I struggled a bit with this one. I found it difficult to connect with both the story and acting at times. Put simply, it did not pull me in, engage me, like some of the other Lifetime Christmas movies this 2020 season. At the center of this story is Sadie (played by Malone Thomas), who heads home for Christmas to visit her family after her boyfriend blows her off for the holidays. To her surprise, her parents have sold the family Chocolate business to Alex (our other protagonist in this story, played by Jason Burkey). Sadie agrees to teach him everything she knows about chocolate and being a chocolatier, something growing up Sadie always dreamed about becoming. While showing him the ropes, Sadie soon rediscovers her talent and passion for making chocolate while, at the same time, begins to fall in love with Alex. Unfortunately, the story falls flat. The writer could have done a better job of developing the characters in the story; they were quite dull individuals, I'm afraid. Alex, who knows nothing about making chocolate, buys a chocolate business. Really? The backstory we are given for explaining this is rather weak (not very convincing, that is). Indeed, we don't learn very much about Alex in this story, so it is hard to connect with his character, even though he has an adorable daughter. The writer too could have done a better job of developing Sadie's passions for chocolate, for taking over the business. We don't really see this 'rediscovery' develop on screen. Granted, this is partly due to the acting, but also due to a lack of character development in the script. The obsession with the gingerbread houses for the party, which consumed much of the second half of the film, seemed strange and did not help in this regard. That said, I did enjoy the lesson on chocolate truffles, a pity there was not more of this in the movie. The acting, overall, could have been better. Malone Thomas's performance was mixed. There were several scenes where she fell flat; i.e., she wasn't very expressive at times. And I never really felt her passion for chocolate on screen, as I alluded to above. She did have some very good scenes with Francie and Alex. Jason Burkey's performance was decent. For the first 30 minutes or so, I found it difficult to connect with his character. For example, he seemed uninterested in learning about chocolate from Sadie in these earlier scenes, which seemed odd given he was buying the business. I did enjoy the scenes and dialogue with his daughter; his face lit right up in these scenes. I thought the chemistry between the two was mixed; they had some good and not so good moments/scenes/dialogue together. The supporting cast was solid. I thought Patty Lambert (playing Carol, Sadie's mother) had a strong, convincing performance. And Remi Hilson (playing Francie, the daughter) was adorable; she did great, I thought. Finally, the scenery, props, and sets were quite charming and festive. I thought the music was bold at times but good. All in all, the movie is all right. It is not one of Lifetime's best this year nor is it one of their worse. If you are a fan of Lifetime Christmas movies, then it might be worth a watch.
19 Reviews
Mixed
Jackbv12328 December 2020
The story is totally based on the formula where mom and dad are selling the business Sadie grew up to love. But it's like the formula got lost in translation from another language. The elements are obvious, but so many things don't flow right. They don't make sense.
It starts out fine. I liked that Sadie not only didn't get fired, but she wasn't under any pressure from her boss. All the pressure was her own disappointment. Immediately her jerk of a boyfriend calls her and tells her he is too busy to join her for Christmas. At that point, Sadie is done with him. Then mom and dad drop the bombshell. And Sadie accidentally runs into Alex, the new owner, without knowing it's him. Then she has to train him. They grow closer together. Sadie meets Francie the daughter and of course they hit it off. And Sadie has to plan a big party on short notice and a snowstorm throws a wrench in her plans. All good. It's totally by the numbers, but it's going as the viewer would expect..
Then things get strange. There's the usual misunderstanding, but that's treated like a tiny blip. The ex-boyfriend comes into play, but why? The way it's done is totally pointless and the screen time would have been better used smoothing out the climax. The climax is a total cluster. The outcome is predictable, but it makes no sense how it gets there. As another reviewer points out, the character development explaining certain things is totally lacking. All of a sudden, the characters are just there. The epilogue is another thing that seems pointless - the way it's done, it's almost pointless. But then maybe it's artsy.
The acting is mostly good. Malone Thomas and Jason Burkey have mixed chemistry, but mostly it's good.
It starts out fine. I liked that Sadie not only didn't get fired, but she wasn't under any pressure from her boss. All the pressure was her own disappointment. Immediately her jerk of a boyfriend calls her and tells her he is too busy to join her for Christmas. At that point, Sadie is done with him. Then mom and dad drop the bombshell. And Sadie accidentally runs into Alex, the new owner, without knowing it's him. Then she has to train him. They grow closer together. Sadie meets Francie the daughter and of course they hit it off. And Sadie has to plan a big party on short notice and a snowstorm throws a wrench in her plans. All good. It's totally by the numbers, but it's going as the viewer would expect..
