Noël a disparu !

It is difficult to find truly new themes for these Christmas movies. It was a good effort borrowing the main idea from Pleasantville to give us a new angle for this Christmas movie. But when it comes down to it, there were still many of the usual Christmas movie subplots. Addy living in big city Chicago comes home for Christmas. Like many of the leads in Christmas movies, she hasn't been home in a while and there is family resentment. And even Addy is having trouble finding her Christmas spirit. It gets so bad that she wishes Christmas away completely.

The rest of the movie is Addy trying to restore the color of Christmas, first to those around her and ultimately to herself. She quickly teams up with her romantic opposite, Hunter.

I usually consider Michael Rady to be one of Hallmark's go-to actors, but I was disappointed this time. He and Lyndsy Fonseca didn't have much chemistry and the inevitable love affair between the characters lacked credibility. Part of this was because Addy was the center of the story until later in the story and until then Hunter was secondary. Another reason for lack of chemistry was the attitude of Hunter. His wish to stay out of the spotlight came off as him wanting to be a victim.

I thought the vehicle for Addy's restoration was obvious until it wasn't. I was mostly wrong leaving the movie with a cliche ending.

Still, give the movie points for a new take on losing the Christmas spirit. My interest was maintained to the end despite my preferring a slightly different ending.

Great hallmark movie. Yes it's cheesy but it's great and gets you into the Christmas spirit with whimsy and magic. It is a movie that brings joy, but also inspires. Michael Rady is a great actor and really makes you believe in the magic of Christmas and brings joy. Even though it's in true hallmark fashion of wild and far fetched but guess what it's a fictional story that just captivates if you allow yourself to be taken in. Take it in and enjoy the ride. You will not regret it if you allow yourself to enjoy it and give it a chance. It can easily be taken into reflect on life and how easy it can be to forget the meaning of Christmas.

Lynsy Fonseca has a future in Christmas movies and this outing shows that 2021's Next Stop, Christmas was not a fluke for her. That was one of the best outings of the year and I have a feeling this will be one of the best if this year.

The casting of the leads was spot on. While they're wasn't a crazy connection where they looked like they wanted to jump into bed, the connection they did have appeared genuine and was very sweet. He played the recluse well.

Obviously some lines were overly cheesy but the script seemed to be of a high quality, there were funny parts, endearing parts, realistic parts.

Some parts the production quality were really. Really bad. But it happens.

This is one I will likely watch again in future years.

Very rare to enjoy a new holiday movie,that Hallmark has put out over the years.. With that said,was it perfect? No! Was full of clichés,including taking a concept done from Pleasantville.

However actually nice it wasn't about saving a business,festivals or usual themed topics.

Was cast ok,feel another lead actress might of did better.

Didn't even recognize Julie Warner,until double checking who the mom was played by.

Acting overall was decent enough,as well the cinematography.. Some color adjustments despite the black & white parts felt dull in vibrancy,so that may of helped it feel more magical.

Music didn't overwhelm the conversations,but could be toned a bit.

As mentioned rare to enjoy newer movies,have only liked a handful in years because Hallmark mass produces cookie cutter productions.

Worth checking out,as its something different.. Well,for Hallmark anyway.

I love Lyndsy Fonseca and have since her turn in Nikita. It's great to see her doing another Christmas movie, and this one is good. It feels oddly similar to Next Stop, Christmas back in 2021. But it doesn't take away from this being a good movie and her giving a good performance. The whole cast is good, and the setting has that small-town Christmas charm these movies love to showcase.

The message of finding your Christmas spirit, which is so prevalent in Christmas movies, is handled very well. It doesn't seem too forced or outrageous, and the whole premise seems very grounded in the hustle and bustle of today.

This one is a keeper and worth watching,