Double destinée

An early line of dialogue says it all as protagonist Eve references 'It's a wonderful life' - borrowing slightly from the Frank Capra classic as we get two portraits of what the go-getter's future may hold. It's a decent concept. But without considering the content otherwise, I think the very structure of the feature is a bit of a problem. A few minutes at a time, we see how Eve's life will play out if she makes a flight, or not. The shifts in mood from one scene to the next make for a little whiplash - to say nothing of the dubious transitions crafted with post-production CGI. 'All about Christmas Eve' is reasonably enjoyable for the most part, but it also surely would have benefited from a more delicate, mindful touch.

The flourishes of inelegance also apply to other aspects of the film. Some passing dialogue is pointedly dated (including references to ShamWow, Kardashian sex tapes, and more), and some other lines rather elicit a double-take. Fine as the concept may be overall, the leaps between ostensibly concurrent timelines is a bit of a shock not just for the changes in tone, but for the extremity of the different portraits: one perfectly vibrant and happy, and the other ever more dour and depressing with mounting troubles. Though it may be technically true, it doesn't meaningfully feel like the picture is very well balanced with each half going to such stretches.

Questionable though the plot structure is - in fairness, each part in and of itself is mostly done fairly well, with generally able writing, direction, and performances. Sure, it's less than perfect with occasionally untactful or ill-minded bits. Not least of all given the noted dichotomy of storytelling, it tends to seem a smidgen ham-handed at points - and toward the end, distinctly heavy-handed. Yet there's also some definite scattered cleverness, and where star Haylie Duff is concerned in particular, I'll say that the constant flips from coast to coast enable her to demonstrate range, nuance, and personality as an actress, even within the confines of this TV movie. Speaking as someone who couldn't name anything else Duff has done before or since - hey, she's not bad! Why, broadly speaking, I think the supporting cast also do a fine job realizing their characters.

I keep adding qualifiers as I speak to the worth of 'All about Christmas Eve,' however, and not without reason. The 10-15 minutes before the final scene are emphatically disordered and frankly dubious as the narrative becomes jumbled and confused. For all the curiosities and indeed peculiarities of what the movie represented throughout its length, at the most critical juncture it feels like 'All about Christmas Eve' isn't sure what it actually wants to be, the precise story it has to tell, or the themes it intends to convey. Once again I can only do a double-take - the very, very end is written clearly enough, but what we get is effectively two parallel roads that end in a single avenue, but only after taking 10-15 minutes to become knotted, untidy, and chaotic. So poorly considered is this vital moment that my regard for the whole absolutely drops.

More so than not, even for the issues it carries for most of its runtime, I think this is a pretty good TV movie. The performances are swell, direction and technical craft are solid, and if spotty, the writing is sufficiently adept. So why are we given such an unwelcome, unnecessary hurdle so close to the finish line?

Make no mistake, there are worse kindred features out there that one could watch. Ultimately, though, it turns out that there are also most assuredly better ones. It's a shame, really - I want to like this more than I do. I did, for about 70 some minutes, like this more than I do. It's an okay view if one comes across it. When all is said and done, though, this falters - and unless you're an especial fan of someone in the cast, this simply isn't essential.

The two previous reviewers have already pointed out features I would have mentioned:

• The "Sliding Doors" plot parallel

• Diana DeGarmo appearing as herself, singing "Cantique de Noël" in English (i.e., "O Holy Night")

In addition, I would note that this is Chris Carmack's second appearance this season as the leading man in a Christmas movie, along with "A Christmas Wedding Date". So far, this is the more highly-rated of the two (and rightfully so, in my opinion). Previously, I'd seen him only as "the other guy," or in some other minor role.

Finally, here are some things you might not have seen if this had been a Hallmark movie:

• The cheating boyfriend in bed with another woman

• Two drag queen barflies (also mentioned previously)

• Haylie Duff's cleavage (I don't remember that from 7th Heaven!)

In short, here's a different bit of fun from the "typical" Christmas tale.

Note: Carmack's character's name is spelled Aidan in the IMDb credits, but that came up with a spelling alert when I typed it, so in my summary, I used the "corrected" form, Aiden, since I never saw the spelling on the screen. Eve's full name, however, appears both spoken and in print in the film; her fist name is Evelyn, but unfortunately, I can't remember the surnames of either lead character.

All About Christmas Eve (2012) -

So this film was an obvious take on 'Sliding Doors' (1998) and I thought that was a nice touch for a made for TV Christmas production.

I would have liked it to have been a bit clearer which version of her was which though. Perhaps she could have hit her head in one reality and had to wear a plaster to distinguish that one from the other, but after a while it was easy enough.

And I didn't think that the romance between Aidan and Eve really had much time to develop, because of the 'Sliding Doors' back and forth, which may be why I couldn't buy their connection.

As has been true with so many of these films, another ten minutes could have made such a difference in that respect. Film makers - Stop restricting the flow of the story to fit a time slot please??

As for the actors, I personally thought that Chris Carmack as Aidan was lovely, despite the pointless scooter, which was obviously way too short to actually have been his, but I didn't think that Haylie Duff as Eve was right for him, she was too all over the place and she had such a "Poor Me" face, as if nothing bad had ever happened to anyone else. I just felt that she would bring him down and squeeze all the joy from him and she put up so many obstacles foe happiness with him. That might be a bit harsh?

Having said that, she did obviously work for the most ridiculous boss and the company clearly didn't have a behaviour management policy.

Actually, the business models in these films have always been so weird. One minute they might be sacked for doing a bad job and the next they might be heading the new office? Talk about extremes? Surely the bosses would have to give better grounds for dismissal than one failed account, if the employee had been doing well otherwise and the bosses certainly wouldn't want to sack the employee if they were in line to run a whole branch of the business provided that they did well?

So, yeah, that was a bit weird, like Tito (Patrick Muldoon), who was so slimey that it was literally dripping off of him. And the home wrecker was proper fugly too, like some sort of alien, there were definitely hints of 'Predator' (1987) about her.

Honestly, the film wasn't that bad, but there were definitely bits that weren't thought through properly, like the terrible artwork produced by the "Stunning Artist", which was at best something that you might find in a charity shop and from the 80's/90's. Once again it was the little touches that let it down and I'm not Haylie's biggest fan.

5/10.

While binging on Christmas movies I came across this Sliding Doors holiday remake. The story moves along and has a good cast.

The movie was ok, but why oh why the middle school art? I couldn't stop laughing at her "Art" at the gallery.

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THAT PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 Christmas MOVIES. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM FARE ABOUT THESE FILMS.

This film makes statement that a woman can't be married and have a career.

From Lifetime comes a likable film about what is fate and what you really want in life. "All About Christmas Eve" stars Haylie Duff (7th Heaven) as junior event planner.

As the film opens, Eve is overseeing an unusual Bar Mitzvah with a Christmas twist. Eve has a demanding boss (Connie Selleca). Her boss likes what she did with this latest party. Pleased with Eve's work she now has eyes on her for a huge promotion. To get that job she has to land a huge client. This client lives in Los Angeles. So she has to miss Christmas with her family.

The next day Eve misses her plane to Los Angeles. Now she gets fired. Now she is out of a job. When she gets home she finds her boyfriend is cheating on her.

Later the Alternate Time where Eve makes the plane and is living large but she doesn't know her boyfriend is cheating on her! Also she becomes a different person that really isn't very nice. But which is the real time line and what is the alternate time line?

The film handles the alternate time line transitions with ease. It is a testament to all involved that this gimmick works as well as it does.

Because of the dual time lines the film has a faster pace then most Christmas theme films.

Enjoyable. In the distant future I will watch it again.