Have always absolutely loved Christmas and consider it still my favourite time of year. Love the nostalgia it brings, the family time and all the fond memories of our Christmas traditions which we still continue to do. There is a very, very small doubt of ever tiring of it. Also love Christmas films, and there are some classic ones that won't be named for fairness, and that was the main reason as to why 'Mingle All the Way' was seen in the first place, as well as wanting to broaden my horizons on them.
One sort of knows what to expect from 'Mingle All the Way', from the somewhat cheesy title and considering that story-wise there is not a whole lot of variation or seemingly much new on a fairly familiar theme. Recent viewings of festive films have seen some mild hits and also just as many misses, and 'Mingle All the Way' fits somewhere in the mixed bag/middling category, neither among the best or worst. Like a fair share of recently seen festive films, it is going to be one of those films that people will love and others will hate. Personally fit with neither extreme and am somewhere in the middle, finding it a watchable film but not a great one.
'Mingle All the Way' looks decent, the locations are particularly striking. The music provides some affectionate nostalgia and is pleasant to listen to. The Christmas atmosphere is handled charmingly and affectionately and the romance can be genuinely sweet and doesn't go overboard on the schmaltz.
Jen Lilley is a winning lead, while there is a feel good charm, amusing moments and the sentimentality doesn't get too much. Some smart tension at times too.
However, Brant Daugherty too often comes over as rather annoying and Lindsay Wagner is over-the-top in her roles, sometimes enjoyably but at other times it unbalances the film. The rest of the cast do their best but don't have much to do. The characters don't enough to them to make them interesting or rootable, while the direction is routine at times while far from being amateurish.
The story is not exactly dull and enough of it engages, but it is very predictable and some of it feels rather contrived too. The script doesn't always flow and can be very cheesy.
In conclusion, watchable but a mixed bag. 5/10
