The Mistletoe Promise

A lot of these Christmas movies are terribly similar but this one is a little different. I feel for their annoyance at the relentless Christmas caroling and songs. A divorce lawyer and a travel exec both don't like Christmas so they come to an arrangement to help each other through the holidays and to help career wise for him and personally for her. Likeable cast includes Luke a MacFarlane and Jamie King. The story gets a little thin by the end.

This particular Hallmark movie is a cut above the rest. It is well directed, well cast, well acted and well written ... It's a unique premise, from a book I believe, and it's a delight to have something very different to watch unfold for a change. All the characters are very likable and there's a sweet chemistry between the two lead actors that makes them even more believable. The storyline and the couples' interactions aren't forced (as they so often are in a Hallmark movie)... and while they try to stay true to their "Promise" they don't seem pressured to perform a "dating" dance that would take them beyond its limits so it all feels very real. Two people, unable to enjoy Christmas for their own reasons, meet and form a contract (a Promise) to help each other get through the difficult holiday period and each help the other achieve their goal. I really enjoy Hallmark movies but lately their themes have been getting extremely repetitive and the characters and interactions predictable. Not this one ... I really wasn't sure how it was going to work out in the end and I cared. It does seem mandatory that "figgy pudding" is mentioned or sung about in every Hallmark Christmas movie and, in this one aspect, The Mistletoe Promise is no exception. Otherwise it truly is and well worth watching.

I watch this movie over and over, year after year. If I see it listed to broadcast, I get excited.

The premise has been used a few times, but somehow this one feels a little different. It is a straightforward story. I've seen this movie enough I can't objectively say if there are any surprises, but I don't really think so, at least not big ones. That doesn't matter. This is a case where the actors are what makes it. I will say that I think the bit with the Reindeer report plays out a little uniquely.

I've seen Luke MacFarlane a few times now and those movies are usually good. He delivers a solid performance in this one. He and Jaime King definitely have chemistry. But watching Jaime King again for I don't know how many times, I am more impressed than ever. She is perfectly cast for this movie. Elise isn't an ice queen, but you might think so at first glance and King plays the dichotomy perfectly. She shows the hidden depth of feeling. She shows a wounded woman falling in love and trying not to hope that this time things will go right. It's a contract and Elise holds rigidly to it, yet doesn't.

I often say in reviews that what makes a good movie in this genre is having plenty of screens time for the leads to build their relationship and this movie does that generously.

Christmas romance movies are a guilty pleasure and this one fits my taste buds perfectly.

About the movie vs the book: I didn't realize there was a book until after I had seen the movie twice at least and written the review above. I saw a review mentioning the book, so I found it and read it. The movie and the book are as different as can be. If you change the names of the characters and the contract, it could be said that this movie is not really based on the book at all. The contract is similar, but so are the premises of so many Christmas movies. The contract in the book is not initiated in the same was as the movie. Other characters in the book are nothing like the ones in the movie. Elise is not as confident, but she is also scarred, probably more than the movie Elise. Situations are different and events are different. The book is also great. But It has a much more serious side to it and the climax is touching.

Nick and Elise don't like Christmas. And they meet while strangers are singing Christmas Carols to them very closely, invading personal space. They each have a problem: she doesn't want to put up with her ex-husband and wants her company to be what it used to. He needs a girlfriend to take to the office party so he can make partner. So they make a pact. (There is even a contract).

I, slowly, became a fan of the fake-relationship trope, but it has to be done well. The people involved need to have chemistry, share sweet moments, leart about each other in order for that so-called "relationship to move onto the next phase. This movie had it: Nick sharing his Christmas ghosts. Nick and Elise sharing Christmas traditions. It was sweet.

Luke Macfarlane is becoming one of my favourites. I have seen several of his movies and he always has chemistry with his co-stars. Maybe he is just a really nice guy. I will definitely keep on watching. It was my first time watching Jaime King (i'm not gonna lie, she could definitely play a villain in any movie and I would be terrified), I liked her character. She wasn't the typical cheerful leading lady, which I liked.

This may sound foolish, but all I kept seeing was her hair, which, in my opinion transitioned along with her feelings. At the beginning she only had tight buns, when she met Nick, she used hair tails (i'm not sure that's the term) and even let her hair loose. It was only when they parted at the end that she used a bun again. Maybe it was just a coincidence but I found that beautiful. She was literally and metaphorically letting herself loose.

A few things that bothered me: the ex-husband (of course), his girlfriend (why make her look like an idiot?) those people at the mall singing the Christmas Carols (hello? ever head of personal space and privacy?)And, at the end it was heavily snowing but there was no snow on the streets?

While I really enjoyed it, i'll probably won't watch again.

The extras in this movie were TRULY making the most out of their screen time but this one lady in particular could be seen in the background in almost every single scene that took place at the mall! Lady with a plaid coat and black hat, you're a STAR!