I wanted to but couldn't!

Absolutely Fantastic

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

First things first, Rachel Skarsten is super hot. Even with that horrible hair job, she still manages to look decent. Her curls are way too tight. Painfully tight. Finally, at the end they get her hair right for about thirty seconds. Trevor Donovan is a dope...that's it...plain and simple but I've seen worse, so barely tolerable is how I would describe him. Emily Tennant will be star in the future Christmas movies...Mark the tape!The relationship will never last....no guy is going to end a superstar movie career to move to a pedestrian small town and live with a bumpkin no matter how hot she is..Did they kiss??? Because, I don't even remember it...moving...No Christmas Magic???...OK, OK his parents died, that was his one redeeming quality...commiseration. A little better than average but certainly not good.

This is one of the best Hallmark Christmas movies ever, in spite of what some of the reviewers say. My question to them would be "did you actually watch the movie?". I have over 300 Christmas movies in my collection, including most of Hallmarks, and this one rates a solid 9.5. I have watched it 11 times, and will probably watch it more. Casting was perfect, plot moved along nicely, Rachel's hair could have been better. In some scenes it was combed and others it was stringy, messy, and in need of a comb or brush. This movie sets the bar really high for the rest to follow.

To be fair, I realized after the movie began that I had read the book it is based on, my first and last by Susan Mallery. It's probably hard to make a decent movie from a so-so genre novel, but they did try in their mediocre Hallmark way. Lots of fans love her series set in the town of Fool's Gold, so if you are a fan, go for it. After reading the book I was not a fan of this bland fare, and the romance-novel clichés clang like a tinny Christmas bell throughout the movie. Can't help but note that this is the same old Christmas cheese in a Hallmark fruitcake tin. Cheesy sets, cheesy Christmas decorations (the trees are always awful, but in this one we see cheesy Christmas wedding decorations too). Worst of all is that cheesy synthesizer music, and we're talking Velveeta here. It reminds me of the organ music they used in 1950s soap operas. This will be my only Hallmark movie this season. Last Christmas season I had time to binge on Hallmark Christmas movies, and it was a mistake. Blaugh! Too much cheese is never a good idea.

I bought the book about a few months before finding out that they were turning it into a Hallmark movie, so I decided to read the book. Now I'm watching the movie and I have to say I'm rather pleased with it. There are the obvious differences between the book and the movie of course, but the differences don't take away from the storytelling. While the cast isn't QUITE how I pictured everyone in my head, they all capture the ESSENCE of the people they're portraying, especially Trevor Donovan as Johnny Blake. Donovan captures Johnny's longing to be normal and slight pushiness when it comes to his sister's wedding. A lot of actors are good at playing either the rich type or the down- to-earth guys and tend to falter when trying to portray both but Donovan does it well.From what I've seen so far, the movie is sweet and charming, and I'm enjoying it.