Noël dans la peau d'une autre

Good film of a very reliably entertaining trope: the body switch. The two women get each other's lives in order with their fresh prospectives. My only quibble is the actresses looked too much alike so it got too confusing and kept taking me out of the movie. There should have been more of a contrast. It would have added to the impact and the comedy.

Yes it's been done before. Is it as good as the others? Maybe not, but maybe yes. The acting is fine. The story is also fine. If you don't try to compare, but go with the flow, it is an enjoyable TV movie.

I liked that there was confusion of the sudden switch is profound, but not overdone. I liked that Julia is tough, even arrogant and selfish, but not sadistically mean. I liked that the teenage Laurel does love her mom. I loved little Cleary Herzlinger as Kelly. She actually acted her age. And I loved the very last segment by the tree.

Jackie Seiden has talent. We hear a bit of it, but I could have listened to more.

7.6 stars.

I'm lucky to personally find both of these leading females to be extremely gorgeous. The odds seem low on the probability of that for some reason, however it's interesting that both look so similar. I figured they might switch places in a different way, maybe they were twins that never met or something. But once you see them both for just a minute, you realize they are two different actresses and totally different in mannerisms and visage. Nevertheless, this film is actually fun. Don't let the first 40 minutes get the best of you, it starts out really - really slow. Once the story builds and the characters become more interesting, stuff gets fun. Then after more development, the relationships become endearing and emotional. Finally, we grow to love these two women, and both daughters and husbands are so likable too. There is a lot of potential lost, they could've added more to this movie, much more, but alas it's not in the cards. The whole sequel potential, I doubt that ever happened, but maybe it did, who knows. I recommend this, but you must let it marinate for a while and then it gets good.

This by now typical seasonal Christmas switching of bodies plot (i.e. The Princess Switch 2018) is remade into a rather nicely written script that allows the audience to revisit the comedic juxtaposition of two people into each other's bodies and experience the common woman and elite woman lives. The acting and presentation are made into a finely, balanced storyline, especially having to smoothly craft the edgy moments of confusion as well as the snobbish scenes by the rich and elite. Thus, the feel-good expectations of this movie genre are acceptably adhered to. The pacing of the movie is good and the storyline doesn't seem redundant or stale. The transformation of BOTH women is also nicely handled. A worthwhile contribution to the Christmas movie scene.

As some other reviews have noted, the lead actresses do a great job in pulling off their roles. The plot is meaningful for the characters involved and a lot of fun to watch. Good comedic acting. Good plot surprises. Very satisfying at the end. The epitome of an excellent Christmas movie. Enjoy!