A Lot Like Christmas

I thought this was going to be yet another big-bad-executive-comes-to-the-small-town-to-ruin -it holiday movie. But in A Lot Like Christmas, the Big Bad executive is Clay Moore, who is one of those guys who everybody likes. He comes into town from Manhattan looking for a Starbucks. He asks these two elderly men that are sitting on a bench and they tell him that of course there is no Starbucks in that small little town, but there is a local diner. After getting the directions, Clay asked them if they wanted anything. They give him a big order which Clay remembers! Clay is just a nice guy who can talk to anybody about anything, buys random strangers breakfast, and helps older women with their groceries, etc ect etc

There were so many cool things about this movie. I loved the fake falling snow. The mayor was an African American woman. There was thankfully just two small town traditions. Too many can ruin a movie.

Jessica and Clay meet when she hits him with a tree she is cutting down on her family's farm. Oh and one of the things I look for in all of these Hallmarkish romances is a dance scene btw hero and heroine. After Jessica declares Clay her enemy, they have this we're-not-dancing-together dance to Jingle Bells, which was sooooo cute!!!!

And did I mention how much I loved Clay--with his lilac shirts and purple suits!

He is adorable but she ruins it. I finally had to stop watching it over half way through. Casting makes a huge difference and Maggie Lawson was terrible in this part!

At the first sight, it deserves a lot of critics. Not only for predactibility or for huge unrealism but for waste of good parts, especially the explanations of Scott to his sister about the need to sell the farm and the good image of the clash between paseism and pragmatic present.

But the film is saved, in some measure, off course, by same , so familiar "firefighters"- Frances Flanagan,Dolores Drake and Christopher Rusell , the last in same armor of the kind guy from big city with precise mission but , in same measure, with so many virtues, making him new version of Prince Charming ( his look helps in significant measure ).

So, what you expect, step by step. And nothing more else.

Should you look for originality, you may take a negative view of this film. Big business crushing "mom and pop" enterprises, business competitors attracted to one another are themes that abound in shows. This time, though, they are developed with the appropriate tones. Love and hate situations, resentments among friends, hopes and dismays are rendered soberly, therefore credibly. Maggie Lawson and Christopher Russell are a good match and make their story appealing. Good will and kindness prevail, as expected in a Christmas movie. The result is not a home run, but a solid Holiday movie, one that it may be worth watching. GAC seems to have found the thread lost by Hallmark in many of its recent productions.

It's "Clay" (Christopher Russell) who arrives in a small town just as the animated snow is falling onto such an obvious studio set - so now we know what we are in for. He's there to help set up a new superstore that's going to be just what the townsfolk need for jobs and prosperity. Meantime, the "Roberts" farm is facing a tough time. "Scott" (Matt Visser) keeps telling sis "Jessica" (Maggie Lawson) that they are on the brink of bankruptcy! The last thing they need is the new shop, especially one run by his old pal "Xavier" (Ian Collins). Scene set? Well now we have to create the gently convoluted scene in which she and "Clay" meet, then there's the bit when the start to fall for each other before the bit about him about his owning up to why he's there. Will she forgive him? Can they have a truce as the all important Christmas market will be crucial for her family and his job, yada yada... The denouement? Well come on now! I didn't hate this, and for the festive season it's your typical cheesy drama with some very light humour (mostly contained at the very start) and just the hint of a frustrated bromance between "Scott" and "Xavier" that's disappointingly undercooked. Nope, there's no way you will ever recall watching this, but it's harmless fodder to shove on in the background whilst you wrap, or stuff, or snooze through December.