La Fiancée des neiges

Hallmark's Christmas offerings have always been a mixed bag. Some are good, some are lacklustre or even bad and some are somewhere in between. 'Snow Bride's' premise could have gone either way in execution. It could either have been a heart-warming, feel-good sort of Christmas film with a real feel for the festive season and better than average acting or it could be charmless and mean-spirited with a lot of predictability and characters not easy to get behind.

'Snow Bride' fortunately is one of the good Hallmark offerings, definitely among the better ones seen as part of my festive Hallmark/Lifetime etc. quest that started around November last year with a lot of spare time on my hands. It is not perfect and reading the synopsis part of me was preparing to not like it as it didn't sound promising at the start and neither did the lead character. Am very glad about giving it a chance without too much prejudice.

It doesn't contain any surprises or much new, if you are familiar with the festive Hallmark formula you have a pretty good idea how things are going to go and map out.

Also didn't find Greta likeable at first, am aware that's the intention at first but she comes over initially as very obnoxious and representative of what really irks me regarding the media and journalism, what her job does is pretty much faithful to what that particular profession does in real life but somehow it didn't sit right with me and felt a little overplayed.

Once 'Snow Bride' gets going, being a film that also takes time to find its footing, and Greta starts to grow as a character, it becomes a better film with enough of what Christmas films should be like. The production values are very pleasing to look at, nice use of locations slickly shot. The music captures the Christmas feel very well and is not near as over-scored or intrusive as too many of later Hallmark films. The script has moments of cheese, but mostly flows nicely and has a light-hearted and sweet tone without being sugary.

Despite the predictability, the story does have a good deal of charm, is light on its feet and warms the heart. Much of the pace doesn't drag and the characters are generally not one that bored or irritated me, despite not warming to Greta straightaway. Nice to see characters that actually show growth. The acting is better than average, with solid supporting turns and very engaging lead performances in particularly Katrina Law, who essentially is the film. The chemistry between the actors has spark and the love and conflict are done believably.

Summing up, surprisingly good. 7/10

The plot was nice, the chemistry was good. there was no awkwardness between the two main characters and there weren't many cliches in the movie. It's probably the best Hallmark movie for Katrina Law, and the same goes for Jordan Belfi, I can't remember seeing them doing better -or any other- Hallmark movie.

We watched this movie 4 years ago and have just watched it again. Katrina Law was perfect for this role. We also liked her in 12 gifts of Christmas (2015). I like the way one reviewer described this type of plot as "the Hanging Lie". She is a reporter trying to spy on a senators family and if the senators son ever finds out she thinks this new found romance is over. The tension sure makes the movie interesting. Jordan Belfi who I had not seen before is in the male lead. Also have Susie Abromeit who starred in An Unexpected Christmas a.k.a A Perfect Christmas (2016) which was not that good. Bobby Campo has been in My Christmas Love (2016) and Sharing Christmas (2017) which weren't my favorites. It is nice to have Patricia Richardson (Jill on Home Improvement) in this and she adds a lot as the mom. The title is perfect.

Greta Kaine (Katrina Law) is always in search of juicy gossip. As a tabloid reporter at "Pulse! Gossip" in Los Angeles, it's her job to expose the rich and famous for the entertainment of the magazine's readers. So when word gets out that one of the late Senator Tannehill's two sons might be proposing marriage at the family's Big Bear compound during Christmas, Greta and her chief rival Wes (Tom Lenk) are challenged by their old-school editor to get the scoop. There's incentive to be the first, too-- the editorship of the magazine's new online incarnation.

Greta's assistant tells her that Wes has a head start to snowy Big Bear, so she dashes to the mountain resort. When she mistakenly ends up as a guest of the family, she's in the middle of what could be her best story yet! However, she soon discovers that the family, including matriarch Maggie Tannenhill (Patricia Richardson) and caretaker Peters (Robert Curtis Brown), are more down-to-earth than she ever gave them credit for. Increasingly guilt-ridden about her game of subterfuge, Greta must make a decision: how far will she go for the sake of a story?

This film was surprising. The "Kennedy" type family in this film are not mean spirited at all. They are nice. They are just press shy and afraid of letting new people into their lives. The film is worth watching. Kids will Be bored but its meant for a slightly older audience

Hallmark mass-produces Christmas movies by the dozen and they are, for the most part, interchangeable. Although not particularly unique, it's still a charming and heartwarming story with two characters who just mesh well together. Katrina Law is unlike I've ever seen her before (I only know her from Arrow), and her expressive eyes and face and goofy nature steals the show. Patricia Richardson is wonderful as the male lead's mother, exuding a natural warmness that many other actors try too hard to convey. The chemistry between the two leads are what makes this film stand out from other holiday flicks. I definitely recommend this one.