Christmas Lodge

With all the sweetness and light in Christmas Lodge, just viewing it will get your teeth a rotting. The people depicted here are just too good to be true. Even the guy who dumps Erin Karplunk does it in a nice way.

I will say that the film boasts some lovely scenic photography of British Columbia in this Canadian production. Right in the middle of the forest primeval is a now rundown resort that Erin Karplunk and her family used to go to. The great grandson of the builder of Christmas Lodge is Michael Shanks and he's trying to restore the place, but it's an uphill battle for he and his little daughter.

Then in the God moves in mysterious ways category Karplunk shows up with the soon to be dumper boyfriend and she works in a foundation that gives grant money for restoration of old buildings. In this film you KNOW she's going to get it done by hook or heavenly crook. And fate has decreed that Karplunk and Shanks of course are fated to be mated.

Despite my cynicism I did enjoy Christmas Lodge and for those who are into restoration and there are many in my neck of the woods who are. Preservationists, this film is for you.

'Christmas Lodge', yet another recently seen Christmas film seen during my favourite holiday, could have gone either way. It could either have been very charming, cute and heart-warming, which is more my idea of what a Christmas film should be like. Or it could have been too schmaltzy and forced with unsubtle moralising. There are quite a number of examples of both extremes around, as well as a fair share of festive films that have elements of both and induce mixed feelings with me.

One Christmas film that fits into both camps and has elements of all the above is 'Christmas Lodge'. There is much to like, one can see why it would connect with viewers and the effort that was put in. For me though, for all its good intentions and that it had its heart in the right place, 'Christmas Lodge' was not a great (or even particularly good) film and it is not hard to see why there are people that didn't care for it (also understand, and share some of, their reasoning). Left me mixed if anything.

Will start with the good things. It's a good looking film, with the best aspect of 'Christmas Lodge' being the luscious scenery which the photography complements beautifully. The music avoids being too constant or over-scored and captures the essence of Christmas quite well. The acting to me seemed better than average (which is not an opinion shared by everybody) despite less than average roles, with likeable performances from Erin Karpluk and Michael Shank and an absolutely adorable dog.

There are moments of real charm and genuine heart, and all the good intentions are there. The message means well.

Despite all of that, 'Christmas Lodge' really could have been a good deal better than it was. It is too heavy-handed, with all the religious referencing, too much of it and none of it being subtle, being rammed down the throat too much. The script is on the limp side and is too thick on the schmaltz and corn, complete with an awkward flow. There could have been more to the characters than just festive cliches.

Too much of the story doesn't engage enough, with too much of the film dragging and with it being too thin. The scenario is too heavy on the contrivances and some serious suspension of disbelief is needed in the final act. Really do wish that the central relationship was developed more, the build up just wasn't there and it just felt rushed and underwritten. The chemistry between Karpluk and Shank was there but the progression and extra spark were missing.

Although a watchable enough film much of me regrettably was rather mixed and left lukewarm here. 5/10

I don't normally search for these sort of films; my wife loves them and for the entire month before Christmas, these are on TV in our home. However, this year, I did not see this one. I was searching thru Netflix and found it in my queue; apparently my wife had watched it so I figured I'd give it a go. It was about 1 am and the worst thing that could happen would be that I might fall asleep. I did not. I found this to be quite a charming and nice movie, though I felt "Grampa" played it a little too hammy. But all in all, I found the film to be quite enjoyable. I was also amazed at the full mention of God and Christ and found that to be a breath of badly needed air; Family values are great and this is one movie to enjoy. Yea, the title "Christmas Lodge" sort of connects it with Christmas. I wonder if this was ever based on a true story?

While the story works OK for a 'cute' movie and is very family friendly, I found the main couple (Mary and Jack - such original names!) in this movie to have no chemistry at all. None! In fact, Mary seemed downright embarrassed and uncomfortable around Jack, especially when he brought up any serious topics. And as for Jack, after watching this actor in many of the Stargate shows, I know he is capable of much better acting and have no idea why he was pigeonholed into something like this.

The show was ultimately not realistic, and Mary would have known better than to go begging about how her project was a labor of love - very unprofessional. The story line was very amateur at times, with plenty of time dedicated to watching everyone be called to dinner and eating, Mary and the family all joining in for care-taking, etc. While an instance or two of this is good and emphasized family involvement, showing it over and over again was tedious overkill and added nothing to the plot. It was almost as if they were looking for filler fluff.

Overall, fine for a family showing, with good moral lessons, but lacking if you were looking for anything more.

Let me say categorically that Mrs. Shullivan and I had wonderful childhood memories of our own Christmas's past and so this film brought back feelings of our own family Christmas's that were very special. After reading some of the other negative reviews I can only ascertain that these scribes do not believe in the magic of Christmas, or maybe their own families are not very close so the film was not believable to them.

As for those of you who are purest Christmas believers, who enjoy being surrounded by family at this magical time of year, and who have some level of faith in living a Christian life, then this film "Christmas Lodge" should be on your viewing list. The two lead characters names are Mary whose job is to find private funding for restoring historic buildings, and the country Christmas Lodge owner named Jack whose lodge is old and badly in need of extensive repairs. Christmas Lodge was built by Jacks' great grandparents more than 100 years ago and the Christmas lodge has hosted many families over the past two centuries including Mary's family and grandparents when she was a young child.

Mary is played superbly by actress Erin Karpluk, who had a recurring role in the hit action/drama television series Rookie Blue. Jack's character is played by the seasoned actor Michael Shanks who has played versatile character roles in other films ranging from the biographical film Mr. Hockey the story of Gordie Howe, to the successful television drama series Saving Hope. Now Michael Shanks character is a widower and he has a cute pixie of an 11 year old daughter named Charlene, played with devilish charm by the youngster Michelle Creber. In walks Mary (Literally in the woods) in to their unsuspecting lives while Jack is slowly trying to restore Christmas Lodge to its past glory days with nothing more than spit and muscle and little capital funds to pay for the rebuild.

Now Mary's own family is very busy in the renovation industry with her father and her two brothers working independently on various renovation projects trying to maintain a living. Mary's grandfather has been bed ridden for quite some time but his past memories of Christmas Lodge and the love and Christian upbringing that he has bestowed on his extended family made Mrs. Shullivan and I warm and emotional. Call us saps if you will, but Christmas Lodge is a story of caring for one another and believing in the goodwill of all mankind. Grandpa is played by John Innes and his bedside visits and long chats with his granddaughter Mary only wish that our own parents and grandparents were still alive. They are very sensitive and touching scenes and add great value to the movies theme....especially near the end of the film.

The film has a romantic story line and the spirit of Christmas comes to a wonderful climatic ending with Mary's family at Christmas Lodge well worth waiting for as the film closes. So for those other reviewers who commented they could not watch the entire film I must surmise their past Christmas's were filled with stress and grief and this film is about hope and love.

Michael Shanks and Erin Karpluk are wonderful in the lead roles. This is a family friendly Christmas film. I give it an 8 out of 10 rating, and suggest that if you are a lover of the Christmas spirit that you won't be disappointed with Christmas Lodge.