A Snow Globe Christmas

Apparently, the snow globe-alternate-universe-Christmas movie genera is here to stay. Unfortunately, this one is not as good as the 2007, one-word Snowglobe version.

In this edition, Meg (Alicia Witt) thinks the shows she produces misleads people into thinking dreams really can come true. After bonking herself on the head with a snow globe, she ends up in it's perfect snow-covered town. She never quite fits into this universe though everyone in town tries to accept her. It all starts to unravel when her negative attitudes impacts the town folks. Just as she starts to realize she likes her snow globe universe better than her real one, she returns to reality with another bonk on the head.

While there is a nice, semi-predictable twist at the end of this movie, its your basic Lifetime Channel Christmas movie fare that you will forget minutes after the movie is over.

I saw and disliked the first snow globe movie with Christina Milian but hoped that the presence of Alicia Witt , Trevor Donavan and Donald Faison in the cast would make this an enjoyable movie. But alas , the snow globe failed me again.

I watched the whole movie and kept hoping that it would get better, after all it had Alicia, Trevor and Donald in it. They deserved better than this. But it was just so disjointed, badly written and badly edited that it made it difficult to watch. The actors tried their best but the writers gave them very little to work with. I am not real sure what the plot of this movie was supposed to be, but the entire movie felt like a collection of unrelated scenes, strung together at random, in hopes of making a christmas movie.

This is not a Hallmark movie and doesn't attempt to be. However, if you have enjoyed Hallmark movies with Alicia Witt , Trevor Donavan and Donald Faison in them, avoid this movie.

This was a boring movie, who knew 90 minutes could be so-o-o long. It is right up there as one the worst movies I have ever seen.

I gave it no stars, and that was being generous.

This movie doesn't really have any flow and is hard to follow. Rather than feeling like its own show, it feels more like a bad editing job of splicing together every other Christmas movie you've ever seen. Considering that the main character is trying to make the perfect Christmas movie when she passes out, I'm sure this is probably on purpose, but unfortunately the end result isn't good. It feels more like we were dropped into a fun house than a snow globe. Also, the male and female leads didn't demonstrate any believable chemistry, or at least not for more than a second or two at a time. Both actors are terrific, and I've loved them in other shows, but it just didn't work here. It might not be their fault, though. It could be because the movie kept jumping around and never held still long enough to maintain emotion. In any case, your time would probably be better spent watching one or more of the other Christmas movies instead of this trippy imitation.

The idea was sort of interesting, though it wasn't anything innovative. 'A Snow Globe Christmas' could have been either sweet and entertaining or contrived and bland, like a lot of Christmas films on both extremes and in between. Alicia Witt has always been mixed for me. When she has the right material, she can be good. There have even been times where she's been great. When she has characters that are annoying and not very interesting, she struggles to make it work.

'A Snow Globe Christmas' is not a terrible film and has its moments. It is sadly also not particularly good either and is very lacking in most areas. It could have done so much more with its concept, which turned out to be rather ordinary and muddled. It fits in the extreme of contrived and bland, though not one of the worst examples when it comes to Christmas films. It is yet another festive film where it was a struggle to like Witt or her character, though she is not completely to blame here.

Will start with the good things, as they are there. The scenery is lovely and quite idyllic and the photography is neither drab or garish, looking slick while not doing anything elaborate or too static. There is at times a nice festive feel to the music.

Christina Milian does a good job with what she was given, giving some spark. There are moments of charm and heart.

Neither Witt or Donald Faison come off particularly well, though she comes off better. It is a case of her trying too hard (though she does a nice smile), so everything feels too exaggerated, and he not enough. There is absolutely no spark or warmth to their chemistry and the rest of the cast are forgettable. Only Milian comes off unscathed. The direction mostly is functional but not much more than that. Other parts of the music felt intrusive.

Moreover, a lot of the dialogue is very stilted and corny, with too much cheese and schmaltz. And the execution of the film' concept is very predictable, very strained, completely lacking in energy and the lack of sense spoils it too. None of the characters are particularly interesting or likeable, and the main character's Scrooge-like transformation/character development feels too rushed to be believable.

In summation, has its moments but lacking. 4/10

Courtesy of the Great Canadian film factory (which, as explained in my other reviews often masquerades as production companies from other parts of the globe), we have this soppy entry, a strange take on the X-mas fantasy classics from the 1940s.

The good news? Alicia Witt. Witt is not only a singer but a comedian and actress of special merit. This reviewer first noticed her in a season of Justified where she stole the spotlight from several dramatic actors more seasoned.

And speaking of "seasoned," this Xmas effort even with its many flaws could have been a lot better than it was were it not for the criminally inept casting of Donald Faison as the fantasy husband.

Folks I understand the benefits of political correctness in the modern age (even though as a youngster I did not go to a "snowflake" university) but there are some things more important than political correctness, such as writing, casting, directing and acting. For starters.

Witt is not only competent, she delivers some very awkward dialog like she means it. Not so with Donald Faison. He seems to think he is in a slapstick comedy instead of a romcom and keeps mugging for a laugh. It would help if there was even a smidgen of chemistry between the two. THERE IS NOT. Worse, the writer/director makes a major faux pas and actually takes this lack of chemistry and tries to turn it into a plot arc.

Ugh! Other than for Witt fans, not recommended.