Dear Christmas (2020 TV Movie) User Reviews

A perfect "background" Christmas movie.

[TheCheeseMistress · 6/10 · 13 December 2020]

A romance Christmas movie with Melissa Joan Hart that others have criticized for being too sugary? Yes, please! What could go wrong, right? Yet it's all Christmas and no story. As low as the bar is for this genre plot-wise, it still manages to fall completely flat: there's no element of conflict or tension whatsoever, no complications and resolution, nothing at all. And it's such a shame because it does have everything else to be the archetype of the feel-good romance Christmas movie: both actors are perfect for their roles, especially MJH, and the chemistry between them works flawlessly. The atmosphere is overwhelminly christmasy, taking place in a fairy-tale universe where houses, cars, shops, people.. everything is perfect in every sense. If only something happened..

Audio is indeed terrible, if you love to hear actors swallowing their food then this is the movie for you, and Natalie's father characther is absolutely unwatchable. But hey, I can live with all that as long as the story keeps me traped wanting for the two protagonists to overcome their ridiculously trivial problems in their perfect lives and get together at the end, that's why we watch this type of movies, right? Unfortunately the whole budget went to Christmas decorations and nothing was left for a screenwriter. Romance TV movies are expected to be predictable, this one however wasn't predictable at all, not because something unpredictable happens but because "nothing" happens!

So although it definitely wasn't worth the ice-cream I had watching it, overall I think it's a perfect movie to have playing on TV during a family gathering to provide Christmas spirit, beautiful visuals and a story that can be followed with minimal attention without having to sacrifice conversation.

Ho Ho Hello Jason Priestley...

[toddsgraham · 7/10 · 29 November 2020]

I enjoyed this Lifetime Christmas movie; it is one of their better films this year thus far. The story was unique in a way (a bit different than many of the generic Christmas movies I have seen this season), and it had a pretty good script to boot (especially the dialogue and banter between the couples). I grew up watching 90210, so it was great seeing Jason Priestley as Chris on screen. He had a pretty good performance, I thought, a Priestly performance. I enjoyed his scenes and interactions with Melissa Joan Hart (playing Natalie). He is not the most expressive actor, but in this film, I think his performance worked nicely. About 28-minutes into the movie, he starts playing the guitar and singing a Christmas song...or was he? There was a bit of lip-syncing going on here, I suspect, as the voice singing did not sound like Jason's voice. Hart had a very good, convincing performance in this one. Her exchanges and interactions with her family and Chris were great. She performs well in this genre of film. The chemistry between the two was not bad. Again, Jason is not the most expressive actor, but I felt it worked, that is, it was believable. There were several scenes with some nice banter between the two (e.g., when they decorated the house together). The supporting cast was great. For example, Natalie's father (played by Ed Begley Jr.) and mother (played by Faith Prince) were brilliant; they had several cute and fun lines/scenes together. Fans of One Tree Hill are in for a treat, as two of the show's cast make a special appearance on Natalie's laptop. Finally, the scenery, props, and sets were pretty good, quite festive (not a fan of white Christmas trees though). I had a little laugh in the scene where Chis (aka Priestley) is carrying an axe to cut down the Christmas tree as opposed to a saw. The former looked good but the latter, of course, is a bit more practical. Was that a real Christmas tree they brought home (Natalie and Chris)? I thought it looked fake. You have got to love those Christmas sweaters (Priestley's worked well with the scene, by the way). I also thought the inclusion of the read glass hearts in the script/movie (in support of the first responders during the pandemic) was a timely and welcomed part of the story. I enjoyed too the glassblowing scene where Chris showed Natalie how these were made. Overall, this is a fun, warm, and sweet movie, a nice new edition to Lifetime's original Christmas movie lineup this 2020 season.

Awful sound editing

[nmartin-75575 · 7/10 · 29 November 2020]

This movie is full of music that is so loud that you can hardly hear what they're saying. Especially at the end, when I'm trying to hear if they're going to make it work, I had to put the closed caption on just to read the words. This shouldn't be the case.

Priestley was great and HOT, but no sparks were flying. I was available! 😉

[mjpinigis · 6/10 · 8 January 2021]

Dear Christmas was choppy and MJH just wasn't "on" in this one. The story did not flow. Thought for sure Jason's character was going to deliver the baby too... yet another job. I liked her mom. Her Dad and pregnant sister were distracting, and the brother-in-law not showing up for a few days seemed like it would lead somewhere. Her podcast was shown in a clumsy manner in the beginning of the movie. Almost every scene left me with more questions. I know it's a Bravo Christmas movie-slash-love story, but usually I love that. Please cast Jason in another movie soon! He made this movie good.