Then things get strange. There's the usual misunderstanding, but that's treated like a tiny blip. The ex-boyfriend comes into play, but why? The way it's done is totally pointless and the screen time would have been better used smoothing out the climax. The climax is a total cluster. The outcome is predictable, but it makes no sense how it gets there. As another reviewer points out, the character development explaining certain things is totally lacking. All of a sudden, the characters are just there. The epilogue is another thing that seems pointless - the way it's done, it's almost pointless. But then maybe it's artsy.
The acting is mostly good. Malone Thomas and Jason Burkey have mixed chemistry, but mostly it's good.
My very charmless holiday
TheLittleSongbird14 June 2022
Christmas films can go either way, which has been my experience watching overtime the festive output of Lifetime, Hallmark and UPTV. They can either be well-meaning, charming, warm-hearted and don't feel too heavy. Or they can be too over-sentimental, cheesy, contrived and bland. There have been many films of theirs that have fallen in both camps and in the camp where there is a bit of both. 'My Sweet Holiday' in all honesty didn't appeal and did sound like one of the latter category films when reading the premise.
Lifetime's 2020 Christmas output didn't wow me and was a very mixed bag, but there were some surprisingly good films and the overall standard considering the circumstances could have been a lot worse. There were still misfires though (i.e. 'Christmas in the Highlands', 'Christmas Listing'/'Christmas Inn Farmstead'), and sadly 'My Sweet Holiday' is on the whole one of those misfires. It has good things, it takes a lot for me to say that anything film or television related has no redeeming merits, but there are also a lot of flaws and unfortunately the issues are big.
Am going to begin with the good things. It is a pleasant looking film, a lot of care and effort went into the photography and the festive decor and the scenery is more than easy on the eye. The music also has the right amount of festive spirit and is pleasant to listen to without being exceptional, it doesn't sound over-scored like Lifetime films can be.
'My Sweet Holiday' is a case of the supporting cast being much better than the leads. Patty Lambert and Remi Hilson gave very engaging, honest performances, just loved the warm hearted and adorable father and daughter scenes between Hilson and Jason Burkey. Burkey's performance is uneven, but he is incredibly charming in the family scenes.
It did take a bit of time to warm to him properly, for most of the first act he seemed too cold and uptight. He is certainly much better than Malone Thomas, who is just awful in a very wooden and expressionless performance and calling it either of those things is actually generous. It was like she had done the film for a favour and had started to regret it when it was too late, so decided not to try. She and Burkey have absolutely no chemistry whatsoever, one never feels the love and the passion for chocolate is not believable on either end because both looked so unenthusiastic about it. The only chemistry that rang believable in the film was between Burkey and Hilson.
Really didn't care for most of the characters, who are typical Lifetime cliche ciphers on the most part. Hilson's is the one with the most heart, but Burkey's took time to warm to when it took time for Burkey to ease into the role and Thomas' had no personality. Found the boyfriend character very unnecessary and his role in the story forced in rushed in development, also not making sense later on. The film could have done a much better job fleshing out of character motivations, which aren't really fleshed out at all. Any attempts are vague at best, introduced too suddenly and only touched upon too briefly, some of them in the latter stages don't make sense. Which was a major problem with the too unrealistically pat and fantasy land-like ending, while the coda is sickly and tacked on.
The script is far too cheesy and schmaltzy and doesn't flow very well at all, not feeling like everyday conversation. The story is severely under-baked, especially in the final act, and is dully paced and with very little emotional connection. Also found that it jumped about structurally, with too many things happening where one questions why has this happened which gave the impression that things that were meant to be in the film were left on the editing room floor. Not to mention the excessive predictability, very familiar scenarios executed in such a mundane been there done that with no originality way.
In conclusion, very lacklustre. 4/10.
Lifetime's 2020 Christmas output didn't wow me and was a very mixed bag, but there were some surprisingly good films and the overall standard considering the circumstances could have been a lot worse. There were still misfires though (i.e. 'Christmas in the Highlands', 'Christmas Listing'/'Christmas Inn Farmstead'), and sadly 'My Sweet Holiday' is on the whole one of those misfires. It has good things, it takes a lot for me to say that anything film or television related has no redeeming merits, but there are also a lot of flaws and unfortunately the issues are big.
