Un Natale perfetto

So, most of these movies in this Christmas genre tend to be too silly and not to my liking. This may have to be more with being low budgeted and quickly made. Lifetime alone can now show several movies a day without showing the same one twice. So, this movie is both silly and far fetching to say the least, however, I was sucked in and I must say, I did enjoy it. As a man, eye candy is always appreciated and Caitlin Thompson was adorable! Making it an Irish Christmas town added to it's charm. I grew up watching It's A Wonderful Life and there is an element of that in this story. Also, elements of Groundhog Day show up as well. But, that's okay. I hope you can enjoy this movie as much as I did. Merry Christmas!!!

Greetings, salutations, and a seasonal welcome to all you movie aficionados. Here are my considerations and recommendation for The Perfect Christmas Village.

Story: 1.25/2 - Direction and Pace: 2.75/4 - Performances: 1.25/2 - Enjoyment: 1.25/2

Total 6.50/10

The perfect Christmas Village comes with one flaw, it's the Groundhog of Christmas Day. Yes, this is one of those stories that emphasise too much of a good thing is too much. For Darcy, it's her continuous awakening to open presents, eat Christmas dinner with full trimmings, take romantic walks, and have the perfect ugly Chrimbo jumper lovingly knitted up by your perfect man - even with his terrible Irish accent. Live the same day, every day, and it will wear thin, like the poor sheep whose wool is making all those damned jumpers. On the whole, the movie works, and though the story is relatively basic and merry, especially when compared to Groundhog Day, there's enough to keep you amused for the hour-and-a-half runtime. In no small way, this is down to the director, who tells the tale at a gentle stroll of a pace while keeping the telling light-hearted. He adds to the heartwarming atmosphere with a plethora of lovely shots. The performers also do a grand job of keeping the picture light and amusing; though, it becomes a tad irksome when the Irish accents start a'slippin'. So, is perfection all it's cracked up to be - or does Darcy need a few foibles in her life? You'll simply have to watch the movie to find out.

And, on that note: I happily recommend The Perfect Christmas Village, AKA Christmas Perfection, for all the lovers and the fans of Christmas Romance flicks. It's delightful viewing merriment, ideal for cuddling and snuggling with a loved one on a cold, wet afternoon or evening.

Please check out my HO! HO! HO! Christmas Belles list to see where I ranked the movie.

Take Care, Stay Well, And Best Wishes For A Merry Christmas.

Am not somebody who hates Christmas or has a bias against made for television Christmas films. The complete opposite on both counts and have made that clear more than once and will continue to do so if necessary (though am refraining as much as possible from reiterating too much). The comparisons to 'Groundhog Day', a great film, made it sound very appetising and if done well or at least competently it did have potential to be good.

'Christmas Perfection' is not perfection, a long way from that. It doesn't even reach good level, the complete opposite, and the worst done components are done terribly. Am taking no pleasure in offering that opinion, being somebody who has actually liked a good deal of Christmas romantic comedy made for television films. As well as being somebody who tries to be as balanced and encouraging as possible when reviewing and summing up the good and bad.

It is not a complete loss. The soundtrack is pleasant enough. The supporting cast do ably with what they are given.

James Henri-Thomas is also game as the only one of the three leads and of all the characters to have anything remotely likeable about him.

The other characters are too underdeveloped and unsympathetic other than that. Two of the three leads are incredibly weak, especially Caiitlin Thompson as a character that is very obnoxious and she plays her with very little ease or charisma. There is no chemistry at all between the three leads, either romantic or of any kind and they are painfully stiff together throughout. The romantic element suffers badly as a result, something that is further hurt by relationships being rushed and no character growth.

All the comedic attempts are laboured and have no freshness whatsoever and the more dramatic elements are far too mawkish. None of the different elements work on their own and together they are poorly balanced, with a tendency to be over-serious. Add to that inane dialogue, no spark let alone charm, warmth or heart, emotional coldness, quite cheap production values that never look authentic and contrivance galore and you have a film that really does not work on most levels.

Has a few decent things but 'Christmas Perfection' couldn't have been more further away from being perfection. Good idea with weak at best execution. 3/10

It is one of those movies that could have been quite good but because of the lack of money and imagination ended up being mediocre... at best. The story doesn't really make too much sense nor the rules of the magic world are clear. The humour is almost non-existing. BUT... somehow, it ended up being good enough to entertain me on a lonely Christmas Eve. The actors are fine, and Irish Christmas is something I did not expect to see. All in all, 5.5/10 is all it deserves.

The acting from the three leads was off. I kept trying to figure out why. Were those real accents or fake from the two leading men? Was it missing background music at key points? Was it the super fake snowmen and snow scenes? The lack of any surprise or shock or wonder at where they were? The lead actress was rather unlikable. Not because of the script but she emoted a strange vibe to me. She does not have screen charisma. I had never seen any of these people anywhere before, and I watch a lot of movies. This feels like a true budget film. The food never looked appetizing at all in all the scenes, the two leading mens teeth are quite yellow, and that was distracting to me, there was zero chemistry between any of the leads. Sorry about the teeth thing, I know American actors have the fakest most brilliant white teeth and that can be distracting too. And so unrealistic. The older supporting actors were all good. The story was a cute idea and it could have been a great movie done better. I feel like this movie being so flat and stilted must be partly the directors fault. There was no spark in this movie. I have seen worse Hallmark and other Christmas movies, but they usually have such lush settings and Christmas decorations and food, you can just ignore the bad plots, (sometimes) and enjoy the Christmas stuff. One thing Hallmark does have is a great stable of charismatic actors who can carry almost any plot. This movie did not have that.