Christmas by Starlight

Though this is a Christmas-centric film, it keeps the focus on the central relationship. Like many Hallmark holiday romances, the inevitable resolution can be anticipated early on, but this film has a good energy, driven mainly by Kimberley Sustad's personality. She teamed up with costar Paul Campbell in writing this film, which may explain why they fit so naturally into their roles.

Kimberley plays Annie Park, a Chicago lawyer specializing in family law. When she discovers that her family's restaurant will be demolished to make way for a high-rise, she decides to confront the developer, Holt Enterprises. When she meets the son of the owner---Paul Campbell as William Holt---he hires her for a couple weeks just to assuage his father, who feels that William must constantly be monitored due to his irresponsibility. William promises to save the family restaurant in return, but can he deliver? Will he?

"Christmas by Starlight" is filled with the usual Hallmark touches, like abundant decorations, but it does not rely too heavily on the holiday schmaltz, allowing the character development to be its main focus, which is nice.

The entire cast is enjoyable, so it feels like spending two hours with a group of friends.

I like it for the crumbs of humor, nice acting, for fair portrait of maturization and the accent to family history and values. For the fresh ingenuity of story, to. And, not the last, for leading characters, well crafted, wise used. To be honest, exactly the honesty remains the main virtue of this different, in some measure, in inspired way, Hallmark film. Nothing fundamental changed but the story is more rich in nuances than you expect. So, I admitt, I like it.

When I read the story line I was a bit disappointed but these two did a great job and saved the movie from another predictable story line. They have great chemistry and had me laughing much more than most hallmark movies.

So I like a good Christmas Hallmark movie, but let's be honest, I usually roll my eyes at least a dozen times. Between the cheesy banter and predictable plots, most of my laughter is ironic at best. Not so with this flick. I genuinely laughed a handful of times, and though you could see what was coming plot-wise, it warmed this cynic's heart. I really enjoyed the two main characters, and would definitely re-watch this film!

This movie is genuinely funny, heart-warming, and well-written. I can only hope Paul Campbell and Kimberley Sustad do more writing for Hallmark, specifically because I love the comedic touches put into this film (for all the rom-coms they put out, Hallmark frequently forgets to be funny). Paul Campbell is a force to be reckoned with when humor is in the picture, and I personally feel he thrives in those charmingly funny roles much more than when he plays overly earnest, serious characters (his best performances for me are his roles in Window Wonderland and Surprised by Love, where he plays Shawn-Spencer-like characters that you both want to roll your eyes at and love with all your heart). Even as a businessman, he gets to be authentically funny here, and paired with Kimberley's equally sharp comedic chops (she absolutely nails awkwardness in a way that's super amusing), the movie just works. It moves fluidly, believably, and the scenes are just fun to watch even if you already know how the whole thing will end.

Funny enough, I don't think the chemistry between Paul and Kimberley's characters was particularly strong (nor in their last movie they starred in together), but they're such a great writing team, I'd love to see them work together again.