This was a cute holiday romance, and I wanted to like it. There was certainly potential there. I liked Tatyana Ali's performance as Heather the most. She was consistently sweet, warm and engaging, and her winning smile lit up the screen whenever she flashed it. Her niece Molly was pretty cute, and you really wanted her wish to Santa (i.e. That Heather would get a boyfriend) to be fulfilled. Seems like the perfect setup for a Christmas story with a happy ending.
Unfortunately, much as I wanted to like this movie, there were too many things I couldn't get away from, try as I might. The first was Brendan Fehr as the romantic lead Ryan. His performance was so passionless and wooden that I really had a hard time seeing him as a credible love interest for Heather. I haven't seen him in any other romantic roles, but looking at IMDb, it appears that most of his roles have been in action or horror movies, and I'd say he's more suited to that. A classic case of miscasting.
The other thing I didn't like was the screenplay. Much of the dialog was cheesy and unnatural. The dialog between Heather and Ryan is not the fresh, witty banter you expect from a good rom-com. It was pretty flat. There were awkward scenes, such as where Ryan out of the blue just blurts out to Heather, "Do you want to go to dinner?" I thought it was weird that Heather's friends and family, even her niece Molly, were immediately trying to pair her up with Ryan, a random guy she met at a hot chocolate stand, and whom they knew nothing about. And then there was the whole stupid plotline about canceling the leases to the mall's underperforming stores right before Christmas. Underperforming stores will cancel themselves when they go out of business. No need for the "evil" mall management to do it for them. Plus, how does it make sense to have empty stores in the mall, without knowing who is going to fill them and whether such new stores will be any more profitable. And none of this addresses the core problem, i.e. The fact that people now shop online, and the fact that a new, cooler mall is luring away customers. The whole plotline just doesn't ring true.
The one other thing I found ridiculous is that Ryan had quit his job as a lawyer to become an artist. Only in the fantasy world of Hallmark (sorry, Lifetime, in this case) does that make sense. Someone trains for years to achieve the difficult goal of becoming a lawyer, probably incurring large student loan debt, and then he suddenly throws it away to become a starving artist? Sorry, any rational woman out there would consider this a stupid move and would see the guy as a slacker, not a creative genius worthy of admiration. By all means, pursue your creative endeavors as a hobby, but don't quit your day job!
Okay, I hate to pile on this movie even more, but the over-the-top ending with the snowflakes and reindeer and all their family and friends cheering on, was just a bit too much cheese to digest. A simple, heartfelt, one-on-one meeting between Ryan and Heather would have been more than sufficient.
If you're into sappy, feel-good, Christmas romances, this one will doubtless fit the bill. Just be sure to lower your expectations, and you'll probably love it.
Unfortunately, much as I wanted to like this movie, there were too many things I couldn't get away from, try as I might. The first was Brendan Fehr as the romantic lead Ryan. His performance was so passionless and wooden that I really had a hard time seeing him as a credible love interest for Heather. I haven't seen him in any other romantic roles, but looking at IMDb, it appears that most of his roles have been in action or horror movies, and I'd say he's more suited to that. A classic case of miscasting.
The other thing I didn't like was the screenplay. Much of the dialog was cheesy and unnatural. The dialog between Heather and Ryan is not the fresh, witty banter you expect from a good rom-com. It was pretty flat. There were awkward scenes, such as where Ryan out of the blue just blurts out to Heather, "Do you want to go to dinner?" I thought it was weird that Heather's friends and family, even her niece Molly, were immediately trying to pair her up with Ryan, a random guy she met at a hot chocolate stand, and whom they knew nothing about. And then there was the whole stupid plotline about canceling the leases to the mall's underperforming stores right before Christmas. Underperforming stores will cancel themselves when they go out of business. No need for the "evil" mall management to do it for them. Plus, how does it make sense to have empty stores in the mall, without knowing who is going to fill them and whether such new stores will be any more profitable. And none of this addresses the core problem, i.e. The fact that people now shop online, and the fact that a new, cooler mall is luring away customers. The whole plotline just doesn't ring true.
The one other thing I found ridiculous is that Ryan had quit his job as a lawyer to become an artist. Only in the fantasy world of Hallmark (sorry, Lifetime, in this case) does that make sense. Someone trains for years to achieve the difficult goal of becoming a lawyer, probably incurring large student loan debt, and then he suddenly throws it away to become a starving artist? Sorry, any rational woman out there would consider this a stupid move and would see the guy as a slacker, not a creative genius worthy of admiration. By all means, pursue your creative endeavors as a hobby, but don't quit your day job!
Okay, I hate to pile on this movie even more, but the over-the-top ending with the snowflakes and reindeer and all their family and friends cheering on, was just a bit too much cheese to digest. A simple, heartfelt, one-on-one meeting between Ryan and Heather would have been more than sufficient.
If you're into sappy, feel-good, Christmas romances, this one will doubtless fit the bill. Just be sure to lower your expectations, and you'll probably love it.