Un Natale in bianco e nero

First, nice story, very typical Hallmark (with can be a good thing). The two leads had great chem and were nice to watch together. Lyndsy was funny on her own and a better actor than some of the other Hallmark Heroines.

But there were too many problems to overcome for me to like this more.

1) Dad's constant passive aggressiveness toward his daughter. No wonder she doesn't come back more often. I know I wouldn't if I had face that barrage of attacks.

2) The green screen effects for a bunch of the fake backgrounds (in color or BW) were so cheap, I thought they were done with an iPhone. I guess if they had to blow their budget on the BW -> Color stuff, something else was going to suffer

3) Dad DOESN'T get his color after the heartfelt convo with daughter, but only when the rest of the town sings his praises... self-centered much?

4) Too much of a rip off of Pleasantville. My wife and I often play the "guess the movie it's based on", but this wasn't even subtle.

Good people in a less than good movie.

Great hallmark movie. Yes it's cheesy but it's great and gets you into the Christmas spirit with whimsy and magic. It is a movie that brings joy, but also inspires. Michael Rady is a great actor and really makes you believe in the magic of Christmas and brings joy. Even though it's in true hallmark fashion of wild and far fetched but guess what it's a fictional story that just captivates if you allow yourself to be taken in. Take it in and enjoy the ride. You will not regret it if you allow yourself to enjoy it and give it a chance. It can easily be taken into reflect on life and how easy it can be to forget the meaning of Christmas.

It is difficult to find truly new themes for these Christmas movies. It was a good effort borrowing the main idea from Pleasantville to give us a new angle for this Christmas movie. But when it comes down to it, there were still many of the usual Christmas movie subplots. Addy living in big city Chicago comes home for Christmas. Like many of the leads in Christmas movies, she hasn't been home in a while and there is family resentment. And even Addy is having trouble finding her Christmas spirit. It gets so bad that she wishes Christmas away completely.

The rest of the movie is Addy trying to restore the color of Christmas, first to those around her and ultimately to herself. She quickly teams up with her romantic opposite, Hunter.

I usually consider Michael Rady to be one of Hallmark's go-to actors, but I was disappointed this time. He and Lyndsy Fonseca didn't have much chemistry and the inevitable love affair between the characters lacked credibility. Part of this was because Addy was the center of the story until later in the story and until then Hunter was secondary. Another reason for lack of chemistry was the attitude of Hunter. His wish to stay out of the spotlight came off as him wanting to be a victim.

I thought the vehicle for Addy's restoration was obvious until it wasn't. I was mostly wrong leaving the movie with a cliche ending.

Still, give the movie points for a new take on losing the Christmas spirit. My interest was maintained to the end despite my preferring a slightly different ending.

Very rare to enjoy a new holiday movie,that Hallmark has put out over the years.. With that said,was it perfect? No! Was full of clichés,including taking a concept done from Pleasantville.

However actually nice it wasn't about saving a business,festivals or usual themed topics.

Was cast ok,feel another lead actress might of did better.

Didn't even recognize Julie Warner,until double checking who the mom was played by.

Acting overall was decent enough,as well the cinematography.. Some color adjustments despite the black & white parts felt dull in vibrancy,so that may of helped it feel more magical.

Music didn't overwhelm the conversations,but could be toned a bit.

As mentioned rare to enjoy newer movies,have only liked a handful in years because Hallmark mass produces cookie cutter productions.

Worth checking out,as its something different.. Well,for Hallmark anyway.

This movie was, obviously, planned with great ambitions and its theme is perfect for Christmas. Addy, played by Lyndsy Fonseca, has lost proper balance in her life, focusing on material goals, and forgotten her Christmas spirit. Back to her hometown, once the epitome of Christmas yuletide, she finds her family and friends struggling with real life constraints that mar the seasonal joy. She wishes a life without Christmas and wakes up in a black and white world. The story leads us to understand that only finding real joy and love can bring (back) color to a drab life. In this production, the huge metaphor is carried far, perhaps too far. Situations are somewhat overblown and characters feel stereotyped, a bit empty. The love connection of Andy with the somber town mechanic, played by Michael Rady, is poorly developed and unconvincing, with minimal chemistry between the two. Essentially, the movie fails in the attempt to create the magic that could have resulted from the premises, with a more insightful script.

The wonderful metaphor of gray vs color life could have been a winning point, if it had not been stolen, and not so well played, from the successful 1998 movie 'Pleasantville'. In summary, I feel this film is watchable, family-friendly, great on intent, yet weakened by a less than inspired execution. Accepted that real sentiments and emotions provide color to our life, where are the colors in this movie?