Radio Christmas

This is another Lifetime Christmas film where the premise sounded great, and also different. Which was appreciated as not many Lifetime Christmas films divert much from their usual formula, so a big part of me was really hoping that 'Radio Christmas' wouldn't waste the potential it had. Was also though not sure what to expect, having seen mixed reviews and people criticising it for it not being accurate to the location it's set in which sounded rather nit-picky to me.

Still think that way. Sure it is not authentic in setting, but that was most likely not possible with the budget constraints for made for television so it was made somewhere where films were cheaper to produce from my understanding. But criticising a film solely for that is a little unfair, especially considering that it means that every other component is forgotten about. To me, 'Radio Christmas' was a surprisingly good film with many good qualities, that managed to not waste its premise.

'Radio Christmas' may have dialogue that is a bit high on the cheese and sugar factors, not that that was not expected as that is common with Lifetime.

At times, the music is a touch intrusive though other Lifetime Christmas films did this a lot worse.

However, even with the lack of authenticity, the production values still manage to be pleasing. It's not too drab or garish in photography, the editing didn't seem rushed or disorganised and the scenery has a real charm to it. Most of the soundtrack is nostalgic and appealing to listen to, capturing the festive spirit well. The story, which doesn't execute any changes of pace too conventionally, is immensely charming and is full of warmth and heart, really appreciated that it had some not so familiar story elements which stopped it from being too cliched. It also felt natural and not contrived and had a nice subtle energy. The ending is not a surprise but other films of theirs do far worse at premature telegraphing.

It was great too to have characters worth caring about (not always the case with Lifetime), ones that did have personality and personalities that interested and endeared. Nothing overdone or annoying. The acting is all quite good, with likeable leads and a supporting cast that give their all to what they have. The character relationships are genuine and don't come over as disconnected at all.

Overall, surprisingly good. 8/10

Great movie, glad to see that there were nontypical characters.

Yes, the story of Bethlehem PA is not accurate. So you dis the whole movie? Perhaps it would be worthwhile to look at some things about the movie beyond that one glaring problem. (BTW - I have done the same thing at least partially and I apologize for it. I usually try to avoid it but if I do have a problem getting past one sticking point, I still try to bring out other things positive and negative in any review I write.)

The story should have been Bethlehem, Iowa, or Utah, or anywhere we can file away as made up. If you do that, this is a unique story. The radio/podcast angle is nice. It does lead to the common reporter-investigates-a-secret trope, but even that is not as worn out as some themes. I knew almost immediately who was the Secret Santa, but the whole audience learns that fairly early in the movie. As soon as Kara said she'd keep the secret, it was a pretty certain guess that somehow she would fail.

For me these movies are about relationships and I really enjoyed the relationships between Keshia Knight Pulliam's Kara, Michael Xavier's Scott, and Nakai Takawira's Andie. I loved that Andie is a hockey player, but that's minor compared to how warm that three-way relationship became.

This is a Lifetime movie, but as many of them do, it has what we tend to call a Hallmark ending. To do that, they used some unexpected things and some predictable ones.

Most of the Hallmark movies & characters are so superficial and pretentious, they aren't appealing! Loved the the lead characters in Radio Christmas! The male lead & his daughter were particularly lovable. Nice to see roles that seemed believable. That Outdoor hockey game in Winnipeg sure would be cold, though! Let's see more of these actors, with the same writers. Almost forgot to say how nice it was to see Tim Reid on TV again! Good Christmas movie.

To those complaining about the movie not being true to the movie location...this is ridiculous. Almost all Hallmark and Lifetime movies are filmed in Canada and the movie location is usually Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago or locales in Vermont. It is cheaper to film and produce made-for-tv movies in Canada. They have a studio, homes and towns they use year round to make almost all of their movies. Otherwise they would have 3 or 4 Christmas movies per year rather than the 20 plus they make. It costs millions to block off streets and shoot movies in the cities they say the location really is. Many of these movies are based on books, short stories or novellas and they try to stay within the geographic location of the original story. Some use fictitious towns. Very few movies...including million dollar blockbusters...are filmed in the location that is represented in the movie. It wouldn't be financially feasible to film a made-for-tv movie in a city of 75,000.