Four Christmases and a Wedding

When event planner Chloe is hired to plan the local Christmas Festival, she is beyond thrilled to embrace the challenge. Professionally, everything is going great, but much to the dismay of her mother, Chloe confesses she has given up on ever finding Mr. Right. That all changes the night of the opening of the festival when she meets Evan. The two begin a whirlwind romance, but as Christmas Day nears, Chloe learns that Evan is being transferred overseas for work. What follows is three more Christmases where Chloe and Evan cross paths at the annual festival, but each year something, or someone, stands in the way of true love. Will a touch of Santa's magic on their fourth Christmas Eve finally bring them together?

Our Two Cents:

Ugh. We hate writing negative reviews, but we gotta be honest... There wasn't much we liked about this. Poorly written. Poorly acted. No chemistry. Lots of large sheets of cotton polyester blankets laid down over fake bushes and sidewalks that we are supposed to believe is snow. We say skip it.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

Have you seen Four Christmases and a Wedding? Tell us what you thought of it!

A Very Merry Toy Store

Connie Forrester (Melissa Joan Hart, "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"), a young single mom, and Will DiNova (Mario Lopez, "Holiday in Handcuffs") each run their small, family-owned toy stores in Connecticut. Similar to their families, Connie and Will have been business rivals for year, until both of their livelihoods fall into jeopardy when the big box toy store "Roy's Toys" has its grand opening right before Christmas. In order to save their businesses, Connie and Will band together to save the stores that have defined their families for generations, and in the process, might just find love in time for Christmas.

Our Two Cents: This was a HUGE disappointment! We generally love Melissa Joan Hart. And her first collaboration with Mario Lopez 10 years ago, Holiday in Handcuffs, was such a ridiculous and AWESOME movie that we had high expectations. This was just awkward and boring and lame. We wish we could list some redeeming qualities about this one, but the commercial with the squeaky dog toys creating the tune of Jingle Bells was more entertaining than this movie. 

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★

Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site



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Marry Me at Christmas

Organizing a Christmas wedding is a true treat for bridal boutique owner Madeline Krug. She loves the challenge of finding the perfect dress for the bride and orchestrating an exquisite event. What Madeline didn’t expect was to be swept off her feet by the bride’s gorgeous brother, movie star Jonny Blaze. Jonny came to the quirky town of Fool’s Gold to support his sister — not to fall in love. Yet Madeline is the most extraordinary woman he’s ever met. Planning the perfect wedding leads to candlelit dinners and strolls through snow-covered streets. Madeline finds the real Jonny even more captivating than her celebrity crush. Will the action star be brave enough to take on the role of a lifetime?

Our Two Cents:

So our biggest problem with this movie was hair. Her hair and the fake curls (thankfully at the end, she wore it straight and it suited her much better), and his fake Zach Morris blonde hair. You might think those are petty complaints. We agree. Our conclusion: a movie where the biggest complaint is about the hair, can't be all that bad! Marry Me at Christmas is definitely one that you don't want to miss!

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

Have you seen Marry Me at Christmas? Tell us what you think!

A December Bride

Layla is dreading the Christmastime wedding of her cousin who’s marrying Layla’s ex-fiancé. Although Seth is the one responsible for introducing the bride and groom, she begrudgingly accepts his offer to be her date as she’s out of options. Things get more complicated when Seth's association and reference get her a dream career opportunity she couldn't achieve on her own. Helping her save face with the bridal couple and guests, Seth begins to brag about their relationship and really put on a show as a loving and devoted boyfriend. Layla really appreciates his efforts until Seth gets carried away at the reception and announces they’re engaged. Because the fake engagement benefits both of them--for her it creates a dream career opportunity, and him, getting his house decorated to impress his boss, they decide to keep up the act. But as Christmas gets closer and the need for the fake relationship comes to an end, both start to wonder if it really is an act!

Our Two Cents:

This is our biggest complaint. If you are going to cast an actor with a perfectly lovely Australian accent that could have totally worked in the story, let him use it!

