This festive flick has real charm and Christmas magic and is well above average for the genre.
Delightful!
Delightful!
20 Reviews
Don't be put off by the 5.4 score...
rossmcfarlen23 November 2019
Melissa and Beth
caffeinequeen182 February 2020
THIS IS NOT A HALLMARK MOVIE!
Hallmarklover24714 August 2019
Gee whiz. Its crazy to me the amount of people that dont even realize what network they're watching at least 4 reviews on here said a hallmark movie. Did you not pay attention when you watched it? This is a LIFETIME MOVIE. Not hallmark!! How does someone not catch that when they're even watching it on the lifetime channel. It's not rocket science. This movie was ok...nothing real exciting happened. It was a cute movie but there was no depth. And these movies dont always need to give us depth to be good but I guess I'm saying it barely broke through the surface. It seemed more of a movie they just through together. It's definitely maybe worth watching once but not over and over. I live for these movies. It doesnt take much to keep me happy or occupied but the first part was slow and I only finished because I had to see how the movie turned out and because I love Mario Lopez and Melissa but again this is a LIFETIME movie NOT Hallmark.
Toys for Christmas
TheLittleSongbird1 December 2020
Throughout my whole Lifetime (am going to be another person to reiterate that this is not Hallmark) Christmas film completest quest undertaken namely late last year, an interesting quest but very hit and miss, there was never the mentality of expecting a classic or the film in question to be flawless. Something that was never managed with Lifetime'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 enough of Lifetime's work.
Lifetime did however do a lot better than 'A Very Merry Toy Store'. It has its moments and is not complete dross, but it is to me one of the worst of their festive output that year and overall and really does not show that they are capable of something that is above mediocrity. Despite such a cute and appetising title, there is not an awful lot of merriment in this toy store or much merry about the film. 'A Very Merry Toy Store' isn't awful, it's just rather mediocre.
'A Very Merry Toy Store' has good things. Melissa Joan Hart, best known to me as the titular character in 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch' (have always been very fond of that) appeals in the lead role. Beth Broderick, who also was in 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch', stands out of the cast. A cast that on the most part is not bad at all, and Brian Dennehy is reliably good value. Some of the scenery is nice and attractive.
Same can be said for some of the soundtrack too and there were some genuinely cute, charming moments.
It is unfortunate though that they are too few and between, to me on the most part 'A Very Merry Toy Store' was rather bland as well as falling into most of the traps present in a lot of Lifetime's Christmas output. There is an exception to the cast, Mario Lopez was on the dull and charmless side as the male lead character and his chemistry with Hart doesn't quite gel and is more lukewarm than on fire. While the cast give their all, the characters are very thinly sketched with no real variation on what has been seen before in other Lifetime work. The villain especially is too much of a cartoon. The relationships never develop and the conflict is too predictable and thin to resonate all that much.
Production values-wise, Lifetime films usually fare much better than this. Apart from the exterior scenery, 'A Very Merry Toy Store' is among their cheaper looking films and it was like it was made in even more of a rush than usual. While the music has its moments, it tended to feel over-scored and over-emphasised the mood at times. The script can be stilted and the cheese and sentimentality get too much. The story is rather formulaic and can be rather uneventful and dragged out from being too slightly plotted.
Concluding, not awful but pretty mediocre. 4/10
Lifetime did however do a lot better than 'A Very Merry Toy Store'. It has its moments and is not complete dross, but it is to me one of the worst of their festive output that year and overall and really does not show that they are capable of something that is above mediocrity. Despite such a cute and appetising title, there is not an awful lot of merriment in this toy store or much merry about the film. 'A Very Merry Toy Store' isn't awful, it's just rather mediocre.
'A Very Merry Toy Store' has good things. Melissa Joan Hart, best known to me as the titular character in 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch' (have always been very fond of that) appeals in the lead role. Beth Broderick, who also was in 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch', stands out of the cast. A cast that on the most part is not bad at all, and Brian Dennehy is reliably good value. Some of the scenery is nice and attractive.
Same can be said for some of the soundtrack too and there were some genuinely cute, charming moments.
