Noël à Notting Hill

I enjoyed the opening parallel between a group of small kids playing soccer and a professional UK football team playing to the tune of Elton John's "Step into Christmas". Georgia Bright (Sarah Ramos) travels to London to visit her baby sister for Christmas. When she arrives her sister, Lizzie (Joelle Rae) has a whole British Christmas itinerary...including shopping and getting Christmas crackers even though neither one knows what they are. While out shopping alone, Georgia runs into a gentleman...or maybe he runs into her, either way s one of a kind ornament is broken and Georgia, not knowing he is the famous captain of the local football team (soccer) Graham Savoy (William Moseley), treats him like a regular person. The novelty of being treated like a regular chap intrigues Graham who eventually helps her finish her shopping trip...including the Christmas crackers. What they both eventually find out is that their younger siblings are not only dating, but Graham's younger brother Henry is actually planning to propose to Georgia's sister Lizzie this Christmas. This throws the two of them together and eventually makes them accomplices.

Meanwhile there is this whole sub storyline about both Georgia and Graham questioning their futures and their chosen professions.

Things to like: there were some cute nods to the movie Notting Hill, Georgia and Lizzie's dad with his Hawaiian shirts was a kick, the two girls seemed to have nice camaraderie, there are some great touristy British things and Christmas traditions like the Christmas crackers. I think the drag queen Christmas special was a little over the top. I did enjoy the extended family for the holidays.

Things that kept this from being in the top tier of Hallmark movies...the injury recovery was unrealistic, Georgia's anger at Graham seemed inappropriate, and finally the leads seemed to lack chemistry with one another. The fight between sisters over the potential marriage of the younger sister seemed disproportionate to their relationship...making them seem close sometimes but like strangers others.

Overall, it was a good film that I think romantics will appreciate. I recommend it to hallmark fans and Anglophiles alike.

5.8/10 (6)

Same story, different country. It doesn't matter if it's America or England. It's a small world where the love interests will collide.

The thing that drew me to checking out this film was the inclusion of Association Football. Football is my favourite sport, and so I got curious on how the romantic dynamic would be incorporated.

It went about as well as I imagined. Only a slight bit of the game being shown, and the rest inferred along the way. The initial romantic meet up was classic, and the continuation really wasn't much of a surprise.

The two main leads were cute together, and had good chemistry. The second couple of the film, while not the primary story per se, they were also enjoyable.

My downsides were passion, editing and effects. While I did enjoy the actors, at times, I didn't feel there was a lot of passion which made the less than ninety minute film feel stretched. The editing and effects were a little choppy at times. Quick succession of camera cuts that seemed unnecessary. Also, the effects of snow felt too fake which bothered me for some shots. It looked like an overlay on the screen.

Overall, not a terrible movie. It's bad enough to get a 5.8 out of me, but just good enough to be rated a 6. If you're a Hallmark fan then you won't go wrong and you'll enjoy it I'm sure. If you're not a Hallmark fan and you're being forced into watching one then this is one of the better ones. You may still dislike it, but it's not as cheesy as others.

That's all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Until next time.... Enjoy the show!

American teacher Georgia Bright (Sarah Ramos) goes to Notting Hill to visit her sister for Christmas. Injured professional footballer Graham Savoy (William Moseley) comes home to Notting Hill with his career in doubt. They bump into each other in an outdoor market. He is surprised that she doesn't know who he is.

It is Hallmark in London. The romance is standard Hallmark. It has two pretty leads doing most of the standard fare with limited drama. The big drama with the sisters seem to come out of nowhere. The main difference from other Hallmark movies is the London location. I wouldn't mind more local flavors. The interiors are probably shot on a sound stage. It is still a TV movie after all.

I really like the cast of all but Georgia. This role is so annoying and the actress is even more annoying. No idea why the character Graham is interested in her. As a football player I would have thought he would want to be around professionals as well as a partner like himself. Georgia is either crying, angry, nagging or acting like she is 15 years old. All the other family members made me laugh and really enjoy their time on the screen. It was great the location of the movie was actually in London I enjoyed the architecture of the buildings and the homes. Would like to have given it a better score but due to the terrible acting for the Georgia character it only gets a 5.

The main character spends the whole movie getting childishly upset over things that aren't worth getting upset over. She gets mad at the guy because he doesn't say he's a famous football player, so what? She gets mad because, well, a lot. And he supposed to suddenly care about her because she's funny it's smart etc.. I don't see her being funny and smart I just see her being a pill. And he likes her because she treated him like a person, but she stopped treating him like a person really early on. Just ridiculous. Kudos for a nod to the original Notting Hill, because the dad is seen reading a copy of "Horse and Hound."