stevesmartpoetry

I had the sense that this had more potential than it actually achieved, but it's pretty cute and there was plenty to like if you're a fan of the Chritmas rom-com (guilty or shameless). For starters it's a better performance from Denise Richards than I've seen from her for a long while. I felt like she tapped into something genuine and personal and really made the character of Brooke feel like she had some human dimensions. I believed the relationship with her estranged husband.

The lead actors were likable and the supporting cast did their best with the material they were given. Jonathan Stoddard as the romantic lead reminded me at times of a Gilmore Girls era David Sutcliffe, and that's no bad thing. His IMDB page says he has 14 projects coming up, so clearly we'll see lots more of this actor.

On the negative side, there were points where the script was just running headlong toward its inevitable conclusion like a sprinter with plans after the race, even more than others of its genre. On the plus side that meant that the moments of cringe were generally brief and breezed through.

I am a little confounded as to why no one called any of the characters at the radio station out on their horrifyingly abrupt (off the air) phone conversation techniques. It was almost like they were speaking to voice mail, except there was a person looking stunned and baffled on the other end of the line. But those people never called them back and said 'Hey, buddy, wtf was that?'

On the whole it was an unstressful way to spend an hour and a half, with some good performance, that just could have used a bit more care on the script.

Swing Away is a movie that has no intention of reinventing cinema or storytelling, sure, but what it does it does beautifully. I mean you had me at Shannon Elizabeth on a Greek island, but I love so many things about this movie. A fantastic cast, and cast of characters, a well told tale, enough quirkiness without losing essential humanity or making a parody of the "simple" Greek villagers...

But perhaps most of all I love that the hero's journey is shared quite equally between multiple characters. Perhaps the real hero in the end is Renos Haralambidis' Panayiotis, the lawyer reduced to managing a failed golf course, unloved by the town he lives in and almost entirely alone at the beginning of the film. Haralambidis gives his character such weary pathos and lost hope that I find it impossible not to cheer him on as he regains his sense of dignity.

And then of course there is the rare chance to see Shannon Elizabeth shine for a full hour and a half. She's in most every scene here. Hollywood so often lets her talent go to waste and this is a great reminder of what we all miss out on. She has the potential to be such a classic movie star, if only producers would let her get past being 'That Hot Chick from American Pie'.

Swing Away is a movie I will keep coming back to when I need a shot of hope. And if you're looking for romance, you'll have to wait patiently but it will be worth it. How many films can make that claim?

I'm a sucker for both a cheesy rom-com and a cheesy Xmas movie, but this veers off into Xmas rom-com bizarro world. Then again I'm also a sucker for movies that veer off into bizarro world, so...

Much of the plot of Santa Girl makes very little sense and some of the actors appear to be playing in very different worlds (I'm pretty sure Hank Stone is working in a low budget horror flick here, which I'd kinda like to see). However, it is a production largely generated by students, working with more experienced actors and filmmakers, and for that I give points for effort and a level of quality that is not entirely expected. I love the concept of students getting the opportunity to work on something of this scale, something that lands on Netflix no less.

So there's good and bad here. And then there's Pep(!) for the moments of great.

I've watched this twice, just for the character Pep, as played so vivaciously by McKayla Witt. Funny, quirky, adorable and genuinely relatable; Witt provides much needed grounding here in her first feature. It's a manic pixie role for sure, but she's playing an elf so that's only fair. For me she steals the film and raises it above what it might otherwise have been. I look forward to many dazzling lead roles to come for this bright and talented actress.

Overall it's a hot mess, but that's still better than just being a mess. And congrats to all the students that took part. Oh, and kudos to Barry Bostwick for taking it all so seriously. I mean that sincerely, Barry Bostwick never phones his roles in, even when the material might make it reasonable for him to do so. Bostwick doesn't always get the credit, but he always puts in the work.