Bom dia, Natal

Well, somehow I wish I could just wrap this up by saying: another year, another sappy Hallmark Christmas movie.

But I can't. No. "Good Morning Christmas!" was actually a rather enjoyable and surprisingly nice Christmas movie. Sure, it had the traditional and archetypical sappy Hallmark romance that you have in just about every one of their holiday movies, but actually "Good Morning Christmas!" was more than just your run-of-the-mill romantic Christmas cheese.

The storyline told in "Good Morning Christmas!", as written by Riley Weston, was actually rather well-written and definitely captured that feeling of Christmas spirit and that romance that Hallmark tends to always make use of. But it worked. Oh yes, it worked so well in "Good Morning Christmas!".

Aside from having a greatly written storyline, then director Paul Ziller definitely had a good cast ensemble to work with here in bringing the characters to life on the screen. The movie starred Alison Sweeney and Marc Blucas, both of whom carried the movie quite well with their performances. And the two lead performers had a nice chemistry on the screen.

I was genuinely entertained by "Good Morning Christmas!", and it is certainly a movie that I can warmly recommend you sit down to watch if you enjoy Christmas movies.

My rating of "Good Morning Christmas!" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

Alison Sweeney and Marc Blucas are both Hallmark regulars, with more familiarity with Sweeney. Both of them have been in some good Hallmark films, such as Sweeney in one of the best Hallmark Christmas films last year and Blucas in a couple of Christmas films with a military theme. They were my main reason for seeing 'Good Morning Christmas'. Also because the premise sounded intriguing with a setting not seen a lot with Hallmark pre-2020 (has been used a number of times since though) and because Hallmark's 2020 Christmas batch has surprised me in a good way.

'Good Morning Christmas' on the whole did surprise me and in a good way. It is not always easy making a premise like this interesting, fun and heart-warming and generally all three are achieved. The film was seen for the leads and they and their chemistry do not disappoint. As far as the 2020 Hallmark Christmas films go, 'Good Morning Christmas' is in the high middle, close to best, category, and if asked as to whether it is worth watching the answer would be yes.

Did feel that it was a bit of a slow starter, with it taking a bit of time to get going and to connect with the characters.

Will agree too that the bickering was a bit too over the top and veered on mean spirited and the ending is on the too neat and easily foreseeable side.

However, there is a lot that works incredibly well. Sweeney and Blucas are very charming leads, playing their roles with a lot of gusto and heart while not taking them too seriously. Their chemistry is natural and genuine and the characters are not stereotypical ciphers, too perfect or overly-negative. The supporting cast is solid across the board.

Furthermore, the film pleases visually, lovely festive locations attractively and never drably or garishly shot. The music isn't as intrusive as it tends to be with Hallmark while the direction gets the job done well. The script doesn't get too cheesy or sentimental and does have a more natural flow when it becomes more settled. The story is not too heavy while taking itself seriously and is both warm-hearted and has a light touch when necessary. The conflict is not as forced or as predictable as it tends to be. Very interesting to see the festive traditions.

Overall, good but not great. 7/10.

Some years ago, I saw the Hallmark movie The Irresistible Blueberry Farm, which starred both Alison Sweeney and Marc Blucas, the two leads in this film. I can still remember the chemistry they had on-screen. It is one of my favourite Hallmark movies. This time around, it was pretty good too. Though the story is not as strong, the chemistry between the two is. The plot is not that original, of course, but the movie did engage me; i.e., it pulled me. This was primarily due to the acting. As I alluded to above, the acting and chemistry between the two leads are excellent. Alison Sweeney, a Hallmark regular, had a strong performance. Marc Blucas too performed well in this one. It is their interaction, their dialogue, which I found so appealing. The supporting cast's performance was, for the most, pretty good too. Is it me or do some of these Hallmark Christmas traditions only exist on-screen (in the Hallmark universe)? A three-legged race? That seemed odd. Also, is building gingerbread houses that widespread, that popular of a Christmas tradition? I know it exists, of course, but it appears in so many of Hallmark Christmas movies (this year, as well). In my hometown, a small village in up-state NY, we never once built gingerbread houses, nor did I know of anyone who did. Our village of a couple thousand or so inhabitants did have some public Christmas traditions (e.g., the lighting of the tree) but none of them included the building of gingerbread houses. Nor am I aware of any other village, town or (small) city in my county that had a gingerbread tradition. Hmmm...maybe it is a regional thing. The tradition that seems to be getting popular is the wishing tree; it has appeared in at least two Hallmark movies this year thus far. I am not sure if this is grounded in reality or Hallmark reality. Finally, the scenery and props in this movie were beautiful. For example, the decorations at the Mistletoe Inn were stunning (though maybe a bit too much for some). Overall, this was a pretty good Christmas movie: an unoriginal story with some really good acting and some great chemistry between the leads.

Standard, but well done Hallmark Christmas Fare. G-rated for the entire family leaves a few gaps for the mature audience to fill on its own. But, enjoyed it just the same. Lots of smiles and great , interesting townspeople in Mistletoe township. All good. All masters of their craft.

Best of course is the Blucas/ Sweeney combo as leads. Lots of caring/ chemistry between them. Not even a hint of them as a perfect pair with a great script as in the awesome movie "The Irresistible Blueberry Farm". If you liked this one, try a great one like "Blueberry".

This has to be one of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies ever. I check out quite a few of them but don't finish most of them. This one had my attention from start to finish. The sets were some of the most beautiful I've ever seen and the dialogue/script was a step above as well. Brian's transformation from "grinchy" to Christmas enthusiast felt realistic, as did the progression of Melanie and Brian's relationship.

Everyone has their own tastes, but for me, a lot of these movies have the two leads romantically interested in each other too early on. Good Morning Christmas! and Christmas by Starlight this year both distinguish themselves by not making that mistake. The burn is a little slower and the conflict keeping the characters from being attracted to each other is more substantial. I recommend both.

Very cute. I will watch it again another year for sure.