La fabuleuse parade de Noël

I was 20 minutes into this movie when it occurred to me that the probable love interest had not put forth an appearance yet. Um. Could it possibly be the dumpy ethnic guy?! I continued to watch in mild disbelief when that remote possibility proved to be the case. And I loved it!

Katee Sackhoff receives word that her estranged and closed off father has hurt his arm saving a little kid from a killer Christmas Tree. She decides to spend Christmas helping him out with perhaps a dim hope that she can repair her relationship with her adorable little daughter's grandfather in the "house where Christmas goes to die." I liked all of the actors in this. Katee won me over with her gummy smile and actually even became more and more appealing as the movie progressed. Terry Quinn was great of course. He was affecting in conveying his grief over his wife's death which happened at Christmas time (of course), his scroogey behavior, and his touching opening up with his daughter by way of his delightful granddaughter. The young actress, Emma Oliver, was so natural in her portrayal. What a talent! And so pretty.

They compete in the parade of Christmas decorated boats in order to win the $25,000 prize needed to save financially challenged grandpa 's home ("My wife took care of all of that" but apparently he managed to pay the electricity bill?) But what ever. Also "whatever" to how a 25,000 prize is more that a drop in the bucket to a house that is worth more than a half million dollars.

Katie and her childhood friend who went from dumpy to cuddly, in my mind, as the movie progressed, confess their love which commenced for both of them in high school to each others mutual shock. It was very romantic in my opinion. She says she has to go home to her regular life and he has to stay with his mother. Both reasons are totally bogus, by the way. But they don't get all tragic about it, which is refreshing.

The boat parade occurs and the special surprise piece de resistance for our boat wows everyone, including me-I teared up. They win. Happy ending. I would have liked more closure to the romance with the steps forward mapped out for the lovable couple, but hope is strong. All in all, this was well worth watching, I liked it, and it was well done.

I really enjoyed this Christmas movie. It is, what I call, a classic Hallmark Christmas movie: a warm and engaging romance with a good script; quality acting and performances; and plenty of Christmas spirit and festive cheer. Hands down, one of my favorites thus far this season (though we are only two weeks in). The storyline revolves around Liz (played by Katee Sackhoff). After receiving news that her father, Dennis (played by Terry O'Quinn), injured himself saving a child from a falling Christmas tree, Liz and her daughter Hannah (played by Emma Oliver) head home to Portside for Christmas after many years away. On their arrival at the docks, they are greeted by Liz's old friend Luke (played by Patrick Sabongui), who points out that their family sailboat has not been sold after all. As they clean and decorate the sailboat for Portside's upcoming Christmas Boat Parade, the two pick up where they left off. And so our story (and romance) begins. The story touches on the issue of dealing with loss and grief during the holidays (via the character Dennis, the father), and how dealing with such loss can impact others (how Dennis's grief has impacted Liz, especially during Christmas). The plot, of course, was predictable. That said, the script was well-written. In particular, the dialogue between Liz and her daughter, Liz and her father, and Liz and Luke pulled me in; it engaged me. There were several touching scenes. For example, I shed a few tears during the heart-to-heart between Liz and her father towards the end of the movie. Overall, the writer did a good job in many scenes capturing something that felt authentic, moments that pulled you in as a viewer. This was all made possible, of course, by some quality acting. Fans of sci-fi will be happy (or surprised) to see Sackhoff in this one. She did not disappoint. She had a very convincing performance. In addition to her scenes with her father, she had some great mother-daughter dynamics going on with Oliver. The chemistry between her and Sabongui was excellent, with a very romantic dance scene towards the end, to boot. The supporting cast too had a superb performance. Oliver's performance was adorable. O'Quinn too had some lovely scenes with both Sackoff and Oliver. Finally, there was plenty of Christmas cheer in this one. The scenery and sets in Portside were very festive, along with some beautiful scenery of the harbor. The Christmas Boat Parade at the end was also a nice touch, a very good ending, I felt. All in all, it is an entertaining Christmas movie, providing some holiday warmth, Christmas spirit, and festive cheer this 2021 Christmas season. Fans of Hallmark will no doubt enjoy.

Christmas On The Lake (2021) -

I really liked the leading man Luke, played by Patrick Sabongui. I felt he was a nice character that I wanted to succeed in love, which made this film easy to watch.

But Terry O'Quinn was outstanding in his role of the disillusioned widower, Dennis. I liked how he slowly melted and came around because of his interactions with his Granddaughter and I liked his vulnerability, because I could really feel his sadness. The whole thing actually got me quite emotional if I'm honest and mostly thanks to Terry.

I really bought the relationship between the two leads and I wanted them to get together.

And I was glad that they didn't make up some crap argument for them to fall out over and just played it simple, with practicalities getting in the way of things instead of some ridiculous misunderstanding or overheard comment.

It had lots of seasonal fun and a different take on the usual themes, with a pleasant romance and heart that has sometimes been missing.

6/10.

This felt like a Christmas movie not just a Hallmark Christmas movie. Real good. Terry O'Quinn unreal as usual. Feel good movie. Make sure to catch this one in 2021 holiday season. 8/10 from me. Loved the atmosphere too!

I have to disagree with the low star ratings from other reviews.... I found the story a delightful change from the "traditional" winter wonderland holiday romance movies. Thank you Hallmark for going a different direction with this movie! I did not find that there were any real issues with the lead, it is more a case of you either like Katee or you don't...so thinking the lower reviews simply don't care for the lead. I like to think I am a bit more open minded and can actually rate a movie on the entire film and cast and not on one actor! I am neither a fan or not of Katee but I enjoyed her in this movie. There should be nervous laughter, the two characters that are rekindling their childhood romance are nervous and unsure, it should be expected, it certainly would be in real life... Was the result expected, of course... it's a Hallmark and that is the way we want our Hallmark movies to end. But, the unexpected part, and you all know who watched this know what I am talking about, well that did make me cry and it was beautiful.... so after the horrible year the world has been through in 2020 and now 2021 it is an absolutely joy to be seeing a NEW Hallmark Christmas movie and I for one found it a delight!