Le père Noël est licencié !

Although there were a few cringe moments overall thought it was pretty good for a Christmas chick flick.;) The main girl is hard not to like to act and it definitely was Christmas spirit plus some nice performances from side characters. It might not be entirely family friendly and a little bit predictable but is perfect if want to chill and relax while watching something feel good and Christmasy. Would say is worth at least 7 stars...

Ashley Williams is adorable, BUT that constant huge smile throughout the entire movie was distracting and it took away from the sincerity of the production. I feel that it really watered down the show. It's wonderful to seem happy in a Christmas movie as long as it doesn't come across as cheesy and I believe that it crossed that line.Unfortunately, this movie had a few cheesy scenes. Also, some of the other main characters (and background actors)were very weak and also unbelievable, especially Ashanti. The little girl who plays the daughter was more convincing than the rest of the cast. Overall, I was disappointed because I had such high hopes after seeing the previews and I feel that everyone could have done a better job telling this story. Sorry.

The good news is that I've seen much worse...

You could easily dismiss a film like this. It is easy to do but this film is very "family friendly" and has a sweetness to it that i found comforting.

What this is about is about love and hope. They story is Wendy Carroll (Ashley Williams) and her six-year-old daughter Grace (Kylie Price) live in a small town where Christmas is everywhere, she gets a foreclosure notice three weeks before Christmas for her father's candy store that she has ran for the last five years. To make some extra money and save the candy store Carroll and Grace travel to the big city. She stays with her friend Angie from back home whom just got a major part in a play. Angie works at Wolman's Department store where she takes Carrol to apply for a temp job. On waiting for Angie to check in she meets Tom who manages the store and offers her a job in the toy department of Wolmans, the city's biggest department store, Wendy can't wait! She thinks the store is amazing, with all the Christmas holiday cheer, unfortunately her excitement doesn't last long when the store's manager, Teanna (Ashanti), destroys the Christmas spirit throughout the store and replaces Santa. (Michael Durrell) with a hunky male underwear model surrounded by elfin "babes."

What Teanna is unaware of is that she has in fact sacked the real Santa. Unaware of his real "Santa" status, Wendy reaches out to the old man but it seems even he has given up hope. With her daughter losing faith in the holiday, Wendy realizes she must bring the true meaning of Christmas back to Wolmans before it is too late.

What I like the most about this was that it did capture "That feeling you have at Christmas when your a child". You think everything is possible

Television films are by the number. This is a "GREAT EXAMPLE" of a that. This doesn't mean this is a bad movie its just nothing special.

In this movie a young woman (Wendy) leaves her small town with her daughter to earn money to save her fathers business. She gets a job a department store and she falls in love with the stores owner.

Things get messy when another woman (Teanna) sees Wendy a threat. The actress Ashley Williams smiles in every scene. I fully understand why she took that approach. The reality is that "Wendy" is a nice woman. She is kind and supports her friends. Teanna however never smiles and she is only out for herself.

The climax of the film however needed more work. There is a scene where they "Make-over" the store. I think the whole film would have worked better if they showed more decorations and customers reaction to them. What we get is "Okay" and gets the point across but the film needed a bigger "WOW" then what was presented. Don't get me wrong the scene still works but it should have been better!

Family safe but don't expect too much. It is worth watching!

Someone else here said you will love this or hate this and I tend to agree with that statement. "Christmas in the City" is not meant to be groundbreaking art. What it is meant to do is to entertain an audience and it does. Maybe a little more effort could have been made in ways of the screenplay and that the final reveal of the department store with its Christmas display could of used a bigger wow factor would of helped the overall experience.

This film is all about love. Love you have with your family traditions and fearing of losing them. Not a perfect film but it is made with joy and the lead has a smile that becomes a star in its own right. I saw this on NETFLIX streaming.

Available now