La Légende de Noël

Unlike some of the reviews on here, I enjoyed this Christmas movie. I thought it was quite cute. The story centers around the conversation/dialogue between the two leads as opposed to the events in the story (or any sub-plots), which I found to be a bit refreshing, though I suspect this is not for everyone. However, I was not a fan of the Santa element in the movie, as it seemed a bit too much, I thought. That said, I thought the script - the dialogue between the two leads - was pretty good, well written. It was cute and, on occasions, it made me laugh a little. For example, the scene at the Aunt's house, early on in the movie, where the Aunt says: 'Besides, my nephew is better looking than that man, isn't he?' Then there is this long awkward pause before she (Harper) says: 'Your nephew is plenty good looking'. I had a bit of a laugh here. The changing scene was also fun and cute. The leads, Stephen Huszar as Luke and Jessica Sipos as Harper, I thought, had strong performances. The chemistry between the two worked well on screen, at least, that is how I experienced it. And again, the script allowed them to develop this thru-out. The supporting cast had a fairly good performance as well. Overall, it is a nice addition to UPtv's original Christmas movie lineup this year.

Boy, was this one cute! Great comedic acting, funny original script, and excellent chemistry between the two leads. Cute and appealing as Harper, the cynical Christmas hating meteorologist whose quest to find her family's magic mistletoe eventually melts her cynicism and Christmas hatred, Jessica Sisbo should be a hallmark regular. Her partner in crime is the owner of a Christmas Thrift store who used to be a chubby nerdy schoolmate of Harper, one of the popular kids. Huszar is excellent in this one, as is not always the case. He has never been one of my favorites, but his comedy and chemistry with Jessica is really special. The only two downsides are the actors who play Harper's bad boyfriend and her super annoying best friend. The director really needed to take her in hand. She was awful. Really over the top. As for the actor who played Brad, this is the second time I have seen him play the bad boyfriend of an appealing attractive lead. Maybe it's just me but I find him very icky. Even though that's kind of the point, He is miscast as a credible heartbreaker.

Anyway this one was a pleasant surprise and a real treat. And I especially loved the surprising little twist at the end. Well Done!

This movie avoided the usual, corny Hallmark trademarks. There was no "whipped cream" on the nose scene nor any Christmas cookie baking flour throwing scene. There was plenty of witty dialogue. Jessica Sipos is always natural and always solid. I thought that Alys Crocker was a real find and a hoot.

The movie was alright. It was sweet and charming in places and I liked it.

I watch a lot of Hallmark movies, as well as movies on the UP TV channel, which are very much the same. Even though most of the time they are predictable, when I'm not in the best of moods or I just want to relax and not think too much, they still make me smile. However as much as I usually enjoy them, here I had one major problem - The two leads were quite believable in their roles, but all of the other minor characters were so over-the-top it was like their bodies were on helium. The super annoying neighbor, the aunt, the sister, the lovebirds at the Christmas tree shop, etc. It was like bad acting 101. There was nothing believable the way they interpreted the script and I don't understand why the Director didn't pause and ask them to re-read their lines as though they were honestly happy or honestly in love, and not playing a caricature. I really have never seen one of these similar movies that was so painful to watch the cartoon going on. But like I said, the lead characters were very good, and the storyline kept me watching. I was split down the middle so I gave it five stars.