Am going to begin with the good things. It is a pleasant looking film, a lot of care and effort went into the photography and the festive decor and the scenery is more than easy on the eye. The music also has the right amount of festive spirit and is pleasant to listen to without being exceptional, it doesn't sound over-scored like Lifetime films can be.
'My Sweet Holiday' is a case of the supporting cast being much better than the leads. Patty Lambert and Remi Hilson gave very engaging, honest performances, just loved the warm hearted and adorable father and daughter scenes between Hilson and Jason Burkey. Burkey's performance is uneven, but he is incredibly charming in the family scenes.
It did take a bit of time to warm to him properly, for most of the first act he seemed too cold and uptight. He is certainly much better than Malone Thomas, who is just awful in a very wooden and expressionless performance and calling it either of those things is actually generous. It was like she had done the film for a favour and had started to regret it when it was too late, so decided not to try. She and Burkey have absolutely no chemistry whatsoever, one never feels the love and the passion for chocolate is not believable on either end because both looked so unenthusiastic about it. The only chemistry that rang believable in the film was between Burkey and Hilson.
Really didn't care for most of the characters, who are typical Lifetime cliche ciphers on the most part. Hilson's is the one with the most heart, but Burkey's took time to warm to when it took time for Burkey to ease into the role and Thomas' had no personality. Found the boyfriend character very unnecessary and his role in the story forced in rushed in development, also not making sense later on. The film could have done a much better job fleshing out of character motivations, which aren't really fleshed out at all. Any attempts are vague at best, introduced too suddenly and only touched upon too briefly, some of them in the latter stages don't make sense. Which was a major problem with the too unrealistically pat and fantasy land-like ending, while the coda is sickly and tacked on.
The script is far too cheesy and schmaltzy and doesn't flow very well at all, not feeling like everyday conversation. The story is severely under-baked, especially in the final act, and is dully paced and with very little emotional connection. Also found that it jumped about structurally, with too many things happening where one questions why has this happened which gave the impression that things that were meant to be in the film were left on the editing room floor. Not to mention the excessive predictability, very familiar scenarios executed in such a mundane been there done that with no originality way.
In conclusion, very lacklustre. 4/10.
They call this acting ??
linda-plant230 December 2020
Has Malone Thomas taken ANY acting lessons ??? she was just blandly script reading - no passion - no acting - no facial expressions, nothing. The rest of the cast were almost as bad, - long pauses between lines. If this is the best that the casting director can get, even for a minor movie channel then Hollywood really is in trouble.
Please Hallmark, before casting, make sure the actors/actresses are up to a good standard of actual acting !
Please Hallmark, before casting, make sure the actors/actresses are up to a good standard of actual acting !
8 for the male lead, 6 for the kid, 4 for the rest
tashinaknight4 January 2021
I thought the male lead was quite good in this. Sure his part didn't make any sense at all, but I watched it all the way through because he was such a consistently believable nice guy. The little girl was cute, a decent actress for that age, and her singing was nice.
The female lead, on the other hand, was booooooring. Wow. She wasn't given much of a script to work with, but it's like she didn't even try. Also, the script had her be mean one minute and then nice the next minute, not interested and then super interested, acting like an adult then a teen. And she was passive aggressive and had no communication skills. It's just not believable that the male lead is interested in her at all once she does a few of her intense mood swings. He'd be running the other way!
The female lead, on the other hand, was booooooring. Wow. She wasn't given much of a script to work with, but it's like she didn't even try. Also, the script had her be mean one minute and then nice the next minute, not interested and then super interested, acting like an adult then a teen. And she was passive aggressive and had no communication skills. It's just not believable that the male lead is interested in her at all once she does a few of her intense mood swings. He'd be running the other way!
Here's a summary-save yourself some time.
imdb-29201 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Sadie: "My boyfriend is a big jerk. I'm gonna leave the big city and see my folks."
Mom and Dad: "Merry Christmas! We're selling the chocolate shop!"
Sadie: "But I wanted to run the shop!"
Mom and Dad: "Suck it, loser. Why don't you help the guy who bought the shop. He doesn't know dick about chocolate."
Mom: "How did I get such an expressionless daughter? Did someone pump your forehead full of Botox?"
Sadie: "Hey, Alex, I'm gonna show you how to make one serving of truffles at a time."
Alex: "Okay."
