My wife and I will put on Christmas romance movies occasionally. They go by pretty fast, and they're funny, in a strange way. I usually like seeing ways that different ones stretch the mold a bit.
This movie stretches the mold, but as a result, it's weird.
On the technical side, there are some strange issues. The sound and picture are a bit odd. The color balance doesn't seem consistent, and it might be that interior lighting is way too harsh inside the primary house location.
The sound has some real problems, occasionally the volume dips down much lower than normal. At least there's no distortion.
The story starts off as pretty normal Christmas movie fare - the big city girl goes off (around Christmastime) to some rural area to foreclose on a house as part of some evil business deal. Along the way, she learns the meaning of Christmas - and romance.
Where the movie gets weird is in the skipping of details. There is a dramatic argument between the male lead and his friend, and I came out of it not having any clue what their conflict was.
The evil plot by the Big City Corporation seems to be something nonsensical. They're trying to take control of this family home, claiming that the male lead's deceased mother defaulted on payment.
But this isn't a bank foreclosing. The female lead keeps referring to there being some sort of a deal. And the son doesn't have power of attorney, so he's not allowed to look at any of this paperwork - but they still need his signature to "close the deal." None of this makes any sense.
The female lead is incredible in how evil she is at the start.
In addition to this foreclosure plotline, there's also a Christmas cookie competition. And this is something that everyone is into.
Also, everyone is very into pie. And the couple eats meatloaf and pie to cement their bond.
The movie squeezes in a strange father / daughter drama at the last minute. Since this wasn't set up earlier, it comes across very puzzling.
Direction has some odd choices. In a shot where Theodora says how it's so beautiful out there, everything behind her is a dead field and bare trees in the distance. The reverse show shows the same.
One of the big kisses at the end is framed in a very awkward way. The couple is on the left side. In the middle is the BACK of someone's head. Then someone watching the couple is on the right.
Also, at some point later in the movie, the house is turned into a farm. I'm not sure how it's a farm, since there doesn't seem to be anything other than a suburban house with a few fields around it. No animals, no signs of anything being planted.
Despite all of these problems, the confusion that the movie brings is totally worth the entertainment.
This movie stretches the mold, but as a result, it's weird.
On the technical side, there are some strange issues. The sound and picture are a bit odd. The color balance doesn't seem consistent, and it might be that interior lighting is way too harsh inside the primary house location.
The sound has some real problems, occasionally the volume dips down much lower than normal. At least there's no distortion.
The story starts off as pretty normal Christmas movie fare - the big city girl goes off (around Christmastime) to some rural area to foreclose on a house as part of some evil business deal. Along the way, she learns the meaning of Christmas - and romance.
Where the movie gets weird is in the skipping of details. There is a dramatic argument between the male lead and his friend, and I came out of it not having any clue what their conflict was.
The evil plot by the Big City Corporation seems to be something nonsensical. They're trying to take control of this family home, claiming that the male lead's deceased mother defaulted on payment.
But this isn't a bank foreclosing. The female lead keeps referring to there being some sort of a deal. And the son doesn't have power of attorney, so he's not allowed to look at any of this paperwork - but they still need his signature to "close the deal." None of this makes any sense.
The female lead is incredible in how evil she is at the start.
In addition to this foreclosure plotline, there's also a Christmas cookie competition. And this is something that everyone is into.
Also, everyone is very into pie. And the couple eats meatloaf and pie to cement their bond.
The movie squeezes in a strange father / daughter drama at the last minute. Since this wasn't set up earlier, it comes across very puzzling.
Direction has some odd choices. In a shot where Theodora says how it's so beautiful out there, everything behind her is a dead field and bare trees in the distance. The reverse show shows the same.
One of the big kisses at the end is framed in a very awkward way. The couple is on the left side. In the middle is the BACK of someone's head. Then someone watching the couple is on the right.
Also, at some point later in the movie, the house is turned into a farm. I'm not sure how it's a farm, since there doesn't seem to be anything other than a suburban house with a few fields around it. No animals, no signs of anything being planted.
Despite all of these problems, the confusion that the movie brings is totally worth the entertainment.