Un Noël artistique

I almost didn't watch this because of the negative reviews, but I'm glad I finally did. I thought it was charming. I didn't have any expectations going in, and I found it to be on par with most of the movies of its genre on these networks. Predictable? Yes. But I thought the acting was good and that the characters did have chemistry. Their facial expressions, especially those of Joe Towne, the leading man, were quite effective. Darin Brooks made the character of Reggie fun, and it was interesting to know that he and "Brit" (Kelly Kruger) are a couple in real life. If you want to see a movie about how helping others can help you follow your heart and find your way, then give this a try.

Cute although predictable story, spoiled by choppy, clunky dialogue, no chemistry between the leads, and odd fashion choices - a sleeveless tank dress in the middle of winter, Flashdance-esque casual wear, and plenty of deep cleavage-revealing formal wear. There is a solid message to be found about authenticity and finding your authentic self although the best parts of this movie were really the characters of Tricia, Reggie, and Brit. Frankly, the quick wit and singing talent of Darin Brook (Reggie) and natural chemistry with Kelly Kruger (Brit) were the real highlights of this movie, along with the beautiful voice of Ariella Cannon (Tricia).

... but the acting just wasn't there. Both female mains acted like it was their first time out, rushing their lines and speaking with that nervous throaty voice you hear from new actors. Bridgette Kingsley has no excuse for that, she's been around for a LONG time.

Her "first boyfriend" is 49 and they obviously wanted him to play much younger, so they caked makeup on him to the point his face looks plastic in every scene.

Our male romantic lead, also in his late 40s, acted like maybe he had Asperger's ... just really odd deliveries of his lines and often looking off into space as he delivered them. Maybe he felt self-conscious staring down Bridgette's cleavage as often as they displayed it ... which was a plus from my point of view. LOL (And about the only one).

On top of the above, most of the dialogue was either trite or just bad.

In our book, this is yet another GAF misfire this year, and indications are they've had some issues, with one planned movie not showing up at all, and last minute scheduling swaps on others. Maybe the rushed line delivery isn't the actors', but post-production sound problems? Regardless of which it is, it distracts from the story and makes some conversations hard to follow.

For the completist only ... otherwise safe to skip.

Storyline had some potential for a holiday Christmas romance but that's almost all the movie had going for it.

The lead actress is beautiful and the dresses were gorgeous. The young girl that's getting bullied is a phenomenal singer (if it's really her & not voiceover). That's where the positives end for me.

The acting, while not the worst I've ever seen, fell completely flat. I didn't feel an ounce of chemistry between any of the characters. It felt like they were just saying their lines without any real connection or emotion behind them. The movie was just....boring.

I've been trying to give GAC a chance with their movie lineups but the quality of their content is lacking any appeal for me.

I never heard of these production companies and some of the elements of this movie come off as amateur. The script by the lead actor Brigette Kingsley is clumsy and makes the acting look bad. I don't think the actors are fully responsible for how bad it seemed. Kingsley has some wardrobe that is very attention getting, but perhaps a little too fancy. The background music is distracting at times. It shouldn't be noticeable, but in several cases a strong melodic line draws attention from the dialogue.

The story follows some usual lines but isn't exactly the same old stuff. I mentioned the script being clumsy and it is in several instances. One of the best examples is the two part break up between Liv and Bradley. One positive in the story is the birthday surprise for Liv by Jake and the kids. It's cute.

The movie is family friendly with the possible minor except of at least one dress worn by Kingsley. On any other network it wouldn't be noticed. Otherwise, there isn't a lot of tension in this movie.

The movie closes with the show and a nice performance by Ariella Cannon.