When I learned that two of my favorite Hallmark stars were paired up in a time travel story, I had high expectations. This wonderful movie exceeded those expectations. Bethany Joy Lenz is always great, but she just glows as Lucy Hardgrove, a screenwriter working on a remake of a beloved 1940s movie. Kristoffer Polaha plays Jack Huston, one of the stars of that old movie which, in this movie, is shown in black and white for authenticity. Polaha probably has one of the smoothest sounding voices in the world and he's very effective as a 1940s movie star.
This movie was a lot of fun. There's a magic hourglass, a mysterious hotel worker, feuding cast members, a sweet enthusiastic fan, a writer/director who drove away the love of his life, elaborate period costumes, old cars, a sweet rendition of Jingle Bells, lots of eggnog, a surprise cameo, a Jimmy Stewart impersonation, lines about TCM and His Girl Friday, and a character who says her name is Sandra Bullock.
Hallmark movies are (unfairly) criticized for being "all the same" and "predictable", but I honestly had no idea how the movie was going to play out. That's a tribute to the writer, Marcy Holland, who wrote the "Time For 'X' to Come Home For Christmas" movies. If they gave out Emmy Awards for best Christmas movie screenplays, she'd win for this one.
John Putch, who directed last year's excellent "A Holiday Spectacular", which was also set in the past, beautifully recreated the past in this movie too. And it was a Christmas movie in the sense that "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie; it takes place during Christmas and there are lots of holiday decorations. The essence of the story, however, was the chemistry between John and Lucy and the theme of taking a risk for someone else.
I just loved this gem of a movie.
This movie was a lot of fun. There's a magic hourglass, a mysterious hotel worker, feuding cast members, a sweet enthusiastic fan, a writer/director who drove away the love of his life, elaborate period costumes, old cars, a sweet rendition of Jingle Bells, lots of eggnog, a surprise cameo, a Jimmy Stewart impersonation, lines about TCM and His Girl Friday, and a character who says her name is Sandra Bullock.
Hallmark movies are (unfairly) criticized for being "all the same" and "predictable", but I honestly had no idea how the movie was going to play out. That's a tribute to the writer, Marcy Holland, who wrote the "Time For 'X' to Come Home For Christmas" movies. If they gave out Emmy Awards for best Christmas movie screenplays, she'd win for this one.
John Putch, who directed last year's excellent "A Holiday Spectacular", which was also set in the past, beautifully recreated the past in this movie too. And it was a Christmas movie in the sense that "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie; it takes place during Christmas and there are lots of holiday decorations. The essence of the story, however, was the chemistry between John and Lucy and the theme of taking a risk for someone else.
I just loved this gem of a movie.