vchimpanzee

I am slowly working my way through Hallmark type Christmas movies that were shown either on The CW or on the CW affiliate that was dropped and is now independent.

And this is a movie that would quickly make me tire of doing that. The female lead is so nasty I couldn't even root for her until later. There is a miraculous transformation, but a lot is left out and we're just supposed to assume there was a dramatic change. We're just given the more pleasant part of the story, without seeing how we got there, and some unpleasantness as well. Yes, there has to be some sort of conflict before the end.

The male lead was pleasant enough but his feelings for Elle didn't make any sense. She's not one of these women you think will come around. Ryan was right. Why didn't he listen?

Oh, yeah. Ryan's main purpose was to be critical, and he's not that likable, but the actor did a good job.

I also liked Blythe, Elle's reasonable cousin.

According to the credits, Stephen was a cameraman. He also had a brief but effective role as a very frightened intern. You have to like him and feel sorry for him,

There were two big reasons for me wanting to watch this movie, which was part of a marathon on the independent station The CW had recently dropped. I have spent my entire life in North Carolina and we always went to Myrtle Beach on vacation.

Recently I discovered what a great place Conway is--no longer this congested row of fast food, gas stations and shopping centers to endure on the way. Supposedly Conway was in this movie. But many exterior shots were of some big city, though the Ravenel Bridge in Charleston was nice to see. I've only seen photos of it. If Conway was shown, I sure didn't recognize it. And the amazingly beautiful Riverwalk was mentioned but I can only guess that what I sort of saw in the dark was that place, which they didn't take full advantage of. What a wonderful scene that would have been in the daytime.

My other reason for watching was Laura and Eddie from "Family Matters". I recognized him and he was likable enough but not in many scenes. I did not recognize her. Only after reading imdb reviews did I even know who she was (the nasty Elle sure didn't LOOK like her, but for some reason I thought she was her). She's too young to be convincing as the mother of someone Wesley's age, but what a great performance and what a pleasant character.

The kids singing in church were good, and so was the pastor. According to the credits, that was a real bishop and a real church whose actual name was shown on screen.

I have many more movies to go. If you have a lot of movies to watch, put this one very low on the list.

This is not a movie for kids. Or is it? Actually, one could take part of the beginning of the movie, and the end, and make a perfectly good family Christmas movie which seems to be missing some details. Certainly kids can safely enjoy the part of the movie that takes place in the mall, the part that involves what appears to be a military base, and the ending. The action in the second and third of those is quite exciting and what one might expect from a good Christmas film. Also, young Jack's scene would work.

The first scenes with adult Jack probably don't belong in that hypothetical edit for kids, but they would explain his presence in the final scenes. Maybe parts of the movie where Santa is missing could be included.

The middle of the movie is probably questionable for younger kids but might work for those who are older. But adults, particularly men, will likely enjoy it. It's just not your typical Christmas movie. And quite violent, but not any worse than the average action movie. Quite dark too, if you are into that sort of thing. More like Halloween than Christmas at times. And I saw words being left out and mouths blurred as the objectionable words were being spoken. NBC was considerate enough not to make us hear those words, which I was glad to do without. The overall message is a positive one.

The story seemed kind of long with twists and turns, and that would turn off kids as well.

Dwayne Johnson gives his usual good performance. He is tough and no-nonsense and not usually smiling or obviously happy. Nice he is not, but he has high moral standards and high expectations.

J. K. Simmons does a great job as Santa. And this is not a fat Santa. He is in fine shape and lifts weights.

I can't say I enjoyed the other leading performances by villains, but they were quite good.

Jack was okay. Naughty in a way, but someone we could like. Scenes with his son could have been better. I found his ex unpleasant and demanding.

I would say sets, art and computer generated scenes looked good.

There were plenty of good looking women in bikinis in Aruba, at least one of which wasn't covered well enough in back. And women exercising early in the movie before Jack causes chaos.

Would I recommend this? It's not warm and fuzzy for the most part., But it's different. And has a good message.

The best thing about this otherwise formula movie is Emeraude Toubia. She does a fine job, and where she really shines is where Issa has to sell herself (usually unsuccessfully) to potential clients. She is intelligent, confident and good at whatever she does, and can overcome any obstacle. And she has a big one at the movie's start. And she is incredibly good looking. The one problem I have with her, which shouldn't be a problem, is that while she has a perfect American accent when speaking English, is her perfect accent when pronouncing Spanish names or words. That is, I suppose, how it should be done, but I guess to one who speaks English and took a year of Spanish in college, maybe that's telling me I'm not doing it right.

Also standing out is Briauna James as her best friend. And the mother who is trying to come to this country. If she was called Olivia, I don't remember it, but Joyce Rivera does look like her.

Theo is quite uptight and not very likable. He improves as time goes on, but in the scenes where he makes us like him, it just seems inconsistent. The evolution isn't happening normally.

Dani always seems depressed and is often bitter. Plus for some reason in every scene she looks like a totally different person. If I had to pick her out of a lineup consisting of Dani in all her different scenes, I don't think I could do it.

Wanda is the typical villain. Nothing special about her.

The dog plays a major role but I don't like dogs. If we were supposed to care about the dog, somehow I don't see this dog in the same way as Air Bud or Lassie or Marmaduke. That's just me. I can't speak for others.

I suppose the target audience of this movie likes what I consider terrible music. There are a couple of songs that would have Spanish lyrics if they had lyrics. I liked them okay. Other than that I found the "music" annoying. The final scene seems quite enjoyable for those who are in it, but I didn't like the music there.

Is it family friendly? Not too bad, but I wouldn't recommend it for kids. They'll probably be bored anyway.

I have no knowledge of any book, but the one other review on imdb at the time I wrote this mentioned a book. I have nothing to compare this movie with and am reviewing it on its on. From how the book is described, I like the plot here better.

Yes, this is a formula rom-com. But somewhat intelligent. There are setbacks but determination to get things done.