Les Pendules de Noël

A charming, if predictable, holiday romance.

Alicia Witt, as a sweet and artsy semi-ditz happily running her family's antique store, is engaged to a polished, money-focused, big-city real-estate salesman.

Through a series of cute travel mishaps on her way to meet his family for the first time, she ends up at the wrong house a couple of days before Christmas. That warm, happy family, by a credulity-stretching coincidence, welcomes and cherishes her in their extremely - but tastefully - decorated home. Of course they have a very nice son who falls for her, and shares interests and values that aren't on her fiancé's radar.

Complications, emotional struggles, and a happy resolution ensue.

Apart from that one weak plot coincidence to get her into the family, and the general niceness of both men when the chips are down, the only thing that annoyed me was the heroine's little speech at the end, in which she declaimed about a character issue that was not well set up.

Overall, a nice way to spend 2 hours while you're writing Christmas cards.

Alice (Alicia Witt) met a man named Will on an online dating site. Although she runs an antique store with a modest income and Will is a high-powered salesman, she thinks she has found the right guy. The gentleman decides to propose to Alice in a restaurant, where his food choices have left her baffled. Nevertheless, she says yes. Just as they are making plans to meet his parents, Will has to miss the flight for business. But, he persuades Alice to go on solo and he will catch up. What a mistake! Alice's luggage goes missing and then her cellphone accidentally gets wet and dies. Thus, Alice doesn't know the address of Will's parents. By happy accident, Alice meets her fiancé's brother, Matt (Mark Wiebe) who has just returned home by plane, too. Initially apprehensive, Alice is welcomed warmly by Will's parents and grandfather and all is joyous. Or is it? Unbelievably, there are two families in the same town, with the same name. Alice is SUPPOSED TO BE at the other one! Once at the correct home, the poor redheaded, newly engaged lady is very much disappointed in Will's actual family. Plus, she misses Matt, whose likes and dislikes are more like her own. In addition, could Will possible working behind the scene to damage her business, which he doesn't truly like? This very merry, sweet, romantic Hallmark film is a fine choice for a snowy or sunny evening. Witt and Wiebe are attractive cast members with a great appeal and all sets, costumes, script lines, and direction talents are topnotch. Want to "get merry" ? Get this one!

8.2 stars.

Well alrighty then. I did not expect a movie quite like this. In a way it seems like a live action Disney. Can't explain exactly how, but I feel it's mainly due to the whimsical female character...so innocent, hopeful. If there had been a Disney classic animated film about a gullible woman who owns an antique store, this would be the watchable live action remake. It's just sooooo sappy and uber sickly sweet romantic I think I need something savory to cleanse my palate.

In a nutshell, this is about a very intelligent, yet equally as naive woman who owns an antique shop that her father passed onto her after he died. She is dating a main of questionable tastes, a real "winner" of a salesman. He disdains her personality and life choices while constantly belittling her.

They are supposed to fly to his home so she can meet his parents over the holidays, but he has an important deal to close and takes a later flight. At the airport there is a mix-up with her luggage and a chance encounter with her boyfriend's brother. She ends up riding home with him and they hit it off, but she is faithful and pure in heart and won't betray the trust of her unworthy boyfriend.

A strange turn of events makes the rest of the story quite entertaining, so you gotta see this. 'A Very Merry Mix-Up' is very charming. I loved it!

Alicia appears in several of our favorite Hallmark Christmas films, and some of them are among our favorites specifically because of her. There are only a couple we consider duds (like the snow globe film). Her quirky style works for us.

This story sidesteps many of the Christmas romance cliches, but does retain one which becomes central to the film ... the bad boyfriend trope. However, it's handled somewhat differently and the plot moves past it with a couple of intentionally awkward scenes which reveal to Witt's character just how wrong her fiancé is for her and how right the new man she discovered by accident.

The movie is funny with lots of warm moments and the awkward scenes with her fiancé's family sell her changing idea of what she wants in a relationship and in her life.

181212: Why am I so susceptible to love stories? I liked this film from the moment it started. Most of the credit can be given to Alice (Alicia Witt) who captured my attention and kept me intrigued. Slow paced but I never lost interest. A predicatable yet pleasant Christmas film. Well worth watching; at least once.