A Storybook Christmas (2019 TV Movie) User Reviews

A charming Christmas

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 5 August 2020]

Despite loving Christmas so much, that is not to say that all films about and centred around Christmas are great. A fair share of them are not, and some aren't even good. There are quite a big number of classics and personally have seen in the past couple of years or so a good deal of well above average Christmas films. The quest that 'A Storybook Christmas' was part of has been and still is interesting and worth it but has also been very hit and miss.

'A Storybook Christmas' leans towards being one of the hits luckily and as far as the films seen as part of the quest goes it's somewhere around very high middle. Also to me it's one of the better 2019 Christmas films, which has been a very mixed not particularly exceptional year for them on the whole. There are a lot better Christmas films certainly, but also a lot worse (the worst of Hallmark for instance). 'A Storybook Christmas' has flaws and didn't bowl me over, but the concept sounded very cute and it was a very pleasant watch overall and serves its purpose very well.

My problems with 'A Storybook Christmas' have been mentioned already actually, but will state them anyway to show my agreement. The ending also seemed gotten over with too quickly and suddenly, it definitely felt rushed. Some of the dialogue is repetitive to the point of being beaten around the head and made me cringe.

Do agree too that the fiance character was not needed other than convenient plot device reasons, and he is not an interesting character either.

However, Ali Liebert does a great job in the lead. Celeste has character traits that should make her a hard character to warm to, and yes that is so at first, but Liebert is very charming and sympathetic. Also she doesn't look stiff in my view, and doesn't exaggerate any negative character traits that a lot of actors/actresses in similar type roles do in similar films. Every bit as likeable, even more so actually, is Jake Epstein in the more sympathetic (while not being too perfect) role, whose performance is very warm. And there was nothing unnatural or affected either. Habree Larrett is sweet without being too precocious. Libert and Epstein have a bond that felt genuine and easy to root for, it is charming and tender while not moving too fast or too slow.

The acting from all is above average even and most of the character relationships are very well handled. Only everything with the fiance doesn't work out so well, it lacked tension and wasn't necessary. Most of the dialogue is not too bad, it amuses in spots while also not being too heavy in the sentiment, it flows well on the whole. The story is far from perfect, but it's engaging, coherent, not overdone, light-hearted and it's heart-warming. It knew what tone to take, not being too frothy and keeping things light and becoming too dark or dreary. It's a lovely film to look at, especially the scenery, and the music is nostalgic and appropriately festive while not being as in your face and too constant as the music in other Christmas films.

Overall, likeable and charming. 7/10

Some nice differences

[Jackbv123 · 8/10 · 18 December 2019]

This movie is a combination of inexperienced-nanny-fixes-controlling-executive, and another common plot line that isn't fully revealed until late, so I won't explicitly say what that is. There are enough clues as to what's going to happen at the end so most viewers will figure it out, certainly before Celeste does. (Even if it is easy to figure out, I wish reviewers would not give these things away without tagging spoilers.)

Ali Liebert isn't as controlling as I think she was meant to be, but then Liebert is just too sweet to be that rigid. There is a heartwarming aspect to the story as shown by Celeste's devotion to Finley reinforced by their backstory. Liebert does the role so well, and with tenderness, that it's hard to maintain her character as overly rigid.

Unlike a lot of Christmas movies where the female lead bonds with the male lead's child, the genders are switched, but the idea is the same. Jake Epstein has good chemistry with both the child, Habree Larratt , and aunt turned mom, Ali Liebert.

The story includes the token existing fiance which leads to some competitiveness in things like building a snowman, but the fiance never really seemed viable.

Thanks to the leads, worth watching.

[rebekahrox · 8/10 · 14 December 2019]

Ali Liebert is back in form in this latest holiday offering. There was something about her in the last one, A Gift to Cherish, that seemed a little off. It's been a week or more since I have seen this, so I'll just make this brief. This was the unexpectedly male nanny plot. He is a well-known children's author in disguise and she is an event planner who needs to wrangle this author to the career make or break event she is planning. Little does she know, this reclusive author is right under her nose. I loved that the male lead was just a normal-looking guy, and his rival, her boyfriend, was fictionally male model handsome. She is a controller and scheduler to the point that I really disliked her at times, and he has a more loosey-goosey approach to child raising. So it's kind of two plots for the price of one. It wasn't perfect. The constant repetition of "You are safe, You are loved" to her little niece (orphaned) was unbelievably cheesy. But all in all a complex story with a lot going on, some tension, and good chemistry make this worth watching.

Just a few complaints, otherwise enjoyable.

[MIssM19 · 7/10 · 29 March 2020]

Firstly, good plot. Just good. Ali Liebert is just amazing, she definitely is a fan favourite. She always makes her characters work. First time watching Jake Epstein in one of these movies (I've previously seen him in Suits), and he did great. While I did think the leads had a good vibe going on, I didn't thought of it as the romantic kind. They just seemed really good friends.

Secondly, the fiancee in this movie served no purpose, we could have done without him. He did nothing but talk about his job and always had an excuse, but at least he wasn't... how do I say it? Most Hallmark boyfriends tend to be repulsive to me, because they don't even try in their relationship. This one did.

