A Christmas in Tennessee

I loved this, perfect for the whole family. Always enjoy anything with Rachel Boston, and this was the cutest Christmas movie I've seen this year so far. Good job!

Allison (Rachel Boston) inherited her Dad's longtime bakery in White Pines, Tennessee, a small, lovely town near the Smokey Mountains. Her mother Martha (Patricia Richardson) helps with the shop and with Allison's young daughter but she is still grieving the loss of her husband. Thus, when the friendly letter carrier comes to deliver, Martha doesn't respond to his smiles. Allison, too, doesn't have a beau. Alas, business is slow and bills are being hard to clear. Then, when Allison's little girl writes an essay about the bakery's problems for a school project, the teacher comes calling. Only, the letter sails off into the sunset! Almost at once, a lady (Caroline Rhea) who resembles MRS. CLAUSE, comes calling and places a large order. Things are looking up. Yet, trouble starts afresh when businessman Matthew (Andrew W. Walker) and his snooty partner come calling with plans to buy out the downtown and convert it to a resort/shopping complex. Allison won't sell but could the handsome investor get around her refusal? This lovely romcom has much humor, sweetness and romance. Boston and Walker are very beautiful, talented folks who are wonderful as the main characters, while the supporting cast is marvelous as well. Needless to say, the scenery in Tennessee is lovely and costumes, script and direction are nicely done. Whatever state or country you live in, escape to a fine Tennessee romance!

Others have summed up 'Christmas in Tennessee' very well, both its good and not so good points. The former of which there is thankfully more of, even though it is a long way from flawless it does well in achieving its primary aims of being light-hearted undemanding entertainment and a pleasant enough diversion. It is not easy with every Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas film to not take things too seriously and take it for what it is, dependent on how bad the flaws are, it was thankfully easy here.

As far as the Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas films go, of which there are countless existing and some are (much) better than others, 'Christmas in Tennessee' is one of the solid high middle ones. If the story was balanced a little better than it was, with the different story elements being equally focused and the right ones given primary focus, it could have been one of the best and was quite close to being. There was more than enough to it to make me feel satisfied watching.

'Christmas in Tennessee', as said, could have balanced its story better. The business angle is focused on too much and at the end of the day didn't end up fitting that well with the rest of the film. It complicated the storytelling somewhat and the film lost its momentum. A shame because the romance and Santa elements are handled very nicely but could have been utilised more, particularly the romance.

Some of the dialogue is on the soapy side and because of not being focused on enough the romantic chemistry didn't feel fully formed.

The acting is better than average though and often quite good for this sort of film, where this component has been a mixed success (meaning either extreme of good or bad or uneven). The two leads' chemistry does have enough moments of charm and doesn't look awkward. The Santa plotline is where the film is at its strongest, with it injecting much spice and warmth without getting too sappy. The story is not perfect but it didn't feel dull generally and was light-hearted and heart-warming.

While not awards-worthy (nor is it that sort of film), the production values are pleasing and for a made for television film there is nothing really amateurish about it. The music is a pleasant listen and is used well, while any comedy didn't feel overdone and the more serious ones not ham-handed or too sickly.

Overall, quite good. 7/10

I loved this movie! I especially loved Kate Moyer as Olivia! She was perfect!

Enjoyed all the actors in this story and the parts they played, good job!

One reviewer here mistakenly thinks the movie is set in the 40s or 50s due to an antique cash register and some other antiques and then complains about all the "out of period clothing" other anachronistic items. This person turned off the film as a result. This person failed to figure out a few old items surrounded by dozens of new items, like microwave in bakery, new cars parked in driveways, lots of modern clothes and hair styles, etc indicates a moderrn setting. Anyway sure the film is a typical lifetime Christmas offering. It's nothing extrodanary. If you like that sort of thing you will enjoy it. I did. If you don't, you won't. The addition of Santa is always a welcome addition for me. I WANT TO BELIEVE