The Jingle Bell Jubilee

I don't understand what world these characters live in. The movie is bearable, the acting a bit below mediocre. The male lead was attractive enough to keep me watching.

I don't know if it was the writing (or the acting just a bit over the top) but I've never in life witnessed adults (let alone a city leader, a semi pro athlete, a school administrator and a teacher) be so completely awkward. Everyone was just awkward around each other. None of them had a single bit of confidence in themselves. I wanted to shake them awake. How could they possibly be in the positions they are in acting the way they do.

All that makes it sound like I didn't like it. But, I've seen much worse, so this pretty middle of the road movie.

He was the only reason to watch this movie. The script was ok, but the acting from everyone else was horrible!

Absolutely ZERO chemistry between the two leads, and don't get me started on the awkward supposed "chemistry " between him and the other girl.

Execution of lines from the other actors was on the same level of my grade 9 high school play.

The facial expressions of the female lead was way too distracting. Constantly looking confused, spaced out, frustrated and bewildered all at once. The scene when her and Marshall almost kissed made me laugh out loud. She looked absolutely frightened and he looked like when you're about to bump into a stranger on a sidewalk and you are trying to move out of each other's way!

I kept it on in the background as it was ok to listen too, but to sit and watch this mess, absolutely not!

"The Jinglebell Jubilee" (2023) GFAM

Erin Agostino and Marshall Williams star in this Christmas movie. Both have done several romance movies so you may have seen them before. I really like Agostino. I think she is very good, and it doesn't hurt that she is lovely. Williams is a good as well. I admit it took seeing a couple of his movies for him to grow on me, but he is actually a pretty good actor.

The story here is a new one, and the twists and turns make for a pleasant watching experience. There are basically four friends--the stars, plus Kristian Jordan and Samantha Kendrick, all playing ring around the romance, and we are not sure how things will fall out until late in the film...but that's what makes it interesting.

I really had no problems with this movie. I thought it was entertaining and enjoyable. Give it a look, you'll probably like it, too.

This time of year, it's hard to turn on a TV without seeing one of these mass-produced holiday romances.

I used to say, "Seen one, seen 'em all," but with these things breeding like rabbits, they are sorting into definite categories.

This, alas, is not one of the better ones. Like so many of these, it's so by-the-numbers that you can practically recite the dialogue as it happens. It's like a story on The Love Boat bloated into a two-hour timeslot. All it needs is Gopher and Doc mugging in the background.

It's great that these movies are committed to no violence, gratuitous sex, bad language, or stuff like that. But they also left out good storytelling, dramatics, action, motivation... Oh, well.

7.7 stars.

Cumbersome and sweet are oxymorons and this film is one big oxymoron. The leads seem to lack chemistry, but I think it's because they try so hard to be awkward, maybe they portray it too well. First of all, something about Agostino is endearing and simple. I mean that in a flattering way. She has a way about her, thus the reason why she lands a lead role in the film. There are people out there that feel she has the chops and I am one. Mr. Marshall was fine, nothing noteworthy about his performance, but he played his part well. His character is a confused widower who yearns for a woman, but feels guilty about it. The object of his affections is Agostino's character. Her most notable traits are that a lack of self-confidence, and this is probably unattractive for most viewers. I find it to be endearing and sweet and I can sense it's deliberate. She is a woman who is only self-assured when it comes to giving to the needy and doing kind things for those less fortunate. Otherwise she lacks any self-worth and I see how the audience might be turned off by these traits. To me it seems authentic, and I enjoyed the display. Another outlier for me. This movie has very low ratings, but is a rare surprise of downhearted entertainment (another oxymoron).