Shaking things up

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 9 November 2021]

My main reason for seeing 'Dear Christmas', other than appreciating romantic comedy when done well and loving Christmas, was Melissa Joan Hart. Have liked her ever since her 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' days and while her films in this genre have wildly varied she has consistently proven how well suited she is for it. Lifetime have always left me mixed, but have also liked enough of their output to keep watching. Have liked Ed Begley Jr and Jason Priestly in other things.

'Dear Christmas' didn't strike me as a great film and is pretty uneven. It is also not a waste of time and definitely worth an at least one time watch for primarily Lifetime Christmas film completest sake and Hart. 'Dear Christmas' struck me as scraping above average if with a mix of quite a lot of good and some pretty bad things, and somewhere in the middle as far as Lifetime's variable 2020 Christmas output goes. There are better films of theirs from this year, but also worse.

There are good things here in 'Dear Christmas'. It looks good, with lovely scenery complemented nicely by the nicely framed and never cheap photography. There are some amusing parts in the writing, some of it is over the top but endearingly so rather than forced. The direction has a good feel for the Christmas spirit and seems to understand the genre and be at ease with it.

Story isn't perfect, but it is mostly very heart-warming and charming while not taking itself too seriously. Priestly may seem like physically he doesn't fit, but characterisation-wise he did not bother me at all and had a diamond in the rough sort of charm. He has a natural, genuine chemistry, that unfolds realistically enough, chemistry with Hart, while Hart is the main reason to see the film as she is a joy to watch here and her experience in the genre shows.

However, there are things that don't come off well. The story tends to be thin, with some very contrived in writing conflict later on and once again another hastily resolved and too neat ending.

Cutesiness goes into overload and personally have seen far better performances from Begley Jr, here ill at ease in a role that didn't seem right for him. The music is also too loud and has no personality, not uncommon with Lifetime but some of the 2020 Christmas output addressed the problem and didn't have it.

In conclusion, above average if not great. 6/10.

Good old fashioned love story

[pamrealtor · 7/10 · 9 November 2021]

The actors and actresss where all good. If who ever was in charge could have made the sister look like a real pregnant woman that would have helped not make it corny and then topped it off with a face baby! Talk about low budget, they could have steppes it up just a little to make it better.

I ONLY WATCHED IT ALL BECAUSE OF THE PRETTY DECORATIONS

[seadancer-02616 · 1/10 · 14 November 2021]

So terrible. What a waste of time. Corny no chemistry, no romance. Acting was horrible. The fake baby was best actor. I would not recommend this movie.

Sabrina the witch and Brandon Walsh? Oh yes!

[LigeiaCorpse · 8/10 · 12 December 2020]

My inner teen/young adult self was super happy to see this duo. I was not disappointed. MJH is always cute in Christmas movies and Jason Priestly and her were really cute together. Yes its sugary sweet but isn't that what Christmas is? It's not Halloween.... The story is cute and fun. It's very Christmasy (is that even a word?) If you loved the 90's don't miss out on this one. On a side note please Lifetime, make more movies like this with the 90210 alumni.

Basically entertaining film

[lyndavanleeuwen · 6/10 · 26 December 2020]

Jason Priestley carried of the light humour of his character very well. We feel like he's a friend we know, as regular viewers of "Private Eyes". We enjoyed the non serious nature of the movie, simply as Christmas entertainment! But, my gosh, that awkward basketball that was supposed to be a pregnant belly, was ridiculous!! It was far too large for for a woman so tiny! For heavens sake, something more realistic was definitely called for! Sad indeed! We chuckled every time she appeared, carrying that around! Simply entertaining evening.

Wanted to like it.... really really wanted to but...

[maggie1224 · 4/10 · 30 December 2020]

As what seems to be a trademark of any mother/daughter Hart production this movie is sub par ... It was difficult to pay attention to the actual story line, just kept waiting for the botox to ware off Mellissa's forehead and finally see some facial expression. Movie was okay, not at the Hallmark level, but when there was nothing else left in the PVR to watch.... eventually made it through.

