Christmas at the Amish Bakery

This lovely story combines a few very charming and inviting features. The Amish are always a fascinating culture to learn about, always filled with loving , caring, kind relationships. The scenery is also so refreshing because the movie isn't taking place in a bustling city. And in this film, the many foods they prepared and showed were mouth-watering!

In this story, family relationships take front and center stage. The love between the Amish sister and her city sibling is so real, so beautifully expressed and portrayed that one has no doubt these two young woman truly care about one another. ..despite their very divergent life choices and styles.

That said, it is really difficult to imagine, first of all, what the hero of the story is doing on that farm. If he is there since he's widowed and owes some gratitude to the owner of the farm, we can accept that. Beyond that, one wonders how this actor ever got chosen for such a sensitive and challenging role. His acting is so wooden, so stiff,,that he often looks like a deer in headlights, almost as if he's forgotten his next lines.

The chemistry between him and the leading actress is non-existent. He is stiff, arid, and altogether wrong for the role. Even their Hallmark kiss at the end looks forced and uncomfortable. Where was the acting coach? The director? The story was so warm and so lovely, it was painful to watch this newcomer actor struggle to show any emotion.

Please forgive the sharp tone of this review. The story of this family was so warm and kind and sweet, it was simply distracting to see the lead actor so detached from every scene he was in.

7.1 stars.

This is the story of a city girl in Chicago, who grew up in an Amish family. She is now a writer and assistant, editor of sorts at a magazine, or whatever. She is assigned a task to make an original cookbook something much different. She decides to use her Amish family recipes, at least her boss tells her she should, so she goes home Amish country to see her family and create the cookbook.

There isn't a whole lot more to the story, she realizes that maybe she doesn't want to do the cookbook, her family isn't enthusiastic about it, they aren't privy to her intentions. The rest of the story is about her getting reacquainted with her family and falling in love with a man who has been helping the family. This gentleman also has a daughter named Zoe and she's a nice addition to the film.

There were many ways this could've been better, but they kept it very low-key and relaxed, not much tension, not much drama just a standard holiday spent in a quiet community.

I may not agree with the romance in the movie but I did enjoy watching. While it had its upside, I noticed a few drawbacks too.

I loved the establishing shots and shots of the plains and sea; astonishing I must say. Wished the pedestal shot of Sarah at the beginning was prolonged abit more to increase the suspense of guessing who the character was and what her goal is.

Had concerns though about the in-shot and P. O. V shots of Darla and Sarah in the office. It was mentally draining moving from one character to the other in so little time. I'd wish Darla eventually sat to meet Sarah's eye level or even bent a little with hands on the table, due to the prolonged timing of the scene.

I was initially confused though about Racheal; was there a Racheal in the movie? Was Hannah also called Racheal and the same person who sent Sarah a Christmas card?

Wished the snow used in the scene of Dean and Sarah at dusk was more realistic; it was quite snowy but one didn't get to see any snow on their outfits nor their hair.

The romance too between Dean and Sarah was not believable in my opinion. More connection and time spent alone would have done justice to it in my opinion.

Favorite Line: Perfection challenges God (Hannah to Sarah) Also loved the closeup shots of Dean and Sarah while he was narrating the accident to her. The shots greatly captured their emotions at a close range, drawing the audience to feel what they were feeling at that point in time.

Overall, it was a pleasant watch for me.

This is a formulaic Christmas romance. The only thing that stands out is that the story is set in Amish culture.

The characters are stock figures without much depth. The two leads do not have on-screen chemistry. The dialogue is wooden and all too predictable.

It seems the producers thought adding the word 'Amish' to the title would make the movie more popular, or at least draw more interest. It worked with me, but the movie failed to deliver. This movie is a trifle, which I guess it was meant to be.

There are better things to do during this season than watch this movie. This movie is not recommended.

Absolutely loved this movie, it was so nicely done.

Felt so peaceful watching it.

The actors were all perfect in their roles.

It felt calm n had good family moments.

The love between the sisters felt so real.

The dad was kind n loving n gave good insight into relationships n forgiveness.

The sisters were both beautiful n also the main actor Dean was good looking lol, he was quiet n portrayed a grieving man.

I didn't find anything wrong with their clothing or acting, esp complaining about the snow.

The storyline felt real.

Different community's are different for a reason, we don't need to find every little flaw.

By the way main actress was named Sarah n Rachael was the other sister, n Hannah was the baby (named after her grandmother).

Just clarifying for the reviewer who was confused lol There was enough romance n I loved the quiet moments on the swing n their daily interactions.

Movie was different from the ordinary but we enjoyed it.