Fit for Christmas

Save the fitness center from big time developer. Audrey flees NYC after a boyfriend fight and failed business. The boyfriend won't give up and dangles a good job opportunity back in NY. The lead couple crashes into each other and they exchange unpleasantries. Of course, he is the developer's son. Though the fundraiser project is a bit on the unusual side.

Amanda Kloots brings a lot of energy, maybe a bit too much, to the part of Audrey. She and Paul Greene have good chemistry, but the sparring part of the relationship continues past halfway in the movie. The other acting is good. The script is decent with some funny moments even if most of it is filled with the usual Christmas activities and contests and too much of the checklist "you like him".

Overall, this story is more of the usual stuff with no great highs or lows or surprises. It appeared originally in primetime on a legacy network where it is a little different from their norm, but it would get totally lost amid all the similar movies shown on the 24/7 Christmas movie networks like Hallmark and Lifetime.

While I've enjoyed countless Christmas movies featuring Paul Greene, I'm afraid this one has got to be one of the watch-and-forget Christmas movies of 2022. I find Griffin (Paul's character) to be very off-putting and sometimes downright condescending toward Audrey (Amanda Kloots), and despite all the charm from Paul and bubbly energy coming from Amanda, watching the two of them getting together just felt off to me. The story sends an usual message to impressionable people out there: that it is totally OK for men to bully and mansplain things to women as long as they are charming and women would still fall for them. The fact that the best friend kept hinting just how good looking Griffin was (we get it) the whole time only made the romantic direction of the movie felt even more forced and unnatural. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Hallmark Christmas movies and all the actors and actresses that have tirelessly put out hundreds of feel-good movies for us year after year, but this one really should've been shelved or at least rewritten before it was green-lit in the first place.

It was great! But I'm bias because I'm a huge Amanda Kloots fan. I've been following her forever and she's been a weekly companion in my workout regiments. After watching her on The Talk I was so excited to find out she was doing a Christmas movie. They're not always my go-to holiday flicks but once in a while, on a lazy afternoon, I indulge myself. And I'm glad I did. She was spectacular; especially considering it was her first time. I had seen her co-star Paul Greene on Hallmarks before and I think they really look like they had fun working together.

I have to say though; the actor who played her gorgeous New York fiancée really elevated the film for me. I know that he was never going to end up with her, sadly, but still I found myself rooting for him so much. I think Stephan Miers did an extraordinary job in making me believe every scene he had with Amanda. He didn't have many with Griffin but the ones they did share were really funny! It was such an entertaining rivalry at times. I hope I see Stephan in more of these movies because he brings a fresh authenticity that's often missing.

Also, it was shot really well and the entire town looked beautiful. I wish I could spend Christmas over there to be honest.

Make sure to check out Fit for Christmas this holiday season, it brought me much needed joy and entertainment.

I suggested to my wife we watch this together and share a little holiday romantic time. How bad could it be? Thirty minutes into it she asks "Isn't there a football game on?" Channel changed. We knew it was going to be cheesy and that is what you expect in a Hallmark style holiday movie. But, this was stale even for the tried and true 'finding love at Christmas' formula. Perhaps, the writers should try something a little different? This plot has been tried in so many variations that it is hard to create anything original or fresh. On the bright side, the venue looked great. I find it hard to believe that it wasn't a tourist destination already.

I like movies like this, but somehow. Audrey wasn't quite what I am looking for. Amanda Kloots is pretty enough when she dresses up and she looks great in exercise wear, but her personality doesn't do much for me most of the time. I like my romantic comedy females cuter.

I actually found myself liking the villain but never quite accepted him as a possible match for Audrey. Paul Greene was quite charming and he could be likable, even if I was rooting for the town to stay the same.

It was a beautiful town both inside the buildings and out, with nice people, and the snow was nice. I only like snow when it is on a TV screen or in a photo or decorations. The overhead shots with the mountains were great.

It was fun watching the process of saving the town, even if that didn't necessarily mean what we all hoped for. This movie pretty much sticks to the formula.

Some of the music was good but I definitely didn't care for the so-called Christmas music in Audrey's exercise classes. Even if it was a classic song, anything in that class was not my idea of good music and definitely not at Christmas.

There is one cute scene with a little boy who has two lines.

Is this family friendly? I didn't see anything wrong. CBS aired two movies in this genre last year and both were TV-G. I don't see why this one couldn't have been as well, though one married couple was talking about what they had to do to have a baby, and maybe Audrey doing amazing things with her body bordered on naughty. The woman is quite flexible.

Can I recommend this movie? If you just want to watch movies like this over and over, probably, but I can't say for sure this was as good as some others. If you get tired of them and want to choose a few, maybe not this one. It just depends on the kind of woman you're looking for.