User reviews

Though there might be some minor plot holes in this time-bending Hallmark holiday romance, they are not enough to derail this imaginative reimagining of the "Groundhog Day" conceit, which begins with a train ride to yesteryear.

Lyndsy Fonseca stars as Angie, a neurosurgeon who finds the Christmas season less than enchanting. Christopher Lloyd plays a mysterious ticket agent who engineers a sidetrack off the path of Angie's life. She gains the opportunity to rework her life, learning lessons about love and family along the way.

The camera loves Lyndsy Fonseca and she projects an energetic authenticity that is winning. In fact, all the cast is enjoyable to watch. And they are given dialogue that feels real, not like some romances where every line feels canned.

This enchanting tale is worthy of watching and appreciating again and again.

'Next Stop, Christmas' is a wonderful Hallmark Christmas movie: cute, fun, and entertaining. The story is clever and creative, the script is punchy, the emotional beats land, and the cast is charming and enjoyable to watch on screen. Hands down the best thus far this 2021 holiday season. The storyline revolves around Angie (played by Lyndsy Fonseca), a busy neurosurgeon who has, for some years, been avoiding her family during Christmas time. Her last fond memory of Christmas was ten years ago when her parents were together and her sister and she were on the same wavelength, a time too when she turned down a marriage proposal from the now-famous (and very handsome) sports commentator Tyler Grant (played by Eric Freeman). One evening before Christmas, after work and a drink with a friend, Angie grabs the last commuter train home to Yonkers to start her quiet and relaxing Christmas holiday alone. However, these plans are soon derailed by a mysterious ticket agent and conductor (played by Christopher Lloyd), as she finds herself on a magical train that takes her back home to that Christmas 10 years earlier. Her mission now is to figure out what she needs to do to get back to the present. And so our story begins, as we watch Angie relive her Christmas of ten years past, getting second chances and learning lessons about love and family along the way. This Christmas twist of the popular film 'Back to the Future' (BTTF) is well written with some fun and entertaining dialogue and scenes throughout. The writers also do a very good job of developing multiple sub-plots in 82 minutes, all while subtly introducing links to BTTF. As many reviewers have pointed out, the writers not only draw from BTTF, they also pay homage to the film, featuring two of the original stars Leah Thompson (playing Evelyn, Angie's mother) and Christopher Lloyd. One weakness of the story was the romance between Angie and Ben (played by Chandler Massey). Simply put, it was underdeveloped. There were not enough scenes of the two to develop their chemistry on-screen, unfortunately. The ending too is not ideal, though this is a minor fault. The acting, overall, is outstanding. Hallmark did an excellent job with casting in this one. Fonseca was brilliant. She had a quirky, yet warm, vibe to her performance, which was enjoyable to watch. The supporting cast too was outstanding. Finally, the film has a fairy-tale-like feel to it with some beautiful (and festive) props and sets, which will no doubt get you into the Christmas mood this holiday season. All in all, it is a cute, fun, and festive Christmas movie, with some impressive acting, a nice new addition to Hallmark's 2021 line-up. I highly recommend it.

What a great surprise this film was. One of the best hallmark Christmas movies. I enjoyed the story and I enjoyed the actors the most. The chemistry between the leads is great too. It's corny yes but it's a cute Christmas movie.

How cool that two of the stars of Back to the Future (Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson) would appear in a movie about a girl who goes back in time!

Lloyd is excellent as a magical train conductor who escorts Lyndsy Fonseca on a magical trip to Christmas ten years prior, where she must right some wrongs in order to return.

Fonseca is a very talented actress, with great comic timing and a quirky personality. Initially, she's supposed tobe a stuck-up surgeon, but that doesn't really ring true.

Lots of twists and turns along the way, so enjoy the ride. This is a Hallmark movie the way they used to be.

I like it !

