Christmas Keepsake

Great American seems to, thus far, passed the Hallmark Channel on new movies for 2023. They've improved the story lines and are employing better or more seasoned supporting cast. Wholesome entertainment with happy endings; a welcome respite from world news. This is a nice story with solid acting and ultimately, redemption. A dutiful daughter who still hurts though many years have passed. A new stranger welcomed to a new homeland, in time for Christmas. His daughter in need of family...the set up for a blessed Christmas. Nice scenery and an abundance of Christmas cookies makes for good viewing.

Christmas Keepsake is a romantic Christmas movie about an Australian father who lost his wife. He relocates to the United States with his daughter to try and give her a wonderful American Christmas. His daughter finds a time capsule buried in their backyard. The time capsule leads to new relationships and new traditions. Sounds great...but unfortunately does not deliver.

I had a very hard time making it through this movie. I am a huge fan of Christmas movies, however, this one did not resonate with me or my wife. I gave it three stars and my wife said it was a two star movie.

We could not put a finger on why we did not like this movie. It just seemed to be missing something. It felt rushed and just thrown together. The actors were likable and did a good job acting. As I mentioned before it was just missing something.

It was a nice enough movie and I liked all the actors but right from the get go it bothered me how little they did to make finding the time capsule real. Supposedly, one young girl hid it in (I think a neighbors) back yard and years later another young girl, who had just moved into the house, found it under a few inches of snow. It wasn't even buried. So, all the people who had lived in that house over the years never saw it? Also, it was a tin. That would have been rusted out in a year. Even the papers inside the tin looked brand new. It just seems no effort was put into making any of this believable.

Christmas Keepsake is a low-key romance about an Australian widower who relocates along with his preteen daughter to America, where the discovery of a time capsule buried in their back yard leads to new relationships and new traditions.

The acting is much better than some of the GAC movies out there. Old pro Daniel Lissing is excellent as always, although it's a bit of an adjustment hearing him speak in his natural Australian voice. I can't wait for all the reviews saying how bad his Aussie accent is.

Jillian Murray is one of the GAC stable who was brought back this year, and rightfully so. She is improving, as I'm sure many others will too.

The daughter did a fine job as well.

The movie itself was just ok. To be honest, I didn't feel like there was a relationship developing, in spite of the mother's blatant attempts at matchmaking.

Still in all, definitely a step in the right direction.

Loved the storyline and the chemistry between the actors were great. Daniel Lissing never disappoints and I really liked him with Jillian in Christmas Keepsake. I really enjoyed hearing his homeland accent although I did have to listen carefully because I don't hear it often. I loved it. The actress who played his daughter did a terrific job as well. She and Daniel seemed to have a great working connection. They were fun to watch. The story was light but yet emotional with the hearts dealing with the loss of loved ones and moving forward. Most of us can relate to this especially at Christmas time.

One of the best GAC movies I've seen.