Un Natale a colori

You know what to expect from this movie. But, the surprise is the knowledge you will take with you when the credits roll.

Being color blind for me, was just a "thing" that some people have. Now because of this movie, I am more aware of not only the condition, but of the related problems and trauma associated with it.

The lead actors - Chris Russell and Katrina Bowden - are fantastic and well cast. The cinematography used attempts to teach the audience with normal eyesight what being totally colorblind May mean. And the captions during the closing credits... offer contacts for those with this type of problem to get help if needed. This underscores the reality of the problem.

Although this is a message movie, I was pleasantly surprised by how good this movie is: from writers and director to the actors involved . And, I highly recommend it to any audience of any age to watch, learn, and enjoy.

This is an unusual premise. The usual Christmas activities in this movie seem limited to a pageant and Christmas decorations, the latter for obvious reasons. The persistence of Michelle and her daughter, Bailey, lead to tension that isn't romantic for over half the movie. The ploy by Bailey is cute and changes the tone to be more Christmas like.

No matter how accurate is the representation of what Ryan sees, the movie works to capture the wonder he experiences. I do question how accurate the science of it is especially given that during the premiere on Hallmark, there is a commercial for corrective glasses. Is it irony that Ryan is a science teacher? I couldn't find anything conclusive in a simple internet search, but what I saw led me to believe that the actual experience is not as pure especially if Ryan's case was extreme as Michelle stated.

And Mark!? What is with his request that leads to the misunderstanding? Why in the world would Michelle agree?

The acting is OK. The dialogue is ok with a few good moments. Given the relatively small amount of screen time spent by Michelle and Ryan when things are good, it is hard to say there is much chemistry between Katrina Bowden and Christopher Russel or why the characters would feel so strongly.

I've always liked Katrina Bowden. She is past her Miss Tasty/hottest girl in the world days, but she's still really pretty and makes a very nice Hallmark lead. I hope she does more.

Christopher Russell just keeps getting better. He was a bit stiff when he appeared on the scene a few years ago, but now he has a natural quality that is very appealing.

This movie is about a colorblind man seeing the beauty of the world for the first time, and his heart is opened in the process. There are some genuinely touching moments along the way.

The requisite conflict is brought on by a clingy ex in her case, and an admirer in his, leading to the usual Hallmark misunderstanding.

I liked this movie. Better than most.

Some viewers may find this made for TV Christmas film a bit corny, and some may consider (the teacher named) Ryan Tanner's handicap an insult to people who may be legally blind. A lot of people may be color blind to different extremes and not consider themselves to be handicapped which Mr. Tanner and his girlfriend Optometrist, Michelle Stevens, was making a bigger deal about his handicap than I would have expected. Dr. Stevens suggesting that Mr. Tanner entertain the idea of joining a medical test group for his color blindness and him being stubborn and trying, when all it included was trying on a new pair of eyeglasses you may understand why I think they blew out of proportion his handicap. I believe the message the producers were genuinely attempting to convey to their audience was for people not to be afraid to accept assistance and/or suggestions that may significantly improve their health. Whether that handicap may be a severe disability or something less obtrusive such as being color blind.

Just an observation about this film and please not to be critical a Mrs. Shullivan and I quite enjoyed this film. I am glad they did not show Mr. Tanner behind the wheel of a car as he would not have been able to distinguish between a red light or a green traffic light.

I give the film a wishy washy 5 out of 10 IMDb rating as I can see how some people may enjoy the romantic undertone and then others may be insulted with Mr. Tanner overcoming his color blindness by simply putting on a new pair of glasses. Duhhhh.

The good: recognition for a hidden disability.

The bad: too many moments of awkward dialog, a cringy, stalker-like ex-boyfriend character, and too many unrealistic moments that detract from the overall message, especially with the aforementioned ex-boyfriend. Also, I wish Hallmark would really vet scripts to make sure they accurately portray professions. Schools never have a database of teachers' personal cell phone numbers for parent use, and teachers would never just up and leave in the middle of the school day on a whim. The formulaic conflict in the last half hour was unnecessary and unrealistic.