L'Étrange Noël de Lauren

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.

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?

Candace Cameron Bure is perfectly cast as an up and coming surgeon to be as she works so hard to earn a fellowship to one of the most prestigious hospitals in Boston where her father's own career flourished. As with all of us, life gets in the way with some of our best laid plans and the young and attractive Lauren Brunell (Candace Cameron Bure) finds her plans falling totally apart both in her career and relationship plans.

Begrudgingly (at first) Lauren accepts a an offer to work in a small remote town in of all places Alaska where the first person she meets is her cab driver Andy Holliday (David O'Donnell) who is going to take her into town not by car but by a single engine plane as the town is that remote.

As each day passes Lauren becomes more attached to the town, it's people and of course that first connection she had with her pilot/chauffer Andy. This is a simple Hallmark romantic Christmas themed made for TV movie that will warm your heart if you are a romantic, and get you to roll your eyes more than once if you are a realist. So which are you?

I give it a 6 out of 10 IMDB rating. It's good for the heart and is the soul of Christmas.

Candace Cameron Bure in the right roles comes over to me as a likeable actress, with an easy-going screen presence and doesn't resort to over-compensating or looking bored. That may not be the case with others, but that's my stance. Have not liked everything she's done, and it has nearly always been to do with the writing and her characters rather than her when she isn't so good, but her best work is nice and undemanding that nobody should expect too much from.

That is the case with 'Christmas Under Wraps'. Am not going to say that it is a great film or a masterpiece because it isn't and its flaws are not small. Have also seen better Christmas films. 'Christmas Under Wraps' is though sweet, amiable entertainment, that did make me smile and feel warm inside, and a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours or so, succeeding in not trying to do more than it needed to do while always showing signs of trying. Of my recent Hallmark/Lifetime etc. festive quest, this has been towards the better end.

Of course 'Christmas Under Wraps' is not perfect by any stretch. One of its biggest problems being that it is goof and continuity-ridden (am not trying to nit-pick), and unfortunately too many of them are very distracting and badly affect any authenticity. It is one of those films, not unexpectedly though, that one knows how everything is going to map out much of the time with it being pretty formulaic.

Some of the dialogue is pretty cheesy, laying it on somewhat too thick on the corn, and there is a twist that is made out to be big but isn't really at the end of the day, not surprising or earth-shattering in the least.

However, both Bure and David O'Donnell are charming and likeable leads, especially Bure, with an easy-going chemistry that never came over as stiff. Brian Doyle-Murray and Kendra Mylnechuk are standouts of the solid supporting cast, very lively and full of charisma. None of the characters bored or annoyed me, even the standard somewhat over-bearing mother trope. Anybody that wants their hearts warmed and wants to be charmed for a couple of hours, while seeing something inoffensive and something different on the television are likely though to find much to like about 'Christmas Under Wraps'. The film looks quite good with a picturesque and at its best stunning setting that makes one want to be there, complemented nicely by the photography. The soundtrack when used creates nostalgia and puts a smile on the face.

While the story may be formulaic, it is also immensely charming and heart-warming that never tries to be too complicated while not being too cardboard-thin. There is nothing mean-spirited about it, very feel-good actually, and it is genuinely moving without going overboard on the sentimentality, other than the continuity nothing else really insults the intelligence.

Altogether, nice film. 7/10

DON'T FALL FOR FALSE REVIEWS AND DON'T BELIEVE ONES THAT BRAG ABOUT REVIEWING OVER "200" CHRISTMAS MOVIES!! Now for honesty!!Hallmark doesn't make blockbusters!! They don't aim for their movies to be award winning!! They make movies to feel good & watchable from the FAMILY!! Does this movie have flaws, of course it does. They film most of these movies in warm weather, but don't miss the meaning of the movie. It's about learning to let lose and take the unexpected!! Just watch it & try to enjoy the meaning!! This is a good family Christmas movie!!