La chiave del Natale

Steve Lund was really charming in this one. This is the second movie I have seen with him as the male lead this Christmas. He was excellent in that one also. He infused his lines with personality and humor. Just wanted to register my appreciation of his performance. Signed, his mother. Just kidding. I have received no material compensation from Steve Lund or his affiliates for this review.

If that's what passes for flirty banter these days I'll be surprised if anyone ever gets together.

I couldn't tell by Steve Lund's face that he was going for flirtation. It looked weirdly hostile and aggressive. If I ran across this at a coffee shop and doctor's office, that would be the last time that I spoke to him.

Come on, writers! Haven't you ever flirted with a stranger that you found attractive? No? Can you ask someone who has?

Christmas related quests are the latest thing. That's pretty much it for story except for where the quest comes from - many or even most viewers probably figured that out early. There are no great highs or lows and zero tension except for "greener grass". The conflict is manufactured and a bit clumsy based on the usual misunderstandings. I will give points for the ending being a slight role reversal in terms of grand gestures.

The leads, Kate (Taylor Cole) and Kevin (Steve Lund) are lead through a few Christmas activities leaning towards doing good for others. Many reviewers thought they had great chemistry but it seemed average at best to me.

This movie is OK and will appeal more to viewers who haven't watched dozens of similar ones already this year.

Taylor Cole and Steve Lund do a great job with what they are given, but the writers have really let them down on this one, The leads have good chemistry together but the story is weak, there aren't any interesting subplots, which makes the makes the pace seem slow, and the script doesn't really allow for any romantic connection to grow. You can see the possibility for romance in many scenes, and you're thinking any second now, but due to the writing, it just never happens. Lund's character remains aloof for nearly the entire movie. Luckily Cole and Lund are entertaining and fun to watch, so it's worth watching just to see these two work.

Steve Lund is a very handsome man when he doesn't have the weird haircut he has in this film. I also felt that he was a bit too overexcited all of the time.

I liked the fact that the forces element was subtle, quite often it can be forced down your neck in an overly sentimental and saccharine way, but here it's just in the background.

The story idea itself is cute, wouldn't it be nice to have a Guardian Angel steering you towards love or at least giving you some fun challenges on the build up to Christmas.

Full of fun stuff and with a generally jolly feel, it doesn't hurt anybody at all and is easy to watch.

6ish.