A Carol for Two

I liked the music and singing. The 2 Broadway stars have beautiful voices and it was enjoyable to watch them.

Unfortunately, the cousin was in most of the movie and was so annoying I didn't know if I could finish watching. The script really didn't have to make him so unsympathetic. He was very flamboyant, also. Just didn't fit well as a potential date for Violette. His character was immature and he'd be better off with someone younger. Like college age. Just way, way over the top. I guess it was supposed to be funny. It wasn't.

The final song was lovely. These are 2 talented people and it would be nice to see them together in another movie. Without the clown.

The story of aspiring singers hoping for Broadway roles isn't that inventive, but the male and female leads are attractive and nice in their roles. Separately, their singing is very fine, and it was nice to hear some real Christmas carols with religious overtones, since Christmas is ... as often seems to be forgotten in these films ... a religious holiday.

Unfortunately, in their duets, the leads can't seem to find just one key to agree on. Their duet on "The Christmas Song" was downright painful in places. Ginna Mason could never find the key Jordan Litz played and sang, and they both hit a couple of clangers along the way. Hard to believe they couldn't tell that and correct it in post, at least.

However, the BIG problem with this film is Gino Anania, the second male lead. His part was poorly written, making the character a annoyance with every appearance. And Gino overplayed the role to make it double or triple as annoying as it might otherwise have been, making me tempted to just bag this thing a few times. I'm not sure why, but we managed to stick it out, wasting two hours of our lives.

I love Christmas movies! However, I could not finish watching this movie. I could deal with the lead, Alex. He was beginning to show different levels so he had promise. The HUGE stumbling block was the over-the-top cousin, Brad. He was soooo bad; obnoxious and creepy. I couldn't take it anymore. I rarely quit a movie in the middle very often, this was the second one in as many days. It seems this year, Hallmark is striking out more than it's succeeding with inane scripts and subpar acting, or just doesn't have much of an acting pool of talent to choose from. I would recommend passing this movie by and finding an older Hallmark movie to watch.

I was fine with the movies storyline. Both leads can act and sing-would like to see them together with a better script. With a little more chemistry, they might become a very watchable duo. The owner of the restaurant did a great job-the cousin, not so much. He drug it down it by being so over-the-top. Perhaps that was the part he was supposed to play? But he needed a good bit more editing. And he needed to be believable. Movie needed a little more depth(why the lead was never, ever rightly irritated by his crass cousin, more of the bond between dad and daughter, and was Violette promised a part already in the show that never got off the ground). Anyway......it did have some very good moments. Enjoyed the final song too.

I confess I didn't see the whole movie - I found it while flipping channels. At first, I didn't think that the leads were all that appealing, but as I watched I felt a good chemistry between them. Ginna has a real girl next door vibe and, well, Jordan was kind of dorky in a Clark Kent way. They grew on me, though.

Then they started to sing. Wow. This is not a classical musical in the way that the characters spontaneously break into song, but where the singers are characters doing their jobs. Doesn't matter, they have great voices and I hope that Hallmark casts them into similar roles in the future.

I see some of the other reviews complaining about the 3rd corner of the triangle, and I can't disagree, but it makes more sense than the many Hallmark movies where a (usually female) character dumps a long term, perfectly nice partner for a guy she's just met. I thought that Gino's character was just annoying enough to deserve the dumping but appealing enough not to appear actively evil or mean.