The Holiday Fix Up

A Christmas TV movie that wasn't very christmasy, but the story was okay, completely unbelievable, but that's to be expected in this genre, the acting was reasonable, but overall I was underwhelmed.

Have said many times about my love of Christmas and getting a lot of pleasure out of in particular watching films, cartoons and specials during this period, something that most years has been much needed. Wanted to see some more festive films that were more recent, lower in budget and were not childhood favourites, so in a way to broaden my horizons and have been doing so since November 2019. The idea for 'The Holiday Fix Up' did sound predictable and not particularly interesting, but still watched for completest sake.

Jana Kramer and Ryan McPartlin are somewhat hit and miss for me, and it really does depend on how their characters are written, but both come off well here despite the film overall not quite coming together for me generally. There are certainly worse films out there with the fixing up houses concept (whether Christmas or not, with it being especially variable with Hallmark) and certainly worse Christmas films from 2021, but 'The Holiday Fix Up' just struck me as rather average.

Kramer and McPartlin are both charming bundles of energy and in full command of their roles. Their chemistry is always at ease and very sweet in the latter stages without being overly so. The supporting cast fare well too and didn't find myself frustrated, annoyed or bored by the characters despite them being very cliched.

The production values to me were quite nice, even if at times you can tell it was made in a short amount of time. The scenery is very attractive. The music is also easy on the ears and there are worse offenders out there of being too loud or constant, didn't find either an issue. There are amusingly light hearted and adorable moments.

With all of that being said, 'The Holiday Fix Up' does have a number of issues. The story is very thin, very predictable with all the character and story cliches of this type of film present with nothing new and padded feeling. Hence the draggy feel of the second half which has too much filler, the decorative scenes going on for too long. The writing is messy and unfocused, with a lot of over heated and near-mean spirited bickering that dominated the relationship for a lot of the film and then too much mawkish and too shoehorned in over sentimentality in the final act that felt disjointed tonally.

A final act that has a very run out of ideas and too neat feel, the ending can be seen a mile away and considering what happens in the rest of the film it didn't feel realistic. Do agree as well about there being too much musical monatage and some of it is amateurishly staged and indicative of under-rehearsal. The direction is workmanlike and not much more.

In conclusion, very average but at least it's watchable. 5/10.

Greetings, salutations, and a seasonal welcome to all you movie aficionados. Here are my considerations and recommendation for The Christmas Fix-Up.

Story: 1.25/2 - Direction and Pace: 2.25/4 - Performances: 1.25/2 - Enjoyment: 1.25/2

Total 6.00/10

This Christmas Romance is in the Girl Re-meets Boy vein. After being a couple, they part ways because life became bumpy; and because they'd lost the ability to talk and string a competent sentence together. Now, years later, the couple's paths cross once again. Of course, they do, as Noddy Holder screams, "It's Christmas". Sam is an architectural designer asked by an old friend to help rebuild a part of his lodge damaged in a storm. She tells him she's happy to help, but she'll require a contractor. Luckily, one has stepped forward. Coop, the old flame, who'd previously left her love lights dangling years before. Maybe this year, they can rectify their problems, and he can finally get those lights suitably hung.

We know the outcome of this story from the get-go, so how's the journey to the forgone conclusion? Overall, the writer does a great job of keeping their re-blossoming romance entertaining and light-hearted - There's no need for any hankies in this piccy. She develops them into robust and credible individuals, though a tad more depth wouldn't have gone amiss. Her dialogue is believable and works well to keep everything light and build the heart-warming atmosphere to the finale, where it's most prominent. The scenarios her characters find themselves in are also realistic, though I would've liked Sam to use her camera in Landscape mode when shooting her media footage. She's supposedly a professional, and portrait videos are so amateur. The director should've also spotted this fubar.

The director could've done a little better with his cinematography. He has some nicely composed shots, but there aren't many: The finale cried out for more. It would've added more potency to the film. For me, the filming style was your average pedestrian run-of-the-mill TV fayre and could've done with some zinging up to give it a more festive feel.

The cast is superb. Ryan McPartlin, who I first saw in Chuck as Mr Perfect, was perfect for the role of Coop. Though he's undoubtedly handsome, he brings a Joe Averageness to the role, which makes him easier to relate to. And Jana Kramer was the ideal choice to star opposite him as Sam. These two work well together. When they first meet and realise they're going to be working together, you can feel the prickly relationship. Coop is hesitant, whilst Sam is a tad belligerent. But as they progress, their relationship softens.

All-in-all, Christmas Fix-Up is an entertaining movie to cuddle up with your beloved and a tipple of your choice on a wet afternoon or cold evening. I may even revisit the ravaged lodge sometime, as the film made me smile, and that is always a good thing.

Please check out my HO! HO! HO! Christmas Belles list to see where I ranked the movie.

Take Care, Stay Well, And Best Wishes For A Merry Christmas.

Well they could not have picked two more attractive individuals for this holiday romance...these two are gorgeous! I can see why everyone wants #soop for Christmas, although I am with Coop-whatever that means.

When Rita and Jack moved in to Bel Harbor it was just four walls, it is the people that make it a home.

Sam has a fixer-upper show on something like the DIY network and has been very successful for the last five years. She has avoided going home to Bel Harbor, where it all started, for Christmas by doing an annual Christmas show...which this year they have given to an up and coming fixer upper because her social media presence is off the charts. Then Sam sees that a storm caused damage to her beloved Bel Harbor Inn and she calls her surrogate father to see if he needs help...and indeed he does. Which is how Sam ends up doing a fixer upper in Bel Harbor for Christmas. There she must work with her ex boyfriend Coop and discovers their breakup was not what it seemed five years ago.

This was a fairly run of the mill romance that added both Christmas and a woman doing DIY. If you are in to that...you may enjoy this film. The two leads are very attractive, if that is a draw.

Jana Kramer is one of my favorite Christmas movie stars. If I weren't such a fan of hers this would be lucky to get more than 1 star. Her character, Sam, and Ryan McPartlin's Coop spar, no fight, for almost exactly half the movie. And then suddenly, there's a cease fire and the animosity disappears. But even then, I just didn't feel it even when "that moment" occurs. It didn't feel real. The acting in general was less than I'd expect from these actors.

Sam and Coop get thrown together to repair the inn and "save Harbor fest". There's one formula moment after another including she-falls-and-he-catches-her, the preliminary almost-kiss, a snowball fight, the recently passed mentor, the nostalgia moments, the mysterious but cliche of why-we-really-broke-up, and Coop putting his arms around her to help her do something. There is too much use of musical montage. There are scenes of the two just building or decorating together. The story is completely cliche and the rest is filler. Throw in an unnecessary shot of Kramer's chest in a negligee and later a closeup of another woman in a T-shirt.

Even the attempts at sentimentality at the end feel forced.

The whole movie feels like it was written in a couple hours and filmed in a day.