Natale a Notting Hill

American teacher Georgia Bright (Sarah Ramos) goes to Notting Hill to visit her sister for Christmas. Injured professional footballer Graham Savoy (William Moseley) comes home to Notting Hill with his career in doubt. They bump into each other in an outdoor market. He is surprised that she doesn't know who he is.

It is Hallmark in London. The romance is standard Hallmark. It has two pretty leads doing most of the standard fare with limited drama. The big drama with the sisters seem to come out of nowhere. The main difference from other Hallmark movies is the London location. I wouldn't mind more local flavors. The interiors are probably shot on a sound stage. It is still a TV movie after all.

5.8/10 (6)

Same story, different country. It doesn't matter if it's America or England. It's a small world where the love interests will collide.

The thing that drew me to checking out this film was the inclusion of Association Football. Football is my favourite sport, and so I got curious on how the romantic dynamic would be incorporated.

It went about as well as I imagined. Only a slight bit of the game being shown, and the rest inferred along the way. The initial romantic meet up was classic, and the continuation really wasn't much of a surprise.

The two main leads were cute together, and had good chemistry. The second couple of the film, while not the primary story per se, they were also enjoyable.

My downsides were passion, editing and effects. While I did enjoy the actors, at times, I didn't feel there was a lot of passion which made the less than ninety minute film feel stretched. The editing and effects were a little choppy at times. Quick succession of camera cuts that seemed unnecessary. Also, the effects of snow felt too fake which bothered me for some shots. It looked like an overlay on the screen.

Overall, not a terrible movie. It's bad enough to get a 5.8 out of me, but just good enough to be rated a 6. If you're a Hallmark fan then you won't go wrong and you'll enjoy it I'm sure. If you're not a Hallmark fan and you're being forced into watching one then this is one of the better ones. You may still dislike it, but it's not as cheesy as others.

That's all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Until next time.... Enjoy the show!

I enjoyed the opening parallel between a group of small kids playing soccer and a professional UK football team playing to the tune of Elton John's "Step into Christmas". Georgia Bright (Sarah Ramos) travels to London to visit her baby sister for Christmas. When she arrives her sister, Lizzie (Joelle Rae) has a whole British Christmas itinerary...including shopping and getting Christmas crackers even though neither one knows what they are. While out shopping alone, Georgia runs into a gentleman...or maybe he runs into her, either way s one of a kind ornament is broken and Georgia, not knowing he is the famous captain of the local football team (soccer) Graham Savoy (William Moseley), treats him like a regular person. The novelty of being treated like a regular chap intrigues Graham who eventually helps her finish her shopping trip...including the Christmas crackers. What they both eventually find out is that their younger siblings are not only dating, but Graham's younger brother Henry is actually planning to propose to Georgia's sister Lizzie this Christmas. This throws the two of them together and eventually makes them accomplices.

Meanwhile there is this whole sub storyline about both Georgia and Graham questioning their futures and their chosen professions.

Things to like: there were some cute nods to the movie Notting Hill, Georgia and Lizzie's dad with his Hawaiian shirts was a kick, the two girls seemed to have nice camaraderie, there are some great touristy British things and Christmas traditions like the Christmas crackers. I think the drag queen Christmas special was a little over the top. I did enjoy the extended family for the holidays.

Things that kept this from being in the top tier of Hallmark movies...the injury recovery was unrealistic, Georgia's anger at Graham seemed inappropriate, and finally the leads seemed to lack chemistry with one another. The fight between sisters over the potential marriage of the younger sister seemed disproportionate to their relationship...making them seem close sometimes but like strangers others.

Overall, it was a good film that I think romantics will appreciate. I recommend it to hallmark fans and Anglophiles alike.

I gave it five stars for effort! All the actors seemed very enthusiastic about their roles, but they really had nothing to work with and none of them rose above it, either.

The premise was promising, but the execution was abysmal. I was sitting home alone, bored, the night before Thanksgiving, and decided a cheesy Hallmark Xmas movie was what I needed. This didn't disappoint. I laughed at myself for the entire time because I kept watching it. Kind of like watching a train wreck.

The writing was amateurish, the dialog was totally cringe, the conflicts were silly and shallow, and about the only thing really interesting was the reference near the end to the excellent TV series "Ted Lasso".

But I had fun making fun of it. Just wish I'd had someone here to laugh with.

The lead actress, Sarah Ramos, is so wooden, it was really hard to watch. At first, I thought it was just the storyline and the character, but no, even as the character was supposed to lighten up this Actress did not lighten up and was so wooden. It was really difficult to watch.

The lead male was charming though. I haven't seen him in many of the other Hallmark films, but would watch him in other films.

They also need to hire more professional hair and makeup artists. The hair for the women distracted from the action of the film. This particular film fell far short of the standards for a Hallmark movie.