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Rent An Elf (2018) -

I had a strong feeling that I had tried to watch this one before and turned it off. I probably shouldn't have bothered with it this time either, but it was okay I suppose.

I did feel that it was very forced and saturated in sap though and while it was full of Christmas activities it was hard to believe that it was set during the season, because the weather was a bit too sunny and cheerful.

And the ending actually made three of my teeth fall out, because it was so sickly.

There seemed to be a lot of supposition from both of the leading characters and many obstacles that got in their way too. As a result it came across a tad contrived and unbelievable, no one could be that unsure or untrusting surely?

Sean Patrick Thomas was fine in the role of Liam, but I couldn't believe that he had ever been attracted to his ex wife, Jojo (Nicholle Tom), because she was so vile and they had clearly never had anything in common. She was completely stupid and one of the most irritating characters I've ever seen on screen.

Ava (Kim Shaw) was okay, but a bit basic and immature for Liam too and it would probably have been more suitable for her to get together with her friend Jimmy (Luke Jones), which would have made a different story at least, if she had realised that she'd had what she needed all along, due to Liam's influence.

Jimmy was overly special though and quite an exaggerated character, but then so were the the parents, who were actually far too much.

And even the village Santa Claus (Armand LeSage) tried too hard, not to mention Liam's boss (Rod Sweitzer), who was a complete idiot too.

It really was only the leads and the son, Nathan (Yohance Biagas Bey & Zakai Biagas Bey) that were bearable.

If the others hadn't all been so excessive, the whole film could have been a lot better.

However, I actually got on better with the Nana character Catherine played by Debbi Morgan, even though it's usually the Mother/Grandmother characters that suck, but she was genuine and feisty, without being too catty and I liked that.

If I had turned it off before, I could understand why, but having persevered with it this time I didn't feel too much as if my time had been lost. It will be highly unlikely that I will watch it again though.

4/10.

Greetings, salutations, and a seasonal welcome to all you movie aficionados. Here are my considerations and recommendation for Rent An Elf.

Story: 0.75/2 - Direction and Pace: 2.50/4 - Performances: 1.50/2 - Enjoyment: 1.25/2

Total 6.00/10

Okay, so the story for this little Xmas Romance is rather weak. The writer has mapped Ava and Liam's courtship a tad too formally. Step one is the initial meet-up; step two is the business proposal; step three is the second meeting. And so on. Plenty of writers use the formulaic approach: However, in Rent an Elf, you can practically see the writer's notes. Because of this factor, you can easily deduce what's around the bend for the players in our tale. This knowledge isn't too Earth-shattering - it's a Christmas Love Story, so you know it'll have a Seasonally Sweet Happy Ending. But what hinders most are the continuities. For example, Ava's meeting Liam at a party a year earlier. However, when he calls to arrange a special Chrimbo for his Kid, not only does she remember him, but the name of his son. Now that is a little far-fetched, especially as Ava's been a Rent-a-Cupid, Rent-a-Bunny, and even a Rent-a-Pumpkin in-between times running her catering and entertainment business. A plethora of people have passed by her ever-changing personality, but she remembers everything from that one chance meeting - yeah, right(?) Putting aside the incredulities of the writer's prerogative in driving the story forward, the characterisations are slightly strange. Especially when you come to the ex-missus Jojo and the dubious employee Jimmy (who would seem more at home at Rent A Serial Killer than as Santa's little helper - well, maybe Satan's Little Helper). That said, Jojo's over-the-top oddballness helps to make the movie slightly more entertaining in the comedic-cringe elements. Without her and the scary elf, the picture would've been unremarkably average. Luckily, the performers are more than on their game. Their portrayals of the characters are excellent, which is splendid because Nicholle Tom adds a weird believability to the fantastical Jojo.

On the whole, Rent An Elf isn't too terrible a Xmas movie; it's a half-notch above most pictures making the rounds at the moment. The director keeps everything simple and even adds a smidgen of a heartwarming atmosphere to this tale of a dysfunctional family. Making it an ideal movie to enjoy on a cold and wet afternoon, should you have little else planned(?)

Please check out my HO! HO! HO! Christmas Belles list to see where I ranked the movie.

Take Care, Stay Well, And Best Wishes For A Merry Christmas.

I would like to know why Santa's Village is not getting any credit for this filming? This place is Vintage, opened in 1958, And recently reopened in 2016; we came back the year it reopened! The history is very interesting to read, google it. SkyPark at Santa's Village is an outdoor adventure Park with year-round mountain bike trails and winter-themed amusement park in the Skyforest section of Lake Arrowhead, California. It is on 230 acres of natural forest

This is a cute and charming film. Almost everyone is likeable (close to perfect). It's well written and generally warm.

It's definitely not Seattle in December. That's literally the most unbelievable part, haha. If they really filmed this in the PNW it was probably late spring. Everything is green, lush and sunny.

It just rained 8 days in a row.

I have been watching a ton of Christmas movies. This is the 2nd one this week, (the other one was on Freeform), this one is from ION. that just had to inject a dig against conservatives and politics into it. The main character has a vision board. No problem. What is a problem is it mostly featured photos of 0bama and his family! What the heck is that? This did not even fit the movie AT ALL. And they show it multiple times in the movie. It of course had the words, "compassion" over one set of 0bama photos, and then "Happy Family" and so forth. It was out of place and an obvious "statement". Hey movie makers, leave politics out of your freaking holiday movies. Take a breath and just make a story without bringing in your own political agenda. The movie was okay. Where did they film this? It looked like they filmed it in some Santa's Village somewhere. It moved along at a nice clip and I found it enjoyable. I have seen some true stinkers this year, and this is not one of them.