Hats Off to Christmas!

Actually really liked the concept and there was some decent potential here in 'Hats Off to Christmas' with its ideas. It is not original by any stretch, then again nobody should watch a Hallmark film expecting originality (which has only been achieved sporadically). Have nothing personal against Hallmark, far from it, and absolutely love Christmas, so there was no negative bias towards the film before watching. Actually wanted to like it.

That 'Hats Off to Christmas' didn't do much with its potential and wasn't the at least decent film that it could have been if it had tried harder actually saddened me somewhat. It is nowhere near Hallmark's worst, there were some really rough ones since 'Hats Off to Christmas'. It is not one of their best either, with some of their output being surprisingly good as long as one doesn't expect a massive amount or award-worthy.

'Hats Off to Christmas' best component is the acting, which was well above average all things considered. Haylie Duff and Antonio Cupo both do a good job in their roles, especially Duff as one of the few businesswoman-type characters in a Hallmark film to not be annoying and have a personality. Their chemistry is sweet and genuine. Jay Brazeau is also strong and Sean Michael Kyer has his heartfelt moments.

Production values are quite nice, especially the scenery, and they don't look cheap or drab. The soundtrack is pleasant and isn't as intrusive as can be the case for Hallmark Christmas films. A few heart-warming moments here and there, really did like the idea of Scotty's subplot and that did have moments of heart.

Sadly, those heart-warming and moving moments are eclipsed by the excessive cheese and over-sentimentality that the writing is full of. A lot of the dialogue is so cheese-ridden that it makes the cheesiest burger bland in comparison, and some of the interplay is really forced. 'Hats Off to Christmas' to me came over as far too sentimental and in a rather manipulative way too, little of it felt natural and Scotty's subplot in general could have been handled with a lot more tact (especially with the football game). The story does absolutely nothing new with story tropes well worn out long ago, so one predicts many actions and many of the outcomes.

It is also very contrived, its portrayal of business and retail is agreed unrealistic, too many of the characters do not feel like real people that behave realistically and have changes of heart that ring true and not spur on the monent-like. Instead there are a lot of over-reaction behaviours here, especially considering the misunderstanding, and too many decisions come too out of nowhere and come over as illogical. Kyer had his moments, but he tended to overact his role and a huge part of me was really disappointing in not being able to relate completely to Scotty's subplot.

Concluding, rather mediocre but not a complete humbug. 4/10

No chemistry Haylie Duff she needs to give up acting so awful usually like Anthony Cupo but this is an awful

Hats Off To Christmas (2013) -

Who keeps giving Haylie Duff work, I don't like to be mean and this wasn't her worst film by a long shot, but once again she played her character, Mia, as if everything in her life was so hard and she deserved all the pity in the world.

Antonio Cupo was obviously hot and looked like he had a fantastic bottom, but he was not a nice character at all to start with. His change of heart was a bit hard to believe as well and definitely seemed very convenient, almost as if he was working an angle, but he didn't appear to want Mia.

I didn't think that he would have mellowed so quickly and certainly not from the attention she was giving him, which was quite brusque to say the least. He actually seemed more keen to spend time with her son (Check the registers), but he was also the one to make the efforts towards her, while she didn't show any interest at all, because she was so wrapped up in her own head.

Antonio bore some strong similarities to Brendan Penny, but Mr. P would always win for me and has always delivered his characters with more ease, although Cupo as Nick may have been a victim of the direction or a bad script, as indicated by the complicated way he came across.

The leading pair just weren't right for each other and there was no chemistry between them, except that he got on with the kid, Scotty (Sean Michael Kurt), who was not a good actor. I wasn't convinced that he really had bad legs. I can't stand these actors that don't put in the effort. I'm sure someone would have actually broken them for him.

The film as a whole was incredibly twee and a tad saccharine. There was a lot that was unbelievable as a result of that and I think that the script was a bit too basic and the story a bit too forced. For instance, when Valerie suddenly had a moment that was totally uncharacteristic.

Also, there was no way a business that just sold Santa Hats would survive without an online presence and it wouldn't need such a huge factory and office to supply and run it. There was a lot that was unexplained or just not thought about.

And aren't soapbox cars supposed to be made of old parts and, um I don't know, Soap Boxes? The car that Nick built with Scotty was basically a mahogany chariot with all mod cons and a walnut dashboard.

Needless to say that there were some issues with this film. It was sweet and sort of Christmassy, but without the effort that has been put in to them more recently. Not one that will be going on my list to watch again.

3.75/10.

So im only writing to critique the supposed business model of the supposed single location Christmas store that operates year round. First off, the sell Christmas hats, and very limited other Christmas items. They have a warehouse on top of a back room at the store. They also have a corporate office with a reception desk employee. Now I only have a BS in Business Management, but I know that a 1500 sq ft retail store that sells merchandise for a single holiday, probably doesn't need a warehouse, and it's definitely doesn't need a corporate office with a reception desk. If the average hat costs $20 (and that's very generous), their sales would need to be in the millions, which im not seeing from that tiny store front. And yes, I know, it's a movie. But it's not too hard to do a little research.

Widowed Haylie Duff works at a small-town store where all they sell is Christmas-themed paraphernalia, all year round. When it turns out that sales are down for the last couple of years, her boss, whose immense office bespeaks the millions he has made off this venture over the years, parachutes his Wall-Street son, Antonio Cupo, over her. However, when he helps her wheelchair-bound son in a pumpkin-carving competition, things start to turn around in this ridiculously detailed but very watchable Hallmark romantic comedy.

At least part of that is due to some very fine acting on the part of the leads. Neither of their characters wish to be in this situation and they behave in a way that bespeaks their dissatisfaction and professionalism -- pardon me if I think the actors felt this way about the movie and used that for their performances. Given the ridiculous assumptions as well as the obvious and cheap cries for sympathy in the script, this should have been one of the worst of the twelve Hallmark Christmas romcoms this year. Instead, it is surprisingly good.