Hallmark
Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
Description: Hyper organized single mom and party planner Lexi (Schull), her free-spirited mother June (Niven) and teen daughter Piper (Verity Marks) are set to spend Christmas at a local ski resort after Lexi is hired to organize their annual holiday party. Upon arrival she immediately butts heads with Ridge (Webster), the ski instructor and son of the lodge’s owner, Dan (John B. Lowe). Despite not getting along from the get-go, Lexi and Ridge notice a spark between June and Dan and decide to set them up. Lexi and Ridge create a multitude of festive excursions – and excuses – to bring them together but thanks to creative machinations by June and Dan these outings keep turning into foursomes. In the days leading up to the Christmas party Lexi and Ridge’s attempt to pair up their parents brings them closer together and their merry matchmaking ends in surprising results. Starring Amanda Schull, Victor Webster and Barbara Niven.
Overall Review: Hallmark took us to a ski resort for it’s launch into the season, which meant real snow and great scenery. To help things along, the Christmas decorations were on point and looked like someone actually put effort into them. There were no suspiciously green lawns or oddly placed piles of fake snow here.
Amanda Schull was easily the standout, delivering a performance that I think actually outshone the movie. She was acting above her weight class and it showed. Victor Webster, meanwhile, was perfectly fine doing what Victor Webster does in pretty much every Victor Webster movie. Unfortunately, putting two capable actors in a winter wonderland doesn’t automatically create romantic chemistry. I just wasn’t buying them as a couple.
And the chemistry problem wasn’t limited to the leads. The older couple had the same issue, with Niven bringing more to the table than her pairing could match. Apparently, the ski resort had plenty of snow but was running low on romantic sparks.
All that considered, this was still a well-made movie with strong performances, beautiful scenery, and great Christmas atmosphere. It’s a solid four-tree watch and an easy recommendation for your Christmas movie lineup. But without believable chemistry, it never quite reaches that coveted fifth tree, much less a shot at the Santa Face for best of the season.
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