Il Natale di Chris

Paul Greene is personable enough! Marisol Nicols is bubbly when needed. They don't click romantically.

The storyline would have worked with other leads.

Now that Hallmark needs to virtue signal with POC checks the 2021 box. Christmas' niece, on queue, acts angry and switches to convivial. Check. I wanted this to succeed, but felt more like paint drying instead of holiday cheer.

This Hallmark holiday romance lacks chemistry between the two romantic leads, but follows an unsurprisingly plot to be a moderately entertaining story. The part-owner of a toy company hopes to merge with a larger company, but needs the signature of the other owner of her company, who is now estranged from her.

One highlight is the young actress Veronica Marin-Estrada, who is debuting in this film.

The story wraps up much as expected, but never delivers the emotional satisfaction of many other Hallmark films.

I usually like Paul Green, but there was no chemistry in these characters. The story might have worked, but it didn't. Extra stars for being family friendly.

The only thing she's ever wanted in her life - to be CEO of a toy company... THEN why does she basically give it up for a guy? Hallmark - you missed the mark on this one. Casting was off too. Paul Greene's character was annoying and he was kind of a jerk. Not a good look for the "nice guy of Hallmark movies." Marisol Nichols was too tentative to be a CEO of ANYTHING. The niece was good though...LOL.

The best way to describe a 'Christmas CEO' is: it's good enough. It is not as bad as some of the reviews suggest. Sure, it is not one of Hallmark's best, but to be fair, it is certainly not one of their worst. I think one of the main problems was casting. The story follows Christmas (played by Marisol Nichols), aka Chris, a hard-working CEO of a small toy company who gets an offer of a lifetime: a merger with one of the most successful toy companies and, more importantly, she will become its new CEO. However, there is a catch. She needs her former partner/friend Joe (played by Paul Greene) to sign off on the merger. The problem is, they haven't spoken in years. Joe agrees to sign if she is willing to help him with his charity this Christmas. And so, our journey begins as we watch these two mend the past, rediscover what they truly want and, maybe, just maybe, find a future together. At face value, the plot was decent for a Hallmark production. The writers do a pretty good job with the dialogue, especially those scenes where Chris and Joe reminisce about their past together. These were heartfelt and nicely written. The problem, however, is that the two don't feel like a good match. The writers could have done a better job of convincing us that they actually are. The casting in this respect did not help. Simply put: there seemed to be a disconnect between Nichols's performance and her character. They did not line up, I felt. The chemistry between her and Greene was not bad, but the idea that these two would end up together took away from this element of their performance, I'm afraid. The sequel to this one would have to look like the plot shakeup in this year's 'The Nine Kittens of Christmas'. Leaving these issues aside, Greene had a very strong performance, I thought. His charisma and charm really shine on-screen. He (and Nichols) had some nice scenes with Chris's niece Emma (played by Veronica Marin-Estrada). She had a lovely performance. The movie also had a wonderful Christmas vibe to it. There was plenty of Christmas spirit and festive cheer in this one, which I did enjoy. Hmm...I am not sure about the reindeer race game. All in all, it is a decent Christmas movie with a couple of bright spots that shine through here and there. If you are a fan of Hallmark Christmas movies, then you might want to check this one out.