Natale a Nantucket

5/10 - Hallmark movies are known for the warm sense of familiarity that they bring but this one was a bit too heavy handed with the familiarity with absolutely no originality and it ended up being rather bland.

Do not play a typical Hallmark drinking game with this one if you're going to drink every time you hear the little girls name. It WINK and it's said so many times it has totally distracted us from the actual movie, which is typical.

Hey Hallmark: The setting looks nothing like Nantucket. OK, you shoot in Canada for the subsidies, but at least shoot it in Nova Scotia and not BC. And shoot it in winter. The vibe is all wrong.

I've liked Trevor Donovan in a number of Hallmark movies, but this movie was boring and terribly derivative. How many Hallmark movies have a cold hearted developer show up to destroy a charming local site? Whether it's an Inn, a store, a park, a tree, or whatever. It's well into the double digits. This was just bad.

From an overdone storyline and weak character development to the less than stellar production value, 'Nantucket Noel' is somewhat of a disappointment, I'm afraid. That said, the movie did keep me moderately engaged throughout with some solid performances by the cast, which is a plus. The story centers on Christina (played by Sarah Power), a Nantucket native who recently inherited her mother's toy shop on the wharf after her passing, and Andy (played by Trevor Donovan), a confident and driven real estate developer who is spending Christmas with his father (played by Bruce Dawson) and daughter Wink (played by Payton Lepinski) in Nantucket. What is supposed to be a father-daughter Christmas begins to turn into a working holiday for Andy, as he is tasked with helping his father redevelop the wharf. This puts him in direct contact (or conflict) with Christina, who intends to save the Nantucket Warf, especially her mother's shop. As others have pointed out, the plot is well-trodden territory for Hallmark. Indeed, the writer even hints at this in the story. This alone is not a problem for me. Let's be clear, one of the reasons why Hallmark movies are so popular is because of their highly formulaic and predictable plots, which people seem to enjoy and take comfort in. However, the writing in this one had other flaws. There are issues around character development regarding, for example, Wink and her relationship with her father and Oscar (aka the father/grandfather). The dialogue too, at times, felt generic. That said, the ending was at least more realistic and the underlining message here was a noble one. What kept this movie afloat was the acting. Power and Donovan both had strong performances, I thought. Power, in particular, had some lovely scenes with Wink (Lepinski). Unlike other reviewers, I thought the chemistry was good. Though it took some time to develop on screen, the last 20 minutes were great, starting from the very convincing kissing scene. I also enjoyed the kooky and corky performances by Fiona Vroom (playing Harriet) and Daniel Bacon (playing Jacob). They were fun. Finally, I was very disappointed with the production value in this one, as Hallmark usually does an excellent job. For example, the shop looked like a shed that did not seem to have any consumers or sell very many toys. Indeed, the absence of people in the town, in general, felt a bit strange. I did like the lighthouse tree topper though. Very nice. All in all, 'Nantucket Noel' is a pretty ordinary Christmas movie, entertaining enough in the moment but easily forgotten once it ends.