Il cuore delle feste

I like to start a review with something positive, at least one thing to recommend the movie. The leads were good, though Corey Sevier is usually better, playing a more lively character.

That's about all I got.

It's a very tired plot, even for a Christmas romance. I can't name one fresh or stand-out element.

Oddly, our city go-getter suddenly goes meek when she returns to her small hometown, where her ex is in a sulk.

Things pick up some eventually, but only in the most formulaic way.

It was so dull I kept pausing it for other things and wasn't sure at first that I'd seen the end (I did-that memorable).

Not awful. Not good either.

The premise is like dozens of others - woman loses her job and goes home to small town where she encounters an old flame. One difference is that she quit because her brand new dream job got turned into the same old grind she's been knocking herself out in for years. And her current boyfriend did it to her, not intentionally, but still. The situation with the old flame is pretty bitter until of course, well you know what happens through the rest of the movie. Throw in the charity drive she pulls out of nowhere, with no time to do it. We get the same theme that runs through almost all of the Hallmark regular Christmas movies, and many on other networks - big city crush bad, small town community good.

Vanessa Lengies is energetic as Sam once she stops acting like a victim. She eventually settles down in a likeable role once she has a mission. She and Corey Sevier develop some chemistry once Sevier's Noah stops pouting about the past. Not that Noah doesn't have reason to be upset, and he's pretty much a saint besides. Following them in the movie is nice, but it's not great.

There's another woman interested in Sam who keeps flirting with him, but that character is just filler. Most of the acting is decent, although Bill Lake as Bob goes a little overboard in his role as clueless.

The movie is textbook predictable. It even has some of the standard plot devices to throw a temporary monkey wrench into the inevitable.

I've said this about a lot of Christmas movies - there are no great highs or lows or surprises. Something does happen just before the climax that might have been a little surprise if it wasn't such a typical plot device. It was presented a little differently than the usual.

Observation: Writers often present a character whose personality never could have gotten that character to where the backstory places her (or him) at the beginning off the story. Sam is presented in the first few minutes as someone to count on to get things done in a prominent NYC agency. She is a bit of a people pleaser, but the first scenes establish her as eminently successful in a high stress, high performance, cutthroat environment. Then she gets home and she adopts a timid personality. She's afraid to see anyone and afraid to go anywhere. She absolutely avoids any confrontation. This woman wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes in the environment the movie started her in, which is too bad. She eventually regains her competence, but I'm talking about personality. Sam's personality wouldn't last in that cutthroat NYC world because she's too sensitive and has too much self doubt.

Plea to directors: please make text messages readable to everyone who watches.

Overall this was a nice Christmas themed movie with predictable storylines but still enjoyed it

Sam's new investment job unexpectedly falls apart in New York and she ends up back home for Christmas for the first time in eight years. Sam's boyfriend Will and his partner buyout Sam's new company and she decides she needs some space.

Noah, Sam's high school sweetheart and local cafe owner, and Sam have an awkward reunion...there is clearly more to their story, with tension you could cut with a knife.

"The years fly by but time has a way of standing still."-Bob.

The actress who plays Val really steals the show.

"I'm not sure I really fit in here anymore."-Sam.

Throughout my whole Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas film completest quest undertaken namely late last year through to early this year, an interesting quest but very mixed one, there was never the mentality of expecting a classic or the film in question to be flawless. Something that was never managed with Hallmark's output. There was always the expectation of seeing a film where one can see at least some effort rather than merely cash-in level. One could see that with most of Hallmark's output but not all.

2020 was a variable year for the Hallmark Christmas output. 'Heart of the Holidays' is closer to being in the weaker category. It is not a terrible film, it does have good things and it does get better. It is also not particularly good, have seen a lot of Christmas films recently that start off very badly (and even terribly) but improve if given a chance (something that was common with the 2019/2020 output of both Hallmark and Lifetime, and UpTV). 'Heart of the Holidays' is one of those films.

As said, 'Heart of the Holidays' did not get off to a promising start. Pretty terrible in fact, with the storytelling being slow and uneventful, the dialogue being awkward and cheesy and with none of the characters being worth investing in due to exaggerated character flaws. Any conflict could have done with more tension and not tried too hard and the ending is another rushed and too tidy one.

Plot-wise, 'Heart of the Holidays' is nothing special. It is a tried and tested story and the execution can feel tired. Especially in the first half. Corey Sevier has had far more likeable characters than the one he has here, Sevier is a likeable, confident presence in the second half once the character starts to grow but he comes over as too simpering and naive initially.

However, a lot is still done right. Vanessa Lengies is a bit manic to begin with, but she bursts with energy and charm once her character tones down. Sevier has a likeable understated quality to his acting and looks at ease, again once things have settled. Their chemistry is definitely there and grows at a realistic rate. The supporting cast are solid.

It looks nice as a film, especially the scenery. The music has a nostalgic festive atmosphere and doesn't intrude as much as most Hallmark Christmas films. The film is generally light-hearted, charming and heart-warming once it gets going and the dialogue on the whole is a lot better in the second half, it flows more naturally and isn't as corny while occasionally still forced.

Concluding, not great but watchable. 5/10.