Open Up by Christmas

This is a holiday romance between Gwen, a high end auction organizer who is hoping to leverage her next job into buying the business so she can be in control of her future, and Reed who is the former Air Force military small business owner (Dirt Force One) who helps her clean and decorate the large estate she is auctioning off. Reed is looking to expand his business and potentially moved to California.

"How lucky we're they to find something so rare?"-Gwen's best friend Vanessa

Initially Gwen and Reed clash over rigid time schedules, etc but they soon work into a cooperative friendship in which they both share their past and hopes and dreams. Reed has lost both his parents and claims to be sentimental, Gwen is attached to family and friends but says she has no sentimentality which is how she can auction things off.

"Wherever you go the light that Carol loved so much should surround you."-Gwen

There is another romance involving a disabled vet who seems to be getting along well with Vanessa.

The main actors are great and seem to have chemistry, but this was just a middle of the road romance for me.

Lindy Booth is one of my absolute favorite actors. But in the beginning I was turned off by Gwen. She was incredibly bitter about Dirt Force One and Reed. She seemed to be looking for things to disagree about. Then suddenly (as is common in these movies), the bitterness turns to banter, mostly good natured. There's no transition to cooperation - suddenly it's there.

There are many of the common, even overused, elements for a holiday movie. Although it's not technically a promotion, Gwen's banking on success in the coming endeavor to allow her to buy the business over the competition. She has to decorate for the big event and ends up getting help from Reed because time is short. Tree shopping together. A festival. She has a disastrous relationship in her past. Reed is considering a move far away. There's a predictable sentimental moment in the works. All these elements are put together in an interesting way that has a fresh feel to it. It's all done well. And a nice ending.

There's a second romance in the story and it includes a man in a wheelchair.

Booth and Justin Bruening develop a comfortable chemistry. The acting is good all around. Background music is just right and not overpowering like some movies.

Lindy Booth is a charming and talented actress, and she deserves much better than this. A very talky script that is really not that interesting. There is very little chemistry between Booth and her co-star, Justin Bruening. Maybe because the dialogue is pretty weak and there is very little they can do with it. There is just not that much Christmas spirit here or even just a good plot to keep your attention. Sometimes, you are like, who cares ? Another reviewer mentioned Booth's physical appearance, and we couldn't agree more. At times, she looks anemic. Maybe it is the fault of the director or the make-up and costume people, but this normally lovely actress just does not look healthy. Hopefully, 2021 will bring back the Lindy Booth that we all enjoy and appreciate. Someone give her a good script with a better character to play - she can handle it. Sweep this one under the rug this Christmas.

Interesting set up with a hoity toity auction house representative up against a cleaning service hired to clean the house while she is trying to decorate. Lindy Booth is excellent as usual with her ethereal beauty up against a manly man ex-military owner of a cleaning service. Dirt-force one. Cute name. Lots of fascinating scenes involving appraising antiques and deciding what to auction and what to keep for the family, good back stories involving Lindy's desiring to buy out the owner of the independent auction house against a conglomerate, the owner's estranged relationship with his famous singer daughter, manly man's back-story and wish to expand his business, etc. And in addition, if that were not enough, a very nice secondary romance with Lindy's best friend and caterer with Manly Man's disabled in a wheelchair veteran-partner. Full marks.

This is a warm and touching Christmas movie with some great acting to boot. The story centers around Gwen (played by Lindy Booth), an antique appraiser, who is keen to own her own auction house. She is hired to appraise (and decorate) The Hawthorne House, a place she has fond memories of during Christmas growing up (especially at the annual Christmas eve party). She is teamed up with Reed (played by Justin Bruening), who runs Dirt Force One, a cleaning service that provides jobs for military veterans. The two have a bit of back-and-forth at first but end up working together to uncover the beautiful treasures of the estate, helping the owner of the house reconnect with his past, and, just maybe, falling in love with each other along the way. The movie has a warm and gentle flow to it, which I enjoyed. The script was also quite good; e.g., there was some depth to the story and the main characters were well developed. I found myself laughing a little at the back-and-forth between Gwen and Reed during the first half-hour. And I even shed a few tears towards the end when Alan Hawthorne (the owner of the house) wrote to his daughter (and some subsequent scenes). The acting overall was superb. Booth, a Hallmark regular, really did shine with her performance in this one. I found myself connecting with her from the start. Bruening too had a strong performance. The chemistry between the two was a bit more refined than your typical Hallmark romance movie, but it worked well for this story, and on-screen, I felt. The supporting cast was good. Vlasta Vrana (playing Alan Hawthorne) stood out for me; he had a convincing performance. The Hawthorne House was beautiful, and the decorations were gorgeous. The movie had a nice Christmas feel to it. All in all, this was a very good movie, a nice new edition to Hallmark's 2020 Christmas lineup. Well done.