Ed's Review Dot Com

Hallmark Channel,

Lacey Chabert, Elizabeth Ann Bennett, Nikki Hahn, Florence Henderson, Mary-Margaret Humes, John Ratzenberger

Melanie (Lacey Chabert) is on her way to meet with her fiance on a business holiday over the holidays but she’s having a hard time getting there. A man who is playing Santa mysteriously strands her in a small town with a co-worker, and plans go awry time after time with a little help from magic, perhaps? Meanwhile, the fiance is waiting for her, but unable to leave to get her, and also stranded at his house under mysterious circumstances. As time passes, Melanie has a chance to think hard about her future, and her plans, and this all may be more about a childhood Christmas wish that was never granted until now, than it is about getting to where she thinks she’s headed.

I gotta say, this was a pretty cute Hallmark romantic comedy Christmas film with lots of beautiful scenery, spectacular small town Christmas magic, and a lot of heart. It’s funny in many spots, romantic in others, and all in all a classic Hallmark holiday film. This is what Christmas movies on TV are all about. Pop some popcorn, make some hot chocolate, start a fire, and cuddle up with your Snuggie and watch this movie. It’s a brand new 2012 Christmas gift from Hallmark. There’s no doubt they can turn out the best romantic comedy holiday movies year after year. This one even has the added plus of featuring John Ratzenberger and Florence Henderson

Here is the link to the home page with all the details on this film.

Moody Independent,

Mark Ajemian, Nick Apostolides, Julie Marie Berman, Justin Bruening, Katilin Doubleday, Melissa Famigletti, Molly Kunz

This holiday film is a modern day reworking of the Louisa May Alcott novel Little Women with modern times, costumes, and setting. While Mom and Dad are away, the girls hatch a plan to save the family home. Meanwhile, the boy next door attracts their attention, as well as an old flame and a brand new acquaintence to give us some romantic interests. A new version of an old story

I’m afraid the rework simply did not cut it for me. I was kind of excited to see this film, and was looking forward to it, but was really disappointed in the way it was done. Like the Leonardo DiCaprio reworking of Romeo and Juliet with street gangs and drive bys, hearing the March sisters discussing the upcoming holidays and say something to the effect of “We have to throw a Kick-ass party” didn’t give me the feeling of Little Women. The plot vaguely follows the novel, and the character names are the same, but the plot was downright silly. They tried to make it a hip modern tale with iPad’s and Wi-Fi, but the basic things these girls did were really dumb. It just completely bored me. I really disliked all the girls in this family, and found them uninteresting and overly contentious. I think they would have done better to write a better story, rather than butchering a classic novel without giving it much thought. It’s a new for 2012 Christmas film, but one I, for one, could certainly do without.

No trailer available at this point, but here is the link for the Lifetime Channel home page for this film.

Lifetime,

Rachel Boston, Jonathan Bennett, Marilu Henner

Georgia (Rachel Boston) is 28, and home for the holidays. Mom (Marilu Henner) presents her with an invitation to her high school reunion. Georgia was leader of the glee club, voted most likely to succeed, and there’s no way she’s going to the reunion. She’s embarrassed that she has not made anything of her life. But when a couple friends show up and challenge her, she decides to go with a million lies about who she is to try to win back the boy of her dreams that got away in high school, all the while not realizing that there’s someone nearby who loves her a lot.

This holiday film is all about the party and the relationships between the mean girls that want to crush her, the crush she has on a guy who doesn’t seem to know she’s alive, and the guy who’s always loved her. It’s a cute little Christmas holiday romantic comedy. It’s designed for those of us who have gone on, but who still want to feel like we’re in high school again. It seems that inside each of us is an inner high school student, no matter how old we really are. Somehow, inside, we stop sometime around 18 and just stick there. These kids definitely don’t act like they’ve grown up. But that’s the fun of it I guess, and those of you (you know who you are) who love sappy romantic comedies are going to love this. But be forewarned. It certainly is sappy. It’s most for 18 year old girls and those who have the 18 year old girl trapped inside and want to live that again. If that’s you, you’ll love it.

[Here’s the link to the web site for this movie]