Noël, l'Amour et le Hasard

...with some of the other reviewers: this was nothing special. The plot barely kept the movie moving forward until it staggered to a Hallmark end. Steve Lund and Taylor Cole, two old hands at these things, were the only thing that made this worth watching, although the actress who played Liz, the female sidekick, was a bright spot. It's ok, I certainly wouldn't recommend against watching it, but it's not great.

Steve Lund was really charming in this one. This is the second movie I have seen with him as the male lead this Christmas. He was excellent in that one also. He infused his lines with personality and humor. Just wanted to register my appreciation of his performance. Signed, his mother. Just kidding. I have received no material compensation from Steve Lund or his affiliates for this review.

Christmas related quests are the latest thing. That's pretty much it for story except for where the quest comes from - many or even most viewers probably figured that out early. There are no great highs or lows and zero tension except for "greener grass". The conflict is manufactured and a bit clumsy based on the usual misunderstandings. I will give points for the ending being a slight role reversal in terms of grand gestures.

The leads, Kate (Taylor Cole) and Kevin (Steve Lund) are lead through a few Christmas activities leaning towards doing good for others. Many reviewers thought they had great chemistry but it seemed average at best to me.

This movie is OK and will appeal more to viewers who haven't watched dozens of similar ones already this year.

Bickerimg Kate and Kevin each receive keys on their doorsteps along with cryptic poems. They must decipher the poetry to see where the keys lead.

I had hoped for of a mystery story. You know, they find a hidden stairway in Kate's new house starting a treasure hunt through town to . . . Well, that's for the writers to decide. But along the way they learn to depend on each other. Not a mystery full of blood and corpses, but with quaint old secrets that need to be aired in time for Christmas.

Personally, I'm sick and tired of the "dark side" in movies and TV and novels. Whenever anything is described as dark I avoid it.

On the other hand, I don't care for sweet and cuddly and innocuous. I had high hopes for a sort of Nancy Drew for adults.

I like a good mystery-romance between equal boy/girl sides who learn to trust and depend on each other, but this isn't so much a mystery as two independent people learning to open themselves to helping others and inviting others into their worlds. And each other, of course. "Giving back" as the modern phrase goes, coined by people who think that sort of behavior never occurred to anyone in human history before they happened along. Well, this thing is based on a novella by a woman who writes that sort of book. Look her up, if you like this. She's churned out dozens.

But don't expect a mystery in any conventional sense.

Fortunately, the giggly girls (one a doctor; I don't think I'd want to go to a giggly doctor) are very pretty. It's nice, but not enough in itself. Other viewers describe the guy as cute (whatever happened to the word "handsome?") But I'm no judge of that. He leaves me as cold as an icicle.

If that's what passes for flirty banter these days I'll be surprised if anyone ever gets together.

I couldn't tell by Steve Lund's face that he was going for flirtation. It looked weirdly hostile and aggressive. If I ran across this at a coffee shop and doctor's office, that would be the last time that I spoke to him.

Come on, writers! Haven't you ever flirted with a stranger that you found attractive? No? Can you ask someone who has?