Christmas Bake-Off

Laura Osnes and Christopher Russell are incredibly well-cast on 'A Dash of Christmas' aka 'Christmas Bake-Off'. They can both act, their chemistry is off the charts right from the beginning, and Osnes is very, very easy on the eye.

The 'returning to your small hometown for Christmas' trope has been used many times before, but is only a sliver of the plot here. The baked goods are mouth-watering and the set design was stunning. The secondary cast were all solid actors, with none of the over-acting by those in peripheral roles that sometimes mars these films to be seen.

(This film comes a close second behind 'One RoyalHoliday' as my favourite Laura Osnes film, and given how spectacularly good I thought she was in that one with Aaron Tveit, that is high praise from me!)

Definitely one of GAC Family's best movies. Here's hoping we see Russell and Osnes together in more productions. Like, Christmas 2024 or earlier!

7.0 stars.

Initial feeling of 'A Dash of Christmas' aka: 'Christmas Bake-Off', it's a generic holiday romance with a few interesting and lovely parts,, which makes it standard, because all of these films have some interesting parts. In this case it rises slightly above formulaic. What makes this movie stand out is...not much, unfortunately. It received fairly high praise from some people, but my gut tells me it's just so-so. I rate based mainly on entertainment, and this was average in that area. There were a few moments of really heartfelt romance, and he's a total dreamboat (which accounts for some higher ratings), but Osnes has a below average track record from what I recall of her films. I can see her in some pictures, just from memory, and none of them stand out. There's that one about Tahoe, and the one where she's a country singer, let's see...I looked up her other films and probably the best one is 'One Royal Holiday', which I gave 7.1 stars, for the same reason as this, both of these are about equal for me. It all points to one person: Osnes. I guess she's not my favorite. I bet if she was, all my ratings would be bumped up a full star.

Unfortunately, 'A Dash of Christmas' is nothing to write home about. I really wanted to like it for the few great scenes. But it only has a few great scenes and a few good moments, but mainly just a whole bunch of ok.

This was such an enjoyable and charming movie! I loved it from beginning to end. The two main characters Aaron (yum!) and Megan's chemistry is off the charts which is probably why it was so easy to fall into!! This wasn't your typical predictable movie, it had its own little twists without the awkward fight that usually happens in these types of films. The plot, the storyline and the pace all fit together beautifully and in no way dragged on for even a moment. Every second was thought out and every line delivered fabulously. The actors were acting comfortably and believably without trying too hard- again as you often see in other movies of this type. That was not the case here. I loved every single thing about this feel good-smile-from-ear-to-ear-eat-your-heart-out-holiday love fest. This absolutely baked up mouth-watering charm and delivered a fresh a warm sweet treat to indulge in. Don't critique it, just enjoy and be deliciously entertained!!

5.2/10

I don't watch these Hallmark style films to purposefully hate on them. I genuinely go into each one hoping that one of them will spark in me a little joy for Christmas love. However, it's really hard to not hate on them when they're all the same, or start off in the most horrendous ways possible.

I would say about ninety percent of this film feels fake. The chemistry isn't totally there, the makeup on the male lead is awful at times, and the prop drinks don't even move. The story is cute, the build-up feels unromantic, and the rest is just awkward googly eyes.

The big butt here is that it slightly saves itself at the end. The chemistry finally kicks in. The love, while seemingly forced, works the way it should. And everybody gets that classic happily ever after.

Overall, there are a group of people who'll love this film, and I don't want to take that away from them. I feel like this a film my mom and sister would watch on one of their Hallmark Saturdays. Unfortunately, I get nothing out of it, and if you're not a fan of the cheese then best to stay away from the nachos.

That's all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Until next time.... Enjoy the show!

I watched this right after Santa Summit, so it was a little like going off the cliff and then hitting the brakes, but it worked out alright.

From Hallmark to GAC, from zaniness and comedy to a low-key romance. Turns out the movies had one thing in common: sweet Amy Groening ( she'll be doing leads soon, mark my words).

This film is about yet another woman (Laura Osnes) returning to her hometown for some soul-searching who has a meet-cute and develops a relationship with local baker (Christopher Russell). She stays at the home of her sister, the aforesaid Groening, who is raising her exceedingly sweet daughter while her Army husband is stationed afar.

There's lots of bonding, lots of baking, and no agendas within a country mile.

The one thing I didn't care for much was the music getting a little sappy at times.

This is the first GAC movie I've seen this year, but while they're still not up to Hallmark, they're getting there, and with more quality cast members like these they won't be far behind for long.