Un Noël pour deux : Retour à la maison

Jennifer (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) and Meg Swift (Ashley Williams) are sisters and best of friends. Jennifer runs a restaurant which got a coveted spot in a contest. She comes home for Christmas and grows concerned over the sale of their beloved late uncle's theater.

I've always loved the Williams sisters. They are great at being positive which plays well against some comedians. They have been great partners to many TV male comedians. It's rare that they do stuff together. That's the intriguing twist to this Hallmark partnership. Their real-life sisterhood makes it easy for them translate it into on-screen chemistry. The problem is that the structure of the premise leaves them mostly in separate movies. It loses the power of that something new. The constant dive into the off-screen other movie just cuts down the time for their own story. It doesn't really matter anyways because the story isn't that worthwhile. Hallmark should just put the two sisters in the same movie and leave them together. They could solve murders if they want. They would probably do it with big goofy smiles.

This is the first of a two-parter which will conclude next Sunday with Sister Swap: Christmas in the City. Presumably we will be treated to the antics of Ashley Williams who was running her sister Kimberley's restaurant while Kimberley was having her own adventure in their hometown. It was a good idea to have the real-life sisters in the same movie as they are both very popular. They were both a little frantic and over-caffeinated in this, but at least Ashley, whose smiley perkiness is almost legendary, was off-stage through much of the story.

Kimberley, a widow and busy restaurateur with a teenage son returns to her hometown for Christmas for a short visit. The family movie theatre is being sold, and she gets involved with providing one last movie night for her family which turns out to be for the whole town. I won't go into it much, but I was initially very confused over who dead Uncle Dave was, who her parents were, was the guy in the wheelchair her father or her grandfather, Was Uncle Dave the husband of the older lady, who were Nan and Pop, etc. This was probably my fault for not paying better attention at the beginning? I did get it straight pretty quickly, but it was a distraction.

I thought this one was pretty decent with a plot that seemed to hang together pretty well, with a believable solution to the problem of saving the vintage theatre from modern renovation or worse. The resolution will provide a reasonable foundation for the story to move forward in part 2, unless part 2 will be solely contemporaneous with part 1. I appreciated that the corporate overlords were not portrayed as evil or unreasonable, and the sisters did not overdo the sacrifice the future to "save the past at all costs" mentality that is so prevalent in these things. I have always liked Kimberley Williams and the romance with her old school friend provided the main appeal for me. This was largely due to the actor who played him. He was very attractive and charismatic, I thought. He reminded me of the old time movie star, Richard Egan. I also appreciated the character of her teenaged son as well as the actor who played him. He provided some calm balance and sense.

I don't have as high hopes for the sequel because Ashley Williams, although once a favorite, has worn out her welcome with me over the years. The second part with her taking the lead, may be a little too much for me to take. Stay tuned.

I loved the chemistry between the two real-life sisters, Ashley Williams and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. I had no idea that they were sisters, but I also am not typically a year-round Hallmark movie person. Christmas is the thing for me!

These movies are not meant to have massive plot-twists, nor are they rivals for the complexities of say, 'Inception', but I'm realizing how a shortcoming of development can really set movies back. (Novice movie critic here.) I don't think there is enough character development, and there is something missing in terms of relationships. Why was Dave so missed by his sister, which is an atypical 'trope'- usually movies are focused on main relationships, because they tend to reflect real-life. Siblings are always important, but there is not a connection that helps the audience understand why his passing was so devastating for his sister (the Mom).

Likewise, why don't we hear more about the loss of Jennifer's husband?

And also: why did they swap cities...what made that something that was helpful to the end goal of the plot?

And as far as grief is concerned, it seems that Meg (the younger sis who typically lives in the small town, Hazelwood) is in a phase of 'healing from grief'. Is this from her uncle passing, or...something else? If that was addressed, I missed it.

These are the questions that still remain unanswered.

I agree with the other reviewer that Jacob Buster is a star- he is so incredibly impressive, and resonates as an atypically sweet/sensitive teen. I hope that he continues his career, because he has the same charm and charisma as someone like Freddie Highmore, etc.

7 stars for beautiful scenery, natural chemistry between the two leads, and Jacob's efforts.

3 stars missing for lack of plot development, character definition/relationships, and some unanswered questions in general.

I am a fan of the Williams Sisters and Mark Deklin. I watched this movie but I really don't know what it was about. I could not figure out any story line and it seemed like people and the story line was all over the place. I am hoping the sequel next week will be better.

5/10 - contrary to the average IMDb score, I actually liked this movie's companion (A Christmas in the City) a bit more and felt like this one was frankly a little superfluous.