I write this very rare about a Hallmark christmas film but Next Stop, Christmas is just...special. The basic motives - first, christopher Lloyd in an enigmatic, providential character skin , offering serious dose of seduction. Second - lovely aunt Myrt proposed by Erika Slezak. Not last - the handsome Chandler Massey and eric Freeman.

Not the last, the story and the beautiful work of Lyndsey Fonseca, real loved by camera. I do not ignore the Frosty box, off course.

But the good spice remains something easy to define as magic realism, good used for a fascinating story about a secret desire animated by many from us and the atmosphere of fairy tale (the memory about Polar Express by Robert Zemeckis was a red line in my memory seeing this movie ).

So, bashful, I admitt - I like this film !

I really liked this movie! The back in time with train was cute and it was a great story line!

Lyndsay Foreseca was great and so was Christopher Llyod was great! I'm glad Hallmark made this movie! Better then some of the others this year!

There's little doubt the writers were conjuring up memories of Back to the Future since not only are there two of the stars from that movie, but the partially disappearing ticket was central to determining if Angie had succeeded in her quest. This movie is clever in the use of those elements while putting them in a Christmas setting. One almost expects the conductor to call out to Marty.

This movie isn't focused on one central romance, although Angie's future love life is one of the threads. Angie is also hard at work on her family relationships, especially her sister and her parents, the latter evoking even stronger similarities with BttF.

Because Angie's own romance is only part of the focus of the movie, Fonseca's chemistry with her romantic opposites is not as much a factor is we usually expect, but she does have great interplay with Chandler Massey. Fonseca, and for that matter all the cast, provide good acting. The dialogue is fun and plays well to the situations that crop up. Christopher Lloyd is great as usual and Lea Thompson impresses me more in this movie than in BttF.

While the redo element of the plot is not unusual for a Christmas movie, this movie still stands out as clever and creative in story, acting and dialogue.

When I sat down to watch the 2021 Hallmark Christmas movie titled "Next Stop, Christmas", it was because I hadn't already seen the movie, but also because the movie have Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson on the cast list.

For a Hallmark Christmas movie then I will admit that "Next Stop, Christmas" was actually a bit more entertaining and enjoyable than most other Christmas movies. Sure, it has the same type of sappy contents to it, but the storyline in "Next Stop, Christmas" just offers a bit more. And truth be told, then the whole traveling back and forth in the past with the magical train was just a nice touch. And that is what made the movie outstanding.

Writers Samantha DiPippo, Andrew Gernhard and Christy O'Connor actually managed to put together a wholesome storyline that had a nice feel to it.

The acting performances in "Next Stop, Christmas" were good. Just a shame that Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd didn't have bigger roles in the movie. I wasn't at all familiar with the rest of the cast in the movie, but they did perform well enough and carried the movie nicely.

While "Next Stop, Christmas" is not going to be a Christmas classic for me, this is certainly a movie that is well-worth taking the time to sit down and watch, especially if you enjoy Christmas movies.

My rating of director Dustin Rikert's 2021 movie "Next Stop, Christmas" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Back during 70s, 80s, and 90s and into the early 2000s, ABC, NBC, or CBS used to have a new Christmas movie during the holiday season, usually showing up on a Sunday night somewhere between Thanksgiving weekend and mid December. Sometimes they were Hallmark Hall of Fame Christmas movies, but mostly they were made for TV Christmas movies. For the most part, those movies had more thought and creativity put into them than most of what we see now on the Hallmark networks.

This movie reminded me of those movies much more than those Hallmark networks Christmas movies that we see now. It's a little "Groundhog Day", a little "The Family Man", some "Back to the Future", and a healthy helping of "Eve's Christmas", although there are original twists to this particular story. Lyndsy Fonseca, who just recently co-starred in the Disney Plus series "Turner and Hooch" does a great job as Angie as she travels 10 years into her past and then has to figure out what she needs to do to get back to the present. Along the way she learns things about the people she loves that she should have known if only she had opened her eyes to the world around her. Christopher Lloyd also puts on a nice performance as the ticketmaster/train conductor.