I didn't even miss the extras

[seetheworld-46631 · 8/10 · 27 December 2020]

I really enjoyed this movie. A few scenes made me laugh out loud even after multiple viewings. The sets are beautiful, the family's cute and the storyline isn't the usual "save the family business/defeat the local Scrooge" type so prevalent in made for TV movies. I'm not sure why there is such confusion regarding Natalie's podcast. If, like me, you've read the other reviews for this movie you'll notice a theme. What is the name of Natalie's podcast? Why do they keep switching from one title to another? (sigh) if you pay attention it isn't complicated. The podcast is titled Holiday Love. The episode she is working on in the movie is called Dear Christmas. I assume there is an episode or two for each holiday. The wonderful Melissa Joan Hart never ceases to entertain and is joined by a super cast playing her family and her love interest. I honestly didn't even notice the lack of extras until another reviewer mentioned it. Personally, 50 or 60 shoppers wandering a small town Main St was always annoying to me. It's just not realistic. Natalie speaks about true love in her podcasts but not from personal experience. She goes home for Christmas and meets a man from her childhood. She ends up in various situations with him, spending most every day doing something together. As Christmas approaches she begins to question her feelings for him. You'll just have to watch to see what happens next. I rewatch movies that show situations I would like to be in, houses and families I would enjoy spending Christmas with, because that's pretty much what we're doing, right? I'm looking forward to adding this movie to my holiday dvd collection 🎄

Cute start, but a shaky ending.

[savethewatchmaker · 6/10 · 11 December 2020]

The first half of this movie is adorable and promising, but around the halfway mark, it falls off the rails a little bit. It starts off with comedy and lovely scenery and a sweet hometown, and somehow gets convoluted along the way with a super contrived conflict.

The turning point is when Melissa Joan Hart's character, Natalie, starts questioning if her burgeoning relationship with Chris is moving too fast, despite the fact that they haven't done anything other than hang out and go on essentially one official date. Their relationship seems like it's traveling on a totally believable pace, but Natalie feels the need to pump the brakes for reasons unknown. She changes her mind when she finds a journal from 8th grade with Chris' name in it, marking him as one of her many crushes from middle school, despite not even remembering him when she first saw him since returning to town. She has books like this for every grade full of boys she had (one can assume) superficial crushes on -- especially given that she usually scratched their names out one page later -- but for some reason, seeing Chris' name in this journal is the tipping point for Natalie to rethink her entire relationship with him, and she confesses her love to him on her podcast. Ridiculousness aside, I just couldn't quite get over the hurdle of needing to believe that Natalie would've completely forgotten Chris after crushing on him in school.

Looking at other reviews, I can see that Jason Priestley is a favorite among viewers, but he felt awfully miscast here for me. His rugged looks felt like they belonged more in a Christmas-at-the-ranch type of movie, rather than the jack-of-all-trade friendly neighbor bill he was attempting to fit here.

On the plus side, I really did enjoy the comedic aspects of this film, especially Chris' grand, slow-motion entrance at the beginning. I love when Lifetime makes a genuine effort at humor in their movies, and that's what kept me sticking around this film. Melissa Joan Hart is also GREAT at comedy and playing roles that enhance the humor. This movie was no exception in that regard!

Congratulations.

[thepeculiarpalette · 3/10 · 26 December 2021]

Believe me when I say that I've seen my fair share of sappy hallmark type Christmas movies (and I hate myself for it), but this one is by far the sappiest, corniest, most far fetched, over the top nauseatingly sweet piece of torture I have ever endured. Good lord, every single thing is perfect...the lead character, her family, her job, her outlook on life and love (despite being like 40 and never experiencing the latter yet having a job that requires her giving advice about it). I threw up in my mouth a little when she gets a flat and the guy who rescues her just happens to have enough perfectly seasoned hot chocolate to share while he fixes her tire. And somehow there is so much time in his days that he has enough hours to be able to work in like 15 different places, and still be able to hang out with her everyday. The only thing that isn't perfect about this movie is the chemistry between the main characters. There is none. Nada. Zero. Zilch. I'm more passionate about cottage cheese than they are for each other. But alas, I watched the whole stupid thing. Why do I do this to myself?!? I must be subconsciously punishing myself for something horrible I did in a past life or something. Don't do it. You'll hate yourself in the morning.

Nice pairing but nothing else going for it.

[rebekahrox · 7/10 · 28 November 2020]

Melissa Joan has starred in some of my favorite Hallmark type movies. This one wasn't bad, but it is not going down as a favorite. The main appeal of this one was the pairing with Jason Priestly. They made a good match, and his character was appealing. On the negative side, there wasn't much to the plot. Melissa shines in playing goofy quirky, somewhat hapless characters and the script did not take advantage of her comic talents. But maybe she's getting a little too "mature" for anything other than stock Hallmark heroines with no personality other than being nice and pleasant. The hook on this story was disappointing. It is unbelievable that the character would not remember an 8th grade crush. Even if he was one in a very lo-o-o-o-o-n-g line. I'll say no more on that. Something more could have been made of discovering him as being an entry in a diary. Other than he was one of her many crushes and she drew stars around his name. Did not seem to be a firm foundation on which to decide to commit. Maybe a special memory triggered? But she would have remembered him! Or maybe the got hit on the head trope could have figured in here some where. Oh well. I give up.

I thought it was cute.