While we knew what to expect at the end, in my opinion, it felt kind of rush. The problem and the solution took place in all of ten minutes? Other than those, I actually really enjoyed it.

Plot holes

[sweetshirleen · 7/10 · 18 December 2020]

OK film but had some annoying plot holes. When the child Finley needed to be collected from school, the assistant offered but Celeste told her "You aren't cleared" but when Celeste pulled up Finley was stood alone shivering on the steps, with no-one to clear anyone! Jim was asleep with his phone on silent, why didn't she call the house? You'd try every phone surely??? There were others but that was the most annoying! The story was OK, but the lead characters had no chemistry, the Actress playing Celeste was never believable especially when she was supposedly upset about her sister. Oh Hallmark even at Christmas Quality is better than Quantity.

I would watch it again

[reaganjagger · 8/10 · 1 January 2020]

I am a HUGE Hallmark movie fan and this one did not disappoint. My only complaint was the little girl. Why was she wearing red lipstick? She was not a very likable child, but she didn't distract from the story.

Solid effort.

[doctorsmoothlove · 5/10 · 20 January 2020]

"A Storybook Christmas" is a 2019 Lifetime Christmas film the channel released for its holiday marathon. It's a rather strange film in which a successful single mother hires a male nanny to help her care for her niece. She ends up falling in love with the male nanny. I feel like a plot like this wouldn't be made today if the roles were reversed. Lifetime did release a movie in which a man falls in love with a female employee he hired called "The Christmas Temp." In that film the man and the woman didn't have a job that put them in close quarters like here. This setup is a bit creepy to me even if the woman was the nanny for a single dad.

The editing in this film was mesmerising for me having seen nearly 50 of these films in a row. Most Lifetime and Hallmark films are shot very flat in a televisual style. This one is downright cinematic with smash cuts between mundane conversations and shots from above and below the characters. The director and the editors have a lot of experience in horror and thriller genres and it shows. The film is worth watching for its style which in this case is superior to its substance.

The plot resembles Hallmark's "The Mistletoe Inn" in which a woman is searching for a famous author who happens to be the love interest Hot Guy. Ali Liebert is no Alicia Witt though. She does a solid job as the working mother. Jake Epstein is a bit better as the nanny. I say better in that he has a personality. He is playful with the niece who is a good movie child herself. She isn't too smart or too worldly. I also enjoyed the frank conversations between the niece and her aunt about the memory of the deceased mother. The girl learns that a person can deviate from a tradition and still be respectful of the relative's memory.

This film has a bit of the "nothing to be about problem" that some of the genre has. I think Epstein and the child actor are good enough that I just enjoyed them making gingerbread houses or what other random activity they were doing. Liebert is alright as the third wheel sometimes even if she gets boring because her character has little arc.

I didn't get that the two main characters were attracted to each other emotionally. Both of them are good-looking so an attraction could have been based on that. However, the film has a fiance character Liebert breaks up with. She and Epstein are supposed to be falling in love. Instead they come off as just roommates.

In spite of its problems, I enjoyed the film. It's bad parts aren't as bad as its good parts are good.

Nice story

[linda-plant2 · 8/10 · 22 December 2019]

But I did wonder how old the little girl Finley was meant to be ! In some scenes she acted like a 6 year old, then with her hairstyle, pearl earrings and wearing lipstick all the way through the film made her look years older - like a miniature 30 year old. A pleasant enough watch

Lacking oomph!

[adamjohns-42575 · 1/10 · 2 December 2020]

Quite disappointing. The lead male had no place being cast as such, but at least he could act better than the "other" boyfriend.

I was hoping to like this one about a writer and event planner. Both things I like, but it just dragged on and was poorly cast.

Nothing else to say about it really, but it wasn't so bad that I switched it off, but I won't want to watch it again in a hurry.

Cosy Christmas Movie

[Malcolm300 · 10/10 · 9 October 2022]

Very watchable for a Christmas movie. These are always predictable so need to be entertaining along the way and this was. I didn't take to the child, and certainly not as quick as she did to the nanny. I would have expected a bit of suspicion especially as it was a man, and acceptance was too quick imo.

The acting was good.

It's like watching a recording of a soccer game when you know the result. You know how it ends and only worth watching for the entertainment.

Okay, my review is too short apparently and I need to have more content. So I will add the numerous scene with the snowman building. Quite funny.

One of the Better Hallmark Romances

[dorothyexeter · 8/10 · 31 December 2021]

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It is one of the better Hallmark films.

It had a more unique plot with great lead and other characters.

It is getting tiresome to see the same plots on so many of the Hallmarks.

Some reviewers seem to be so critical of some actors. These reviewers appear to want all their characters to be the same. I view those characters to be fake.

People are unique. So, it is refreshing to see unique characters.

I enjoy the diversity in characters, so I felt the characters in this film were great.

nice

[Kirpianuscus · 21 December 2019]

That nice Christmas film who you expect. But not enterly the familiar mix of cookies and cocoa and one of motifs is the good acting, the chemistry between lead actors, the other, the story itself, proposing a game of roles and the romance , expected but more seductive builded. And, sure, the clues for the end. So, nice. In lovely manner.