Christmas Is You

Trying to watch this movie but just can't get in to it. The lead actors have zero chemistry. The story is kinda all over the place. After fast forwarding several times I just gave up and stopped watching..

Childhood loves, Emma Bloom (Becca Tobin) and Tyler Thorn (Matthew MacCaull), reunite in their home town during Christmas. He's a big music star. She works for a record company. Her boss hears that he dropped his agency and tells Emma to sign him. If she can do it, she could be the new partner in the firm.

Her best friend and confidant should be a girlfriend. She needs to do some emotional exposition and dumping but can't be explicit with her brother. She needs a sister. It's not like the actor playing the brother is anything special. The younger couple is cute but they are strictly amateur actors. This is the gentlest of romantic drama. I like the two leads and I've always liked Tobin. This movie is not requiring much from them and that's what they deliver. Maybe if they could turn this more into a musical. It's very bland but that's par for the course in this type of movies.

Another save the festival movie. The other half of the story is another common one. Emma is sent back to her home time to connect with an old flame and do a deal so she can earn a promotion.

The way Emma's backstory is revealed is a bit unusual in that it is done by her brother telling her boss.

You can see the conflict coming from a thousand miles away. I don't really understand Emma's hesitance to admit her mission. She has a lot of confusion because one minute she says one thing and the next it's another. I really don't understand Tyler's reaction given what he owes Emma. Things get a bit twisted so maybe that is explanation enough, but not for me.

Emma's boss is way too nice, but totally stupid in what she does.

Tobin looks her mid thirties age and perhaps even younger, but the almost decade older MacCaull obviously isn't the same age which the characters are supposed to be.

There are several performances by Becca Tobin and Matthew MacCaull. There duets are good including what appears to be an original song. MacCaull does OK, but when not doing harmony, he's not quite superstar singer material.

GAC continues to give very decent entertainment for the Holidays. The story is simple, the actors, Becca Tobin and Matthew MacCaull are unspoiled, down to ground, and work quite well together. All characters feel genuine, never offensive, and not conveying subliminal messages. As seen in other GAC productions, the decor of the interiors is rich in colors and tradition, reminiscent of Norman Rockwell's art. You may like it or not, but it seems distinctive and feels comfy. The stars duet, "Silent Night", sung with no frills, goes straight to the heart. It is done exactly as it was created by Franz Gruber and Joseph Mohr in 1818: just simple voices and a guitar. Certainly, one could be critical of this or that detail. Regardless, in my book, simplicity, tradition and kindness go a long way in a Christmas movie.

There was a good story here. Liked the lead actress, the male lead was miscast. The secondary characters were good. I liked their story almost as much.