Charming Christmas

I am not sure the film title Charming Christmas does the story justice. Charming Christmas is more deserving of a title such as "Do Not Open Until Christmas", or "Santa, Is That Really You?" Regardless though of the actual film title this nifty little Christmas film bakes up the right Christmas ingredients that will leave a good taste in most Christmas connoisseur's mouths.

David Sutcliffe who plays Nick Claus has a most mischievous wide smile that says "I have many secrets". Nick is hired by the original store owners of Rossman's department store to play Santa Claus and apparently he comes highly recommended. Against the Rossman owners decision to hire Nick to play Santa without vetting him first through their Human Resources department, their daughter Meredith Rossman (Julie Benz) who holds a degree in Business tries to pooh-pooh her mothers' decision. But you know what they say....."mother knows best" so Nick gets a chance to work his magic as the Rossman department store Santa.

Mrs. Shullivan and I enjoyed how Nick seemed to have something positive to share with all the Rossman store employees and he saved his best michievious grins and wisdom for Meredith who was too focussed on expanding the single Rossman store into a franchise industry, and she certainly clashed with the new Santa hire, Nick.

Gradually Nick works his Santa magic with the children who sit on his lap and the Rossman store employees all believe that Nick has lots to offer as their lives seem to be changing for the better after receiving personal letters of wisdom from Nick.. Even Meredith (Julie Benz) agrees to wear the Mrs. Santa Claus and she begins to have mixed feelings for her mysterious store Santa.

Charming Christmas gives the viewers insight into family dynamics at Christmas that many of us can relate to such as single parents raising young children, friends that complain about their current status and worklife balance, and of course what would a Christmas film be without a little romance, tears and laughter?

Charming Christmas has all of the above as well as many fine performances and the screen presence between David Sutcliffe and Julie Benz is fun to watch. I give the film 7 out of 10 stars.

Throughout my whole Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas film completest quest undertaken namely late last year through to early this year, an interesting quest but very mixed one, there was never the mentality of expecting a classic or the film in question to be flawless. Something that was never managed with Hallmark's output. There was always the expectation of seeing a film where one can see at least some effort rather than merely cash-in level. One could see that with most of Hallmark's output but not all.

'Charming Christmas' as far as Hallmark's Christmas films go fares quite well and is definitely worth watching and remembering. It is not flawless or a classic, but have come overtime to not expect any of those things watching a Hallmark Christmas film and have always tried to not judge them too seriously. Have seen the two leads in other things and they have shown that they can be good with the right material, which they do have once 'Charming Christmas' gets going.

It is a bit slow to begin with, the set up taking a little too long and Julie Benz's character is not easy to warm to at first. Grinch-like characters are not easy to play, and the grinch-like personality here is a little too overdone.

Some of the dialogue early on is pretty ropey too, the cheese really stinking up the room. The music could have been toned down too tonally and in placement, too constant and too loud.

However, it is worth sticking with 'Charming Christmas' if in any initial doubt as to me it did get a lot better. The production values still manage to be pleasing. It's not too drab or garish in photography, the editing didn't seem rushed or disorganised and the scenery has a real charm to it. Some of the music has some pleasant nostalgic moments. The dialogue is not great to begin with but improves when the plot properly kicks in, not being too sweet and it flows at least.

Furthermore, the story is light-hearted and really warms the heart without going into over-saccharine territory. The characters were on the most part ones easy to get behind and carry the film well. The acting is well above average, with Benz being very engaging once her character became easier to warm to and expressive. Every bit as good is charming David Sutcliffe and the two have genuine and natural chemistry together. The two characters actually grow, Benz's character does become easier to warm to and Sutcliffe's is not too perfect too early. The supporting cast are good too.

Concluding, worthwhile and worth remembering if not quite a must watch. 7/10.

Julie Benz is about 43 in this movie playing a 30-ish Meridith, but it was just fine. David Sutcliffe as Nick is about 46 and I didn't realize it was him playing Rory's dad on the Gilmore girls about 10 years prior (he looked and sounded familiar). Julie and David were great together. The kid was also great. We did doze on this one about 30+ minutes into the movie, we re-winded and revitalized and enjoyed the movie.

One scene in which she was looking at Nick's resume quickly. I paused it and read that he had been CEO of "Toys for the World" located in Spitsbergen which is an island in the Arctic Circle. The movie was OK but not great. Enjoyed it.

In a small city, Rossman's department store has reigned supreme for ages. Now, its daughter Meredith's turn to run the place, her parents being semi retired. As the head honcho, Merry sometimes has ideas her parents need to get used to liking. Most of all, our Ms. Rossman is a workaholic who doesn't have time for men or much else. Mom and Dad want to help change this. So, they hire an engaging man, Nick (David Sutcliffe) to be the store's Santa for the holidays. Uh oh, Meredith already ran into him at the dry cleaners and gave him the brush off. Yet, the folks get their way. They even unearth a Mrs. Claus costume from the storage room and encourage Merry to wear it around the store part of the day. What?!!! She relents. Its also slowly clear that maybe Nick can charm even the beastly beauty called Meredith. Will it be so? Hallmark, PLEASE never, ever go away. As the strongest force in romance films at present, your unending gifts to fans are greatly loved. This one echoes all the usual elements for a fine sample of love; that is, an attractive main couple, a talented supporting cast, nice sets, gorgeous costumes, a lovely script and a lively direction. Do, do romcom fans, reach for Charming Christmas at the earliest opportunity.

Rossman's is a family store. Meredith Rossman (Julie Benz) is a driven business woman looking to take over from her parents who are concerned about her lack of personal life. Her mother hires Nick (David Sutcliffe) as the new Santa. The old Mrs. Claus costume is discovered and her mother pushes her to play the role. Window designer Jessie wants her son Tyler to spend more time with his father in the custody negotiation. With no daycare, Meredith reluctantly allows Tyler to be an elf. Her assistant Olivia is pushing everything aside to hold onto her dancing dreams.

This is a Hallmark movie and has that level of realism. It's fluff and Christmas fluff at that. This is not a real store and these are not real people. I do like Benz as an ice queen and Sutcliffe is perfectly nice to melt her heart. These are two veteran actors who can act the hell out of the longing stares. That is this movie's only essential need. The chemistry is fine and the side characters have something to do. The story does ramble around with no apparent destination. Even at a lower bar, this does struggle to clear it.