Joy for Christmas

GAC Family have literally just about been formed, but it's not faring too badly. Sure, there have been misfires, such as 'The Great Christmas Switch'. There have also been winners, primarily 'Much Ado About Christmas'. Despite not being a fan of Cindy Busby (at all), Sam Page has done a sizeable amount of above average and even good films and performances. The premise did sound quite cute, though nothing out of the ordinary. Was very willing to give it a fair chance.

'Joy for Christmas' did not live to its name for me, so it wasn't a joy. Actually found it very lacking in it and one of GAC Family's weaker films. The failure does not lie with Page or with the supporting cast, it's the script and story that sink the film and anybody who isn't a fan of Busby are not going to have their feelings converted (strengthened probably). 'Joy for Christmas' isn't awful or a complete mess, but if you want to see whether a newly formed company has been capable of good yet 'Much Ado About Christmas' is a much better bet.

The best aspect is Page, who is very likeable and easy going, not overplaying his role while not phoning in either. The supporting cast on the whole are fine too, with Erin Boyes bringing charm and vigour as the sister.

Did think also that 'Joy for Christmas' didn't look too bad, some very nice scenery here and photographed with care.

However, Busby comes over as much too manic and nothing looked natural about her performance, like she was trying too hard and making everything bigger than needed. Her character could have had more personality and development, while the romantic chemistry is too underused and low key to convince. There is too much of everything to do with the stepbrother, who is an over the top annoying caricature overacted to cartoonish effect by Madison Smith, and it leads to a conflict that is very forced and hasty. Would have liked more development to Page's character, he is the most interesting character in the film and progresses very believably but there could have been more of how he converts and have it happen more gradually.

On the whole, the story is very dull, very predictable in pretty much every area, lacks charm and takes itself a little too seriously. Also thought that it tried to do too much and that it needed to balance its elements a lot better (i.e. Less of the stepbrother, more romance). The script is stilted and also a real cheesefest that is really quite embarrassing to listen to later on. The ending is beyond unrealistic, with everything being resolved too easily, too neatly and in too rushed a manner. The music could have been used less and is forgettable and the direction is routine.

Concluding, rather lacklustre. 4/10.

Joy For Christmas (2021) -

I did not like Sam Page's character Jack at all. I just didn't connect with the cocky sports star type that he played and didn't really fit to be honest. He had none of the charm of his characters from 'Annie Claus Is Coming To Town' (2011) or 'A Godwink Christmas: Second Chance, First Love/Christmas Coincidence 3' (2020).

I couldn't see him giving in to her whims so easily, unless he really wanted to get in to her pants, which didn't seem likely. He was just so awkward in an odd role.

If Sam hadn't had a proven track record, I would probably have given up on the film altogether and I repeatedly felt like doing that.

Cindy Busby as Holly had an eternal optimism that was very annoying and she made everything too daft. Her dress at the end was absolutely hideous too.

The storyline was a very typical collection of clichés and a farcical concept where the leads had to come up with a massive event in a few days and in time for Christmas. It was even worse than other versions of this story that I have seen before.

The Step-Brother (Madison Smith) and Step-Mother (Lauren K. Robes) were stereotypically awful as well, as if they couldn't be bothered to explore their characters or give them any depth.

Not to mention the fact that her Sister Eve (Erin Boyes) could have done so much better than Bob (Wesley MacInnes) who was actually a bit grim and quite irrelevant to the story, as was their lacklustre flirtation.

The whole film felt like the people in charge were still working from old values, because I might have forgiven it more if it had been made 20 years ago, but for a 2021 effort it seemed more than a bit poor just two years later.

The ultimate result of the film was so unbelievable and I found it really unlikely that Jack managed to achieve so much in 24 hours. I believe in Christmas Miracles, but even the elves and Saint Nick would scoff at what they can achieve in these films sometimes.

As much as I like Sam, the performances overall and the story weren't enough to bring me back to this one again.

3.75/10.

Yes I found it weird with step mom and step brother. But they were so focused on helping community children that when they opened their home to these kids, I saw o ly about maybe one and a half dozen kids and not more. Where were all these kids they were so fixated on getting gifts for.

Sam Page is such a good actor, but even he couldn't save this movie. I'm not sure why they paired such a serious actor, who is so good at heartfelt roles, with an actress who is so different from his style. I try to like her, but her reactions in scenes are always so overacted. She comes across as a bratty kid in and adult body. If she would bring it down a few notches, she would be more believable in her roles. This was a nice story idea, but the script was poorly written. The only good thing about the movie was Sam Page. Too bad they wasted his talent on this movie. He works better with more serious actors like Lacey Chabert.

The bones of this story are very much like many other movies where the romantic leads are thrown together to save a family institution. But in this case, it's a charity they are trying to save and the reason for the problem is not the usual slow business but because the family was scammed out of the collected donations. And instead of working on a pageant or a festival or a ball, Holly is trying to inspire Jack's Christmas spirit. The dynamics are different than the usual.

What impressed me in this movie was how natural Cindy Busby and Sam Page were together. Their conversations sounded natural. They really enjoyed their time together.

The climax creating the conflict is interesting and kind of ticked me off. For one thing it didn't make sense why a third party did what he did. And then there is a bit of a twist even if it leads to the expected.

Wesley MacInnes (Wes Mack) plays and sings a few Christmas songs and he sounds great.