Une romance de Noël épicée

This was a very hard movie to watch, the acting was really bad and it was boring. I really wanted to like it, finally some diversity, but they just didn't have great actors or plot.

The obligatory antagonism between the leads at the beginning was annoying with little wittiness. Both characters were unnecessarily rude bordering on cringe-worthy. Some of the acting was less than stellar, especially stiff delivery by the leads. Even the ending was stiff.

On the other hand, while you could tell that Melody Nosipho Niemann is pretty young, she was still cute. The story isn't bad, albeit still not stellar. The contest idea (with promotions hinging on the outcome) is not new, but I liked the giant Gingerbread house idea. One thing I always like to see in a Rom-coms is a lot of screen time focusing on the leads rather than other circumstances and this movie does that. I just wish their chemistry was a little more exciting.

Many reviewers on this page gave reviews and ratings that made me expect something much worse. I almost gave up on it after the annoying start. But while I probably won't look forward to watching this again (which really tells me how much I like most movies), I don't think it deserves so many horrible ratings.

I have to admit I love the holiday season. One of my favorite things about the holiday season is Hallmark movies. I love them, I usually like most of them. I don't even mind the cheesy ones or the predictable ones I watch anyway, they just put me in the joyous holiday spirit, until this movie. I didn't make it through the whole movie and I tried. I think I made it through 45 minutes and thats being generous. It was just boring. I actually fell asleep a few times before I gave up. I don't know if it was the writing or acting or both. I just know nothing about this movie was enjoyable for me.

It was nice to see some more actresses besides the hallmark regular actresses. I can appreciate hallmark trying to add more diversity this year. It was nice to see more different races and cultures having a leading role in hallmark movies instead of just being a supporting cast. I would like to see more race and cultural diverse movies on Hallmark. That being said they need to be good movies along with good actors and actresses. The chemistry,writing and acting are important and this movie lacked all three. This was such a miscast. I don't know how this boring movie got the greening to be released. I've been feeling like 2018 Hallmark Christmas Movies have been a hit and miss for me this year. I've been finding myself researching some of their older movies.

It's not really the fault of the leads, it's the attempt to pretend the pregnancy doesn't exist. This isn't as bad as Jen Lilley in: Paris, Wine and Romance 2019 (she looked like a small child in large adult clothes), but it's close. Trying to hide the pregnancy with clothes, never works. And I think the actors are too aware of the pregnancy, so they come off a bit stiff and uncomfortable.

Now, if they would incorporate the pregnancy into the movie, that could work. Yes, I am suggesting a pregnant woman finds love with a man who is not the father of her child. Perhaps she is divorced or widowed, she doesn't have to be... "loose". :D In that story, the actors could feel more natural because they wouldn't be trying to pretend there is no baby, while trying to not squish the baby when they hug/kiss. :D.

The child actress who played Brooke was the shining light of this movie and the reason I gave this a 5. She was sweet, adorable and believable and gave a good performance. Too bad the adult leads weren't as good. Their performances were awkward and unbelievable. Would better direction have helped?

The script was very weak - it needed more dramatic tension for a better pay-off at the end. My overall reaction at the so-called climax was "Who cares?"

A lot of work goes into these productions so it's disappointing to see such a mediocre outcome.