La Petite Boutique de Noël

I Have Reviewed OVER 500 "Christmas Films and Specials". Please BEWARE Of films and specials with just one review! For instance When "It's a POSITIVE" chances are that the reviewer was involved with the production. "If its Negative" then they may have a grudge against the film for whatever reason. I am fare about these films.

Review Date 11/18/2018

A real estate developer is given the opportunity of his career to transform an old shopping complex into a prime location. Unfortunately, there is one tenant who is holding out-the Christmas shop owner he met by happenstance just days ago.

Not the greatest but so by the numbers that if you have seen one Hallmark movie then you should wait a day or so before watching this one.

This is the 2nd Christmas movie I've seen with the lovely Ellen Hollman- The Perfect Christmas List (2014) and that one was a little better with some humor, but not that good. Also saw Bobby Campo in My Christmas Love (2016) which was not good. My complaint is there was no creativity or depth in the story. I enjoyed the first 30 minutes with the festive colors and such. My wife and I both fell asleep at the 60 minute mark. The title of the movie should have been "The Christmas Shop" because that was the focus of the movie. Ellen Hollman just was just not suited for this role as the happy Christmas Shop owner. The scenes where she was not happy with Bobby Campo were the best. Cynthia Gibb has had small parts in many of these Christmas movies as she did here (not that good). She stars in one of my favorite Christmas movies "Mary Christmas (2002)" which had an excellent story. She needs another starring Christmas role.

This Christmas movie which is new in 2017 uses a greatly overused premise. The pretty young lady, Stephanie, is about have her family business of 40 years evicted because of a new owner that wants to renovate. The handsome guy she just met and might have just a bit of romantic interest in is the one who will handle the renovation and thus is responsible for her eviction. One slightly different take is that this guy, Michael, immediately sees how precious the store is both to Stephanie and to the community. However, his boss is adamant about not finding a compromise. This last bit doesn't ring true since otherwise his boss appears to be fairly reasonable and has at least some motherly affection for Michael, and she is leasing new businesses anyway.

The story doesn't progress much beyond developing the relationship between Stephanie and Michael, and further demonstrating what has already been made plain, i.e. that the shop is precious and even a little unusual. It only remains to be seen which overused plot device will be found to save the store since it is hard to believe that a Hallmark movie could have an unhappy ending.

Ellen Hollman and Bobby Campo make an attractive couple as Stephanie and Michael. It is a bit unusual that they hit it off immediately without the usual conflict we usually have between the two that are obviously destined by the writers to be together. David Starzyk, as Stephanie's father, provides a few humorous moments, but seriously Dan, couldn't you be just a little quicker getting away with something without your wife seeing it?

While the characters are charming, the story is flat so I recommend this movie only for those who are truly addicted to Hallmark Christmas movies.

Really wanted to like 'Sharing Christmas' a lot more. The story did sound very tired and predictable from having been used with not an awful lot of variation many times, but as a fan of Christmas and as someone who has admittedly liked a fair share of Hallmark's festive films (while not caring for a lot of them too). For a while having been watching Christmas films from Hallmark films as part of a completest quest and it has been an uneven endeavour but an oddly interesting one.

'Sharing Christmas' is one of the ones that didn't do an awful lot for me and somewhere in the below average category. Really did want to be among the positive reviewers and had the intent to at least like it and take it for what it was and aimed to be. Sadly, while there are things done quite well there is a lot here that is not good. Is 'Sharing Christmas' a terrible film? Not quite. Is it good? No, not even close in my view, and do have to agree with those that were mixed to negative on it.

There are good things about 'Sharing Christmas'. The acting to me was one of the better assets, Ellen Hollman does work hard in making her character as appealing as possible and Bobby Campo is a charming leading man. While their chemistry doesn't entirely sparkle, and a lot of the problem is down to how the relationship is written, the chemistry is there and it is an easy going and genuine one. The supporting performances are better than average too, with Cynthia Gibb stealing her scenes.

Photography is quite nice as is some of the scenery. The film starts off quite well, quite conventional but it did charm and engage at least.

A shame that the rest of 'Sharing Christmas' did not. While the cast are fine, they are hampered by wafer thin and well worn cliches passing for characters. Ones that are not developed enough and sometimes behave too stupidly to root for them. They are also let down, even more so, by the even thinner script that is filled to the brim and beyond with awkward cheese and over-sentimentality with all the corn and schmaltz feeling contrived. While the outside and the photography are nice, there is the agreement with others that the interiors are on the tacky side.

What really brings 'Sharing Christmas' down badly is the story. It starts off promisingly, but too quickly becomes extremely basic and tired. With too much over-stretched filler, it felt quite dull and thin as well and comes over as silly and lacking in charm or heart. The sentimentality is hard to stomach, especially when it feels manipulative than sincere, the ending is too neat and easily telegraphed and the central relationship is far too rushed and lacks growth. The music badly over-emphasises the mood and feels excessive in placement and tone.

Despite a few good things, this was very lacking in my view. Sorry. 4/10

...an eight when I saw it a couple years ago. On reflection, that may have been a tad generous, but I really like this movie. The plot is nothing special, but there's a lot of nostalgic sub-plots to support the premise that the Christmas Shop in question is a magical place. The story of an older couple who buy a new ornament every year is touching, and it's fun to see Dave Koz play a Christmas song and visit for a bit. Bobby Campo is likeable and his sense of humor keeps things moving at appropriate times. I also like all the old Christmas music they play that I've never heard before. I wish there was a way to find out who these artists were. It's a Hallmark Christmas movie. It's not supposed to be Citizen Kane. Relax and enjoy.