A Sprinkle of Christmas

This movie should have a disclaimer, not unlike what comes on a prescription bottle: do not operate heavy machinery or attempt to drive after consuming this movie as it could lead to drowsiness or personal injury. I have never encountered a movie where the plot line predicted why a start-up business was guaranteed to fail. The characters as demanded by the script showed no business acumen whatsoever. The script is a dreadful testament in how not to launch a business much less a restaurant. Here was a real-life confirmation that the restaurant failure rate is 90% within the first year -- Couple that with a very slow start to an already boring story, and it's off to la-la-land. So, yes, yes, I know it's supposed to be about finding romance in the ways least expected and who cares if the business fails if finding love and happiness is the ultimate goal. And me? I never made it to the end. I fell asleep on the couch.

This is another one of those Christmas movies that doesn't really have much to do with Christmas. It's your typical TV movie, nothing special, but honestly I'm all in on these kinds of cozy background watches this time of year.

The story was interesting enough, though I definitely would've liked more actual Christmas themes. There aren't any twists or anything unpredictable, but I did like the cast and thought everyone did a good job.

In the end, it's just alright. If you're into these types of movies, it works well enough for what it is.

A message from my daughter: "It's a bit boring for little kids."

After our usual Saturday evening steak and wine dinner, with California Cabernet this time, we looked for a holiday-themed movie and found this one, streaming on NFLX.

It is a somewhat "low energy" movie but in substance it is watchable and suitably entertaining. Filmed in Canada but set in Denver, Hayley Sales (who also sings a couple of songs in the soundtrack) is pastry chef Libby. She and two friends had recently opened a new pastry restaurant during the holiday season. An out-of-town customer comes in and due to a confusion leaves money on the table but exits angry. Then he leaves a very negative review.

That person is Marshall Williams as Peter, a somewhat famous actor, in town for his brother's wedding. His bad review used a pseudonym and then Libby similarly uses a pseudonym to refute his bad review. This leads to a lot of back-N-forth between the two of them, each had no idea who the other was. That is the "shop around the corner" flavor of what transpired next, for the rest of the movie, each getting to know and like the other through the exchange of thoughts and ideas.

Of course all that leads to them eventually meeting and trying to work out this newfound relationship.

This is not a Hallmark movie but made much like one, it even has the only kiss during the last minute of the movie.

Not a great movie, with not much new, but the two main actors are good in their roles. The very negative reviews here and "1" ratings are nonsense, it is not a bad movie by any measure.

Great story brought to life by a top cast! Haley and Marshall are highly talented (I have enjoyed watching each of them bring other stories to life), as are the supporting cast members that I was not familar with. This is a well-written tale of how a stressed out, avoid the spolight, overly cautious, thoughtful, hurt, no-body and a well-known, hard to be himself with others, yet farily confident somebody, meet akwardly in person and online. The main relationship develops via encounters and conversations that are wonderfully depicted. I love how this movie addresses what happens when a person tells another person how they feel when the "teller" person is clueless. I am impressed with the writer's talent in putting this script together!!! I think this is a realistic, life-lesson movie that is great to watch and discuss as there is a lot to unpack and learn from. Although the true meaning of Christmas is not the focus of the movie, I want this one will become a household favorite for its clean portrayal of what can happen in real life. Thank you again to the writer and the cast. BTW- Great sets, make-up and wardrobe too!

Christmas movies tend to be formulaic, have little to do with Christmas, and bad.

A Sprinkle of Christmas breaks out of this pattern by being formulaic, has little to do with Christmas, and is terrible.

The plot centers around the main love interest creating an account on a review site and posting a negative review that gains national attention. Ironically, I was so inspired by the frustration the movie evoked in me that I created an IMDb account for the sole purpose of writing this review.

Those associated with the movie have the good fortune of only going up from here.