have been pretty. Dana didn't help things. Maybe she was provoked. Clay was ridiculous being entitled ordering his coffee without regard to anyone else, but Dana was pretty rude back. Clay did other things too. Then, miraculously, the animosity goes poof. They fall in love in 2-3 days.

There were a lot of other stories too. Two were married and two more mom and son, so the 9 people broke down to 7 stories, or backstories. Most of the backstories were really hard.

The trip along the way had some mildly interesting stops, but as the movie winds down each of the separate stories has a conclusion that fills in whatever blanks are remaining. A couple were blatant attempts to bring tears, and they kind of worked.

Along the way, the mom traveling alone (I can't keep 9 main characters' names straight) sang a touching rendition of a famous hymn. It left her in tears. When we find out why, it is even more so. Those of you who want to leave God out of these movies will be glad that the reason wasn't religious.

We have watched Hallmark movies for years and can say that this is one of the absolute best. It is funny heartwarming, and has a great story about people meeting and becoming more than friends. Eight people get stranded at an airport in Portland, Oregon, and somehow figure out a way to get a van together and make it to Denver for Christmas. They learn stories about each other, and while they don't start out as friends, they end up as family. There is the normal van breakdown during the trip, a Christmas elf contest and the viewer gets to learn the backstory on each character. Very heartwarming. Highly recommend.