It's Christmas, Eve

6/10 - filled with bad acting, but an okay storyline

LeAnn Rimes is the main star is this Christmas film along with Tyler Hynes.

Rimes is Eve Morgan the interim school superintendent tasked with saving money and Hynes is Liam Bailey music teacher. With art and music funds on the chopping block the two try to find a way to save the curriculum for the students.

The song really is one of the best parts. Tissue alert towards the end. Be prepared!

Worth a watch.

I actually enjoyed this movie, despite Leann Rimes showing the emotional range of a Christmas stocking. The music was enjoyable and catchy, and Liam and Abby were extremely likable characters. Typical Hallmark fare, and though Rimes' lack of acting ability was distracting at times (was the film's budget so low that they couldn't afford eyedrops to at least show a tear or two during those sobs at the end?) it still made me feel the warm fuzzies. I'd recommend it, especially to those who are addicted to these types of movies during this time of year.

Hallmark and Lifetime films that have singers in acting roles don't always come off well (i.e. Kellie Pickler), or at least the casting doesn't come off well, and there are singers in film overall that have successes in music but don't fare anywhere near as well in acting (i.e. Madonna). As well as 'It's Christmas, Eve' being part of my Hallmark Christmas film completest quest, a big reason for seeing the film was LeAnn Rimes as someone who has respect for her voice and artistry.

'It's Christmas, Eve' is one of the Hallmark films that is a pleasant enough inoffensive watch, but turned out to be nothing too special. It's definitely worth a look as you want to see every Christmas film Hallmark has done, but 'It's Christmas, Eve' is a film with plenty of ups and downs (a case of the second half being better than the first) and it's evidence of Rimes being a much better singer than she is as an actress. Am hoping that that does not come over as mean.

Am going to begin with talking about 'It's Christmas, Eve'. Am going to have to agree with those who have been critical of Rimes. She sounds absolutely wonderful but her acting is wildly inconsistent. She does get better thankfully, but she is often very stiff and dull in the first half and fails to generate much warmth. Also thought that she didn't have enough sparkle or chemistry with Tyler Hynes and that their relationship wasn't developed or used enough, not to mention it is a very typical Hallmark type of romantic chemistry.

To me, the early stages of the film is quite slow with it taking too long for the quite predictable story to find its footing and momentum. Some of the dialogue is cheesy.

On the other hand, Hynes does fare a lot better in the acting department. He actually looks comfortable and is charming, the role he plays is not much new but he doesn't overplay it or make the character too stale. The supporting cast are good. My favourite performance actually comes from Eden Summer Gilmore, she was adorable and touched my heart. Younger actor performances always varied in Hallmark films and Gilmore here is one of the hits. Loved the father and daughter chemistry, and Rimes' acting actually does improve and become more sympathetic when she is with Gilmore. It was good to see characters that develop and ones that are easier than usual to care for (Liam and Abby are very easy to root for), took me a while to warm to Eve but it managed to just about happen by the end.

Moreover, 'It's Christmas, Eve' has a professional look to it with attractive location work equally attractively shot. The music is an aspect that often is not executed well in Hallmark's output, it's something that comes over very well here. With truly lovely and beautifully performed songs, "The Gift of Love" and "You and Me and Christmas" did touch my heart and warmed it up. The dialogue is not great in the first half, but becomes heartfelt without being schmaltzy and very engaging in the second. The story has nothing new and doesn't start off promising, but a lot of the second half is very heart-warming and poignant. It was hard to not tear up during the stepfather learning the song subplot.

Summing up, pleasant enough if very up and down. 6/10

Singer LeAnn Rimes is the latest big name to pop up in a Hallmark Christmas film, and based on this I'd welcome her back for a return visit in the future.

It helps that this film has clearly been shaped around her, giving her the chance to sing and that her leading man (Tyler Hines) is able to make even some of the cheesiest lines in the piece seem natural with his dry delivery.

It is though very much a film that follows the Hallmark tried and tested formula, with only the subplot about the mother and her new husband feeling a bit more original.

Ironically for a film constructed around an actual singer the film's big song isn't that great, with Rimes sob/speaking/singing it to the point where actually I couldn't understand what was being sobbed/spoken/sung.

Overall though a decent film.