"Christmas in Boston" is exactly the sort of movie you would expect to see during the holiday season: it features an unrequited love story, two adorably dorky star-crossed lovers and their wilder but well-meaning pals, a case of mistaken identity and, of course, the Christmas spirit.
Gina and Seth have been communicating through e-mails, letters and IMs for 13 years, promising never to phone one another and never wanting to meet. They're both too nervous about what the other will think of them to want to meet face-to-face. But when Seth's work brings him to Boston and Gina's journalist career puts her in the path to meet Seth for the first time, they both go to great lengths to avoid one another. Of course, the avoidance isn't too difficult, seeing as, for years, Gina has been sending Seth pictures of her best friend Ellen, while Seth has been giving her pictures of his buddy Matt. With a little convincing, Matt and Ellen pretend to be their friends and meet thinking the other is the real deal. Sparks fly, of course, after Ellen and Matt hit it off, which send both Gina and Matt into a fit of despair. They can't imagine someone else with the man/woman of their dreams, but neither of them bother to stop Ellen and Matt's relationship from progressing. When Seth finds meets the real Gina and discovers that the girl Matt is actually a stand-in, he is more then willing to let Matt have Ellen and try and form a relationship with Gina, though he is still unable to let her know that he's really Seth.
While the plot is predictable and the ending obvious from the very beginning, "Christmas in Boston" is still enjoyable to watch. The writing is mediocre and witty at times, better then most made for television movies and the actors, most of them stuck in the purgatory of not undiscovered but not a household name, are charming and believable and play their characters to a T.
Though "Christmas in Boston" will probably disappear into the recesses of the minds of those who saw it last year, it is a movie worth seeing and hopefully ABC Family will reair it during the Christmas season or even release it on DVD in order to make a profit. I was fortunate to tape the movie and still find myself watching it in the middle of June because the adorable (though clichéd) love story and humorous one-liners are appealing no matter what the season.
I thoroughly recommend "Christmas in Boston", though it might be a little difficult to see the movie in the middle of the summer. Hopefully, during the upcoming Christmas season "Christmas in Boston" will find a place in ABC Family's Christmas schedule, allowing viewers to add a little holiday spirit to their day.
