Un sapin pour deux

First - the BEST part of Christmas movies is that they end well. I don't care about predictability when watching them - it's t he predictability that is comforting. No gore, no profanity, no nudity, wholesome stories with happy endings. That being said - I personally loved this one because I love Christmas, especially decorating the tree. So tree decorating is close to my heart. That's not the only "personal" part of this movie, my oldest daughter is named Samantha (lead actress' name), and I love sunflowers. I am a movie freak and tend to watch favorites over and over - and there are many! However, I don't feel that makes me a movie critic on any level, other than personal preference. So the snarky comments made by others about low budget, bad plots or acting should be ignored - for all reviews. So you didn't care for it - big deal. I think it's crazy how many ways all the Christmas movies can present the same basic story line! All actors, new and seasoned, need a place to present their art. Some have a lot of experience and a better screen presence, others are new to it. Kudos to them all for surviving the cattle call, the screen tests and getting the role!

Watch the movies for the FUN of it and ENJOY!

Put your drinking hats on. My wife and came up with a game last year after watching this Gem of a movie. Every time David (Ross Jirgl) looks down to the ground we have to take a shot. Needless to say I'm writing this from the Emergency Room, we couldnt finish watching the movie. Alcohol poisoning is not fun but i this will not deter us from playing this game next year.

Just really wanted to know why Angie was wearing a wedding ring throughout the movie. Is there a backstory i missed? Did her husband die? My theory is that she's working on getting a side piece and David won that spot.

Anyways, it's a generic Hallmark type movie. Clearly its a A. I created script. It doesn't offer anything different from any other low budget Hallmark Christmas Movie. The upside is you might not survive the game.

Love At The Christmas Contest (2022) -

What a lovely bum Ross Jirgl had and what a pleasure to find a new hotty in the seasonal films that I love. The right leading man could make or break a made for TV Christmas film, so it was nice to find that besides his yummy buns, Ross, as David, could also deliver a decent performance too.

I wasn't as sold on Samantha Cope playing his opposite, Angie, but she was adequate.

I did have a couple of queries as to how a flower arranger wouldn't know how to decorate a Christmas tree or how an expert tree decorator couldn't wrap Christmas presents? There were a few little things like that which jarred with the story, but it didn't effect it too much.

What was annoying though, was the "Argument", which was a bit lame. They just seemed to fall out over nothing and make a big drama for no reason. I've seen that plot device delivered in a better way many times before.

I did like the festive feel of the tree decorating contest and other bits and bobs throughout. The romance in general was sweet enough, but nothing even bordering on a PG connection.

David's daughter wasn't as grating as some of the kids can be, which helped too. I also liked James Healy Jr. As Angie's Dad, he added a certain presence to the film.

Not exactly a big winner, but certainly easy enough to watch and not so badly made that I would ever feel the need to turn it off, mostly for that lovely bottom. There aren't enough topless scenes in these films!

5/10.

When I heard GAC had come along and was presenting itself as a clear, family-friendly alternative to all the wokeness going on at Hallmark these days, I was happy about it. I still am.

And it's only natural that it would take some time to get up to speed with the casts and scripts and crews necessary to make good movies, so I cut them some slack. You have to walk before you can run.

This, then, is one of those fledgling efforts.

High school boyfriend, a widower with an adorable and precocious daughter is in town for the holidays. Paths cross with a nursery owner who's recently lost her mom. She enters a tree decorating contest to honor her, only to discover the ex and daughter have entered too.

Commence bonding, near-miss episodes of physical affection, misunderstanding and resolution.

The lead actress is sweet, but the male model lead is a little stiff, and there is little chemistry between them. Daughter is adorable, and the requisite relationship-pushing best friend has some good moments as well.

The theme of the decorating contest is the meaning of Christmas. Not to give anything away, but Charlie Brown knew something these people don't.

I guess there's still a gap between family friendly and Christian themes.

A so-so effort, but I would still encourage them to continue their noble quest.

After a good start, we've been disappointed in the last couple of GAF releases. This one simply had no fire at all. The story lacked originality, and the only tension was the 'same old' one of the leads has to leave town for their career.

When the acting wasn't flat, they leaned HARD on dripping sentimentality, and they couldn't be satisfied with just one dead mother to make the Christmas season melancholy, they doubled down with TWO!

Thankfully, you won't have to pull out the hankies, because none of the actors could put forth enough genuine emotion to transfer their supposed grief to a viewer.

This won't be on our rewatch list, obviously, and I can only recommend it to a Christmas list completist. There are MUCH more interesting, entertaining, and moving films available from both this year's releases and reliable "rewatches" from the past.