Un vœu d'amour pour Noël

This one starts out with a Meet Cute that is anything but. In what Hallmark seems to insist, the Hero is a jerk to the Heroine the first time they meet, for no apparent reason. But of course, they wind up having to spend an inordinate amount of time together, and she realizes his cranky veneer is merely masking the pain he feels from a great personal tragedy. Inevitably, they fall in love and everything works out for everyone. A little predictable, but Amanda Schull's performance in particular was enjoyable and lifted this above many of the others in the Hallmark library.

Hallmark movies are pleasant and entertaining because they all have similar themes. In this one two attractive and single 40-ish people, a lady and a man, meet when the man's 10-yr-old daughter gets involved in the "Christmas Wish" festivities. They get attracted to each other, something gets in the way, but before the movie ends they work to achieve a resolution. And everyone lives happily ever after.

My wife and I enjoyed it at home on DVD from our public library, just a basic DVD, no previews, no language selections, no subtitles, no extras. Which is fine for this type of movie, not much different from watching it on broadcast TV except with no commercials.

My curious observation, in movies years ago the parents of adults were mostly depicted as older people, sometimes older than they needed to be. In this movie the parents of the 40-ish characters don't seem much older, more like 15 years or so older. Curious casting.

I thought this was one of their best this season. The acting was great. There was great banter and chemistry between the leads. The supporting cast was pretty good too; Averie Peters had a very cute performance as Max. All around good Christmas movie. I highly recommend.

This one surprised me because the two leads haven't been on my radar, at least not positively, until now. Amanda Schull and Travis Van Winkle had great chemistry. Averie Peters, as Max, also clicked with the two romantic leads.

The premise is similar to movies with themes of Christmas miracles or Angel Tree. In this case, the prime mover for the wishes is front and center, not anonymous. We get a lot of the usual Christmas tropes like baking cookies or picking and decorating a tree. Like one other movie, the gingerbread house was giant. A cute little girl almost always pulls me in.

But there was also something totally different about this movie. For one thing, I laughed out loud several times. This is not a silly comedy. The laughs come from clever lines or situations. I especially liked Max's last line followed by Lucy's. I could just see what they were thinking.

This movie is a little like another favorite of mine - Two Turtle Doves. It deals with grief and sadness at Christmas but it doesn't go quite as deep.

The outcome is inevitable as always with Hallmark but I thought there were a couple of surprises getting there. Surprises and predictable things mixed together. The important thing is that it was put together nicely.

Amanda Schull, Travis Van Winkle, and the daughter, played by the adorable Averie Peters do an excellent job, they have great chemistry together. It's a well written, funny and interesting Christmas romance that's well worth watching