It is unfortunate though that they are too few and between, to me on the most part 'A Very Merry Toy Store' was rather bland as well as falling into most of the traps present in a lot of Lifetime's Christmas output. There is an exception to the cast, Mario Lopez was on the dull and charmless side as the male lead character and his chemistry with Hart doesn't quite gel and is more lukewarm than on fire. While the cast give their all, the characters are very thinly sketched with no real variation on what has been seen before in other Lifetime work. The villain especially is too much of a cartoon. The relationships never develop and the conflict is too predictable and thin to resonate all that much.
Production values-wise, Lifetime films usually fare much better than this. Apart from the exterior scenery, 'A Very Merry Toy Store' is among their cheaper looking films and it was like it was made in even more of a rush than usual. While the music has its moments, it tended to feel over-scored and over-emphasised the mood at times. The script can be stilted and the cheese and sentimentality get too much. The story is rather formulaic and can be rather uneventful and dragged out from being too slightly plotted.
Concluding, not awful but pretty mediocre. 4/10
Ok...
OddlesOfNoodles17 November 2020
Not that interesting
gabriellej-5945719 November 2020
It took me forever to finish this movie. It wasn't very interesting to me. The graphics in this movie were terrible on some scenes and could have been done better, some of the background scenes looked so fake. Didn't enjoy this one
Cute, although...
danteFZ9 December 2018
Toys were Us
Prismark1018 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
It is a real shame that a fine actor such as Brian Dennehy is reduced to doing a Hallmark film. I guess an actor has to eat.
At least this is one of the better festive ones even though it has a sly dig about corporate Toys R Us type ruining small town America.
Melissa Joan Hart plays Connie, a widow and owner of a toy shop in New Britain. For years she has been battling with Will who operates a rival toy shop. Both have been financially struggling.
When a big new corporate chainstore opens just in time for the peak Christmas sales period. Both Connie and Will decide to join forces to take on their rival who descends into shady shenanigans to drive them out of business.
Of course both Connie and Will find romance once they put their rivalry behind.
The film really is a bit silly, with a cartoonish bad guy who openly bribes a local politician.
It is amazing how Hallmark gets away with its bizarre 'oh schmucks these big city corporates are bad' version of small town America. After all Hallmark churns out television movies of the week on a conveyor belt and most of them seem to be made in Canada.
At least this is one of the better festive ones even though it has a sly dig about corporate Toys R Us type ruining small town America.
Melissa Joan Hart plays Connie, a widow and owner of a toy shop in New Britain. For years she has been battling with Will who operates a rival toy shop. Both have been financially struggling.
When a big new corporate chainstore opens just in time for the peak Christmas sales period. Both Connie and Will decide to join forces to take on their rival who descends into shady shenanigans to drive them out of business.
Of course both Connie and Will find romance once they put their rivalry behind.
The film really is a bit silly, with a cartoonish bad guy who openly bribes a local politician.
It is amazing how Hallmark gets away with its bizarre 'oh schmucks these big city corporates are bad' version of small town America. After all Hallmark churns out television movies of the week on a conveyor belt and most of them seem to be made in Canada.
Free-Market Capitalism on Trial
lavatch26 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
In this heartwarming made-for-television film, Connie and Will are each struggling to stay in business with their toy stores in New Britain. The Forrester Toys and DiNova Toys establishments have some baggage due to the respective fathers of Connie and Will, who couldn't get along.
But it is clear from the opening scene that Connie, a young widow, and Will, a young divorcee, will meet on the common ground of attempting to save their businesses. The villain in the film is a mean-spirited capitalist, Roy Barnes, who wants to open his own larger store and put his two young competitors out of business.
Although Connie and Will hijack a truck to intercept a large shipment of the popular Princess Alicia dolls for Christmas sales, they are, with the exception of that one unfortunate business practice, a decent and honest pair of entrepreneurs, in contrast to the unsavory Roy Barnes. Adam Smith's laissez-faire economics will be put on trial to see who will survive the cutthroat world of free-market capitalism.