Sadie: And you have to decorate the shop in advance. It's not because you want to remind people of holidays where they should be buying chocolate, but because when the holiday comes you'll be busy."
Alex: "Okay."
Sadie: "I want to throw a party for my parents. It will be perfect, like my wedding someday."
Alex: "Okay."
Sadie: Have I mentioned yet that everything has to be exactly like my grandfather did things? Mom and Dad made absolutely no improvements."
Alex: "Okay. Hey, I know a place where you can have the reception."
Sadie: "Oh Alex. An abandoned hotel lobby is just what I wanted. I can't wait for the elevator doors to open and blood to pour out!"
Taylor: "It's not really explained who I am, but I'll ask you if you liiiike Alex."
Sadie: "Maybe. But I'm sure he has a girlfriend that doesn't have a fat ass and an expressionless forehead made of pine."
Christmas Tree Farmer: "Still here? Hey, sit around our fire pit. Then have hot chocolate and a cookie. And let me take your photograph. Oh God, I'm so lonely."
Alex: "Speaking of lonely, this is the part where I tell you that my wife is dead, so you can jump my bones, y'know, if you wanted to. Also I have a daughter that looks nothing like me."
Sadie: "Oh no, there are like 100 people coming to the party and I have to make a gingerbread house for each of them."
Alex: "Nobody is making you do that. Just make one big house."
Sadie: "No, it had to be individual ones. And it has to be my grandfather's recipe or else the Devil can break the contract."
Alex: "That's stupid. I'll just order a bunch of gingerbread houses and you can decorate them."
Sadie: "Okay."
Alex: "Oh no, there's a storm and the gingerbread won't get here."
Sadie: "You suck. I'm gonna sulk now. Screw you and your squeeky kid."
Francie: "Squeek squeek squeek!"
Old Boyfriend: "Hey, Sadie, I can come home after all. Hello? Hello movie?"
Sadie: "I compromised with both of our ideas. I made one gingerbread house, but it's a small one so nobody can have have any of it."
Alex: "I love you."
Sadie: "I love you too."
Mom and Dad: "Merry Christmas! We're selling the chocolate shop!"
Sadie: "But I wanted to run the shop!"
Mom and Dad: "Suck it, loser. Why don't you help the guy who bought the shop. He doesn't know dick about chocolate."
Mom: "How did I get such an expressionless daughter? Did someone pump your forehead full of Botox?"
Sadie: "Hey, Alex, I'm gonna show you how to make one serving of truffles at a time."
Alex: "Okay."
Sadie: And you have to decorate the shop in advance. It's not because you want to remind people of holidays where they should be buying chocolate, but because when the holiday comes you'll be busy."
Alex: "Okay."
Sadie: "I want to throw a party for my parents. It will be perfect, like my wedding someday."
Alex: "Okay."
Sadie: Have I mentioned yet that everything has to be exactly like my grandfather did things? Mom and Dad made absolutely no improvements."
Alex: "Okay. Hey, I know a place where you can have the reception."
Sadie: "Oh Alex. An abandoned hotel lobby is just what I wanted. I can't wait for the elevator doors to open and blood to pour out!"
Taylor: "It's not really explained who I am, but I'll ask you if you liiiike Alex."
Sadie: "Maybe. But I'm sure he has a girlfriend that doesn't have a fat ass and an expressionless forehead made of pine."
Christmas Tree Farmer: "Still here? Hey, sit around our fire pit. Then have hot chocolate and a cookie. And let me take your photograph. Oh God, I'm so lonely."
Alex: "Speaking of lonely, this is the part where I tell you that my wife is dead, so you can jump my bones, y'know, if you wanted to. Also I have a daughter that looks nothing like me."
Sadie: "Oh no, there are like 100 people coming to the party and I have to make a gingerbread house for each of them."
Alex: "Nobody is making you do that. Just make one big house."
Sadie: "No, it had to be individual ones. And it has to be my grandfather's recipe or else the Devil can break the contract."
Alex: "That's stupid. I'll just order a bunch of gingerbread houses and you can decorate them."
Sadie: "Okay."
Alex: "Oh no, there's a storm and the gingerbread won't get here."
Sadie: "You suck. I'm gonna sulk now. Screw you and your squeeky kid."
Francie: "Squeek squeek squeek!"
Old Boyfriend: "Hey, Sadie, I can come home after all. Hello? Hello movie?"
Sadie: "I compromised with both of our ideas. I made one gingerbread house, but it's a small one so nobody can have have any of it."
