Actually really liked the concept and there was some decent potential here in 'Hats Off to Christmas' with its ideas. It is not original by any stretch, then again nobody should watch a Hallmark film expecting originality (which has only been achieved sporadically). Have nothing personal against Hallmark, far from it, and absolutely love Christmas, so there was no negative bias towards the film before watching. Actually wanted to like it.
That 'Hats Off to Christmas' didn't do much with its potential and wasn't the at least decent film that it could have been if it had tried harder actually saddened me somewhat. It is nowhere near Hallmark's worst, there were some really rough ones since 'Hats Off to Christmas'. It is not one of their best either, with some of their output being surprisingly good as long as one doesn't expect a massive amount or award-worthy.
'Hats Off to Christmas' best component is the acting, which was well above average all things considered. Haylie Duff and Antonio Cupo both do a good job in their roles, especially Duff as one of the few businesswoman-type characters in a Hallmark film to not be annoying and have a personality. Their chemistry is sweet and genuine. Jay Brazeau is also strong and Sean Michael Kyer has his heartfelt moments.
Production values are quite nice, especially the scenery, and they don't look cheap or drab. The soundtrack is pleasant and isn't as intrusive as can be the case for Hallmark Christmas films. A few heart-warming moments here and there, really did like the idea of Scotty's subplot and that did have moments of heart.
Sadly, those heart-warming and moving moments are eclipsed by the excessive cheese and over-sentimentality that the writing is full of. A lot of the dialogue is so cheese-ridden that it makes the cheesiest burger bland in comparison, and some of the interplay is really forced. 'Hats Off to Christmas' to me came over as far too sentimental and in a rather manipulative way too, little of it felt natural and Scotty's subplot in general could have been handled with a lot more tact (especially with the football game). The story does absolutely nothing new with story tropes well worn out long ago, so one predicts many actions and many of the outcomes.
It is also very contrived, its portrayal of business and retail is agreed unrealistic, too many of the characters do not feel like real people that behave realistically and have changes of heart that ring true and not spur on the monent-like. Instead there are a lot of over-reaction behaviours here, especially considering the misunderstanding, and too many decisions come too out of nowhere and come over as illogical. Kyer had his moments, but he tended to overact his role and a huge part of me was really disappointing in not being able to relate completely to Scotty's subplot.
Concluding, rather mediocre but not a complete humbug. 4/10