The film has some subplots that are not perfectly connected to the main story. Joe runs a local restaurant and is interested romantically in Connie's mom, Pam. Francine, a waitress at Joe's diner is in love with Connie's brother Randy. To get his attention, she becomes a compulsive shoplifter. And Will takes time to help Connie's young son in building his sled for the winter race. But the various plot strands converge on the budding romance of Connie and Will.
The film is nicely photographed and scored with the goal of evoking a charming Currier and Ives painting. Connie and Will may start out as rivals. But, it becomes clear that their shared love of hard work will bring them together. The delicious pecan (pronounced in the film as PEEK-on) pies of Joe's diner will serve as the icing on the cake for a Christmas romance in New Britain.
But it is clear from the opening scene that Connie, a young widow, and Will, a young divorcee, will meet on the common ground of attempting to save their businesses. The villain in the film is a mean-spirited capitalist, Roy Barnes, who wants to open his own larger store and put his two young competitors out of business.
Although Connie and Will hijack a truck to intercept a large shipment of the popular Princess Alicia dolls for Christmas sales, they are, with the exception of that one unfortunate business practice, a decent and honest pair of entrepreneurs, in contrast to the unsavory Roy Barnes. Adam Smith's laissez-faire economics will be put on trial to see who will survive the cutthroat world of free-market capitalism.
The film has some subplots that are not perfectly connected to the main story. Joe runs a local restaurant and is interested romantically in Connie's mom, Pam. Francine, a waitress at Joe's diner is in love with Connie's brother Randy. To get his attention, she becomes a compulsive shoplifter. And Will takes time to help Connie's young son in building his sled for the winter race. But the various plot strands converge on the budding romance of Connie and Will.
The film is nicely photographed and scored with the goal of evoking a charming Currier and Ives painting. Connie and Will may start out as rivals. But, it becomes clear that their shared love of hard work will bring them together. The delicious pecan (pronounced in the film as PEEK-on) pies of Joe's diner will serve as the icing on the cake for a Christmas romance in New Britain.
An Extra Star for Melissa and Mario
tiffanytallent198123 June 2021
I like the movies that Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez act in. Sure, they are usually cheesy romantic comedies, but still offer substance. A Very Merry Toy Store has a light romance between the two leads, Connie and Will. They don't have the instant chemistry and connection that you see in some movies. Their feelings for each other grow, change, and blossom as they work together to combat a common enemy: a rival toy store. There is a problem in their relationship at one point, just like all of these tv romances. However, the reason for Connie's pain is completely understandable and Will recognizes his lapse in judgment and quickly fixes the situation.
This movie moves along pretty slowly and is boring in some scenes. There isn't that much comedic relief, but they attempted to add it with Connie's idiot brother. But to be honest, the brother is just too clueless. No grown man would actually be that way. It's definitely off putting and a big reason I didn't give more stars. Funny thing is that the brother inadvertently saves the day because of a mistake he made. Lol
I like Connie's quick wit and the way she says what's on her mind. Both Will and Connie have huge hearts and care deeply for their town and neighbors, which is comforting. There is still something lacking though. I didn't feel a huge connection to any of the protagonists. I don't know how else to describe it except for bland. A lot of the movie didn't feel natural. And nothing really stayed with me after. I still enjoyed it though. But I'm not sure it'll be one that I'll rewatch.
This movie moves along pretty slowly and is boring in some scenes. There isn't that much comedic relief, but they attempted to add it with Connie's idiot brother. But to be honest, the brother is just too clueless. No grown man would actually be that way. It's definitely off putting and a big reason I didn't give more stars. Funny thing is that the brother inadvertently saves the day because of a mistake he made. Lol
I like Connie's quick wit and the way she says what's on her mind. Both Will and Connie have huge hearts and care deeply for their town and neighbors, which is comforting. There is still something lacking though. I didn't feel a huge connection to any of the protagonists. I don't know how else to describe it except for bland. A lot of the movie didn't feel natural. And nothing really stayed with me after. I still enjoyed it though. But I'm not sure it'll be one that I'll rewatch.
Cute Holiday Movie
kz917-14 June 2019
Do these people ever age?
Melissa Joan Hart & Mario Lopez headline this Christmas flick where rival toy store owners come together to defeat an out of town Mega Toy Store owner from coming to town.
