I was really looking forward to this first premier of the Miracle of Christmas for 2019. For one because I am a big fan of Hallmarks Christmas movies, and secondly because Ashley Newborough is one of my favorite actresses on Hallmark. She starred in the preceding season's A Small Town Christmas,which was one of my favorites of the year.
Sitting down and watching this one, it didn't take long for the disappointment to settle in. I have two central issues that make this one of my least favorite Hallmark movies of 2019. For one, I don't care for the lead male character. It isn't so much the actor, who seems competent. It is the character he attempts to portray. Secondly, which certainly affects the first problem. the writing is clumsy, both with the plot and with the dialogue.
The main gal's character arc is the opposite of Ashley's character arc in Small Town Christmas. In this one, she is a talented woman with big dreams who is being held back by her father's antique store in a small town. I actually give credit to Hallmark for going against their own grain here by making the big city the ideal destination instead of the small town. However, the story is so ham-fisted in how it handles this arc that is comes off as annoying rather than compelling.
Virtually every character that comes in contact with the female lead, from the beginning of the movie, scolds her for staying in town to handle her father's store, even her own mother. It is especially annoying when the male lead does the same thing, considering he just met her. It apparently doesn't bother Corey that a man she just met thinks he can make better life choices for her than she can. To me, he comes off as conceited and utterly dismissive of anything important to her.
She even tells her friends this after meeting him for the first time. However, her friends insist that she likes him, regardless of the fact that everything she said about him were actually good reasons to not like him. None of that matters. He is handsome and rich, and so naturally she must like him.
I get that it is realistic that people sometimes like each other on first sight, that merely being physically attractive is enough. However, a compelling story that does not make, nor does this movie add anything to their courtship to make it more compelling.
Seriously, during their second conversation with each other, Corey points out two constellations that meant something to her childhood. The lame male lead actually points to a third and says,"That must be mine... It crossed yours." Seriously, dude? You just met this girl.
Also, as pointed out by others, this movie doesn't have a lot to do with Christmas. Fortunately, there are better movies immediately ahead.
The main gal's character arc is the opposite of Ashley's character arc in Small Town Christmas. In this one, she is a talented woman with big dreams who is being held back by her father's antique store in a small town. I actually give credit to Hallmark for going against their own grain here by making the big city the ideal destination instead of the small town. However, the story is so ham-fisted in how it handles this arc that is comes off as annoying rather than compelling.
Virtually every character that comes in contact with the female lead, from the beginning of the movie, scolds her for staying in town to handle her father's store, even her own mother. It is especially annoying when the male lead does the same thing, considering he just met her. It apparently doesn't bother Corey that a man she just met thinks he can make better life choices for her than she can. To me, he comes off as conceited and utterly dismissive of anything important to her.
She even tells her friends this after meeting him for the first time. However, her friends insist that she likes him, regardless of the fact that everything she said about him were actually good reasons to not like him. None of that matters. He is handsome and rich, and so naturally she must like him.
I get that it is realistic that people sometimes like each other on first sight, that merely being physically attractive is enough. However, a compelling story that does not make, nor does this movie add anything to their courtship to make it more compelling.
Seriously, during their second conversation with each other, Corey points out two constellations that meant something to her childhood. The lame male lead actually points to a third and says,"That must be mine... It crossed yours." Seriously, dude? You just met this girl.
Also, as pointed out by others, this movie doesn't have a lot to do with Christmas. Fortunately, there are better movies immediately ahead.