Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas

I grade Hallmark movies on a curve, but I really loved this movie, and I love the trope where 2 people try to track something (or someone) down and become close during the search. It's a great way to see whether the leads have good chemistry or not- and there was lots of great chemistry in this movie. Tyler Hynes, who plays Josh, has become one of Hallmark's biggest stars- with good reason (he was part of the All Star cast in this year's big hit "Three Wise Men and a Baby").

But Hallmark rookie Holland Roden, who plays Elizabeth, was unknown to me. She was in Teen Wolf which I've never seen (but which my daughter assures me was very good). There's usually a greater range of acting required in these HMM movies and she effectively conveyed all sorts of different emotions. She was also very appealing, as was her character.

The movie reminded me of a Hallmark movie called "A Little Christmas Charm" with jewelry designer Ashley Greene and reporter Brendon Penny trying to to track down the owner of a charm bracelet. It also reminded me of "A Christmas Ring" with Nazneen Contractor as a reporter trying to locate the owner of an antique engagement ring with David Alpay. I loved both of those movies but this one was much more powerful and unique.

Equally powerful was a Christmas Eve classic called "The Christmas Secret" and a really good new Hallmark movie called "Long Lost Christmas" (both of which involve trying to track down a lost sibling). Anyone who liked those movies is sure to love this movie.

A good test for whether one is a Romantic at Heart is how one reacts to the effort that Elizabeth (and Josh) put into tracking down Madelyn. Some may regard the effort to be a waste of time. Hallmark addicts like me will be impressed.

This is the latest movie in the Blake Shelton produced "Time To Come Home For Christmas" franchise that Sheldon's mother, Dorothy Shackleford, helped write. But this 5th installment was written by Marcy Holland and it's a gem (she also wrote the far more breezy "Sailing Into Love"). The dialogue rang true and some of the lines really stuck out for me:

"I think it's romantic; one last grand gesture to the one who got away."

"I don't believe in signs. I believe we notice things because they're important to us."

Nice Guy: "Is there someone else?" Wishful Woman: "A memory." Nice Guy: "Those can be real hard to let go of."

I like all the other franchise movies, but this one may be the best. Although some things in the movie are easy to predict (like the details of a "misunderstanding" of an overheard conversation), others are not, which is refreshing given the inherent limitations of Hallmark's hugely successful formula. This was crisply and warmly directed by David Winning, who also directed Falling For Vermont, my favorite Hallmark amnesia movie. And the other actors were also quite good including Hallmark vet Steve Bacic (who has been in over 30 Hallmark movies). He played the guy who dialed the wrong number. I also like fellow Hallmark vets Karen Kruger and Iris Quinn, who played the mothers, and Dion Karas who played the "nudge nudge, tell her you love her" sister.

I knew and liked Tenille Townes before this movie but, as another reviewer noted, her anticlimactic performance of the franchise song "Time For Me To Come Home" seemed out of place.

But that's a minor complaint. This was classic Hallmark.

I've been blown away by so many of this year's Hallmark Christmas movies. In a good way. I think I've only misses one of these (ie in the series for lack of a better word), and this one by far is my favorite. When I watched this tonight, I was so moved that I had to review. I was crying by the end, and I very rarely cry at these. The story, the characters, I loved it all. And as much smaltz is one would expect from a hallmark movie, this had the perfect amount - for the romantics and the ones who just want to see a decent movie. THIS IS DEFINITELY A RE-WATCHABLE MOVIE! I plan to make my brother watch it; i have a feeling he'll agree (he's agreed with the two other movies I made him watch from this year's lineup, and he's commented to me they're different and better.)

I've been watching Tyler Hynes for a few years now on Hallmark and he is wonderful in all of them. He is so down to earth and so talented and I literally enjoy all of his movies and I make sure I catch them all. (He could be my son, lol, I adore him.) This past week, his performances in "Three Wise Men and a Baby" and the one I just watched "Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas" were fantastic and touched my heart. His co-star in tonight's movie was excellent as well.

The subject matter was different and so touching and so true, everyone deserves a second chance.

Tyler you did it again. Happy holidays to all!

I love this Blake Shelton franchise and rewatch most of the entries multiple times. This entry may be the best, but then I love some good sap.

Two mysterious backstories keep the viewer guessing. Elizabeth is on a quest to find the man who leaves a wrong number voicemail. This movie does two unusual things. First we get to see that man and some of his backstory as well as the woman he really left the message for in various scenes throughout the movie. Second, in Elizabeth's story, the traditional overheard conversation which usually creates the ending conflict occurs at the start as part of the backstory.

The acting is good. The dialogue is good. The pace is good. There is a nice twist. And there is Kleenex, I mean on my end. I have to give credit to Holland Roden, as Elizabeth, who has chemistry with Tyler Hynes because Roden is virtually ignored on the acting credits page of IMDb as of this writing.

There is a somewhat anticlimactic performance of It's Christmas by Tenille Townes after the story arcs are all but concluded. And earlier the origins of that song appear to have some revision from what we learned in the original movie.

This role is much more dramatic than the Three brothers movie.

Holland Roden is excellent as the woman who receives a heartfelt message in her voicemail that is actually meant for someone else, so she decides to track down the recipient.

Roden looks so familiar, but I don't recognize anything in her bio. Maybe a commercial?

She has great chemistry with Hynes, and they both show some fine dramatic acting chops. There is also time for some funny moments as well, which is what he is mote known for.

I would be remiss not to mention the performance by Steve Bacic. He is usually the smarmy guy you don't want to see the leading lady end up with.

Here he shows he can handle a dramatic role with skill.

They play the same song at the end as Time for ME to come home. I still hate that song, but this is an excellent movie, and I recommend it highly.