User reviews

6.2/10 (Recommend)

The only thing that drew me to this movie is the whole mock recreation of Taylor Swift's relationship with Travis Kelce, but in all honesty it turned out way better than I expected. It's definitely a cheesy romance film, but it actually has heart and passion. The chemistry amongst all the actors is superb. The family feels like a family, the players feel like a team, and the relationship feels like a genuine relationship. The story is good and kind of sort of lines up with a T-Swift story. Most people don't care about a famous persons love life, but trying to see the sense of having a normal life while balancing the craziness of the profession one chose can be kind of sweet. Honestly, I would recommend adding it to your Christmas watchlist this year. Yeah, it's a cheesy romance, but it's one that you'll be cheering for every yard of the way until the touchdown finally hits.

That's it for now. Thanks for taking time to read my review. Happy watching and enjoy the show!

Match a very popular and beautiful singer-songwriter with a hot football player, it's fiction imitating life. The writers were no doubt inspired by the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce relationship that's all over the media. The script is good, the plot and dialog are much better than most holiday movies. Jessica Lord and Laith Wallschleger have chemistry together Laith Wallschleger showed more of a range in his acting and came across as more original. I assume it was filmed around Toronto which competes with Vancouver as the movie capitals of Canada.

I liked the supporting cast specifically Madeleine Cox, Stacey Bernstein, Dennis Andres and Carlisle Williams. Holiday films are either hit or miss, this film is very much a HIT.

Overall, this was a watchable movie, that describes a somewhat steamy affair between two attractive stars, which, apparently, leads to real love. Considering the personalities, how durable? At least three aspects of the production make me question it. For one, and this is becoming common in movies, it confers excessive emphasis on the role of a child getting involved in adults love relations. Maybe, I am willing to consider it, children are not the same I remember in my generation. Second, the dramas are overplayed. The need to keep the relationship between the leads a secret, and the way they go about it, seems unnecessary, and ridiculously enacted.

The family strains are also too harsh and feel forced in the contest. Third, why is this a "Christmas movie"? Either than the events occurring at year's end, the story has no real connection with this holiday and its values. It could have happened at Easter, during Ramadan, or any other time of the year, without changing an iota of its spirit.

Lifetime, in the past two years, has markedly pulled out of the frenzy of Christmas movies competition. I believe it has been a wise decision.

A lot of times I watch the Christmas movies, That my favorite actors/ actresses are in!🤔 I didnt know these, But i saw the commercial and wanted to see it, Because i thought she was an Ice Skater, & he a well known ball Football player!🙂 That would be a different Christmas movie, Than the other typical others🙂👍 .

But then i found out, She is a popiular & famous Singer!🤔 Stil didnt compare to another movie!🤔 But then unfortunately, Everyone started camparing it, To Taylor & Kelce relationship & That almost ruined it!☹ I came very close to changing my mind!🙄😁😁😁😁

Im sure Taylor is NOTHING like Jessica n this show!

🙄😁😁😁😁😁

This movie was awful and boring and so predictable what is the obsession with Taylor swift and her bf that they had to make a movie about them.

It wasn't even funny didn't laugh once and why was the niece so involved with his love life there was no chemistry with any of the actors

The only thing that was good in the movie was the lead actor was good looking couldn't wait till it ended what a waste of time can't believe I actually watch this till the end

They really need to stop making Christmas movies all the same what happens if you don't meet anyone by Christmas.

I should of passed on it when saw the previews.

Right, well right off the top of my mind when I saw the cover for this 2024 movie from director Michelle Ouellet, I was thinking that this would probably be a train wreck of a movie. But still, I opted to give the movie a fair chance and added it to my 2024 Christmas movie marathon.

15 minutes into to the ordeal and I was good and ready to give up. The storyline in "Christmas in the Spotlight" was a dumpster fire of a script. I don't know what writer Eirene Tran Donohue was thinking when she concocted the kettle that is "Christmas in the Spotlight". This was definitely one of least interesting stories in a Christmas movie that I had suffered through here in 2024. A singer and a football player? That hardly really constituted a Christmassy feeling for me.

As for the cast in the movie, well the acting performances were fair, though I wasn't familiar with a single face on the screen. Normally I do enjoy watching new and unfamiliar talents on the screen, but that didn't apply to "Christmas in the Spotlight", because the storyline was just a flaming heap of... Well, you get the idea.

I suppose that diehard fans of sappy Christmas movies might find some enjoyment in this movie. But personally I found no entertainment or enjoyment in the movie, as it failed entirely to capture my interest.

Definitely not a movie that I would recommend you to waste 87 minutes of your life on watching.

My rating of director Michelle Ouellet's 2024 movie "Christmas in the Spotlight" lands on a two out of ten stars. The only thing that lifts the movie up from an abysmal one star rating is the acting performances and the production value of the movie.

There's been a fair bit of Christmas buzz about this movie that tells the story of a pop star and a football player's unlikely romance. No idea where Lifetime got that idea from...!!

Jokes aside, the film that is oh-so-loosely based on the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce romance features plenty of nods to the famous couple along the way and when you set that aside, it's still a very good Christmas romance movie, one of the better Lifetime efforts in recent years. Sure, parts of the movie are contrived and you can see the conflict coming a mile away, not to mention the ending. Not that any other Christmas movie isn't similarly formulaic.

Jessica Lord (who is absolutely gorgeous, and has a chance to look radiant in some of her costumes) as Bowyn and Laith Wallschleger as Drew Gonville bring their characters to life. I've never seen either actor before, but they play their parts well. Their scorching chemistry is evident right from their first scene together and it's what makes this film so successful. Very-well cast. Sometimes you wonder what the casting people see in a couple who are terrible on screen. Indeed, a lesser coupling than Lord and Wallschleger would have sent this movie down the crapper. Instead, their presence elevates "Christmas in the Spotlight" above the rest of the pack.

