Un fiancé pour Noël

It seemed like an impossible premise but I get the feeling that Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez could make any movie work. Add in some Kyle Howard and just a bit of Gabrielle Miller and it was just a fun movie.

It has heart, character growth and really likeable people. This is what Christmas movies are supposed to be. Mostly just fun, with a bit of watching the people learn and grow.

And that's my review but they want more words so here are a few more words about the movie which was definitely a movie with people in it and a script and a story. It had snow and a cabin and handcuffs........

As far as ABC Family movies go, this one was at the top! Everyone could act and practically none of the lines made me even close to cringing, which is what normally happens when I watch a TV movie.

Miss Hart did a great job and wasn't in the least a cliché character. I was a little dubious at first about Mario Lopez being her love interest in the movie, but it worked out really well.

Another thing that I was happy about was that it didn't to the boring, repetitive "Christmas is about spending time with your family" failed plot. It actually had interesting characters and a funny plot line.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to have a good time watching a movie.

I love Christmas movies!

I watch as many as I possibly can throughout December, but let's face it... the plots can be kind of redundant for Christmas movies.

Holiday in Handcuffs presented a NEW story line. While it was a little predictable as plots go, this particular story was new.

It was funny, warm, and light-hearted. The story is a "chick flick" but, even my husband laughed throughout.

Growing up with Saved by the Bell and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.. it was fun to see Mario Lopez and Melissa Joan Hart "all grown up." If you're looking for fun, light-hearted, holiday fare with an original storyline... I recommend this movie.

An utterly ridiculous premise. A girl breaks up with her boy friend, and kidnaps a guy with hand cuffs to get him to pose as her boy friend for Christmas with her family. Make sense? Of course not, but it doesn't matter.

Even using her Sabrina powers, I doubt the tiny MJ Hart could over power Mario Lopez. Nor is it likely the parents would be fooled by this absurd scheme, especially when the guy starts yelling to them for help! Well, it's a rom-com, so anything goes. On top of that, the Christmas theme demands the exact sentimental outcome you'll see coming more than 50 light years away. Even if you can't give it the poetic license it needs (a lot, lol), you can still laugh at how ludicrous the whole thing is.

Silly nonsense, but utterly harmless. For a brainless diversion, this one, believe it or not, works.

If you like the "fake boyfriend" genre of romance, you've probably seen Holiday in Handcuffs, starring Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez. It's definitely on the silly side and relies on slapstick and unrealistic situations; if you don't mind that kind of humor, you'll laugh yourself all the way to Christmas. Just don't take a leaf from Melissa's book. Kidnapping is a felony.

As the year comes to a close, Melissa feels like a total failure because she doesn't have a husband and kids. She doesn't even have a good job and has never achieved her artistic dream. In a moment of desperation (and insanity), she pulls a gun on a handsome man she met at work while waitressing and forces him to come home with her for Christmas. She wants him to play the devoted boyfriend, but he tries to escape and tell the truth to anyone who will listen. Fortunately, Melissa's family is very stupid and doesn't listen to him - otherwise they'd never have time to fall in love!

This one isn't my favorite because it is quite silly, but it is fun to watch every few years. It's always a nice bit of escapism to see a woman lasso herself a handsome, single man who falls madly in love with her just in time for Christmas.