La Robe de la mère Noël

Well didn't Julie Benz age well? I hope it's not all plastic? I did wish that Paul Hopkins had been as lucky, he was adorable in "Tales Of The City" as the second of three 'Mice' but in this he looked like he had been covered in oil to go with his greasy character. I still have love for David Sutcliffe, who makes an excellent Claus, but he's definitely better with a beard, despite his similarities to Scott Bakula without it.

However, none of that really has anything to do with the film itself.

I liked this story. Generally where a shop is concerned I can appreciate the story from my years as a retail slave, so it was always going to interest me and I love it when there's a Santa's Grotto.

I did feel that they had perhaps one story too many going on and that detracted from the main romance itself. It wouldn't have been so noticeable if they just made some of these films fifteen minutes longer, so that they could develop all of the characters. You are still rooting for them both all the way through it though.

The question we are left with in the end is, could he possibly have been the real Father Christmas? I'd like to believe he was.

Update 13/10/22 -

The first time I watched this film,I really liked it, so I was probably not in the right mood this time, because it just seemed a bit twee and some of the acting was quite poor, or I probably just fancied David Sutcliffe as Nick a bit more back then.

He was still cute and I liked the idea of him potentially being the real "Saint" Nick, but I prefer to think that there really are good people out there that do nice things for the benefit of others.

Julie Benz was okay as Meredith, but personally I think that the idea of Mrs Claus is cute, but not essential, so I don't see the need for her to be at Santa's village. I certainly don't believe that many people turn up to see her at any point in December, it's all about the man with the bulging sack really. That element of the story didn't hurt anything though.

As much as I loved him as Michael Mouse in 'More/Further Tales Of The City' (1998-2001), I didn't like Paul Hopkins as the creepy Daniel in this one. He had none of that charm from before and seemed ugly for his behaviour.

Not all of the cast were actually even that capable of acting. As usual the child actor was awful, but mostly because the character of Tyler was a brat, which was no wonder when his Mother, Jessie wasn't particularly nice either. Along with Olivia, the characters were not delivered with any nuance or apparent ability, which was a shame, because the film clearly had a fairly good budget to afford stronger supporting artists and the production team seemed to know what they were doing, but I believe that the whole thing could have been far more "Charming".

With that said, I'm not sure I could get excited about the lighting of such an awful looking Christmas tree, which is always where these films let themselves down. It looked like they had seen it fallen down on the side of the road and decided it would do and its decoration was poor at best.

The retail part of Christmas can be magic or awful. When you take the magic out of providing the perfect thing for the perfect person and turn it in to how much money you can make from selling tat, that's when it becomes awful. This film tries to show that here. I believe that Father Christmas had the right idea in 'A Miracle On 34th Street' (1947/1994). It's all about the child and the family of course, being happy on Christmas Day and not about profits and margins. When the world realises this in a more general way, we could start to live in a utopia instead of the dystopia we are already stuck in.

It was easy to watch, but seemed to have lost a spark somewhere.

5.5/10.

In this story about a Nick Claus, some Christmas magic is hinted, but never demonstrated conclusively. Many good things happen to different people in almost miraculous ways.

The biggest miracle is Meredith, played by Julie Benz. Boy is she a Scrooge at the start. She is a rude workaholic that doesn't tolerate anything that isn't business. When she puts on the Mrs. Claus dress and stands in front of the children waiting for Nick dressed as Santa, I expected disaster. Instead she took the first step toward being human.

David Sutcliffe, as Nick, is totally confident. He has a demeanor that makes you think he knows things, and he could really be Santa. He handles Meredith masterfully and the chemistry between him and Benz is complex and grows.

Aidan Wojtak-Hissong is fairly unknown, but quite cute as Tyler. He also plays the you-can't-fool-me kid pretty well.

My only real complaint about the movie is that some transitions are forced which interferes with the flow and feeling of the movie.

Julie Benz is about 43 in this movie playing a 30-ish Meridith, but it was just fine. David Sutcliffe as Nick is about 46 and I didn't realize it was him playing Rory's dad on the Gilmore girls about 10 years prior (he looked and sounded familiar). Julie and David were great together. The kid was also great. We did doze on this one about 30+ minutes into the movie, we re-winded and revitalized and enjoyed the movie.

One scene in which she was looking at Nick's resume quickly. I paused it and read that he had been CEO of "Toys for the World" located in Spitsbergen which is an island in the Arctic Circle. The movie was OK but not great. Enjoyed it.

Throughout my whole Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas film completest quest undertaken namely late last year through to early this year, an interesting quest but very mixed one, there was never the mentality of expecting a classic or the film in question to be flawless. Something that was never managed with Hallmark's output. There was always the expectation of seeing a film where one can see at least some effort rather than merely cash-in level. One could see that with most of Hallmark's output but not all.

'Charming Christmas' as far as Hallmark's Christmas films go fares quite well and is definitely worth watching and remembering. It is not flawless or a classic, but have come overtime to not expect any of those things watching a Hallmark Christmas film and have always tried to not judge them too seriously. Have seen the two leads in other things and they have shown that they can be good with the right material, which they do have once 'Charming Christmas' gets going.

It is a bit slow to begin with, the set up taking a little too long and Julie Benz's character is not easy to warm to at first. Grinch-like characters are not easy to play, and the grinch-like personality here is a little too overdone.

Some of the dialogue early on is pretty ropey too, the cheese really stinking up the room. The music could have been toned down too tonally and in placement, too constant and too loud.

However, it is worth sticking with 'Charming Christmas' if in any initial doubt as to me it did get a lot better. The production values still manage to be pleasing. It's not too drab or garish in photography, the editing didn't seem rushed or disorganised and the scenery has a real charm to it. Some of the music has some pleasant nostalgic moments. The dialogue is not great to begin with but improves when the plot properly kicks in, not being too sweet and it flows at least.

Furthermore, the story is light-hearted and really warms the heart without going into over-saccharine territory. The characters were on the most part ones easy to get behind and carry the film well. The acting is well above average, with Benz being very engaging once her character became easier to warm to and expressive. Every bit as good is charming David Sutcliffe and the two have genuine and natural chemistry together. The two characters actually grow, Benz's character does become easier to warm to and Sutcliffe's is not too perfect too early. The supporting cast are good too.

Concluding, worthwhile and worth remembering if not quite a must watch. 7/10.

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM HONEST

If you don't like Hallmark Christmas Films then avoid this. I know their films are not ground breaking and they have a "Cookie cutter" "Color by numbers" quality about them. I want to however inform you that there is plenty of people like me who enjoy these films on cold Winters night. They are enjoyable because they do bring a smile to my heart. This film however is a little far fetched but the leads are cast well and you are rooting for them to fall in love.

In this film a woman Meredith Rossman an uptight heiress of Rossman's Department store. She has made the business her entire life. She has no life outside of her job. But when she is roped into donning the store's antique Mrs. Claus outfit to play Mrs. Claus at Rossman's famous Santaville, her life takes some unexpected turns.

I will watch this one again