Felicidade sob a Árvore de Natal

5/10 - if you're willing to suspend your disbelief like you never have before and can embrace Danica McKellar's near constant overacting, you should enjoy this fairly pleasant Christmas offering.

It's the time of the year for non-stop corny Christmas movies where you know the ending before the first line has been spoken, and I love it, though don't tell anyone. Even though the two leads lacked that certain something it was an okay movie set in the typical Utopian wonderland inhabited by all Hallmark actors. Not taxing on the brain cells but might put a smile on your face, unless you're a grouch.

As both leads are Hallmark regulars, I was looking forward to seeing 'You, Me & The Christmas Trees'. Moreover, Hallmark usually does a good job with selecting quality openers for their Countdown to Christmas series. However, I was disappointed with this year's kick-off. Put simply, the movie fell flat. The storyline revolves around Olivia (played by Danica McKellar), Connecticut's evergreen tree specialist. Days before the Christmas holiday, she agrees to help Jack (played by Benjamin Ayres), a fourth-generation evergreen farmer, with a mysterious illness that has befallen his trees, threatening his family's business. Olivia, who is known as the 'tree whisperer', immediately gets to work but is baffled by the illness and ends up extending her stay in the town of Avon. She and Jack begin to spend more time together, sowing the seeds of romance between the two. One element of the story that I did enjoy was the science of saving the trees, which, as others have pointed out, was a new Hallmark twist. That said, the script was rather weak, I am afraid. As other reviewers have suggested, many of the scenes and dialogue seemed forced such as Olivia's problem with her family (and whether to stay or go) and the falling out between the two towards the end of the movie. The latter, especially, felt awkward and artificial. Though I did have a few laughs, the dialogue too was at times not very convincing. The acting, I thought, was pretty good overall; McKellar and Ayres both had solid performances. Ayres had a warm and gentle vibe, which I enjoyed. At times, however, McKellar's performance felt slightly off, as there were some awkward expressions here and there (e.g., the café scene with her parents towards the end). The chemistry between the two was not bad, but given their talents in such roles, I would have expected more from both of them. To be fair, the script didn't help, which might explain some of what I am referring to here. As another reviewer observed, 'it just didn't seem to flow smoothly'. The supporting cast was rather low-key in this one. Yet, I did find Jason Hervey's performance (as Dwayne) to be a bit...how shall I put this...odd. Though given his 'villain' status in the story, maybe this was what he was going for. The movie did have a warm Christmas feel to it, which one expects from Hallmark. For example, there was the Christmas Cocktail Competition at the Cider Mill. May I have an 'evergreen cocktail' please? Overall, it is a decent, run-of-the-mill, Hallmark Christmas movie. No doubt, fans of the Christmas movie genre will enjoy it. However, given its opener (kick-off) status, it was a bit of a let-down.

Absolutely adore Christmas and Hallmark have done some above decent and more Christmas films over the years. As well as a fair share of misfires. 2021 was a typically inconsistent year for Hallmark in all their seasonal blockings, but considering the circumstances it turned out quite a lot better than expected. Part of me was expecting all the 2021 films of theirs to be mediocre or below but quite a lot were the opposite. Exactly the same with its 2020 output too.

'You Me and Christmas Trees' is a not particularly good start to the 2021 Countdown to Christmas block and did make me feel that the Christmas films that year were going to be pretty low in quality. The good news is that not all of them were below average, but as far as Hallmark's 2021 Countdown to Christmas films go, 'You Me and Christmas Trees' is one of the weaker ones. When it comes to the two leads, Benjamin Ayres is dependable in the right role and is one of the better things about the film but Danica McKellar (despite being one of the most popular regulars) shows why not all her typecast performances come off.

There are good things about 'You Me and Christmas Trees'. Ayres does a good job with what he's given, it is a typical role but one he performs with subtle charisma, easy charm and honesty. Did like his character, no overblown character flaws and not too perfect as well as some growth obvious.

It is a very nicely filmed film too and has beautiful scenery. The music isn't overused or melodramatic, which is good as that can be a failing with Hallmark. The supporting cast try their best with their material.

McKellar for my tastes tries too hard, it is a role that she does a lot (hence what is meant by typecasting) with varied success (sometimes charming, at other times bland) and she never looks relaxed and comes over as too manic. Complete with too many awkward moments early on. Didn't care for her somewhat tired character, who is not really fleshed out enough and is too much of one dimension. She and Ayres have moments of decent chemistry, but on the whole it is too subdued and is paced unevenly. Rather aimless for too much of the length and then any progression is unrealistically rushed.

While the supporting cast do competently but not exceptionally, Jason Hervey is another over-compensator in a role that is written as too much of a cliched cartoon. It is so at odds with the rest of the film and it was like he had walked onto the wrong set. Too much of the dialogue is too cheesy and schmaltzy, and the flow in the first half is not natural. A lot of the story badly drags, and it is also very slight and predictable for most of the length. Some of the later plot developments like the underwritten and forced conflict is rushed and not developed enough. The ending is too easy.

Concluding, lacklustre start to the 2021 Countdown to Christmas block. 4/10.

Sadly, this movie was one of the most disappointing Christmas movies Hallmark has ever put together. The stars are a big draw. One always wants to see Danica McKellar. She is such lovely young woman, and such a fine actress. Her very best recent film was A Crown for Christmas, which one can watch over and over. However, her role in this film was truly a waste of her talent and lovely looks. She is probably in her forties, and deserves a role which casts her as a more mature woman. Her appearance is still that of a younger person, with flowing long hair and flawless makeup. But one can't prolong those looks forever. Her facial expressions seem to range from happy to worried, with very little in between., Benjamin Ayers is an attractive leading man, but he mentions that he got his first Christmas tree ornament when he was born 27 years ago. This was surely a big stretch on the part of the writers since both leading actors must be in their forties by now.

The plot of the film was predictable. The romance seemed to come out of nowhere, with no real development or buildup. The movie felt formulaic, like Hallmark checked off all the boxes that had to be covered in a holiday movie, but neglected to add real feelings, really mature human emotions, and a less predictable story line.

Let us hope that future holiday films reach for bit of a higher standard and more originality. Loyal Hallmark viewers deserve more and better.