Yes, the last few minutes are predictable, but so what? It's not the destination that makes or breaks this movie, it's the journey that puts this movie quite a few notches above the standard Hallmark Channel Christmas movie and one that makes it well worth watching.

7.0 stars.

During the holidays a woman is offered a chance to go back in time and change her life.

It was entertaining, it was fun, and the interactions were light and refreshing. The acting is good, the theme is good, and the story has been done a million times.

I've always loved Fonseca, way back in the Nikita days. I even liked her before that. She had a brain dead part in HIMYM, not worth mentioning. Her acting skills have seemed to improve, and she hasn't aged a day. I was excited to see this movie because of her. Must I remind you I am a red-blooded heterosexual male? Who isn't enamored with her?

This is basically in the same imaginary universe as 'Just in Time for Christmas'. It's no coincidence they aired it the same day. It's probably a sequel of sorts, although the writers and director are not the same. Also, it shares the same nod to 'Back to the Future', Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, (why isn't she listed in the top cast?) the similar motif, some of the same props, and sets, maybe the same train, and a very similar time travel experience. What I would love to see is multiple Fonsecas trying not to come in contact with each other so as to avoid total annihilation of the universe... I digress.

The presentation and timing of storyline is clumsy, it is certainly not seamless, and was just oddly put together at times. I felt a disconnect with the leads, as if she did not enjoy either one of them. She sort of brushes off Ben like he's not important, not even worth her time, and with Tyler, there is no fondness in her eyes, not a spark of attraction. If she was trying to act that way, she succeeded. When she blindsides him with bad news and there's no sympathy, no emotion; It seemed a bit too distant. Hard to pin it down, just saying that something was off, maybe just bad chemistry. It might be by design, because she's not in the present, she's experiencing all of this through a time warp, so maybe the idea was for it to seem surreal; however I feel it minimizes the emotional impact. Ben's portrayal is more genuine, he has a yearning for her that's not reciprocated. She lacks female intuition, and totally misses his subtle hints time and time again. Tyler did great with his role, which is basically to be a narcissist. I like her sister in this, she has a soulful charm about her. Lea Thompson is herself, generally the same character in all of her roles.

The ending was strange, but satisfying, and there is slight shift from the usual pattern.

Best Hallmark Christmas movie so far this "season". Lyndsy Fonseca's character and personality were infectious and endearing. Of course, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson made the movie even more special and harkened "Back to the Future" in a memorable way.

Next Stop Christmas (2021)-

A 'Back To The Future' and 'Christmas Carol' mash up. It is daft, but it kind of works. Actually it was nice to have a different formula, although I have seen similar ones.

It's slightly less obvious who she will end up with to start off, which is nice, but I personally would have chosen Ben, even if he is a bit gay? (Although that would be better for me). Having said that Tyler is very pretty, but too much for my tastes. I like them a bit rougher. I'd probably cut myself on his cheek bones.

I didn't actually believe that Tyler, played by Eric Freeman, was a sports reporter. A music show host maybe or a model from a perfume advert, but nothing to do with sports, except perhaps a pansy boy footballer. Sadly I have to watch a lot of sports and I have never seen anyone like him reporting.

The supporting cast all do a good job and there are no obvious bad bits about it. I just didn't find it to be as enjoyable as some of the other Christmas films that I have seen. I would be happy to see it again though.

6.32ish?/10.

I absolutely LOVE this movie and keep watching it. The main actress REALLY takes the movie to the next level; LOVE her acting!!! And to top it off...Christopher Lloyd being the conductor in a Christmas past movie....couldn't do better. Hats off to the director of casting 👏 👌. This movie will be very hard to top.

I typically have hallmark in background not sting attention, as many are so boring, but this one, while superficial, is kind of fun. The acting is better than most which creates a warm feeling. The little boy is darling w long fashionable hair, never seen in these types of movies, instead of cloyingly sweet usual kid actors. The sister is an actual character with feelings. The love interest is not particularly alluring though, nor do they have any chemistry, I'm not sure why every one of these can't just be about a family? The forced romance is tired.