Now that we got that off our chest, we have to say we don't have any real complaints about this one. In fact there were a few things we especially loved, like the fact that her brother saw through their lies right away. Why doesn't anyone ever figure it out in these movies?

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

Have you seen A December Bride? Tell us what you thought of it!

Married by Christmas

Ever since her father's retirement, Carrie has been successfully running her family business. When her sister teases a surprise announcement at the upcoming Thanksgiving family dinner, it is no surprise that she and her boyfriend are getting married. However, her mother has another quite unexpected announcement. Her grandmother, who was quite the traditionalist, added a clause to her will that the family business can only be left to a man, and that whichever sister provides a son in law first will have the business left to her husband. After years of inquiry, the clause is proven to be ironclad. With her sister's plan to have a Christmas wedding, if she wants to keep her spot as the head the family business, she'll need to get married by Christmas. Will she have a white Christmas AND a white wedding?

Our Two Cents:

We gotta say, we were pleasantly surprised by this one. All the things you are thinking, they cover. Wait, what? Is this the 50's? How can anyone think that's okay??? Yes, they adequately express the absurdity of the premise and in a satisfying way. Well, why don't her sister and fiancé just give her the business??? Not so easy to give up power when it's handed to you. So in just 4 weeks, during the busiest time of the year, she finds her true love and gets married??? I think they wrap it all up quite nicely and quite plausibly (for a holiday film of course--let's not kid ourselves!) actually.

Usually UP movies are the Donder the Dopey Reindeer of the holiday movie crop, but this one proved they are capable of better.

So if you couldn't tell, we loved it.

Note: This movie is also known as The Engagement Clause. A better title perhaps. Why some movies have two titles is beyond me.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

Have you seen Married by Christmas? Tell us what you thought of it!

Just In Time for Christmas

Lindsay has to make a tough decision: stay in her small hometown and marry longtime beau Jason, or accept a once-in-a-lifetime job teaching at an Ivy League college thousands of miles away. Fortunately, a magical messenger gives her a priceless Christmastime gift: Lindsay is instantly transported three years into the future, so she’ll be able to make the decision today that will be best for her future.

Our Two Cents:
It seemed like this one had a lot of hype last year leading up to the premiere, and sometimes that leads to high expectations and disappointment. But we felt it totally lived up to the hype. The basic concept of the plot is one of the main repeated plots in Made for TV Christmas Movie land, but for some reason, this made an old standard feel new and different.

There were two big cameo roles, Christopher Lloyd and William Shatner. The former was more delightful than the latter, though it might just be our reaction to the bizarre beard Captain Kirk donned.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★



Links:
IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •  Official Site

Have you seen Just In Time for Christmas? Tell us what you thought of it!

Merry Matrimony

Brie, an advertising executive, lands her dream assignment organizing the perfect Christmas wedding for a fashion magazine. If she succeeds, she will make partner at her firm. The only catch is that she unknowingly has been paired up with a certain high powered fashion photographer who just happens to be her estranged ex-boyfriend.

Our Two Cents:

First time watching this, we had to stop it. We found her somewhat unlikable (especially on her date with Jared), and he seemed a bit dull. But then we each went back and finished it another time. Ironically, just after where we'd stopped it is where it starts getting better. Notwithstanding the slow start, the two characters bloom and hit their stride.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★


Links:
IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •  Official Site

Have you seen Merry Matrimony? Tell us what you thought of it!

A Royal Christmas

As the only daughter of an expert tailor in Philadelphia, Emily Corrigan is a kindhearted young woman proud of her blue-collar background. She is a devoted seamstress at the family business and madly in love with her doting European boyfriend, Leo. But as their first Christmas together approaches, Leo drops a bombshell on his unsuspecting girlfriend: he is actually Prince Leopold, heir to the throne of Cordinia, a small sovereign country. 

Less than enthusiastic about her son’s relationship with a commoner, the prince's mother Queen Isadora makes Emily feel anything but welcome at their grand castle, leaving Emily to feel more at home among Isadora’s staff of butlers and housemaids. As Emily struggles to adapt to her new royal surroundings, the situation is made more difficult when a scheming Isadora invites Duchess Natasha, Leo’s ex-girlfriend, to join them for Christmas. Attempting to stay true to herself in a world where she clearly doesn’t belong, Emily wonders if love is enough to keep her newly royal relationship from falling apart before Christmas morning.

