This Hallmark movie was better than most. The main thing I liked about it was its originality. In the Hallmark world mostly comprised of big city girls going back to their small hometowns and connecting with their old boyfriends, this movie was something completely different. You have a shy, nerdy guy who's awkward around kids, women and, well, everybody, being thrust into the unwelcome role of the "Christmas Prince" by a single mom and her adorable, believing daughter. Great opportunities await for a huge character arc for the guy and, of course, some romance for the mom and a chance of a new dad for the girl.
The performances in this movie were solid, particularly from Tamera Mowry Housley as single mom Shelby. She was cute, fun, and exuded warmth and likability. Ronnie Rowe as her geeky boss Evan was pretty good too. His main job was to play awkward, uptight and nerdy, and he did it perfectly. Perhaps a bit too perfectly. His scenes after he mellows out a bit aren't as convincing, perhaps because the change from his former self was just too great. I liked the initial sparring and banter between Shelby and Evan. Their interactions after they were supposedly romantically involved were not nearly as good. Not too believable and not that much chemistry, sadly. The relationship between the two of them lacked the development that it needed.
I'm an engineer, and I liked that they had the leads be techies for once. It's a highly underrepresented profession in the movies. I suspect the reason they did this, however, is because the character of Evan had to be a first class nerd with no social skills, and the stereotypical engineer fits that type to a tee. Not very flattering to our profession, but that's the way screenwriters see us, I'm afraid.
Okay, so the whole premise Shelby's daughter Grace just assuming that Evan was the Christmas Prince and having Shelby blackmail him into playing that part was pretty over-the-top. I don't know how you could make this more believable, but it was a lot to swallow. I also thought it was really stupid that "the board" flew all the way out to that remote, Rocky-Mountain plant just to offer Evan a promotion, and that this meeting occurred in the evening, at the exact same time as the dance that Evan promised he would go to with Grace. They could've done this via Zoom, or if they absolutely had to fly in, they could've done the meeting during working hours. It all seemed way too contrived a way to test Evan's loyalty to the little girl Grace.
One more thing I wish they'd done was provide a little follow up at the end as to how everything turned out. Assumedly, Evan and Shelby got married and Evan became Grace's stepfather. But at some point, Grace would have to learn that Evan wasn't really the Christmas Prince. A skillful scriptwriter could've had this be warm, tender moment between Evan, Grace and Shelby, rather than just avoiding the issue by abruptly ending the movie.
All in all, this was an enjoyable Hallmark movie. Not a perfect movie, by any means, but a fun, Christmas romance, guaranteed to warm your heart and put a smile on your face.
The performances in this movie were solid, particularly from Tamera Mowry Housley as single mom Shelby. She was cute, fun, and exuded warmth and likability. Ronnie Rowe as her geeky boss Evan was pretty good too. His main job was to play awkward, uptight and nerdy, and he did it perfectly. Perhaps a bit too perfectly. His scenes after he mellows out a bit aren't as convincing, perhaps because the change from his former self was just too great. I liked the initial sparring and banter between Shelby and Evan. Their interactions after they were supposedly romantically involved were not nearly as good. Not too believable and not that much chemistry, sadly. The relationship between the two of them lacked the development that it needed.
I'm an engineer, and I liked that they had the leads be techies for once. It's a highly underrepresented profession in the movies. I suspect the reason they did this, however, is because the character of Evan had to be a first class nerd with no social skills, and the stereotypical engineer fits that type to a tee. Not very flattering to our profession, but that's the way screenwriters see us, I'm afraid.
Okay, so the whole premise Shelby's daughter Grace just assuming that Evan was the Christmas Prince and having Shelby blackmail him into playing that part was pretty over-the-top. I don't know how you could make this more believable, but it was a lot to swallow. I also thought it was really stupid that "the board" flew all the way out to that remote, Rocky-Mountain plant just to offer Evan a promotion, and that this meeting occurred in the evening, at the exact same time as the dance that Evan promised he would go to with Grace. They could've done this via Zoom, or if they absolutely had to fly in, they could've done the meeting during working hours. It all seemed way too contrived a way to test Evan's loyalty to the little girl Grace.
One more thing I wish they'd done was provide a little follow up at the end as to how everything turned out. Assumedly, Evan and Shelby got married and Evan became Grace's stepfather. But at some point, Grace would have to learn that Evan wasn't really the Christmas Prince. A skillful scriptwriter could've had this be warm, tender moment between Evan, Grace and Shelby, rather than just avoiding the issue by abruptly ending the movie.
All in all, this was an enjoyable Hallmark movie. Not a perfect movie, by any means, but a fun, Christmas romance, guaranteed to warm your heart and put a smile on your face.