Hope at Christmas

Ryan Paevey is divine, but I'm not keen on Scottie Thomson and not just because I only like men, but because the character is a bit weak. Her reason for accepting him is because she reads a good book?

The film features a book shop and lots of seasonal activities, so it ticks a lot of my boxes. I would also very much like to sit on this Father Christmas's knee and other things.

Set in the usual small town environment, there's love and lots of Christmas to be had.

I agree with many of the reviews here after having watched this. It isn't a spoiler to say this is the same plot, same script as so many other Hallmark movies. There was one difference - the standard interrupted kiss has never been because the car alarm went off! How refreshing! Lol

The conflict is the standard annoyance at a perceived deception, which made no sense at all in this movie. It was ridiculous. Then she decides all is forgiven because she finds out something else about him, having nothing to do with the reason she was annoyed. And he still likes her! Amazing!

One must feel very sorry for the realtor in this movie who loses tens of thousands of dollars in commission because people change their minds about selling.

And we hear the ex-husband's voice once, via phone, recognizable as Peter Benson. But decisions are made in the movie that affect him and we hear nothing more about him.

So this is city girl comes to home town, and we have tree lighting, gingerbread decoration, tree trimming, caroling, etc etc etc. Just different actors.

It's a nice story, but nothing unusual. Many of the regular Christmas movie traditions. There were a couple of plot leaps that had me shaking my head to catch up. The acting was fine and the leads,Scottie Thompson and Ryan Paevey were comfortable with each other and the story revolved mostly around them. There was a sweet pre-teen daughter.

7.7 stars.

The daughter steals the show from scene 1.

I really enjoyed this movie, the casting was perfect. The lead female seemed to have an off day, no big deal, she is a bit wooden in this. She gets one free pass for the minor lack of charisma because she's drop dead gorgeous. The leading guy is probably one of the best looking men in Hallmark movies, and as a bonus he has a deep radio deejay voice. My hunch is the ladies find him to be a heartthrob. I enjoyed his performance, and feel he's the primary reason for high ratings.

The story is average, nothing special, but the interactions between the two families is really fun and inviting. I felt very comfortable with them, and if this were real life I'd wish to be a part of this little town of Hopewell full of people with such convincingly big hearts. It's something about the familiarity and cordial nature of everyone, bringing such good feelings, more than the run-of-the-mill. The book store owner, the mayor, they are so welcoming. The leading male's sister and family are so relaxed, yet very warm and likable. The whole town is chummy, and it feels genuine.

All of the usual requirements are met. The usual cliché is present: the interrupted kiss, the dead family members, the absentee father, one of the leads is an author, and one is disenchanted by Christmas, lighting the town tree, ginger bread contest, and someone owns a bookstore... The romance is only average, but it's the charisma and interactions between all of the people as a whole that brings me good cheer.

This movie didn't exactly break any new ground, but it was a sweet story about life choices and the importance of family and friends. I loved the incorporation of the book store into the story.