L'Étrange Noël de Lauren

I really enjoy watching all the new Hallmark movies that come out each Christmas season and I never tire of the happy endings that bring joy and hope to all of us. Thank you, Hallmark, for doing that. This movie was especially enjoyable because there was no music during the talking, unless it was a climatic scene, so you could hear each word clearly. Appreciate that very much.

I loved the story about a young city doctor getting used to a small town in Alaska, knowing all her patients personally and finding true love with views of the Northern Lights. Nothing could be better than that. The acting was professional, yet charismatic. They were all charming and fun to watch. This added to this memorable holiday movie. I would watch this over and over and so would my family. The ending has a magical surprise.

Candace Cameron Bure is perfectly cast as an up and coming surgeon to be as she works so hard to earn a fellowship to one of the most prestigious hospitals in Boston where her father's own career flourished. As with all of us, life gets in the way with some of our best laid plans and the young and attractive Lauren Brunell (Candace Cameron Bure) finds her plans falling totally apart both in her career and relationship plans.

Begrudgingly (at first) Lauren accepts a an offer to work in a small remote town in of all places Alaska where the first person she meets is her cab driver Andy Holliday (David O'Donnell) who is going to take her into town not by car but by a single engine plane as the town is that remote.

As each day passes Lauren becomes more attached to the town, it's people and of course that first connection she had with her pilot/chauffer Andy. This is a simple Hallmark romantic Christmas themed made for TV movie that will warm your heart if you are a romantic, and get you to roll your eyes more than once if you are a realist. So which are you?

I give it a 6 out of 10 IMDB rating. It's good for the heart and is the soul of Christmas.

I enjoyed this movie for the interspersed humor, beautiful scenery, interaction of the main actors and mostly because it was relaxing to watch. I watch movies like this to relax and NOT be jarred out of a calm mood and this one succeeded. The overall concept wasn't original, and for the most part the end was predictable, so if you want surprises, this probably isn't for you. But for me, overall, the movie worked.

San Francisco doctor Candace Cameron Bure reluctantly takes a job in a small town in Alaska as she waits to hear about the fellowship in Boston she wants. This is a woman with her life all planned out. She doesn't want to stray from that plan but, of course, she finds that she has to in order to truly be happy. That's the moral of this story and, yes, it seems awfully familiar if you've seen other made-for-TV romantic comedies and dramas Candace has done. The big city doctor who learns life lessons working in a small town (Finding Normal). The guy she falls for doesn't want to take over the family business (Let It Snow). There are other similarities to movies she's done (particularly Finding Normal) but, you know, it really doesn't hurt anything. It's a fun, sentimental movie. It doesn't challenge you but that's okay. I enjoyed watching it and that's all that really matters.

As with all of her TV movies, Candace's likability and personality is the primary selling point. She's also very pretty, which doesn't hurt. I don't think the red hair is the right fit for her but it wasn't too distracting. At first glance, I wasn't sold on David O'Donnell. So often in these TV movies the male lead is weak compared to the female lead. But he's actually charming and appealing. For the most part the characters are all nice and pleasant but a couple of them did annoy me. Candace's mom is well-intentioned but pushy and the lady who runs the coffee shop is kind of obnoxious. The subplot romance between the nurse and the florist's son is very cute and adorable. The standout in the supporting cast is the great Brian Doyle-Murray. I won't spoil his character's twist but let's just say if you're a cynic, you'll projectile vomit all over the screen. I got a kick out of it though. Corny as all-get-out but I had a big stupid grin on my face so it worked on me. If you like Candace Cameron Bure, you'll surely like this. It's one of her best movies yet. That it's a Christmas movie just makes it that much more enjoyable.

Candace Cameron Bure in the right roles comes over to me as a likeable actress, with an easy-going screen presence and doesn't resort to over-compensating or looking bored. That may not be the case with others, but that's my stance. Have not liked everything she's done, and it has nearly always been to do with the writing and her characters rather than her when she isn't so good, but her best work is nice and undemanding that nobody should expect too much from.

That is the case with 'Christmas Under Wraps'. Am not going to say that it is a great film or a masterpiece because it isn't and its flaws are not small. Have also seen better Christmas films. 'Christmas Under Wraps' is though sweet, amiable entertainment, that did make me smile and feel warm inside, and a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours or so, succeeding in not trying to do more than it needed to do while always showing signs of trying. Of my recent Hallmark/Lifetime etc. festive quest, this has been towards the better end.

Of course 'Christmas Under Wraps' is not perfect by any stretch. One of its biggest problems being that it is goof and continuity-ridden (am not trying to nit-pick), and unfortunately too many of them are very distracting and badly affect any authenticity. It is one of those films, not unexpectedly though, that one knows how everything is going to map out much of the time with it being pretty formulaic.

Some of the dialogue is pretty cheesy, laying it on somewhat too thick on the corn, and there is a twist that is made out to be big but isn't really at the end of the day, not surprising or earth-shattering in the least.

However, both Bure and David O'Donnell are charming and likeable leads, especially Bure, with an easy-going chemistry that never came over as stiff. Brian Doyle-Murray and Kendra Mylnechuk are standouts of the solid supporting cast, very lively and full of charisma. None of the characters bored or annoyed me, even the standard somewhat over-bearing mother trope. Anybody that wants their hearts warmed and wants to be charmed for a couple of hours, while seeing something inoffensive and something different on the television are likely though to find much to like about 'Christmas Under Wraps'. The film looks quite good with a picturesque and at its best stunning setting that makes one want to be there, complemented nicely by the photography. The soundtrack when used creates nostalgia and puts a smile on the face.

While the story may be formulaic, it is also immensely charming and heart-warming that never tries to be too complicated while not being too cardboard-thin. There is nothing mean-spirited about it, very feel-good actually, and it is genuinely moving without going overboard on the sentimentality, other than the continuity nothing else really insults the intelligence.

Altogether, nice film. 7/10