Natal Entre Amigos

I've seen this movie a few times already. It's sweet and different from the usual feel good Hallmark movie.

I love the actor who plays the son, Gavin. Aziel Dalman. He is just the sweetest boy and perfect for the role he plays. I think he's the star of the movie.

It's a great movie for the holidays and I'll be watching it every year now.

Another plus is that it did not have the gratuitous snowball fight or kiss at the end of the movie. Hallmark proved that they can stray from the usual predictable script. I hope they will produce more original material. Lately Hallmark has been doing just that.

Erica Durance was very convincing as a woman (Julie) juggling a lot of challenges and emotions. She had to deal with being there for her son, who lost his father, while dealing with her own pain in losing her husband, all while trying to keep her business (and self esteem) afloat. Her character's frustration was believable, and the writers made sure to show that she wasn't perfect (who is?). Still, having a huge pile of unopened mail sitting on a table, in full view of every client who comes into her office, was a bit much, especially when her assistant pointed it out and offered to take care of it. That scene really bugged me. But her jealous overreaction to Irene's growing connection to Julie's son seemed more realistic.

At first, I thought Lynn Whitfield might be overacting a bit as the perpetually upbeat neighbor Irene. But then I realized that her character has a theatrical background and it made a little bit more sense.

I thought Julie's growing attraction to Peter (played by Patrick Sabongui) was also believable. He seemed like a nice guy.

Gavin, Julie's son, was played by Azriel Dalman and I thought he did a nice job of playing a conflicted and confused little boy.

Overall, I thought it was a solid effort.

'We Need a Little Christmas' (2022)

Opening thoughts: 'We Need a Little Christmas' is the first 2022 Hallmark Miracles of Christmas film, which has always been a hit and miss block in all the years it's been going on. The story sounded really heartfelt, and Hallmark have proven many times that they can explore family relationships and deeper, more serious themes very well (they have not always been successful at this though). Erica Durance has been good in other things, despite a very up and down in quality filmography.

Like all the previous years, 2022 was a very up and down year for Hallmark. 'We Need a Little Christmas' is one of the better 2022 Hallmark films and one of the most charming and moving. As far as the 2022 Miracles of Christmas films go, it compares favourably and is again one of the more sincere, moving and charming ones. 'We Need a Little Christmas' may not be perfect by all means, but it is beautifully done in a vast majority of areas, especially the acting and emotion.

Bad things: It does end a little too patly in a way that jars a little.

Also did find Durance's character not the easiest to warm to at first, her lack of competence frustrating and a little silly.

Good things: Couldn't find any fault with the acting, with classy and deeply felt performances from Durance and Lynn Whitfield and a sympathetic male lead. Their characters are well fleshed out, not over perfect or excessively flawed, and relatable.

Furthermore, the script sounds natural and has real sincerity throughout, it doesn't sugar coat the serious theme without on the whole not overdoing the seriousness. The story is extremely touching and warms the heart, with everything done with a lot of honesty. All the subplots are nicely balanced and tie together cohesively, a good job is done developing them and making them relatable and true to life. The drama is not too soapy or over sentimental and it doesn't feel forced. Visually it looks pleasing, with the photography and scenery being equally attractive.

Closing thoughts: Overall, good if not great.

7/10.

7.8 stars.

These two endearing women carry a Christmas presentation better than most. I must say I wish to see more of them both on Hallmark this year and in the future.

The story is of an older woman (Whitfield) who dearly misses her grandson whom she's expecting home for the holidays. She lives next door to a woman (Durance) and her son who are grieving the loss of husband/father who passed about a year ago. A nice man also enters their lives soon after, and together these four characters create a wonderful story full of encouragement and healing. There's even a little spark of casual romance, suitable for the uplifting theme.

'We Need a Little Christmas' is the right mix of sadness, loneliness, hope and happiness amidst grief. It is presented in such a way to summon sympathetic tears and profound joy.

I may have shed a few tears at the end of this one. Although a little over the top for most of the movie, Lynn Whitfield bought it home in the final touching scenes. The other great thing about this one was the male love interest. The actor was so appealing playing normal looking guy in his 40s who was popular with and respected by everyone from the rich and influential to the humble and normal people. Because he was just such a mensch.

Erica Durance plays a recently widowed mother of a young son trying to work through her own grief and help her boy. Unfortunately, she has the wrong end of the stick as far as her strategy and her son doesn't want to open up to her because he doesn't want to hurt her feelings. She runs a small boutique architectural firm specializing in remodeling businesses and homes. She is very disorganized which we see immediately because of the pile of unopened mail on the desk and won't delegate to her very competent employee who has been with the firm from the beginning. I hate inexcusable incompetence so she got on my bad side right away. (her employee takes it upon herself to take care of the mail near the end of the movie and she finds a $5000 check the business is owed!) She has a very ugly jealous encounter with Lynn Whitfield over her son's opening up to her and not herself. In the end, she did redeem herself and overall she was a nice woman and good at the creative end of the business, so I did forgive her.

I find it very difficult to watch actresses of a certain age who have sabotaged their ability to convey emotion with facial expressions because of the Botox and fillers. Sadly, Erica Durance has succumbed to this common practice. I know that sometimes these actresses are between a rock and hard place and are under a lot of pressure to take care of that forehead or whatever. But I find it too distracting. It's all I can look at when it is so obvious and takes me right out of the movie.