Una coppia per Natale

Some years ago, I saw the Hallmark movie The Irresistible Blueberry Farm, which starred both Alison Sweeney and Marc Blucas, the two leads in this film. I can still remember the chemistry they had on-screen. It is one of my favourite Hallmark movies. This time around, it was pretty good too. Though the story is not as strong, the chemistry between the two is. The plot is not that original, of course, but the movie did engage me; i.e., it pulled me. This was primarily due to the acting. As I alluded to above, the acting and chemistry between the two leads are excellent. Alison Sweeney, a Hallmark regular, had a strong performance. Marc Blucas too performed well in this one. It is their interaction, their dialogue, which I found so appealing. The supporting cast's performance was, for the most, pretty good too. Is it me or do some of these Hallmark Christmas traditions only exist on-screen (in the Hallmark universe)? A three-legged race? That seemed odd. Also, is building gingerbread houses that widespread, that popular of a Christmas tradition? I know it exists, of course, but it appears in so many of Hallmark Christmas movies (this year, as well). In my hometown, a small village in up-state NY, we never once built gingerbread houses, nor did I know of anyone who did. Our village of a couple thousand or so inhabitants did have some public Christmas traditions (e.g., the lighting of the tree) but none of them included the building of gingerbread houses. Nor am I aware of any other village, town or (small) city in my county that had a gingerbread tradition. Hmmm...maybe it is a regional thing. The tradition that seems to be getting popular is the wishing tree; it has appeared in at least two Hallmark movies this year thus far. I am not sure if this is grounded in reality or Hallmark reality. Finally, the scenery and props in this movie were beautiful. For example, the decorations at the Mistletoe Inn were stunning (though maybe a bit too much for some). Overall, this was a pretty good Christmas movie: an unoriginal story with some really good acting and some great chemistry between the leads.

While the story line of a pair of cohosts doing a live show in a "Christmas town" is not unique, it also isn't the most common premise. Having one or both leads participate in all the usual Christmas activities is very common. Misunderstandings causing a conflict, especially when a rival is involved is maybe universal in this type movie. While the ultimate outcome is inevitable, there is a nice twist that helped get it there.

The real attraction is the leads Allison Sweeney and Marc Blucas. I have loved both of these stars in several movies and they even did one together before. Blucas has hit home runs in 3 previous Christmas movies and Sweeney was great last year in one and good in one two years before. The two eventually developed great chemistry in this one after Blucas' character, Brian, stopped acting like a stuck-up jock. It took a little time for me to stop seeing Brian that way.

Standard, but well done Hallmark Christmas Fare. G-rated for the entire family leaves a few gaps for the mature audience to fill on its own. But, enjoyed it just the same. Lots of smiles and great , interesting townspeople in Mistletoe township. All good. All masters of their craft.

Best of course is the Blucas/ Sweeney combo as leads. Lots of caring/ chemistry between them. Not even a hint of them as a perfect pair with a great script as in the awesome movie "The Irresistible Blueberry Farm". If you liked this one, try a great one like "Blueberry".

7/10 - romantic spoof of "Live! With Kelly and Michael" is fun and lighthearted

Normally I love Marc Blucas and Alison Sweeney together and separate! They are two of my favorite Hallmark actors! This movie was just okay. The director made Brian (Blucas) act goofy and and Melissa (Sweeney) angry. Blucas in much better as a rough around the edges, blue collar type of character. The other issue I had was with the character of Lexi. She seemed like she was almost stalking Melissa and just walked into her room without knocking or calling first. This movie was not even close to the chemistry Blucas and Sweeney had in The Irresistible Blueberry Farm.