Busy surgeon Angie Reynolds (Lyndsy Fonseca) is happy to be on call for the Christmas season. She doesn't want to go home and would rather spend the holidays alone. She boards a train which turns into a magical Christmas train. It has brought her back home ten years earlier.

It's a Hallmark Christmas fantasy. It's a fun opening premise. The train is nice and it has Doc Brown. What it needs is a dramatic plot. It needs a story. It's actually quite simple. There should be an obvious sliding-door incident which would keep her parents together. It obviously can't be her marriage proposal. This should shot for Back to the Future. Instead, this can't stop being Hallmark. It's all about having a girlie romance.

In addition, can somebody explain the writing credits for me? There are four names and three of them says concept. It seems like these three people pitched a concept to Hallmark and they gave it to this veteran writer to spit out a script. I'd rather have the concept trio write the story they want and have the fourth guy clean it up a little. Despite the weak story, I still like Fonseca and the train concept. Quite frankly, it could be a Hallmark series where the train takes a different person in every movie.

The movie provides the warmth and joy of a fairy tale with the magic of time traveling in an old train and the wonderful character of its conductor, Christopher Lloyd.

Unfortunately, the lead character, Angie, is superficial and clueless to the end. How can one warm up to a grown woman who does not even guess if she has real feelings for either one of her beaus and lets circumstances dictate her most serious choices? There is very little sentiment or logic in her relations with Tyler and Ben and no apparent chemistry among the characters. So, enjoy the surroundings and forget the main story.

Very nice time travel movie to find love. Not a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie, but you might get all the feels anyway. I always enjoy a surprise ending and this one wasn't predictable (maybe a little) until the last 10 minutes.

In the opening scene, you see two doctors/surgeons walking back into the prep room(whatever it's called) taking their gloves off, there is no blood anywhere-not on the scrubs, not on the gloves. Come on, make it authentic looking. It's not that hard.

Like another reviewer mentioned the ending was lacking. Overall the movie is okay. I enjoyed seeing the folks from back to the future. The movie had that time travel feel of back to the future, along with a nod to The Lakehouse( when she tells him to meet her at a restaurant 10 years) why so long??? It wasn't a total waste of time.

Just disappointed in the lack of authenticity.

I have watched a lot of Christmas movies this year, about 15 of them being Hallmark romances and this is my least favourite one so far.

Characters: Though I am normally a fan of the female protagonist Lyndsy Fonseca, I did not like her at all in this movie. I did not find her to be engaging, charming, endearing or any other traits that would make me want her to have a happy ending. Her love interests weren't any better and I didn't really feel any chemistry between any of them. Christopher Lloyd was decent as the conductor, but didn't really have much screen time.

Story: I like the concept, but the execution was sloppy. There were these weird time jumps where one second she is doing one thing, then she is on the train talking to the conductor, but instead of going back to the point she left, suddenly its the next day and she has been miraculously dropped off in a new location with no explanation of how she got there and what happened in the interim. Did anyone wonder why she wasn't at dinner or spend the night in her bed? Because of the jumping story, it made it hard to stay in the moment, or connect with any of the supporting characters. The best friend cliche is also my least favorite form of romance, particularly how it was handled in this film.

Soundtrack: The background Christmas music seemed, I don't know, too loud or prominent, like they were trying to force christmas down your throat. Whatever it was I found it very annoying (like a really bad canned laughter track).

Overall: Though I have no problem overlooking silly plot lines like a time-traveling train, there were too many things wrong with this one for me to just kickback and enjoy. It was tolerable, but there are better Hallmark movies to choose from.

Okay, yes, I'm a Hallmark Christmas movie junkie but some are better than others. I always love the unique stories, like this one!! And without giving anything away, it was so fun to see Christopher Lloyd in this!!!