Un Noël so British

Overall, I found this movie charming. I love the gorgeous and very likeable Will Kemp, and Reshma Shetty is beautiful. Her character in this movie was quite natural and relatable, and I thought the chemistry between the two was great. It was easy to see how love could grow between these two,

The trouble I had, which constantly distracted me, was that poor Will Kemp was really struggling with the American accent. (He is British.) I'm not sure if his character was supposed to have been a New Yorker, born and bred, but he often sounded as if he came from the most "flat 'a'" regions of Minnesota.

The accent was really a little bit all over the place, but not only that - The character's speech was simply written strangely, as if the writer was doing his best to imagine how an "American guy" might speak.

I've noticed that Australians seem to understand us Americans, our activities and our speech patterns pretty well. The British and Canadians, however, seem to think American males are all cowboys, hayseeds or frat boys, and overly casual even in the most formal situations.

Just as an example, when the Will Kemp character meets the female lead's parents and they ask if he is an architect, he replies, "Uh-huh." They ask him another related question and he again says, "Uh-huh." !!! In my world, a man who has attained the level of education of a successful architect would not be uncouth! When speaking with an older couple he had just met, he would reply with, "Yes, I am," - or even "Yes, Sir," especially if he's from the American South - but never "uh-huh!"

In another scene, he meets a man who is going to interview him, and when the man says, "Hello," the Will Kemp character actually replies "Hey." What??!! The writer must think we Americans are inclined to just throw our jackets over a chair, take our shoes off and pop open a beer, no matter what the setting or situation.

Mr. Kemp also seemed to have some trouble simply moving as an American man would normally move...which is "normally!" We don't really wag our heads around or walk differently from the Brits or anyone else.

Before I lay all this on Will Kemp, I have to note that it might have been the director forcing him into some of this.

(I was an amateur stage actress for decades, and the director can make or break you, and has the power to make you look and feel foolish. As much as you might plead, "I don't think the character would ever do this," what the director says usually goes. I had many great directors whose direction I trusted completely, though. I'm just speculating. Hate to blame Will if it's not his fault!)

Aside from these annoyances, it really is a pretty good movie. I got to see a lot of scenic London, and as I mentioned, there was a sweet chemistry between the two leads. Did I mention Will Kemp is gorgeous? (Ha! Sorry. Couldn't help it.)

6.4 stars.

A Hallmark movie set in London with people from London and an American with a strange accent. I don't know what that was all about, but he sounded like he was trying to sound American?

The setting in London is great, and the rest was Hallmark. This is just like the million based in Chicago, Boston, upstate Maine, and maybe the occasional Seattle, or NY. It had a British feel to it, credit where credit is due, they must have had some staff who knew how to give it that European sort of flair.

The dialogue was ordinary, the sets were good, the acting was good, the theme was tired, the chemistry was late. Please do another one in London with a better script and energy. Please, please, please.

'Jolly Good Christmas' (2022)

Opening thoughts: The 2022 Hallmark Countdown to Christmas block was a very mixed bag at best, though better than the Christmas Movies and Mysteries one. Of the previous Countdown to Christmas films, there were a couple of good ones such as 'A Kismet Christmas' but also a couple of disappointing ones such as 'A Cozy Christmas Inn'. Did like the concept for 'Jolly Good Christmas', so there was potential.

Potential that was thankfully lived up to. Not only is 'Jolly Good Christmas' easily the best of the 2022 Countdown to Christmas films up to this point it is also one of the best of the entire block. Also consider it one of the best 2022 Hallmark films, not just the Christmas ones (probably the first above good one) but overall. Was really pleasantly surprised how good it was and recommend it without hesitation.

Bad things: Getting the not so good things out of the way (bear in mind my couple of criticisms may be interpreted as nit-picky), the ending for my tastes was a little too rushes and tidy. Which is not uncommon for Hallmark, and was one of the more frequent issues this year for them.

Also thought that the music at points was a little too loud and intrusive.

Good things: However, everything else in 'Jolly Good Christmas' is good to great. It is elevated hugely by the charming and likeable lead performances of Will Kemp and Reshma Shetty, it is nice too to see non-Hallmark regulars in the lead roles once in a while and this is proof that non-Hallmark regulars are capable of good performances. Their chemistry is very witty and sweet, never coming over as strained and it is used just right. The supporting cast are very solid in roles that could have been too stock but just about weren't.

Furthermore, it is well made, with it being slickly shot and clearly loving the lovely location. Never did the editing come over as choppy. As well as the script, a high point is the script, which sparkles in wit, with the plentiful comedy never feeling forced and the less comedic parts not falling into over sentimentality. The story is pure light hearted fun and is full of charm and warm heart, it didn't feel dull and despite having typical elements and tropes it felt surprisingly fresh.

Closing thoughts: Overall, a jolly good time.

8/10.

This is a Hallmark movie that worked, with a British cast and filmed in London, England. Strange to hear Will Kemp with an American accent, it wasn't perfect but it worked. Reshama Shetty was very good as Anji, she was very natural. The leads had chemistry which always shows on the big screen or small one. The supporting cast of James Faulkner, Callum Blue, Jules Knight and others were very good.

This wasn't the usual Hallmark movie, the lead character is a male not a female and it had more depth to it. There were screwball comedy elements and a Christmas market that was very Dickensian. Will Kemp was a ballet dancer and the dancing scene at the charity event was probably choreographed by Will.

Bravo to Hallmark branching out into London more! Give me ALL the UK, European locations you can throw at me! -especially at Christmas time!

Unfortunately, it was difficult watching Will Kemp do an American accent; I would have raised my review 2 stars if it was Brit! The actress who played Anjali was adorable, but her being a chronic hustler was not very appealing. That said, the storyline lacked appeal. All Hallmark had to do was watch a couple Michael Damian movies for inspiration. Europe is magical at Christmas time, and so much more could have been done with this great location and great cast, but unfortunately, I felt let down. Storyline/teleplay was slow and not very romantic. It was a mere 5 for me, and I did want so much to love it.

-Did I mention that dismal "American" accent? Poor Will Kemp...