Il segreto di Natale

I really enjoy watching all the new Hallmark movies that come out each Christmas season and I never tire of the happy endings that bring joy and hope to all of us. Thank you, Hallmark, for doing that. This movie was especially enjoyable because there was no music during the talking, unless it was a climatic scene, so you could hear each word clearly. Appreciate that very much.

I loved the story about a young city doctor getting used to a small town in Alaska, knowing all her patients personally and finding true love with views of the Northern Lights. Nothing could be better than that. The acting was professional, yet charismatic. They were all charming and fun to watch. This added to this memorable holiday movie. I would watch this over and over and so would my family. The ending has a magical surprise.

Candace Cameron Bure is perfectly cast as an up and coming surgeon to be as she works so hard to earn a fellowship to one of the most prestigious hospitals in Boston where her father's own career flourished. As with all of us, life gets in the way with some of our best laid plans and the young and attractive Lauren Brunell (Candace Cameron Bure) finds her plans falling totally apart both in her career and relationship plans.

Begrudgingly (at first) Lauren accepts a an offer to work in a small remote town in of all places Alaska where the first person she meets is her cab driver Andy Holliday (David O'Donnell) who is going to take her into town not by car but by a single engine plane as the town is that remote.

As each day passes Lauren becomes more attached to the town, it's people and of course that first connection she had with her pilot/chauffer Andy. This is a simple Hallmark romantic Christmas themed made for TV movie that will warm your heart if you are a romantic, and get you to roll your eyes more than once if you are a realist. So which are you?

I give it a 6 out of 10 IMDB rating. It's good for the heart and is the soul of Christmas.

This movie is very frustrating. It teases you about all kinds of plot points, but never really sees them to fruition or explains them. The ending is dramatically insufficient for the amount of time dedicated to the subject matter. This movie is a always looking for a plot and refuses to engage the most interesting thing about the town where everything happens. When the ending finally does come, it leaves you with many more questions than answers. Garland, the main town, is supposed to be 300 miles north of Anchorage Alaska, and only reachable by bush plane. Yet the town is quite diverse and large, with a coffee shop, general store, fancy cabins for people to live in and a major shipping company based there, anything but what would be found in a small town in central Alaska. They also complain about the cold, yet spend most of the movie walking around without hats or mittens, implying it is not as cold as they said it is. The random extras walking around downtown Garland would look right at home in a British Columbia tourist ski resort town and completely out of their element in a real Alaskan bush town. This movie promised so much frustrating doesn't deliver.

San Francisco doctor Candace Cameron Bure reluctantly takes a job in a small town in Alaska as she waits to hear about the fellowship in Boston she wants. This is a woman with her life all planned out. She doesn't want to stray from that plan but, of course, she finds that she has to in order to truly be happy. That's the moral of this story and, yes, it seems awfully familiar if you've seen other made-for-TV romantic comedies and dramas Candace has done. The big city doctor who learns life lessons working in a small town (Finding Normal). The guy she falls for doesn't want to take over the family business (Let It Snow). There are other similarities to movies she's done (particularly Finding Normal) but, you know, it really doesn't hurt anything. It's a fun, sentimental movie. It doesn't challenge you but that's okay. I enjoyed watching it and that's all that really matters.

As with all of her TV movies, Candace's likability and personality is the primary selling point. She's also very pretty, which doesn't hurt. I don't think the red hair is the right fit for her but it wasn't too distracting. At first glance, I wasn't sold on David O'Donnell. So often in these TV movies the male lead is weak compared to the female lead. But he's actually charming and appealing. For the most part the characters are all nice and pleasant but a couple of them did annoy me. Candace's mom is well-intentioned but pushy and the lady who runs the coffee shop is kind of obnoxious. The subplot romance between the nurse and the florist's son is very cute and adorable. The standout in the supporting cast is the great Brian Doyle-Murray. I won't spoil his character's twist but let's just say if you're a cynic, you'll projectile vomit all over the screen. I got a kick out of it though. Corny as all-get-out but I had a big stupid grin on my face so it worked on me. If you like Candace Cameron Bure, you'll surely like this. It's one of her best movies yet. That it's a Christmas movie just makes it that much more enjoyable.

If you watch the first 5 minutes of this you will get the feel of the rest of the movie. The actors did a good job, but as the other reviews stated, the script and plot are a little flat. Frankly, what do you expect from the Halmark channel? It was a happy seasonal flick, but is unlikely to become a classic.

Also, I would just like to point out those were all white blankets...not snow. Snow crunches when it is stepped on. Oh, and I would also like to point out that the Cessna had one landing light when taxiing out, but two, rather bright lights once airborne (when the landing light would have been off).

It will surely encourage a little bit of Christmas spirit, and perhaps even some winter fashion tips. -Just look past the sub-par CGI and that it was clearly filmed in a warmer climate.