Mystic Christmas

Having seen and enjoyed Jessy Schram in several other Hallmark movies, I was looking forward to this. However, I just couldn't get into this one at all. Her character wasn't particularly bad, but pretty much everyone in every scene talks so fast and frantically that virtual no interactions seemed natural. That was done by basically the whole cast which makes me think that the director told everybody to read their lines really fast. I assume that was supposed to make them all seem really quirky, but again, it just led to almost every interaction feel very unnatural.

Also, the two romantic leads in this acted particularly uncomfortable around each other to the extent it felt like both were back in 6th grade when placed together.

There was also one montage in a bookstore that was supposed to be funny and cute but was really painful to watch.

Ultimately Jessy Schram was just passable in this and everyone else was basically a drag on this film. She has done much better in previous Hallmark films.

I enjoyed the movie as a decent "time pass". I liked Jessy Schram in the role of Juniper who I know from her role of Dr. Hanna Asher in Chicago Med. However I can't figure out who creates the page on this site. I see Shravan Amin being credited in the cast list when he appeared for may be 3 - 4 seconds and said a word of 2. While Brooke, I believe that was the name of the character, who had a fairly decent role and was involved a whole lot more is not mentioned anywhere. Not even in the extended list of "Full Cast and Crew.".

I liked the premise of some missed past connections and history without making a mess of it.

Marine biologist Dr. Juniper Jones (Jessy Schram) is a self-declared introvert who likes to travel around the world by herself. Her best friend Candice Adams (Patti Murin) needs her help back home. The only problem is that Candice's brother Sawyer Adams (Chandler Massey) is there. She claims that she declared her love to him in a school crush email. There is a dispute over the facts.

Jessy Schram is always adorable. She does try to be awkward for this role although she could try harder. The comedy is right there for the taking. She needs to be more klutzy for the physical humor. She does do fine with the verbal vomit sometimes. She's a little too put together. Otherwise, I love her as always and the guy is a good match. That's all one could ask for in a Hallmark Christmas movie. It's certainly not drama.

7.5 stars.

First impression after several minutes of puns, quick witted dry humor, and pithy remarks much too clever for normal humans...this was written by a 'Gilmore Girls' writer. So now I'm looking to see if these writers or director did in fact have any association with Gilmore. And the answer is: nope. To bed with that theory. So if you've seen Gilmore, think of the banter they share back and forth and back and forth ad nauseum and then swap Rory with a shy and hesitant seal loving blond named Juniper (Schram) and trade Lorelai or Melissa McCarthy's character with Juniper's best friend Candice, and then switch one of the more interesting and loquacious men of Gilmore (not Ventimiglia's character who was way too gloomy) with our lead male Sawyer, and that's 'Mystic Christmas' in a nutshell. Come to think of it, now on this soapbox, there were no men in 'Gilmore Girls' with any notable redeeming qualities. I digress.

This will hold your attention mostly, although there are a few slow parts. The leads share a very skittish romance to say the least. They are both frightened of the concept of following through with love or commitment. Question: did the email get sent or not? You will find out, but it's a bit underplayed in my opinion. I liked 'Mystic Christmas', I hope they make a sequel, finger's crossed.

Jessy Schram has at times been at the very top of my favorite actresses list. The leaders often drop down if I don't see them in anything for a while. This movie brought her back to the top for now.

This movie was made for Schram. She gets to use her many talents in acting, romance and comedy. Her comedy isn't one dimensional. She has screen presence. She uses a lot of physical comedy with body language and gestures, facial expressions, and great timing. There were a couple of cases where she and others were delivering lines simultaneously and the timing had to be perfect. And she has great energy.

Schram's timing with Chandler Massey was excellent. There was an obvious comfort level. Their characters had obvious affection.

The story? Who cares. I was enjoying the characters. The story was good enough but followed obvious lines. There was some quirkiness. Some of the Christmas activities were out of the ordinary. No snow ball fights. The ending had a little twist.

All in all a great Christmas movie and I even laughed.

BTW pet peeve. I hate when you can't read text messages. Maybe if you have great eyes. Hallmark don't you know you have a significant audience of Senior citizens many of whom don't have great eyesight? This movie is the worst I can remember for unreadable phone and computer screens.