Undercover Holiday

It was ok. I Kept waiting for this to get better but the "mystery" was disappointing. After it was over I watched the ending of the Kevin Costner /Whitney Huston movie this was stolen from. That was much more satisfying.

I guess it was okay for a Hallmark movie and I appreciated the Latin culture but the story was just really weak. I was looking for a villain and there wasn't one. You would think a movie with a bodyguard would at least have some real threat.

Just save yourself some time and watch "The Bodyguard" - at least that movie has some great songs for you to listen to. And some actual bodyguarding.

I LOVE hallmark Christmas movies but man this one was a huge flop! I didn't even finish the last 20 min. I just couldn't! I really really tried. Except for the grandma, the acting was terrible. Noemi Gonzalez, who plays the main character, sadly was not a good actress. Beautiful but couldn't sing and wasn't believable to be a famous singer. The chemistry between her and Stephen Huszar was the worst I've ever seen. I know "Christmas chick flicks" can be cringey but this was the cringey of them all. Please don't waste your time with this one. Skip it and go to another less cringey Christmas movie.

I really was looking forward to this movie. But it was pretty bad. Why do so many Hallmark actresses giggle so much? Like, young school girl giggling? Lacey Chabert is an expert at this. So is the lead in this movie. Didn't see any chemistry, that first kiss was SO awkward. No passion. The singing was pretty bad too. The karaoke scene wasn't too bad but when the piano scene came on, I was turned away so didn't see who was singing, I thought it would be another family member, like a kid that was sick with a cold. But it was the lead and her mom! They sounded horrible!!! Also, I've never seen a pregnant woman walk around holding her belly like that. Casting was all wrong. If you want to see a perfectly cast show, watch Ghosts. Perfection.

There were things I like about this movie, and a few cute scenes, but it seems like they have to do one of these "fake mystery boyfriend" movies every year now. We've seen a ton of them of them, and a few of them have been really fun. Those few came years ago when the concept hadn't been run into the ground.

This one had nothing new to offer for that trope, and certainly wasn't as imaginative as some. Our favorite is "A Boyfriend for Christmas", and that one was ALL THE WAY BACK from 2004 ... so you can see how old and tired that standard plot has become.

Not to judge, but this also seems to be the year of the overweight female romantic lead. I'm not against overweight people. I've got PLENTY of overweight friends, my wife could stand to lose a few pounds, and I just lost 30 pounds myself in the last year and a half. This lead actress needs to do what I did and lose 30 pounds herself. These romances are all a fantasy, and somehow that loses the fantasy. LOL.

I appreciate Hallmark's continuing efforts at being more diverse and inclusive, and the presentation of Mexican American holiday traditions in this movie was pleasant. Noemi Gonzalez was often fun to watch and authentic as Jaylen Rodriguez, the winner of an American Idol-like contest called Pop Star USA. But the premise seemed more forced than normal.

Somehow, Jaylen lives in a gated multi million dollar mansion despite having just won the contest. And then, because someone left flowers and a card that says "Happy Holidays My Love" on her doorstep, "The Label" decided to order up a 24/7 bodyguard.

Why?

Jaylen's not Taylor Swift and what, exactly, was so threatening?

And why was nothing caught on the video security system?

And then, after hearing about the incident on TV, her family expressed great concern for her safety. One would think they would be thrilled that "The Label" had hired her a 24/7 bodyguard. But Jaylen decides, for reasons that are completely unclear, to tell her family an elaborate lie, requiring a week of more lies, that Matt, played a bit stiffly by Stephen Huszar, is her boyfriend and not her bodyguard. Huh?

Ironically, the purported reason is that she didn't want her family to worry (even though the added protection would presumably alleviate their worries) but then she hypocritically gets upset when she learns that information has been withheld from her (so she wouldn't worry).

I realize that Hallmark loves the fake boyfriend trope, but the setup and phony conflict really didn't make any sense (although I did like Abuela Luisa, played by Gabriela Reynoso).

But the biggest problem, quite frankly, was that I just couldn't picture Jaylen with Matt. And that's essential for a Hallmark romance to work.