Joyeux Noel

A romantic painting of a Christmas market captures the imagination of copy editor and wannabe reporter, Lea. She is sent to France with pragmatic reporter "moody" Mark to uncover the mystery behind the artist. While Lea is all eager to solve the puzzle, Mark is less excited, somewhat annoyed at being sent on an assignment which is beneath him. Lea and Mark are total opposites. Lea tends to correct Mark's speech, which is annoying. Mark has his own view on how to research a story.

The French Market town is very festive, decorated with Christmas lights and featuring an accordion player, multiple shops, hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts and singers. Lea goes around the shops but it is embarrassing how she speaks to vendors and passersby. Meanwhile, Mark tries to get some sleep (jet lag) but is bothered by Sophie, the landlords daughter. The cute gnomes left around by Sophie are a highlight. Wonder why she isn't listed in the cast on imbd.

Jaicy Elliot, as Lea, is the wrong person for this role. She has deadpan delivery and facial expressions are equally blah. She dresses in a boring coat and beret and her French accent in pronouncing "Merci" is also blah. There is no chemistry between herself and Brant Daughtery.

An interesting feature of this movie is that the plot was written by Brant Daughtery's wife, Kimberly. Maybe she should have been cast in this movie along with her husband.

This is another quest at Christmas movie combined with a jaded reporter. There are many other common themes, but somehow there was a bit of freshness to the presentation. Perhaps a lot of that is the setting in France and the inclusion of French traditions rather than the usual American ones. The quest goes pretty much as you would expect with one big exception but it held my attention.

What is it that makes Jaicy Elliot appeal to me while so many other reviewers don't like her acting? Perhaps my first impression of her in Romance in Style cemented my like for her. It certainly isn't because her appearance is like so many of the other gorgeous Hallmark stars. Yes, Lea is naive, and she is supposed to be. Yet there is a deeper wisdom there. And there is chemistry with the jaded Brant Daugherty's Mark. The dialogue is good.

One very common plot device in most movies with reporters isn't done here and I'm so glad. I don't want to give spoilers so I won't describe it.

I loved the ending. Again, I don't want to give spoilers so I won't say why.

This is the 3rd Hallmark movie I've seen the female lead in and unfortunately, she seems to act the same in all of them. She tends to have a very flat affect - maybe it's her inherent personality and not her acting. But she doesn't seem to ever be overy excited or overly upset. She just .... IS. .. whether she's tracking down a msytery story in this movie or designing couture clothes or tracking down a father she never knew. It isn't the worst movie Hallmark has ever made, but it won't go down in history as one of their most popular ever. The authentic location really saves it. For once, Hallmark spent some cash and filmed in France instead of trying to make Vancouver look like France. Whoever oversaw the wardrobe should be fired. The female lead is a plus-size woman, apparently Hallmark's attempt at body positivity. She's very attractive, but was dressed in clothes at least 2 sizes too small for her. The winter coat especially was nothing short of criminal. It was a nice sashed wrap-style coat but she was forced to wear it like a bolero. It was literally inches short of even meeting in front, much less wrapping. She kept tugging on it and trying to straighten it over her bust, almost self-consciously. If it had been 2 sizes bigger, it would have wrapped and fit nicely and she'd have looked slimmer and sleeker than she did poured into a too-small coat and fighting it constantly. Somebody in the wardrobe department needs some pointers in dressing plus-size people. They hired a plus-size lead, but then don't treat her with the respect due a lead. I'd bet my last dollar Lacey Chabert's wardrobe fits her perfectly. Everytime ;-)

I had waited to watch this movie because the ads made it seem like it was going to be tough to watch. All I could focus on when seeing the ads is how the female lead is so monotone and has such a flat delivery.

Having watched the movie, I will say that this is certainly a problem that detracts from the story, which is unfortunate because I love the idea of more realistically sized women being leading ladies. The national average is closer to a size 14 than a size 0, I think they should have no trouble finding an average-sized woman who can deliver lines more convincingly. I've only seen her in this movie, so it's hard for me to know whether she's not a good actor or if she just wasn't good in this part. Who knows, maybe it was because they put her in a jacket that was 2-3 sizes too small that she was self-conscious and struggled to be comfortable as the character.

Also, I understand that characters must grow towards each other to fall in love on these hallmark movies but they started out at such different places. In the beginning he so clearly did not respect her and she came off as detached and disinterested so it was hard to buy into them being potential love interests or them being in love at the end. As I was watching, by the end I felt they gave off 'friend vibes' not 'hopelessly in love vibes'.

It's unfortunate because I liked the idea - it was different than the run-of-the-mill hallmark Christmas movie with the usual checklist of plot points - but the execution didn't live up to its potential.

Brant Daugherty was okay in this but if i'm being honest, as much as I found Jaicy Elliot decentish in Grey's Anatomy, I must say she was a bit awful in this film. Still, it's Christmas season and I'm going to binge on the glut of films that are coming out. It's just like an adrenaline rush of happiness, which I really love at this time of the year.

Not an awful film at all but you will find better plots and slightly better story lines and casting. Still, you'll feel warm afterwards which is a plus and you know where the endings going from the start, which is reassuring. Hope you enjoy it; the highlight was the beautiful scenery for me. Such pristine landscapes.