This aired on Lifetime not Hallmark.
Melissa Joan Hart & Mario Lopez headline this Christmas flick where rival toy store owners come together to defeat an out of town Mega Toy Store owner from coming to town.
This aired on Lifetime not Hallmark.
Fake snow blemishes the stars
fiddlerfrog24 December 2022
The fake backgrounds and props to pretend it's set in a wintry land are shocking in the terribleness of the quality; the sled race down the "hill" segment was so bad we couldn't even laugh at it. There must not have been anything left in the budget for the sets after hiring the stars and buying the toys to fill the shops. And then there's the random shot about 1h7m driving down the Centre Street Bridge in Calgary, AB, Canada passing the lion statues with the Calgary Tower straight ahead - if only they had actually filmed the whole movie in Calgary in winter, they would have had real snow and real mountains. As it is, the story is passable (although like most of the cheezy movies the ending isn't believable), but any of the outdoor scenery and backgrounds are so awful, so obviously bad fakes they completely distract from anything else going on, blemishing the star power of the actors. At least for a lot of the movie they're indoors and we can forget about it momentarily. If you can ignore that, and you like cheezy Christmas movies, or are a fan of the stars, ok, sure, watch this one, otherwise give it a pass.
Hart is a very safe pair of hands - she just about rescues incompetence
iranu-7419523 November 2019
Script was adequate, storyline was adequate - but, unusually for these cheap films the faults lay in execution. Lighting is wrong in virtually every scene. Camera positioaing ..and even something as basic as height .. is wrong in so many scenes. This is either the crew's fault, or the Director is an amatuer....or the actual shooting budget was so small that nobody cared.
Really could be better
Mlle_Chouette12 March 2018
Despite me being a lover of Hallmark movies, I didn't enjoy much " A Very Merry Toy Store". In the first half an hour I was already bored and unamused. The acting, the actors and characters, the plot, all seemed like from a low-quality soap opera. It wasn't believeable and real enough and the emotions and chemistry were so poor. The supporting characters could be better but they weren't developped enough. It was fine, I guess, it's ot thaat bad, but it was lower than my expectations, even though I wasn't expecting much. Although no, I was expecting a good romance movie since I saw so many comments about Mario Lopez being in it (having no idea who is he, but still). I didn't want the review sound so negative, but I just can't remember much good about it. I mean, yeah, it's sweet, just like any hallmark movie. And Christmas is there only like a busy time of the year for toy-stores.
All in all, it is tolerable, but not good enough to tempt me.
All in all, it is tolerable, but not good enough to tempt me.
Pretty Good, but Too Many Sub-Plots
mfreburg-946-13754131 March 2024
A Very Merry Toy Store (2017) Available on Prime Video (Freevee)
Here I am again reviewing a movie several years after its release, but I try to be thorough, and often don't see that in other reviews. The cast drew me to this one. I was curious to see a rom-com where the leads are not the usual 20-somethings or young 30-somethings. It was nice to see a 40-year-old Melissa Joan Hart and 43-year-old Mario Lopez (ages at that time) as the stars. That said, I didn't see or feel a great deal of chemistry between the lead actors--and I almost never complain about chemistry--I am usually one to that is open to the subtle signs. I'm not saying these two were bad together, I just don't think they are likely to have viewers on the edge of their seats, hoping they get together at the end--which is part and parcel of romance movies. (But hey, Lifetime is not as good at this as a few other romance movie networks).
The storyline here was interesting, and it was different from many rom-coms. The acting from everyone was more than adequate. I DON'T have the complaints many reviewers did concerning "fake snow," "cheap sets," etc. With rom-coms, I'm always willing to suspend disbelief and not waste my time analyzing peripherals that don't mean anything.
I do have one complaint about the movie--there were simply too many subplots, and there really wasn't enough time to develop them all. It's as if the script only touched the surface of many different stories within the film. Mostly, the subplots were resolved, but poorly, with a disturbing lack of details. We the viewers are left to imagine how the resolution took place, what happened to the people involved? I blame all of this on simply trying to cram too many little stories into an 87 minute movie--there just wasn't time. The result? Too much happened that simply was not satisfactorily explained.
