The Secret Gift of Christmas

This movie owes five of its seven stars to our lead, Meghan Ory, who looks remarkably like Jessica Pare (Mad Men). Yet, that's not her only positive quality. Ory just shines in every scene. She's a personal shopper, because apparently that's a thing. She never talks budget with her clients that we see, but that doesn't seem to be a concern for anyone. She meets a handsome construction guy and through gift giving, falls in love. Don't ask me how it works, but it does. This is a charming movie. I saw a few negative reviews, and I just don't get it. I'm as judgy as the next person, but this was a cute movie that was helped a lot by its leads.

This movie is a knockoff of the enchanting "A Gift Wrapped Christmas". I enjoyed the original so much, I thought I would give this one a try. Boy, was I disappointed. There was zero chemistry between the leads. The script was largely uninspired. It was like the director took the story boards from the original and turned out a two-dimensional talk fest that echoes the movie on which it is based solely by its plot elements. There were times I could hear the cue cards in the actors' delivery. In particular, the lead actress turns in a performance so wooden, that I wondered if she had recently overdosed on Botox injections. Her constant smile never got to engaging and went right to creepy. If you have not seen "A Gift Wrapped Christmas", find a copy of that to watch rather than this garbage.

This is virtually the same movie as A Gift Wrapped Christmas, and not just by the general story, practically scene by scene, it hits all the same beats. But A Gift Wrapped Christmas had genuine humor and a far more engaging lead in Meredith Hagner. This is essentially an interior remake, and you'd be far better served to set your dvr for the de facto original.

This is virtually the same movie as A Gift Wrapped Christmas, and not just by the general story, practically scene by scene, it hits all the same beats. But A Gift Wrapped Christmas had genuine humor and a far more engaging lead in Meredith Hagner. This is essentially an interior remake, and you'd be far better served to set your dvr for the de facto original.

I love Christmas movies and Hallmark makes some of the best. (I want to live in that alternate universe.) Few of them are truly great but they are usually a comforting break. But this one was more annoying than anything. Primarily because they made the female lead way over the top.

This is basically a rewrite of the 2015 Lifetime movie A Gift Wrapped Christmas, but that one was able to create an overly enthusiastic lead who also managed to be charming.

An attractive cast and simple story line make this a quiet wat to pass the time if you can tolerate the lead character. But given a choice, I would strongly recommend you track down A Gift. Wrapped Christmas instead.

This is a cute Christmas movie about a Christmas personal shopper who is hired by her new client's nephew. She surprises the new client, Patrick, by excitedly talking about shopping, what to buy, etc. Patrick is totally annoyed. She buys Patrick a sweater that is too small for him, so she suggests that he go shopping with her, so she can get the right size.

This is a good movie, but the other movies that I've seen them in (Megan Ory was in the hilarious "Dashing Through the Snow," and Christopher Russell was in "Love and Glamping" and "Chasing Waterfalls." Christopher Russell is at his best when he plays outdoorsy types). Cute movie; but I don't think I want to watch it again.