Alex: "I love you."
Sadie: "I love you too."
Pass on cavity producing junkfood
emilletich27 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
(CONTAINS SPOILERS) Airing on American Lifetime Channel as, 'My Sweet Holiday,' this standard Lifetime Christmas movie (Big City someone comes home to small town, falls in love and it snows) was actually a bit miserable to me; Almost mentally abusive as a plot.
Main character, Sadie, is immediately lied to by boyfriend over phone that he can't travel with her over holidays because he has so many meetings and work, as he's calling from a club with music blasting in the background. She gets offended and she pouts. Only to return home, where her parents own a chocolate shop, where they tell her at dinner that they sold the shop and are traveling the world, or something. No warning, no prior discussion with her or concern for her thoughts. They assume she didn't care because she moved to the 'Big City.' She is devastated. She pouts.
To add insult to injury, she is selected to train the new owner on everything chocolate as he has no experience at all, but wanted a shop to get away from the grind. She does everything, while he says he's busy because he's a widowed dad leaving her alone in the shop. She says, 'I understand,' works tirelessly, and pouts. She even decorates his home for Christmas to please his little daughter. Also, a secondary story of her planning her parents retirement party where they tell her she will have to take care of over hundred guests. Everything goes wrong from delivery to planned party favors. She pouts. No one helps until the last minute. I pouted.
There is thrown in about 20 minutes, in different spots, of montages of food being prepared and displayed. Not just from the chocolate shop, but even from restaurants visited. Big plot waste.
There is an unexpected plot twist in the last few minutes to make for the fairytale ending, so for that I gave it 2 stars instead of one. What I'd rather have is the two hours of my life back.
Holiday Music Madness
Movie_Night_Is_Every_Night13 November 2021
I managed to make it through 14 minutes through this movie before hysterically shutting it off.
Start your season off right and watch a different movie. I managed this stomach Netflix's Santa Girl, but I couldn't make it through this one.
Who ever made the choice decision to have music in every moment of this movie made a terrible decision. It overtakes each scene to the point where I couldn't easily hear or remember what the characters were talking about. The acting is very monotone which does a great job in highlighting the music as well.
If you're into listening to ambient holiday music, log onto Spotify and throw on a random holiday playlist. The ad breaks are much less aggravating than this movie's audio balance.
Start your season off right and watch a different movie. I managed this stomach Netflix's Santa Girl, but I couldn't make it through this one.
Who ever made the choice decision to have music in every moment of this movie made a terrible decision. It overtakes each scene to the point where I couldn't easily hear or remember what the characters were talking about. The acting is very monotone which does a great job in highlighting the music as well.
If you're into listening to ambient holiday music, log onto Spotify and throw on a random holiday playlist. The ad breaks are much less aggravating than this movie's audio balance.
Fun Lifetime holiday movie
jv425827 October 2021
My family and I love watching these Lifetime films, and this one was no exception! In typical Lifetime fashion, Sadie's parents are selling their candy shop to a handsome young man, and she's not happy about it... but maybe there's something between them. Malone Thomas & Jason Burkey were fun to watch as romance unfolds in this sweet holiday film.
Ho Ho No
victoria_mci28 April 2022
As many people have already stated, the leading lady was...painful to watch. Not sure how this particular actress got the part but I'm convinced a piece of wood would have been more convincing. (Maybe that's why she's so pouty/mopey throughout). The leading man met typical hallmark standard, though given the ability of his love interest chemistry would have been more convincing with said piece of wood. The little girl who played his daughter - well, I'm not going to be mean but it was not great. Was she cute? Yeah. Apparently that was the only requirement.
Typical hallmark plot, entirely predictable but somehow still unpleasant.
Typical hallmark plot, entirely predictable but somehow still unpleasant.
Simply put...bad.
aclarkcountry31 December 2020
I barely made it through 30 minutes of this movie. This is the second year I've watched all Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies. This is the first one I'm unable to watch. The acting is horrible, the characters are unbelievable and I can't connect to the story. The Hallmark actors/actresses are much better because they've made so many of them. It seems Lifetime finds the most underrated and unknown actors to star in their films. I'm not wasting my DVR space for anymore of these Lifetime Christmas movies. I'm sticking to Hallmark. Sorry not sorry.
