Noël à la télévision

"Broadcasting Christmas" tells the story of small town reporter Emily (Melissa Joan Hart), who's been stuck in the same small Connecticut town for years, covering simple local stories, while her ex- boyfriend Charlie (Dean Cain) has moved on to bigger and better things in Manhattan. When the co-host of a big morning show suddenly quits, Emily tries to apply for the job, but her longtime friend, producer Patrice (Cynthia Gibb) says they're only considering "names." This sends Emily into a jealous tirade, live on air, in which she begs for a shot. The clip goes viral and now the network has no choice but to offer her a chance to compete for the position along with some other, more-qualified contenders, including... you guessed it... her ex-boyfriend Charlie. As the Christmas Day telethon approaches, where the winner is going to be announced, the competition grows more and more fierce... all while our lead couple start to rekindle their feelings for one another. Who will get the job? Who will get the guy?

What makes this movie stand out is that it's not a traditional small town Christmas story. It's set in the big city and it takes place in the cutthroat world of broadcasting journalism. The movie moves at a faster-than-expected pace, features a healthy dose of witty, snappy dialogue, and has two terrific performances by the leads. Melissa comes across as a scrappy fighter and you love her for it, while Dean is the more sympathetic one who discovers a unpleasant secret about his own success. They have a fun chemistry that straddles the line between straight romance and workplace rivalry... again, making it feel different.

"Broadcasting Christmas" is one of the better Hallmark movies in recent memory and definitely worth a close look this holiday season.

I always think after two long runs on 'Sabrina' and 'Melissa and Joey' Melissa Joan Hart deserves more recognition than she gets, so it's nice to see her pop up in this Hallmark Christmas film alongside Dean Cain (a man who also knows a lot about being a 90's teen icon).

I thought this was good, with some lovely sweet moments along the way. The two leads have nice chemistry and the story holds up - two main ingredients/must have's for me in this sort of film.

Well worth a watch.

I had been avoiding this movie the last two Christmases because Christmas movies with Dean Cain tend not to be Excellent. This one has Melissa Joan Hart and that made the difference. She was great in God's not Dead 2. The movie was very effective in catching some great television moments as our characters act out their host roles of a morning national talk show. Real nice Christmas scenes.

We've liked Dean Cain since he played Superman, and Milissa Joan Hart always turns in a good performance.

Here, they play two newscasters with a broken romantic past who come into competition to take over an opening on a popular national morning show.

There are two other candidates for the slot, so the competion is four-pronged.

The story of how the competition progresses is interesting and often amusing. What the two leads find out about their history creates the crisis all of these romcoms need, and its resolution rings true, and takes more time than some of the resolutions in these movies.

This is one we can watch many times. Recommended.

I was pleasantly surprised with this movie, the casting was good with likable actors that can make a cheesy Hallmark script genuinely enjoyable and funny at times. Along with the beautiful soundtrack and an interesting fruitcake story, I would say this Christmas movie successfully entertained me without causing me to cringe through it.