A Puppy for Christmas

2023- I watched this again, and you know what I liked it. I did not find all the things that annoyed me the first time even noticeable. I think because since I first saw this movie with the dog, I have now seen so many other of this type of movie with the dogs. The dog is really cute. I enjoyed it the 2nd time.

First Review- This is not the worst Christmas movie. I found so many things super annoying about it. The actors all were pretty good with what they had. But the whole puppy thing almost sunk the movie it was so unrealistic. Bringing the dog everywhere? Who does that with a puppy? Who was the jewelry company they were supporting in this movie? A sponsor? Who wears fancy costume jewelry in their robe and pajamas? Or out in the snow, or a skirt for goodness sake while on a snowmobile? Why didn't she take off her ear muffs when inside on a major scene? The lead character was oddly ditzy in an annoying way. You never forget you are watching a cheesy holiday movie. I think they could have done much better with a better script. I watch a ton of holiday movies each year, and you can let this one play in the background while you do other things, so that is always good to me.

No treats for the writers or creators of this hot mess of a Christmas film! It was bad from the start, yet I couldn't stop watching... Seriously, who buys a dog without talking to the person they live with? Ugh. The sleeping under her desk, bringing the dog to work multiple times after her boss makes her take it home. This woman has many other serious issues.. Horrible movie.

Cindy Busby is one of my favorite Hallmark actresses, so I gave this one a whirl. She plays a journalist who has been given an opportunity to write a feature on the secret of a happy marriage. At first, her character,Noelle, is very annoying and does some really stupid things. Like buy a dog while living in her boyfriend's apartment without consulting with him, taking the badly behaved dog to work without permission, and being incompetent writing her feature story. She is not likable at all. She is also snotty to her office mate, a handsome but kind of dorky fellow writer. And the dog is possessed by the devil. But, hey, Cindy Busby! I couldn't stay irritated for long, and she finally starts to redeem herself. She is dumped by her commitment phobic boyfriend of 5 years, and, now homeless, is invited to spend a country Christmas with her super-nice and dog-loving office colleague.

The male leads were superb, which further bumps it up. Christopher Russell plays the bad boyfriend, for a change, and does a great job. Greyston Holt was very very attractive and the complete opposite from his rival. He played a bit of an eccentric with long hair and a beard. For a change, he also had a fiance who shared his outdoorsy and adventuresome spirit, which added some interest to the final happy ending. I also liked his quirky sister, and Cindy's older friend.

Cliches, tired plot elements, and an unbelievable coincidence saved by the cast and some well fleshed out characters and a few unusual additions.

A Christmas film around a puppy. Nothing memorable but nice. And that nice is the most important thing in this case. Because, what high expectations are possible ? Love, perfect man, job, few drops of humor and seduction. And a lot of sugar. Childish, predictable, it is like a cocoa cup. And Cindy Busby gives a not so bad Noelle, Christopher Russell makes the cliches reasonables, Greyton Holt gives a cool, sensitive Prince Charming and the story works in decent manner, with few dosis of indulgence from the public.

So far the best part of this movie is Buster the puppy, Greyston Holt and Christopher Russell.

Noelle, (Cindy Busby), who has wanted a puppy all of her life, then on a whim goes out and adopts a puppy.

No research on breed or even basic puppy care or training, and not a word to her current live in boyfriend. Who does that? And who lets a puppy just run around?

Ok, just finished watching. The movie did get better as it went along. While it wasn't hard to figure out what was going to happen, it still turned out to be a nice feel good movie.

While I don't feel compelled to ever watch it again, being able to fast forward through commercials made it much more watchable.

^