Le Noël surprise d'Emily

Love the writing in this one. Witty and smart comedy in the fake couple genre. When you know where the story is going (which is a big reason we watch Hallmark) it's nice to have some unexpected laughs and set ups along the way.

I will watch anything with Tyler Hynes in it but wasn't sure about how he would pull this one off -- in the previews, it's clearly shown that he's the one who is messing up and messing up even further by lying to his family. But Tyler is so much fun that he's even enjoyable when he's pouting, which he does a bit. There's a costume event gone awry, Bethany Joy Lenz spilling the beans to a horrified waiter, and a sister and other family who bring the Christmas cheer. Paul Campbell's writing reminds me of the best of the old ensemble romantic comedies -- I like him as an actor a lot but as a writer he's one of the best Hallmark is showcasing right now. One point off for making Paul McGillion old enough to be Tyler Hynes' dad -- especially since it wasn't so long ago that he was a romantic lead. Also, it's driving me crazy trying to figure out who plays the mom, and I can't find it in the cast list.

I really enjoyed this one. When compared to other Hallmark/Lifetime movies - it's one of the better ones. The performances are all strong and the leads are fabulous! Great pace and fun storyline too. Highly recommend.

There is good chemistry and both the leads are pretty darn good for the rom com/Hallmark Christmas genre. There are some classic cheesy Hallmark moments (i.e the Christmas play). But the actors actually make the storyline somewhat believable. I don't like the theme that successful women have to dial back their careers to be with their man. Why can't the man step up and say I'm being stupid and need to support you. Overall, definitely one of the better Hallmark Christmas movies.

Hallmark films can be a miss or a hit and this one is a rare hit. The chemistry between the leads was great and the films plot was fun. It's been done before but this version was fun.