The Holiday Fix Up

It's a lifetime movie so expect a lifetime quality movie. I can see this being really great for a pre teen girl. It's not sexual or preachy & the storyline is simple ( & dumb, but, again, it's a lifetime movie). Other than that, it's great to watch with an edible if you're an adult. If your high, it's non- stop laughs and a new must- see holiday movie. You can go to the bathroom and grab snacks through out and you'll never miss a thing. Although, I recommend watching the whole thing in its entirety as it's truly a wild ride. Personally, my favorite character was creepy uncle jack. A fun party game would be to take a shot ever time uncle jack shows up for no reason other than to be a weirdo. Happy watching!

Have said many times about my love of Christmas and getting a lot of pleasure out of in particular watching films, cartoons and specials during this period, something that most years has been much needed. Wanted to see some more festive films that were more recent, lower in budget and were not childhood favourites, so in a way to broaden my horizons and have been doing so since November 2019. The idea for 'The Holiday Fix Up' did sound predictable and not particularly interesting, but still watched for completest sake.

Jana Kramer and Ryan McPartlin are somewhat hit and miss for me, and it really does depend on how their characters are written, but both come off well here despite the film overall not quite coming together for me generally. There are certainly worse films out there with the fixing up houses concept (whether Christmas or not, with it being especially variable with Hallmark) and certainly worse Christmas films from 2021, but 'The Holiday Fix Up' just struck me as rather average.

Kramer and McPartlin are both charming bundles of energy and in full command of their roles. Their chemistry is always at ease and very sweet in the latter stages without being overly so. The supporting cast fare well too and didn't find myself frustrated, annoyed or bored by the characters despite them being very cliched.

The production values to me were quite nice, even if at times you can tell it was made in a short amount of time. The scenery is very attractive. The music is also easy on the ears and there are worse offenders out there of being too loud or constant, didn't find either an issue. There are amusingly light hearted and adorable moments.

With all of that being said, 'The Holiday Fix Up' does have a number of issues. The story is very thin, very predictable with all the character and story cliches of this type of film present with nothing new and padded feeling. Hence the draggy feel of the second half which has too much filler, the decorative scenes going on for too long. The writing is messy and unfocused, with a lot of over heated and near-mean spirited bickering that dominated the relationship for a lot of the film and then too much mawkish and too shoehorned in over sentimentality in the final act that felt disjointed tonally.

A final act that has a very run out of ideas and too neat feel, the ending can be seen a mile away and considering what happens in the rest of the film it didn't feel realistic. Do agree as well about there being too much musical monatage and some of it is amateurishly staged and indicative of under-rehearsal. The direction is workmanlike and not much more.

In conclusion, very average but at least it's watchable. 5/10.

Plenty of fun activities, plenty of good chemistry by all, Ryan and Jana smoke it in this show. Lots of plot twists to keep you entertained and guessing. Jana who always does well in these outdoors type movies excelled. And Ryan found more of his softer qualities to put it all together nicely.

Well done. I will be watching this a couple more times as I always like a good fixer upper type of show with romance thrown in.

These Hallmark/Lifetime/Whatever films are all fairly similar, and their success of lack of success, whichever the case may be, depends heavily on the lead actors and also the supporting cast.

For that reason, 'The Holiday Fix Up' is a success because Jana Kramer (Sam) and Ryan McPartlin (Coop) have good chemistry and play off each other well, not to mention both being very good looking. You throw in a likeable bunch of supporting characters like have been assembled in this movie, and it's a recipe for success.

TV star Sam returns to her hometown to renovate her uncle's old inn, which has been damaged by a tree in a storm, and is forced to work with Coop, her ex-boyfriend. Their relationship progresses from animosity to a desire to work together as friends and then, of course, something more.

(Through it all, no matter the weather, Coop doesn't seem to wear much more than a light jacket, even when everyone around him is bundled up against the cold. What a superman!)

Typical Christmas fare, but done well. I thought this was a lot of fun. Maybe Hallmark's best 2021 release.

Well they could not have picked two more attractive individuals for this holiday romance...these two are gorgeous! I can see why everyone wants #soop for Christmas, although I am with Coop-whatever that means.

When Rita and Jack moved in to Bel Harbor it was just four walls, it is the people that make it a home.

Sam has a fixer-upper show on something like the DIY network and has been very successful for the last five years. She has avoided going home to Bel Harbor, where it all started, for Christmas by doing an annual Christmas show...which this year they have given to an up and coming fixer upper because her social media presence is off the charts. Then Sam sees that a storm caused damage to her beloved Bel Harbor Inn and she calls her surrogate father to see if he needs help...and indeed he does. Which is how Sam ends up doing a fixer upper in Bel Harbor for Christmas. There she must work with her ex boyfriend Coop and discovers their breakup was not what it seemed five years ago.

This was a fairly run of the mill romance that added both Christmas and a woman doing DIY. If you are in to that...you may enjoy this film. The two leads are very attractive, if that is a draw.