Reviews

I've been watching Hallmark Christmas movies for years and years. This is one of the best ever! Clever, fun, romantic, and a nice nod to great classics such as It's a Wonderful Life, Bishop's Wife, and White Christmas. Loved it!!

Kristoffer Polaha is fabulous as a Cary Grant-like character-smooth, suave, and charming. Bethany Joy Lenz was great as the cynical author, turned true believer. It was also fun to see a couple of former Star Trek stars, Robert Picardo and Jonathan Frakes, add character to the film.

And, of course, there's the Biltmore, the historic house/museum located in Asheville, North Carolina. It has always been on my bucket list to visit, and this movie has made me want to go see it even more. It shines in this movie! Gorgeous!!

A Biltmore Christmas is destined to be an instant classic that will be on my Christmas movie watchlist for the many years! Bravo!!

I believe this film was written and acted with one intention - to make you think. With that in mind, I think there is at least one layer of meaning some people may miss. (Kind of like 'don't judge a book by its cover.') In another review of this film, the reviewer used the word gloomy. But, do we not live in a gloomy world? Are we not surrounded by darkness? How many of us see the darkness? Isn't it well hidden behind modern day benefactors?!

Quietly woven into the story or more questions - Is faith in God important? Can we pray our way out of difficult circumstances? Are we placing hope where we should place it or where we shouldn't? If we hold on to our faith in God during tough times, will we be blessed?

Kristoffer Polaha did a fantastic job, as did all the other actors. Definitely worth watching. Go see this film and then go home and ponder it's many layers of meaning!

I wanted to like this movie because I am a Richard Paul Evans fan. I remember listening to the audiobook of this story a few years ago. In the book, the plot points are dealt with reverently and innocently (an Evans hallmark), unlike the writers of the screenplay who added characters that were not in the book and behaviors that were not in the book. They also left out some important reunions! Huh?!? All of this was very disappointing. I'm not sure Evans signed up for any of it.

In addition, there was a gloom hovering over the entire film. I'm not sure there was a sunny day anywhere. Every day was gray and snowy. The original story (as Evans wrote it) was about joy, forgiveness, and reunion.

Lots of missed opportunities. Skip this one and go to the library, a used bookstore, or Amazon and read the book instead. It's much better.

At first I was not sure I was going to like this movie and was surprised it was a BYUTV offering. I don't like movies with mean girls. I try to avoid them whenever possible. But, after that the heartbreaking scene where Jennifer has to come to grips with her mother's illness, the story slowly and tenderly turned around.

Jennifer begins to change. And an adorable young girl is one of the reasons. And the unexpected, quiet climax is why we learn shoelaces are in the title of the movie. Beautiful.

It was also great to see Utah play Utah. The scenery in the mountains were absolutely gorgeous.

It was also great to learn what really happens with the trip to Paris.

Well done, everyone who made the sweet Christmas movie!

While the first scene was...well, it didn't fit. At all. Nonetheless, I say everyone who gave this a low score is a Scrooge! I laughed out loud multiple times. The writing and acting was campy, fun, and quirky. It was great to see Ms. Chabert do a little slapstick. And Wes Brown was hilarious, too. Those glasses! That sweater!!

In addition, it was fabulous that Utah got to play Utah. The scenery and mountains were gorgeous (even though they were snowless, lol).

And I loved, loved, loved the cameos by two somewhat famous handsome Hallmark heros. That was the best!

This was a fun, festive holiday movie. This one will go on my annual watchlist. I'll just skip the first scene.

In many ways, this was not a typical Christmas movie. But that is probably one of the reasons I liked it.

While this movie was not perfect - some of the situations were kind of staged and forced, I liked what Ms. Bure was trying to do. I really liked the story she was trying to tell about a family. And not just a nuclear family, but the extended family, too. One family being there for another! This movie had a kind heart.

And I loved that they included church. Millions of Americans go to church during the holiday season and so many Christmas movies leave that out! How can you be a real Christmas movie without church!?

This story grew on me during the telling. I'm looking forward to watching it again.

Will Kemp with an American accent? What a waste! One of the reasons we like to watch him is to hear his delicious British accent and you take it away? When the film is set in London? Whoever came up with that idea needs to be demoted. Please, never do that again.

Otherwise, the movie was cheesy and flat. The accent thing didn't help. The only saving grace was the London sites, especially at Christmas. I liked what the female lead said, England practically invented Christmas. It was nice to see Christmas in England

That said, please use better judgment the next time you set a Christmas movie in London.

Ignore the negative reviews. This is a fantastic Christmas movie with heart, hope, and love. I watch it almost every year. It is one of my regulars. It is filled with characters who struggle, but also strive to do the right thing and do the right thing. Plus, Whitney Houston's songs are amazing and the gospel choir is fantastic. The rousing arrangement of Joy to the World is one of my favorites. Then there's a Denzel Washington. Enough said. Enjoy this wonderful Christmas tale!!

When is Hallmark going to figure out that your main stream viewers do NOT like entertainment that includes this content. EVER. This was awful and very disappointing from the Williams sisters. However, it was great to see Salt Lake City actually play Salt Lake City!

Not in harmony with almost a decade of traditional family friendly Hallmark movies. Again. So sad. Why do they keep doing this? Don't they know that a significant percentage of their audience doesn't like it?

Hallmark has had a loyal audience for decades. There are values and standards we have come to expect and trust from this channel. It is very sad to see a company abandon its loyal audience so quickly. This channel obviously does not care about us anymore. So sad to see a mighty empire begin to crumble before our eyes.

Awful. Flat. Stiff. Bad. For the first time ever I pressed stop and fast forwarded to the last two minutes to get it over with. This movie was not in keeping with the spirit of the Hallmark we have known and loved for many years. A sad day. Plus, it is very clear that this was supposed to be a fall movie not a summer one. What gives?? Skip Olive Tree. Watch Mystery 101 on the sister channel instead. Now that is a real chemistry!