This is not a bad movie. It's an okay movie that entertains, but those MANY subplots dragged the film down to a six for me. With perhaps 2.5 hours to work with and an expanded script, the film might have really shined.
Here I am again reviewing a movie several years after its release, but I try to be thorough, and often don't see that in other reviews. The cast drew me to this one. I was curious to see a rom-com where the leads are not the usual 20-somethings or young 30-somethings. It was nice to see a 40-year-old Melissa Joan Hart and 43-year-old Mario Lopez (ages at that time) as the stars. That said, I didn't see or feel a great deal of chemistry between the lead actors--and I almost never complain about chemistry--I am usually one to that is open to the subtle signs. I'm not saying these two were bad together, I just don't think they are likely to have viewers on the edge of their seats, hoping they get together at the end--which is part and parcel of romance movies. (But hey, Lifetime is not as good at this as a few other romance movie networks).
The storyline here was interesting, and it was different from many rom-coms. The acting from everyone was more than adequate. I DON'T have the complaints many reviewers did concerning "fake snow," "cheap sets," etc. With rom-coms, I'm always willing to suspend disbelief and not waste my time analyzing peripherals that don't mean anything.
I do have one complaint about the movie--there were simply too many subplots, and there really wasn't enough time to develop them all. It's as if the script only touched the surface of many different stories within the film. Mostly, the subplots were resolved, but poorly, with a disturbing lack of details. We the viewers are left to imagine how the resolution took place, what happened to the people involved? I blame all of this on simply trying to cram too many little stories into an 87 minute movie--there just wasn't time. The result? Too much happened that simply was not satisfactorily explained.
This is not a bad movie. It's an okay movie that entertains, but those MANY subplots dragged the film down to a six for me. With perhaps 2.5 hours to work with and an expanded script, the film might have really shined.
I can't believe just how bad this was
watcherofthemovingpicturebox26 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Wow. The plot. The writing. The romances. So bad. I can't believe someone actually wrote this movie, and somehow managed to get it made. Why would someone write this and think it's ok? And who in their right mind read this script and actually thought it would be a good idea to turn it into a movie?
The romances in here are what not to do in a relationship and what not to look for in a romantic partner. There are so many obvious red flags. Unsound financial decisions. Clinging onto to the memories of your ex. Lying to spend time with someone (instead being honest and asking them out). Shoplifting to get someone to notice you because you like them. Dropping thousands of dollars to pay the loan of someone you've been dating for like a week. Yet all these couples still get together.
The romances in here are what not to do in a relationship and what not to look for in a romantic partner. There are so many obvious red flags. Unsound financial decisions. Clinging onto to the memories of your ex. Lying to spend time with someone (instead being honest and asking them out). Shoplifting to get someone to notice you because you like them. Dropping thousands of dollars to pay the loan of someone you've been dating for like a week. Yet all these couples still get together.
I was expecting more
dianamarinelli26 April 2021
Nothing but a 2 hour long Hasbro commercial
dahotnessk8 January 2022
It ain't no holiday in handcuffs I'll say that much! The chemistry from that movie didn't transfer over into this one unfortunately. Probably because I felt like I was watching a toy commercial for the most part. Nothing special here.
Just a Sweet Hallmark Christmas movie
Jazzie-too15 December 2017
There were no reviews on "A Very Merry Toy Store". I saw the low rating of 5.6 and no review. But with Mario Lopez and Melissa Joan Hart, I thought would at least give it a look. But after the first 10 minutes, I wanted to continue. It looked cute and the actors were ALL so good in their roles. Brian Dennehy! That's always good. So, I just wanted to put out a good word for this Hallmark movie. It's so much better than many others I've watched, but I watched anyway, because I love the Christmastime movies. They warm my heart! And this just does NOt deserve anything lower than 7. Mario can't help being adorable! Just don't let this low score prohibit your watching. Expecially if, like me, you love the Hallmark Christmas movies. Maybe it's only an 8 or 9m but tonight it's a 10!
Who doesn't love Hallmark Christmas movies?
sequels-3962322 December 2017
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