Not an Oscar-winner, but great entertainment nonetheless. Depending on certain real-life developments, I wonder if we'll get a sequel?

Honestly I watched it as a joke and I can say it's probably one of the worst movies I've ever watched. The whole time the storyline was just dragging and it felt like so many scenes were so random. Like the fact he dressed up as Santa to go to have dinner with Bownye on a plane in a random warehouse had me weak and the totally not subtle Taylor swift quotes in the movie aswell. I would not recommend this and it's literally just Taylor swift and travis Kelse. Like seriously who thought this was in any way a good movie idea to make aswell. The acting was good enough considering the type of movie it is but other than that there's nothing good I would say about it.

I watched this in a bad mood and wanted to hate it, but I have this obsession that I have to watch every Christmas movie, so here I was. That changed almost immediately. It's funny. The niece is perfect setting up Bowyn and Drew to click. Bowyn is almost immediately likeable. She's not some stuck-up star and she does a few good musical numbers. Drew is a dumb jock, but kind of likeable too.

We start getting to know these two characters pretty quickly. Their first date has some sharing. And the chemistry between Jessica Lord and Laith Wallschleger is apparent right away. They are playful. A little steamy too. This movie is plain fun to watch. The story is about two celebrities trying to stay under the radar. It's hard not to compare it to Taylor and Kelcie.

There's almost no tension for a little more than half the movie. Very upbeat. But a good story needs it and it comes, in a couple of ways that makes it a good story. The ending may not be a surprise but it was so good.

I didn't know these actors, but I was pulled in by their performances. It's not Masterpiece Theatre, but it worked.

As a sports enthusiast and closet rom-com lover, I will always gravitate to a movie that includes both (see Christmas in Nottingham Hill). This one is also hilariously influenced by the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce relationship, with copious subtle/not-so-subtle nods to each of them. I feared this would be really cheesy, but was actually endearing and funny. At the end of the day, it is hard to escape the classic and predictable rom-com plotline, and although a fun and appealing idea, the writing was lazy at times and would have benefitted a little more to have better small sport specific details. It would have been just another average holiday TV rom-com, but I think the casting director really saved the day. I don't know where they found the leads, but they really shined! Surprisingly enjoyable execution and believable chemistry. It seemed life they were actually enjoying themselves- sounds silly to say, but there are plenty of these movies where it seems like the leads don't like each other and can't hide it. As a lifetime movie, it allows for a little more PDA than Hallmark/GAFam, but was still very clean and appropriate for all audiences. I hope to see these actors in more films in this genre in the future. The supporting cast was also good. Highly recommend- Swifties around the world will enjoy this pseudo-homage. 9/10 within the Holiday Rom-Com genre specifically.

Such a cute movie with just the right amount of cringe. Decent script with some taylor and travis references sprinkled in. The acting was really good and the plot and storyline made sense. Was able to predict the next scene sometimes but it wasn't too obvious. The cast were really attractive so that made up for the parts that were a bit cringy. Wasn't expecting to like this movie so much but i'm glad I watched it. Just sent a message in my friend group chat telling them it's a must watch.

This is definitely a light watch with friends and was just the right amount of christmas!!! Would be great to put on during a girls holiday gathering. Loved it !!!!

I won't lie I am usually not the biggest fan of Lifetimes Christmas movies..but this one was 100% a hit for me!! I love the story line and the actors had the best chemistry!

I understand it was about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce and I feel like they did a really good job at portraying how life/dating is when you're famous.

This movie definitely isn't a comedy, it has funny moments but personally I loved that there was drama, and seriousness! Usually Christmas movies are serious with the cheesiness (which I do love!!!) but this was a nice change and breath of fresh air. I would LOVE a sequel to this next year!

I really enjoyed this one. It was my first Lifetime Christmas movie and I didn't know Lifetime has a more liberal policy than Hallmark in terms of showing the male actors shirtless. As a direct consequence of that, I loved this movie.

The name lead, Laith Wallschleger, is insanely hot and had at least 2-3 scenes where he took his shirt off and we were able to lovingly gaze on his enormous muscles. One of these scenes was actually in a football team locker room, and that really did certain things for me.

I think there were some female characters in the movie too, but don't ask me anything about them.

Casting Laith was a really inspired choice. I will watch everything he ever appears in from here onto eternity.

With the exception of desiring some of the holes to be filled in the story, it was a nice change up from the typical Christmas movie. The chemistry of the two lead actors was amazing and it made for a very entertaining story. I wanted to see more dates when they snuck off with each other. Maybe even a few more close call moment would have been pretty cool. If I understand what we know about Travis and Taylor, they kept it under wraps for quite some time. I'm sure there is way more moments where they almost got caught, then not. Yes, it's cheesy. Yes, it's cringey. Yes, it's good. Maybe there's a part two in the works. I'll watch.

I'm not going to go into details, because spoilers, but fans of a certain blond singer and her footballer boyfriend will LOVE this movie. It's corny because our laws make it necessary to change a lot of things, so the footballer is kinda dumb. I doubt the original is, because it takes brains to make it in that field. Also, he's def used to black tie affairs, and they had him be out of his element at that sort of event. Other than that I really have no complaints. It's a knock off of both a relationship we all know about (even if you don't want to you know cause it's everywhere), and another channel's holiday specials. All around entertaining for a couple of watches over Christmas.