Christmas Next Door

When Eric goes to see April at the restaurant at the end, does anyone else find it weird that she just hands the violin off to someone dining, and just leaves without it?

Well I liked this, I thought it was warm, with some nice laughs along the way.

Nice to see some non standard Hallmark actors pop up in the lead too.

As a musician, it was really cringeworthy to watch the scenes featuring violin playing. They made no effort to even pretend to she was a violinist. I would hope that the story is at least a little believable. Further, I found the dialogue to be poorly written, awkward, and uninteresting.

Fiona Gubelmann and Jesse Jesse Metcalfe have great chemistry. Their flirting is sparkling.

Otherwise, this is pretty much a run-of-the-mill Hallmark Christmas movie. There's nothing wrong with that, just no great highs or lows. The conflict is one of the old standards - misinterpretation of something witnessed. The movie uses most of the usual Christmas activities. Both of the leads inspire the other to big things.

Like so often is the case, kids add to enjoyment.

8.0 stars.

April is our lead female (Gubelmann) who is immediately recognized as that "girl next door". Interesting how that fits with the title 'Christmas Next Door', maybe that was the intent. She is the perfect woman, with an infectious smile, a personality that surpasses most gentle souls, and the sweetheart and focus of every serious man's search for love. Not only does Gubelmann embody that perfect feminine quality in her performance, we are seeing a piece of the real person behind the actress herself, splashing effortlessly on screen. In this story, April is a talented violinist who has difficulties overcoming her fears and securing a position in the symphony orchestra.

Eric (Metcalfe) is the cynic to her free spirit, they are opposites in every conceivable way. His character, while surly and obstinate, is actually a fragile man trying to come out of the shadows where he has been for the past several years due to a Christmas heartbreak. To our surprise, he is a fun-loving and personable uncle, and an upstanding person, he just needed a little nudge.

There is a mutualistic relationship between them, she is his inspiration to becoming a better man, and author, and he is her motivation to spread her wings and take more risks. She helps him see there are no boundaries to his potential as more than just a author of bachelor handbooks and man-cave mentalities. She might be that wonderful muse that he needs to push him beyond the writing monotony, and he could very well be the right man to capture her innocent heart.

This film caught me by surprise, and the end came way too quickly. I'm proud to give this 8.0 stars!