Uma Paixão em Nova York

If these two are ever in any movie again, I will not watch it. Surely, there is a plethora of talent in LA. Wanna be actors would do a better job. I looked up Casper's resume because I thought he must be a newbie but nope. The guy actually works...a lot!

The plot is soooo predictable. Characters are unlikeable. I turned it off. With so many Christmas movie choices, I realized I could spend my time better elsewhere.

Move on to another movie, you will thank me.

In the first 4 minutes you know the complete story of this film and you know how it is going to end. Now I don't mind stories that are well made but this one isn't.

In this film Kyle Lockwood (Casper Van Dien) and Jenna Ford (Rachel Wilson), two lawyers at a prestigious law firm, could not be more different. Kyle, a designer-clad conservative and Jenna, his global warming concerned liberal counterpart are constantly butting heads. When Jenna and Kyle's siblings Trisha (Natalie Lisinska) and Jim (Noah Cappe) fall in love, it binds the two together by default. When Jenna and Kyle visit their siblings for Christmas, Jenna's sister goes into labor. In the midst of Chrismtas Eve chaos, romantic sparks fly, and they need a Christmas miracle to help their families to a new start.

The film is by the number in every way. This film took zero chances at surprising the audience. As Forgettable as last nights dinner

Casper van Dien's sister is married to Rachel Wilson's brother and they are about to become an aunt and uncle for the second time. Of course they hate each other and of course they fall in love.

This Christmas-themed Hallmark has several issues that raise it above average. First, the problems in the center of this movie and that they encounter on the way are real problems. Their siblings have real issues: no job, credit running out and a baby on the way, medical issues and a lost dog: real problems solved by real people. The other is the obvious charm of the two leads and their ability to hold a quiet conversation and be utterly winning. All too often these Hallmark TV movies are held together by the supporting cast. It's very pleasant to see one where a good script and good central actors show how good these movies can be.

We always expect to suspend some of our expectation of reality in these movies, but this one movie pushes that from start to finish. I have less trouble accepting a movie when Santa uses Christmas magic.

If you can overcome reality, this might be a tolerable movie for Christmas. There are some heartwarming moments, even if they are piled on a little high.

The movie is a bit preachy about believing in Christmas and miracles. There are enough real and serious problems for anyone. The family having the baby is in very deep debt and we find out that foreclosure on their house can't or at least won't be stopped. Add to that a myriad of other problems from small to large.

You might find some of the situations humorous, at least I think that was the intention.

But the biggest, most ridiculous miracles are the ones that involve deeply set personality traits and beliefs that are suddenly changed 180 degrees, not the least of which are in Kyle and Jenna. They even know at the start that peace between them is unlikely. For one thing, Kyle is a complete jerk for most of the movie. His one good trait early on appears to be his generosity, but we see that even that has a selfish bent to it.

Much of the acting is terrible but is it the acting or the script? Casper Van Dien leads the way with bad acting. Noah Cappe is close behind. Much of the rest of the cast is just mediocre. The one high point is Ella Ballentine who can almost make us believe in Christmas miracles even when she is trying to sell a script that is pie-in-the-sky.

These Christmas movies are all cheesy, that's true. I love them anyway. I will watch them no matter how stupid, because they're sweet at heart, even though silly.

Until this one! This is horrible! Two totally unlikeable people, who do nothing but harp at each other constantly. They turn on each other on a dime, with barely the slightest provocation. Constant bickering that's mean-spirited and screeching.

Combine that with plot lines that you could drive a truck through, they're so ridiculous. Absolutely nothing to make the movie worthwhile. I ended up turning it off for good with the last 15 minutes unwatched - I honestly couldn't have cared less about any of the characters, or cared if they got together. More than that, listening to this was tying my stomach up in knots with the unpleasantness. Hardly a feel-good movie.