Rent An Elf (2018) -
I had a strong feeling that I had tried to watch this one before and turned it off. I probably shouldn't have bothered with it this time either, but it was okay I suppose.
I did feel that it was very forced and saturated in sap though and while it was full of Christmas activities it was hard to believe that it was set during the season, because the weather was a bit too sunny and cheerful.
And the ending actually made three of my teeth fall out, because it was so sickly.
There seemed to be a lot of supposition from both of the leading characters and many obstacles that got in their way too. As a result it came across a tad contrived and unbelievable, no one could be that unsure or untrusting surely?
Sean Patrick Thomas was fine in the role of Liam, but I couldn't believe that he had ever been attracted to his ex wife, Jojo (Nicholle Tom), because she was so vile and they had clearly never had anything in common. She was completely stupid and one of the most irritating characters I've ever seen on screen.
Ava (Kim Shaw) was okay, but a bit basic and immature for Liam too and it would probably have been more suitable for her to get together with her friend Jimmy (Luke Jones), which would have made a different story at least, if she had realised that she'd had what she needed all along, due to Liam's influence.
Jimmy was overly special though and quite an exaggerated character, but then so were the the parents, who were actually far too much.
And even the village Santa Claus (Armand LeSage) tried too hard, not to mention Liam's boss (Rod Sweitzer), who was a complete idiot too.
It really was only the leads and the son, Nathan (Yohance Biagas Bey & Zakai Biagas Bey) that were bearable.
If the others hadn't all been so excessive, the whole film could have been a lot better.
However, I actually got on better with the Nana character Catherine played by Debbi Morgan, even though it's usually the Mother/Grandmother characters that suck, but she was genuine and feisty, without being too catty and I liked that.
If I had turned it off before, I could understand why, but having persevered with it this time I didn't feel too much as if my time had been lost. It will be highly unlikely that I will watch it again though.
4/10.
