Snow Bride

I have to admit that I am a sucker for the Hallmark Channel's holiday movies. I look forward to their annual, 2-month long "Countdown to Christmas" extravaganza with the giddiness of an excited child waiting for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Hallmark's movies are warm, inviting and comforting, and they envelop me in holiday spirit, like a cozy winter blanket or a cup of hot chocolate. The plots are good-natured, usually a bit flimsy, and always predictable -- and yet I am drawn into the stories they tell as though I think something new and unexpected is going to happen at the end of each one.

In the case of "Snow Bride," I expected a standard, lightweight, family-friendly, thinly outlined romantic comedy -- and that's precisely what I got. However, it seems surprisingly modern and fresh.

One highlight of this movie is that the two romantic leads in "Snow Bride" (the striking Katrina Law and Jordan Belfi) are impossibly attractive, and they have genuine chemistry. This is not to say that other actors in other Hallmark productions are unappealing, but many times the couplings fall flat in the absence of any true sparks. The "Snow Bride" duo, however, sparks left and right.

Also, the repartee between "Greta" and "Ben" throughout this movie is fairly snappy, witty, and clever, which had me wondering if Hallmark hired some new writers...or maybe just better actors?

I suppose the only reason I am not assigning a higher rating to "Snow Bride" is that the circumstances under which our two leads meet seem a bit implausible and preposterous, although that is generally the formula for many of the Hallmark holiday romcoms that I already love.

Overall, though, "Snow Bride" is one of the better installments in Hallmark's pantheon of reliable, feel-good Yuletide fare. It's not going to win an Emmy, and it's not going to provoke deep thought, but it is as sweet and delightful as a sugary piece of Christmas candy, and that's all I need it to be.

Hallmark mass-produces Christmas movies by the dozen and they are, for the most part, interchangeable. Although not particularly unique, it's still a charming and heartwarming story with two characters who just mesh well together. Katrina Law is unlike I've ever seen her before (I only know her from Arrow), and her expressive eyes and face and goofy nature steals the show. Patricia Richardson is wonderful as the male lead's mother, exuding a natural warmness that many other actors try too hard to convey. The chemistry between the two leads are what makes this film stand out from other holiday flicks. I definitely recommend this one.

Greta Kaine (Katrina Law) is always in search of juicy gossip. As a tabloid reporter at "Pulse! Gossip" in Los Angeles, it's her job to expose the rich and famous for the entertainment of the magazine's readers. So when word gets out that one of the late Senator Tannehill's two sons might be proposing marriage at the family's Big Bear compound during Christmas, Greta and her chief rival Wes (Tom Lenk) are challenged by their old-school editor to get the scoop. There's incentive to be the first, too-- the editorship of the magazine's new online incarnation.

Greta's assistant tells her that Wes has a head start to snowy Big Bear, so she dashes to the mountain resort. When she mistakenly ends up as a guest of the family, she's in the middle of what could be her best story yet! However, she soon discovers that the family, including matriarch Maggie Tannenhill (Patricia Richardson) and caretaker Peters (Robert Curtis Brown), are more down-to-earth than she ever gave them credit for. Increasingly guilt-ridden about her game of subterfuge, Greta must make a decision: how far will she go for the sake of a story?

This film was surprising. The "Kennedy" type family in this film are not mean spirited at all. They are nice. They are just press shy and afraid of letting new people into their lives. The film is worth watching. Kids will Be bored but its meant for a slightly older audience

When one sees one of these early Hallmarks, it is evident how the brand has slid into mediocrity in the last year or two. I guess it's to be expected, considering the sheer volume that are churned out nowadays. It is evident also in how much kinder I am in my ratings now. My standards have well and truly slipped. My expectations are so low, that when I actually enjoy one, it is kind of an event. I've re-watched a few of the older ones that I have given low marks to, and finding that, comparing to what is aired nowdays, they weren't all that bad.

Snow Bride had everything I love about the Hallmark movies and is so rare today. It was both funny and witty. The image of her tromping and tripping through the snow in her friends wedding dress had me laughing out loud. It had some funny repartee as well. The suspense of waiting for the truth to come out had me in a state of anticipation throughout. The big reveal had me cringing for our heroine and the comeuppance to the bad guys was very cathartic. The evil ones had me hissing and booing. There were some heart tugging moments and a satisfying twist near the end that I didn't see coming. Considering the vaunted predictability of Hallmarks, this was a real coup. Excellent writing. The actors were all great. Patricia Richardson was wonderful and wise as the mother. I loved the secondary romance and the story behind it. Very affecting. Katrina Law had great comic timing and also brought emotion to her role. she's no Teri Polo, Meredith Hagler, Autumn Reeser or Melissa Joan Hart, but she was just fine. Unfortunately she was not served well by the make-up artist. Bobby Campo as the brother added depth to his redeemed character. He is a favorite of mine from subsequent Hallmarks. The hero, Ben was a bit blah, but was very handsome. It really had all the ingredients. I wish Hallmark would go for quality over quantity, but at least they still show these oldies but goodies from time to time.

Hallmark's Christmas offerings have always been a mixed bag. Some are good, some are lacklustre or even bad and some are somewhere in between. 'Snow Bride's' premise could have gone either way in execution. It could either have been a heart-warming, feel-good sort of Christmas film with a real feel for the festive season and better than average acting or it could be charmless and mean-spirited with a lot of predictability and characters not easy to get behind.

'Snow Bride' fortunately is one of the good Hallmark offerings, definitely among the better ones seen as part of my festive Hallmark/Lifetime etc. quest that started around November last year with a lot of spare time on my hands. It is not perfect and reading the synopsis part of me was preparing to not like it as it didn't sound promising at the start and neither did the lead character. Am very glad about giving it a chance without too much prejudice.

It doesn't contain any surprises or much new, if you are familiar with the festive Hallmark formula you have a pretty good idea how things are going to go and map out.

Also didn't find Greta likeable at first, am aware that's the intention at first but she comes over initially as very obnoxious and representative of what really irks me regarding the media and journalism, what her job does is pretty much faithful to what that particular profession does in real life but somehow it didn't sit right with me and felt a little overplayed.

Once 'Snow Bride' gets going, being a film that also takes time to find its footing, and Greta starts to grow as a character, it becomes a better film with enough of what Christmas films should be like. The production values are very pleasing to look at, nice use of locations slickly shot. The music captures the Christmas feel very well and is not near as over-scored or intrusive as too many of later Hallmark films. The script has moments of cheese, but mostly flows nicely and has a light-hearted and sweet tone without being sugary.

Despite the predictability, the story does have a good deal of charm, is light on its feet and warms the heart. Much of the pace doesn't drag and the characters are generally not one that bored or irritated me, despite not warming to Greta straightaway. Nice to see characters that actually show growth. The acting is better than average, with solid supporting turns and very engaging lead performances in particularly Katrina Law, who essentially is the film. The chemistry between the actors has spark and the love and conflict are done believably.

Summing up, surprisingly good. 7/10