Mistletoe Moments

Yes, you guessed it, of course I had never heard about the 2023 movie "Designing Christmas With You" (aka "Mistletoe Moments") prior to sitting down to watch it here in 2024. I happened to have the chance to add it to my 2024 Christmas movie marathon, and since it was a movie that I was unfamiliar with, of course I did so.

Were I harboring grand expectations to Jo-Anne Brechin's 2023 movie? No, not really, as the movie's cover seemed rather generic and sappy. But then again, doesn't the vast majority of these movies essentially have the same cover of a woman and a man looking all cozy and Christmassy? And this movie was no different.

The storyline in the movie is generic, so very, very generic. Our leading actress stumbles into a stranger and it is an instant attraction, and she has to work on a huge Christmas event, but lo and behold the guy opposing her plans happens to be the leading actor, the stranger she bumped into in the beginning of the movie. Will they work out their differences and make Christmas a reality? And will they fall in love along the way? I think we all know the answers and the exact outcome of the story. So writer Ansley Gordon played it safe and put all bets on all the archetypical sappy Christmas movie tropes in history.

But of course, this means that the diehard fans of sappy Christmas movies will enjoy the movie a lot more than us casual viewers will. No doubt about that.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, and that is actually something I do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie. The acting performances in the movie were fair.

Hardly a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time, but it was entertaining enough for what it was.

My rating of director Jo-Anne Brechin's 2023 movie "Designing Christmas With You" lands on a five out of ten stars.

I am afraid this film just "couldn't get there." Their acting was ok, I guess, but the awkward moments were forced and it was totally lacking in chemistry. It was slammed together, like it was a weekend student film project, and it had no real substance or good conflict.

It snowed continually, I guess for effect, but the snow never built up.

AND the fact that they were having to put all those decorations up and there were no helpers, was a bit ridiculous.

Unfortunately, I didn't feel anything in this movie, not even Christmas.

PS - Lip synch went out the last 15-20 minutes of the film. Sorry. A for effort, F for failed.

6.4 stars.

It took me three separate attempts to get through this movie. I was waiting for something dramatic or romantic to happen, but it never really did until the last 20 minutes. We have a normal Hallmark type romance movie here, two young and good looking people are interested in each other, mixed with a bit of misunderstanding and missed opportunities. In my opinion, this man is a fool and somewhat of a loser. His character has flaws and he lacks observational skills and some common positive traits. The female lacks discernment and is seemingly floundering for someone who should be a very focused and professional interior designer.

What is absent throughout the majority are all the memorable moments, instead it's filled with too much of the in between stuff. Where is the tension, where is the anticipation, where is the fun? Again, none of this starts to blossom until the last 20 minutes. Most romance films, find a way to pull you in to the story early on, then provide some filler and slow moments, then pique your interest around midpoint, then more fluff, and finally the wonderful finale. This film lacks the timing and impact of the great parts that comprise an entertaining romance. It's just a bunch of endless drivel for a full hour leading up to the last part. The first 10 minutes started off okay, and lulled me into a false sense of satisfaction.

I've seen several movies like this in the last two years, this one is no different, it can fit right into the low end of the average bunch. Nothing to see here folks move on to the next. If I had nothing better to do but choose from all the mundane romance films, 'Designing Christmas With You' a.k.a. 'Mistletoe Moments' would toward the bottom of the list. I have plenty of 6.5-6.9 star films I'd be more willing to fight through a second time. There is no reason I can think of to watch this again.

Designing Christmas With You/Mistletoe Moments (2023) -

If I'm honest I probably didn't give this film a lot of my attention whilst also completing a jigsaw puzzle, but it didn't exactly steal my attention away from said jigsaw either. As storylines go it had definitely been done at least 20 times before almost word for word in some respects, but it wasn't bad either. If this was the first time I was tuning in to a Hallmark/Lifetime film this one would have done very nicely and I might have gone gooey for the romance, but as someone that saturates themself in these films every Christmas it had nothing new or standout about it specifically.

Except perhaps Liam McIntyre as the leading man Ben. I've been needing some new blood to turn up for a while and he was certainly different, but when I had previously watched him play the role of 'Spartacus' (2010-13) I had thought that he was a bit too soft for that rugged manly action role, now watching him in this I felt that he would actually be more suited to climbing through air ducts or fighting Bruce Lee or something because he was hard to buy as an Estate Manager and he was also a bit too charming as if he was playing a Prince or something instead of a glorified caretaker. His manners and decorum were all a bit too much like it was something he had to be every day as a part of his work, not necessarily natural for a regular fella. But he was obviously handsome, especially in that dinner suit and I liked his sexy voice.

Colbie (Susie Abromeit) was really quite arrogant right from the off though and it was only when she started to try and see things his way that she became likeable.

As Colbie worked with Ben to create a fundraising event for an old family estate they did bond and the connection was there to see, but there was also the usual confusion towards the end about whether he liked her or not, etc and that specific overheard way of doing things had well and truly been done to death in so many other films before.

I also hated the idea that if she did well with the job she would get a promotion, but if she didn't do well she would be the office pariah and unlikely to be offered advancement ever again. That is one of the things that always seems to happen in these films and makes me wonder why they work for such tyrants in the first place. It wasn't so severe in this one, but it did aggravate me that the Boss was like that.

And I had to wonder why they never took off her coat and his scarf? Was that why he had such a husky voice? Was the set absolutely freezing and giving them all colds?

I might actually come back to this one to give it my full attention, but not until I've ploughed through so many others first. Perhaps that huskiness will charm me and take me with them more thoroughly next time if I catch the glint in his eye a bit more without focussing on a puzzle?

6.39/10.

There's very little purpose in critiquing the low production values for each movie, the similar 6 or so storylines used over and over again and the halting, bumbling style of the romances in Hallmark movies. I have seen these productions being made from around 2010 to present day and 90% of them all have the same general low-budget, repetitive storyline, cringe-inducing approach.

I turn a blind critical eye to all of this and just ask for a couple of things:

1. Do the leads seem casted for match in terms of physical appeal?

2. Despite the script always requiring romantic hesitancy, does the male lead at least act like he has 2 X chromosomes throughout the movie?

3. Does some overt romantic chemistry develop throughout the movie or do we have to view 90 minutes of nothing only to get a surprise kiss as the credits roll?

I think this movie rates a grade B- on my scale.