[teresa_ramirez · 7/10 · 11 December 2021]

I've always liked MJH. Robin Givens & Jason Priestly, all 3 of them were great young actors & I felt they pulled off the Hallmark-type script. Loved her red dress & the soundtrack, especially when she was sitting in the truck & at the 'ball' & when he was singing. Just a feel-good movie.. really made me want hot cocoa!

HORRIFIC

[heathercoughlin · 1/10 · 25 November 2021]

Wasn't sure if it was the botox or the extreamly obvious fake baby, but this movie was HORRIFIC. Didn't have enough booze to get through it. The dialogue was so awkward I got second hand embarrassment.

Costume design on "dear Christmas"

[lhfdesigns · 10/10 · 2 December 2020]

Well...since I love Christmas movies, yes, the sappy kind with all out Xmas decor and especially the family pjs and the whole coordinated outfits. What I like to know is where Sally Kruse managed to get the pjs? Been trying to scope out this info... alas... to no avail. This would be a fantastic find!

How was it that bad?!

[lazeeinmville · 1/10 · 29 November 2021]

I have seen better acting in local commercials. Which is so surprising considering the actors and actresses in this film. The obvious fake baby bump that continues to move and shift and then the fake baby....... I wanted to like it but just couldn't.

Bright!

[richfeldco · 10/10 · 1 December 2020]

A terrific start to the holiday season. This movie makes a terrible year a little brighter.

It's the Most Pla-a-stic Time of the Year

[live-and-let-live · 2/10 · 27 November 2021]

My daughter & I watched this, long-distance, and had so much fun seeing all of the gaffs, ridiculous props, costumes, hairstyles, anachronisms, and the worst fake-baby in the history of cinema!

Now, add in a ridiculous script, a non-existent plot, cliches galore, token characters, and you have one really awful movie.

It was so bad that it was hilarious... But, really, just change the channel.

I really wanted to like this but...

[Pepper579 · 3/10 · 2 January 2021]

I love the actors in this movie, particularly Jason P, so I thought this movie would be good. Oh dear, how wrong I was. The acting was not great and the dialogue stilted and awkward. I felt so bad for the actors being in such a disappointing movie, that I couldn't continue watching their humiliation. BTW I don't think it is the actors' fault at all. This is all on Lifetime and their Director etc Really poor job!

I hate to say this but Lifetime really needs to up their game. Currently, most of their movies only rival the worst of Hallmark's movies. Even without seeing the opening credits of a movie, I can guess whether it is Hallmark or Lifetime, just by the quality and the style.

Love!

[bemad-91085 · 10/10 · 28 November 2020]

I love seeing Jason Priestly in this awesome Christmas movie!! Hope he makes more of these!!

No plot, little chemistry

[Jackbv123 · 3/10 · 1 December 2020]

I couldn't tell you what the plot was because I couldn't find one. Woman podcaster returns to hometown and constantly runs into man she can't remember from school days. There's none of the first meeting animosity in this movie, which can get really annoying for me. The two get along well through the entire movie, but like the plot, I couldn't see a spark.

I did not think the supporting actors were good. The actors playing her parents often delivered their lines very stiffly.

One running theme is the videos of love stories Natalie receives from her fans. The stories are nice enough, but not enough to replace a missing plot.

Every good romance story needs a conflict which leads to a climax where it's resolved. This one is extremely interesting and in my mind contradictory. Natalie metaphorically pulls up just as she enters the home stretch with Chris. She says it's going too fast. She says true love takes time. But the myth of these movies is that true love is instant. Love at first sight. Sometimes it takes place over a few weeks. Sometimes, a week. Sometimes shorter. I say it's a myth and it sells books and movies. In real love, the seed may be planted quickly, but it takes time for love to grow and blossom. More importantly, it takes time for the roots to be tested and proven. Natalie realizes all that, and then rejects it in the middle of her rambling live podcast.

The climax is melodramatic. There's a passionate speech which defies sanity. There's even a twist which many viewers probably saw coming when Natalie had trouble finding her journal. If you buy into the myth, this ending may be enough to salvage the movie.

Heartwarming Movie

[markusovat · 10/10 · 8 December 2020]

Jason priestley is a very Good Actor and also very Funny 👌

Lacks excitement, joy, spark ....

[Pvrspecialist · 2/10 · 7 January 2021]

JP great on Private Eyes and his banter with Cindy Sampson but this movie was totally without any emotion, excitement.. gosh it is Christmas could have had some sparkly chatter with the romance partner. Rather dull. Maybe needed his 90210 love interest to be the partner. And the spooky looking Mom, did that actress no justice. And the baby bump is just laughable, was waiting for it to twist around or fall down.