My Christmas Guide

8.2 stars.

Few movies elicit so such varied emotions as 'My Christmas Guide'. This is a story about a guide dog trainer named Peyton who falls for a visually impaired university professor named Trevor. She notices that he is having some minor struggles getting around and thinks that he needs a guide dog, but he is reluctant to acquire one. Eventually he agrees to give it a try with a little prodding from his pre-teen daughter Annie.

Peyton is a very kind and somewhat lonely woman, lonely because her current boyfriend is an inconsiderate buffoon. As she is helping Trevor learn how to manage the dog, he cannot ignore the fact that she is a very special kind of woman, both genuine and compassionate. Eventually Trevor and Peyton fall in love, but not without their share of struggles.

The journey to love in this film is a most precious emotional voyage, where we witness father and daughter learning to navigate tumultuous waters full of bullies and naysayers. It's an uphill battle for both, but luckily, they have Peyton and a wonderful guide dog to hold their hands through the struggles. What a beautiful story with a good balance of heart and romance.

It was so fantastic seeing Amber in a Hallmark movie. I am a huge fan of hers and Heartland is my favorite show ever. She is so real, so kind, and just lovely, and did a terrific job in this movie. What a great role for Amber who is a huge animal lover. I also loved seeing Ben and Ava who also did a terrific job. Great movie highlighting Max and the major role he plays in helping people to navigate the many obstacles in their lives. I liked that you also highlighted abuse that people often face with seeing impairments. So sad but it was handled well. I'd love to see Amber in more Hallmark movies. She's a joy to watch.

I haven't been too impressed with the Hallmark holiday slate this season; not too many of the films really "grabbed" me. While some were pleasing time-passers, there weren't many that I'd be willing to watch again. However, for this film---yep, I'm impressed. I'm going to rate this as one of the five best Hallmark Christmas films for the 2023 season. Good plot, excellent casting, with a really appealing lead in Ben Mehl, who I hadn't seen before. I hope Hallmark uses him again. And another plus---authentic winter location shooting: none of that sad-fake-snow-shot-in-the-middle-of-summer this time around. Recommended.

From the start to end this was an enjoyable film which was well produced, great acting and good story. Scenery, in St. Johns Newfoundland is also a nice addition.

Yes there are some typical Hallmark components in the movie as the folks at Hallmark just can't help themselves but it is well worth watching. I can only assume that what we saw regarding the guide dogs and how they are trained is realistic as, to me, it was educational. The lead actor and actress were both great, especially given that the lead actor is legally blind for real. The lead actress is charming and added a lot to the show. Nicely done.

Ben Mehl as Trevor plays a visually impaired father to Ava Weiss (Annie). They are wonderful together and very believable as father and daughter.

Ava is quite charming in her role and the father daughter bond feels real.

Since Ben Mehl is visually impaired in real life, he's obviously acquainted with many, if not all, of the issues brought up in the movie. The sincerity of the characters helped me really identify with the topic of dealing with a perceived limitation and how people can react negatively or positively.

I wanted to watch a movie with a dog (Max). I soon became so engaged in the movie that really didn't think about Max's part being somewhat on the dow low. He is adorable and seemed well suited to the movie. For this review I did try to find out about Max but couldn't find anything. I was curious if he's really a guide dog.

Amber Marshall (Peyton - guide dog trainer and love interest) is an animal lover in real life and it shows on screen.

Definitely a great family movie that would also be good backdrop for having healthy discussions about issues covered by movie. Especially bullying at school.