Our Two Cents:

A Royal Christmas! This was a highly anticipated movie. A little hokey, more of a family film, but thoroughly enjoyable. We feel it borrows from a few movies to get it's plot. The first, and most obvious, is the Prince and Me. It also reminded us of The Princess Diaries, probably that wholesome Disney feel. Lastly, there was a bit of goofiness reminiscent of What A Girl Wants. Throw in a bit of Christmas cheer and you have the holiday spectacular that is A Royal Christmas.

 

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★

Links:
IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •   Official Site


Trailer:

Have you seen A Royal Christmas? Tell us what you thought of it!

Snow Bride

Greta Kaine (Katrina Law) is always in search of juicy gossip. As a tabloid reporter at "Pulse! Gossip" in Los Angeles, it's her job to expose the rich and famous for the entertainment of the magazine's readers. So when word gets out that one of the late Senator Tannehill's two sons might be proposing marriage at the family's Big Bear compound during Christmas, Greta and her chief rival Wes (Tom Lenk) are challenged by their old-school editor to get the scoop. There's incentive to be the first, too-- the editorship of the magazine's new online incarnation.

Greta's assistant tells her that Wes has a head start to snowy Big Bear, so she dashes to the mountain resort. When she mistakenly ends up as a guest of the family, she's in the middle of what could be her best story yet! However, she soon discovers that the family, including matriarch Maggie Tannenhill (Patricia Richardson) and caretaker Peters (Robert Curtis Brown), are more down-to-earth than she ever gave them credit for. Increasingly guilt-ridden about her game of subterfuge, Greta must make a decision: how far will she go for the sake of a story?

Our Two Cents:

I think I remember being not so sure about this movie at first. But when we are introduced to Ben Tannehill, all uncertainty went out the door. Quite frankly, he's dreamy. The story actually is pretty good and the characters are all likeable, unless, of course, you aren't supposed to like them. This is a good one. Just wish it was on DVD. (Update: Good news! It now IS available on DVD.)

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★

Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site  • DVD


Trailer:

 

Have you seen Snow Bride? Tell us what you thought of it!

A Christmas Wedding Date

After being fired from her high-powered job, Rebecca heads back home to see her mom, Shirley, and attend her friends small-town wedding on Christmas Eve. Initially convinced that the trip is a terrible mistake, especially her botched romantic conversation with former beau, Chad, Rebecca soon learns that, indeed, you can go home again, and, again--until you get it right.

Our Two Cents:

Yikes. I mean, I can appreciate a good guilty pleasure like the next girl, but this movie was a chore to get through. The main character's transformation was erratic and made little sense. In fact, the whole plot was erratic and made little sense.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★


Links:
IMDB  •   Official Site

Trailer:

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A Bride for Christmas

After Jessie Patterson (Arielle Kebbel) calls off her third engagement (at the altar!) she swears off serious relationships. That is, until charming but chronically single Aiden MacTiernan (Andrew Walker) comes along. Unbeknownst to Jessie, Aiden has bet his friends that he can convince a woman to marry him by Christmas (which is only four weeks away) and Jessie is the assigned target of his bet. As Aiden attempts to court Jessie by first hiring her to decorate his apartment, Jessie looks to her sister, roommate and interior design company partner, Vivian (Kimberly Sustad) as her closest confidant. To complicate matters, Jessie is doggedly pursued by her most recent ex-fiancé, Mike (Sage Brocklebank), who still wants to marry her. When Aiden finds himself falling for Jessie too, will he call off the bet and truly pursue her?

Our Two Cents:

Runaway Bride meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days meets Christmas. The movie is way cute. The boy is way cute. Isn't that enough?

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★

Links:
IMDB  •   Official Site


Trailer:

Have you seen A Bride for Christmas? Tell us what you thought of it!