L'Étrange Noël de Lauren

This movie is very frustrating. It teases you about all kinds of plot points, but never really sees them to fruition or explains them. The ending is dramatically insufficient for the amount of time dedicated to the subject matter. This movie is a always looking for a plot and refuses to engage the most interesting thing about the town where everything happens. When the ending finally does come, it leaves you with many more questions than answers. Garland, the main town, is supposed to be 300 miles north of Anchorage Alaska, and only reachable by bush plane. Yet the town is quite diverse and large, with a coffee shop, general store, fancy cabins for people to live in and a major shipping company based there, anything but what would be found in a small town in central Alaska. They also complain about the cold, yet spend most of the movie walking around without hats or mittens, implying it is not as cold as they said it is. The random extras walking around downtown Garland would look right at home in a British Columbia tourist ski resort town and completely out of their element in a real Alaskan bush town. This movie promised so much frustrating doesn't deliver.

I really enjoy watching all the new Hallmark movies that come out each Christmas season and I never tire of the happy endings that bring joy and hope to all of us. Thank you, Hallmark, for doing that. This movie was especially enjoyable because there was no music during the talking, unless it was a climatic scene, so you could hear each word clearly. Appreciate that very much.

I loved the story about a young city doctor getting used to a small town in Alaska, knowing all her patients personally and finding true love with views of the Northern Lights. Nothing could be better than that. The acting was professional, yet charismatic. They were all charming and fun to watch. This added to this memorable holiday movie. I would watch this over and over and so would my family. The ending has a magical surprise.

I enjoyed this movie for the interspersed humor, beautiful scenery, interaction of the main actors and mostly because it was relaxing to watch. I watch movies like this to relax and NOT be jarred out of a calm mood and this one succeeded. The overall concept wasn't original, and for the most part the end was predictable, so if you want surprises, this probably isn't for you. But for me, overall, the movie worked.

Candace Cameron Bure is a doctor who wants the same fellowship in Boston that her father had. When she doesn't get it, she needs a job and winds up in Alaska running through the standard Hallmark Christmas Romantic comedy tropes.

If what you're looking for is those standard tropes played engagingly, you'll find them here. Miss Bure is pretty and speaks her lines well; David O'Donnell is a competent juvenile; Brian Doyle-Murray is a fine Santa-like supporting player; Kendra Mylnechuk has the best performance as a hyper-competent nurse.

However, there's nothing in the script that isn't interchangeable with most of Hallmark's rote romcoms. It's so unengaging -- because you know exactly what is going to happen next -- that you have time to contemplate the production errors that make it clear that this wasn't shot in Alaska, once you get past the beautiful setting shots. Every morning Miss Bure awakens at 6:30 to a sun high in the sky in an Alaska December. The grass is bright green and you can see some weedy young maples wearing their summer leaves in town. Finally, in a town so remote that Amazon.com won't ship there, there is no trouble for the local florist (?!) to come up with a dozen perfect roses for the leading man to give to the leading lady on the spur of the moment.

I begin watching these Hallmark seasonal romantic comedies intending to give them easy marks. They seem pitched at a very undemanding audience and the actors invariably try their best. However, if the people in charge can't be bothered, then why should the audience?

San Francisco doctor Candace Cameron Bure reluctantly takes a job in a small town in Alaska as she waits to hear about the fellowship in Boston she wants. This is a woman with her life all planned out. She doesn't want to stray from that plan but, of course, she finds that she has to in order to truly be happy. That's the moral of this story and, yes, it seems awfully familiar if you've seen other made-for-TV romantic comedies and dramas Candace has done. The big city doctor who learns life lessons working in a small town (Finding Normal). The guy she falls for doesn't want to take over the family business (Let It Snow). There are other similarities to movies she's done (particularly Finding Normal) but, you know, it really doesn't hurt anything. It's a fun, sentimental movie. It doesn't challenge you but that's okay. I enjoyed watching it and that's all that really matters.

As with all of her TV movies, Candace's likability and personality is the primary selling point. She's also very pretty, which doesn't hurt. I don't think the red hair is the right fit for her but it wasn't too distracting. At first glance, I wasn't sold on David O'Donnell. So often in these TV movies the male lead is weak compared to the female lead. But he's actually charming and appealing. For the most part the characters are all nice and pleasant but a couple of them did annoy me. Candace's mom is well-intentioned but pushy and the lady who runs the coffee shop is kind of obnoxious. The subplot romance between the nurse and the florist's son is very cute and adorable. The standout in the supporting cast is the great Brian Doyle-Murray. I won't spoil his character's twist but let's just say if you're a cynic, you'll projectile vomit all over the screen. I got a kick out of it though. Corny as all-get-out but I had a big stupid grin on my face so it worked on me. If you like Candace Cameron Bure, you'll surely like this. It's one of her best movies yet. That it's a Christmas movie just makes it that much more enjoyable.