Romance secrète à Noël

Smart, funny, moving, spontaneous, these aren't always the adjectives I'd give some Hallmark Christmas movies, but this is one of the few that has all of that, and more. This movie clicks because of the chemistry of the whole cast - they seem to be truly enjoying themselves and at times it almost seems like they ad lib. Part of the fun is going along for the ride that this movie provides.

It wasn't bad, but the main character did become tedious to watch and horrible to LISTEN to. Where does Hallmark find these actresses who have voices like chipmunks? My 11 yr old granddaughter has a more mature voice. Makes it hard to take the movie seriously. She is supposed to hold a position of seniority as a career, yet she acts like a child. Ridiculous.

The story line was okay, although I found myself skipping forward to get through her absurd dates and vacuous search for Mr. Right among old boyfriends. I finally just zoomed to the ending. There are good actors in the movie that give good performances, but I just wanted to drown the main character to shut her up.

I try to watch all of the Hallmark movies. There are very few I haven't seen. I watch them all in hopes of stumbling upon another Moonlight Masquerade, Holiday in Handcuffs, Straight from the Heart, My Fake Fiancée, A Family Thanksgiving, or Gift Wrapped Christmas. It's almost a game with me. These are some of my favorites off the top of my head, and let me tell you, Hallmances that I would re-watch are few and far between. It's no coincidence that my favorites usually feature talented actresses, usually with a flair for comedy, in the title roles: Teri Polo, Daphne Zuniga, and Melissa Joan Hart. Now, I will also add Meredith Hagner to the list. Her sprightly presence is not the only reason this movie succeeds, but it is an important factor. To that I will add a very appealing male lead, good writing (funny situations, dialogue, a few heart-tugs, and a twist even I did not see coming) and an older fan-favorite as an anchor: in this case, Gregory Harrison. Every once in a while, there is a perfect storm of actors, writing, and directing that makes my mission to at least give all of the Hallmark movies a chance, worthwhile. Why doesn't it happen more often?

**Updated 11/16/2017**sad to say, it looks like Meredith Hagner has moved on from Hallmark. I hope I am wrong, but I guess she was just too good to become a regular.

I loved this film. Meredith and Bobby and the whole crew are the best actors I've seen to date on a hallmark movie. They are very believable in their roles. Meredith is so bubbly and appealing. They are all so good together and it is such a fun movie... my husband loves these hallmark movies and this is the only one I don't mind watching repeatedly. Lots of quirky humor in this. Funny remarks and one liners Amost a musical The gifts are entertaining and it's fun to pick them out in different places in the movie. Surprise ending, but also a few surprise endings. The story line was really pretty clever and something a little different than the average story. And Bobby is a great dancer!

As a couple, we love watching Hallmark Christmas movies and never miss one. We tried watching this together tonight, but my husband couldn't take Meredith Hagner's voice and perkiness. Now I'm the one with a thing about annoying voices, so it surprised me when he said it bothered him. So, we didn't watch it together, which is a first for us. I'm watching the rest of it by myself and don't find it to be too awfully bad. The plot is good, but Meredith Hagner is annoying, I'm sorry to say. I hope she won't be a staple actor among the Hallmark troupe of players because next year I'd really like to be able to see all the movies offered for Christmas. The rest of the actors were very good, particularly Gregory Harrison whom I've always liked since his soap opera days.