Okay for a Random Watch
rikU00114 January 2021
It's a Christmas movie that's suppose to be a casual one time watch anyway. The thing that disappointed me was the Main Actress who is the protagonist is a pretty stoic face. That's all she is. I mean the acting was so bad. She's pretty and all but that's not enough for a good movie. The best friend of the main actress was more appealing to me. Anyhow it's worse than a throwaway movie. The 'conflict' was meh and the whole movie ended up being meh thereafter.
Another renamed Lifetime Christmas movie
librau229 December 2020
Not great
jk-692-23639428 December 2020
This was an odd movie. The lead female character was unlikable. She was spoiled, pouts, and is very sore loser, who changed her major in college because she did not win a contest. She did not seem interested in the store or chocolate until her boyfriends stands her up and she goes home and discovers her parents are selling the store they have owned for 40 years, without even consulting their spoiled only child. This whole plot was sloppy and full of holes and awkward. Also why does Lifetime constantly list their movies under different titles? To hide the bad ones from people? This is the 5th movie I have looked up in their 2020 catalog that has a different title then the final title they run it under.
Darling Christmas movie -it's not TV 14
avastewart-412954 January 2023
Why are the negativity?? I don't know why people are giving it a bad review. It may not be the best quality, but certainly WAY better than most I've seen this year. I don't think I've ever seen that actress before but I think she did a better job than most of the movies I've watched this year-family safe and no cable.. It was fun to watch all the chocolate making, but the only part I thought it was a bit ridiculous was them trying to make individual gingerbread houses for all their guests. This movie was also called chocolate covered Christmas. On the Roku app it said it was rated TV14, but it is definitely barely PG.
Not a favorite
mccabe-shannon22 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The voiceovers are so so terrible. Just awful. I mean all these movies end up with one or two I really notice but this one seems abnormally bad.
Not a huge fan on this story either. Who buys a chocolate store without knowing a single thing about chocolate? Especially when the store wasn't even for sale? You want your own place in a little town you can buy anything- general store, cafe, book store- anything that's less complicated than learning an entire complicated craft (if they employed chocolatiers it would be different but that would take away her need to train him). Also why is she training him and not her parents?
And he comes to help her with her tree and stays in the tree lot hanging out and yet the next day they get to the fact he doesn't have a tree? And has never decorated one? His wife just died a year ago - did they never decorate a tree with a young child?
Her parents originally feel bad and don't want to be an inconvenience with a retirement party and then give her a list of over 100 people? And when looking at the list the guy says like well not everyone will come and she gives him a look giggle ha Ofcourse everyone will come. No. How many people do you know that literally have nothing to do but go to a last minute party on Christmas Eve? Everyone I know has family Xmas Eve traditions.
There are some cute things for sure but meh.
Not a huge fan on this story either. Who buys a chocolate store without knowing a single thing about chocolate? Especially when the store wasn't even for sale? You want your own place in a little town you can buy anything- general store, cafe, book store- anything that's less complicated than learning an entire complicated craft (if they employed chocolatiers it would be different but that would take away her need to train him). Also why is she training him and not her parents?
And he comes to help her with her tree and stays in the tree lot hanging out and yet the next day they get to the fact he doesn't have a tree? And has never decorated one? His wife just died a year ago - did they never decorate a tree with a young child?
Her parents originally feel bad and don't want to be an inconvenience with a retirement party and then give her a list of over 100 people? And when looking at the list the guy says like well not everyone will come and she gives him a look giggle ha Ofcourse everyone will come. No. How many people do you know that literally have nothing to do but go to a last minute party on Christmas Eve? Everyone I know has family Xmas Eve traditions.
There are some cute things for sure but meh.
Another Lifetime fail ...
toncincin28 December 2020
I am an hour into this movie. I can't watch any longer. Where does Lifetime find these actors? Off the street? I bet I could be less stiff and more believable than these people.
Bottom line: bad storyline, bad acting, unlikable characters ... DONE with Lifetime! Not sure how they can do good movies like Christmas Harmony, Christmas Pen Pals, Mistletoe and Menorahs - and then put out this drivel. Must have run out of money ...
Bottom line: bad storyline, bad acting, unlikable characters ... DONE with Lifetime! Not sure how they can do good movies like Christmas Harmony, Christmas Pen Pals, Mistletoe and Menorahs - and then put out this drivel. Must have run out of money ...
