the audience applauded

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The movie was not perfect and the Christmas theme was a bit forced but I would not mind watching it again. Really liked the 2 leads MacKenzie Porter and Drew Lachey. The story was appealing in that a Star singer who has lost his way is suddenly staying with a minister and his family (his daughter has a poster of the singer in her room since age 15- now she is 26). Loved the mom taking photos of her daughter when waking her up in the morning. One scene between the 2 leads- so happy it brought tears. We only have one song in the movie (an original at the end) which was not a Christmas song. More music would have helped. They really could have dropped the singer's girl friend from New York visiting. The filming lacked those great closeups and some of the dialogue was a bit hard to understand. This was an UP movie so the budget was probably low. It was a good movie. Could have been great.

With a title like 'Guess Who's Coming to Christmas' I thought this would be a riff on the classic 'Guess who's coming to dinner.' How wrong was I.Instead it is one of these faith based films for the family with one horrible subtext which urinates all over the message from the Sidney Poitier/Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy classic.Wild rock star Dax (Drew Lachey) is found by drunk in his car by the press. With a potential public relations disaster looming his manager sends him off in Cedar Grove, a small Midwestern town where he will spend a week with Reverend Harding and his family and perform in a local Christmas concert. In short he is to fulfil a child's 'Dear Santa' Christmas wish and repair his image.However Reverend Harding has strict rules such as no drinking and a curfew. Dax becomes charmed by his family and friendly with his daughter who was a fan of Dax's music. There are hiccups along the way Dax breaks into the Reverend's liquor cabinet and drops down drunk at church. Still Dax comes to appreciate the kindness of the family and gets into the festive spirit and cleans up his act.Dax decides to dump his Asian girlfriend because she cannot keep him out of trouble, probably not Christian and foreign and in a Christian based film that is certainly not on.

Spoilers are a possibility, This is a quaint Christmas film that manages to fill all of the stereotypical romance and Christmas troupes associated with these kind of films but yet it also manages to deal with this issues fairly reasonably and doesn't linger on the problems for too long. This makes the film easier to watch but also makes the characters more enjoyable. This film does have a strong religious undertone that can be distracting at times but yet because of the nature of the film and the message it is trying to be spread it makes sense so even then it isn't out of place. Besides a Rockstar staying at a Reverend's house can only lead to more hilarity. The cast are great with a natural chemistry with one another that show a strong family unit and even later the inclusion of Dax (Lachey) is just as natural when a bond is established. The manager and girlfriend of Dax fit their characters well with the latter being a romantic foil. The Main romance between Kelly (Mackenzie porter) and Dax is natural and is fun to watch as they exchange banter and over time their relationship develops. Kelly's brother Tim is also a standout as he manages to win the competition that ensures Dax's arrival and has a natural sense of comedic timing. Overall this film may not be your Oscar style film but it is a sleeper comedy that manages to deliver a fun filled Christmas romcom with interesting characters and infectious charisma.