Cute but overall not great
sydneyvan-3590023 October 2022
Cute and a good concept but very one noted. Actors weren't awful but they had no emotions the whole movie. Sadie felt depressed the whole movie, which gave the whole movie a very depressed feeling all over. It was a downer and as a Christmas movie I assumed it would be more uplifting and positive regardless of the past or current unhappy circumstances. Just meh overall. I wanted to love Alex, him and Francie were adorable and that was probably the highlight of the movie. But he felt just as one noted as Sadie. I needed more emotion and feeling. Had so much potential but I wanted more than what they gave.
Contains artificial flavourings and preservatives.
adamjohns-425752 February 2023
Chocolate Covered Christmas/My Sweet Holiday (2020) -
Surely there have got to be some new stories out there somewhere (I have actually seen a couple), because I'm getting tired of these b!tches coming in from the big city and judging these guys before they even get to known them.
Malone Thomas in the role of Sadie was such a know it all and she got so wound up so quickly and easily.
She also had no interest in Alex played by Jason Burkey at all, even when she said those three magic words it was totally emotionless.
I didn't think that there was enough interaction between Sadie and Alex' kid either, certainly not for it to be such a thing for them or for them to be so pally.
Jason looked like an older Jake Gyllenhaal and he was way more charming than Malone was, but he did also have a sort of sinister element about him. There was just something off that I couldn't put my finger on and because of that I couldn't connect with him either.
It was also unclear why Alex had decided to buy a chocolate shop with no experience in sweet making or even baking.
I miss real chocolate shops, I can't find decent truffles anywhere, but I wouldn't want some random, with no idea, fobbing me off with any old crap. I can get that in the supermarkets.
It seemed that his interest in the shop was purely the writers vehicle for him to find Sadie and fall in love, without it actually making sense, because he didn't really have the passion for the confectionery or even retail.
As for Sadie's attempts to organise a big party for her parent's retirement, it was hard to believe that she could pull it all off in the few days she had, especially with the amount of time that she wasted flirting with Alex and procrastinating about anything and everything.
But it all fell together for the event and for them as a couple far too easily and it was a bit convenient.
However, if you're going to make a film that's supposed to have a massive function, you need the massive crowd to fill the hall too.
And the choir was a bit much! Talk about hyperactive and there's always one soprano that really goes for it.
The story in general was a bit clichéd and twee, with constant conclusion jumping that was annoying too. Instead of asking what was happening they just assumed everything in the negative, which would have worked fine as a one off, but not as the entire structure of the films back and forth.
I'm not likely to return to this one, the premise was just too daft and I didn't get on with the leading actors. Perhaps opposite different performers they might work individually, but they weren't right together.
4/10.
Surely there have got to be some new stories out there somewhere (I have actually seen a couple), because I'm getting tired of these b!tches coming in from the big city and judging these guys before they even get to known them.
Malone Thomas in the role of Sadie was such a know it all and she got so wound up so quickly and easily.
She also had no interest in Alex played by Jason Burkey at all, even when she said those three magic words it was totally emotionless.
I didn't think that there was enough interaction between Sadie and Alex' kid either, certainly not for it to be such a thing for them or for them to be so pally.
Jason looked like an older Jake Gyllenhaal and he was way more charming than Malone was, but he did also have a sort of sinister element about him. There was just something off that I couldn't put my finger on and because of that I couldn't connect with him either.
It was also unclear why Alex had decided to buy a chocolate shop with no experience in sweet making or even baking.
I miss real chocolate shops, I can't find decent truffles anywhere, but I wouldn't want some random, with no idea, fobbing me off with any old crap. I can get that in the supermarkets.
It seemed that his interest in the shop was purely the writers vehicle for him to find Sadie and fall in love, without it actually making sense, because he didn't really have the passion for the confectionery or even retail.
As for Sadie's attempts to organise a big party for her parent's retirement, it was hard to believe that she could pull it all off in the few days she had, especially with the amount of time that she wasted flirting with Alex and procrastinating about anything and everything.
But it all fell together for the event and for them as a couple far too easily and it was a bit convenient.
However, if you're going to make a film that's supposed to have a massive function, you need the massive crowd to fill the hall too.
And the choir was a bit much! Talk about hyperactive and there's always one soprano that really goes for it.
The story in general was a bit clichéd and twee, with constant conclusion jumping that was annoying too. Instead of asking what was happening they just assumed everything in the negative, which would have worked fine as a one off, but not as the entire structure of the films back and forth.
I'm not likely to return to this one, the premise was just too daft and I didn't get on with the leading actors. Perhaps opposite different performers they might work individually, but they weren't right together.
4/10.
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