The Christmas Cure (2017 TV Movie) User Reviews

Nothing Special

[Christmas-Reviewer · 6/10 · 17 October 2017]

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION & THAT IS WHAT IS GOING ON HERE FOR THIS FILM! TRUST ME THIS FILM IS TERRIBLE. NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 300 Christmas MOVIES. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM FARE

By watching the first three minutes of this film you will know how the next 2 hours are going to go. What was nice about the film was the locations they used for the film. It was beautiful.

In this film a doctor returns home for Christmas to find that her father has decided to retire from his own practice. After reuniting with her high school sweetheart, she wonders if she should stay and take over her father's practice.

What was nice about this film was the fact this wasn't about a family that were trying to put the pieces of their lives back together. It is not about a poor widow woman who has given up on love. Mainly it is a story about many people and the choices that are making they will impact the rest of their lives.

This is not a bad movie. Its just things you have seen 100X before.

A heartwarming one

[sdmftn1975 · 7/10 · 31 October 2020]

This one had my wife in tears several times with the emotional moments. Patrick Duffy was great as the father in this one as well.

Formulaic

[teebear817 · 5/10 · 26 October 2020]

Same old, same old from Hallmark. Likeable, but ham actors overacting in every scene. The usual over smiling and grinning in every scene, The obligatory, constant "coincidental" run ins between the lead actors up front. The huge job offered at the end, which he or she passes on to stay in some small town. Absurdly kind and wonderful townsfolk, etc, etc, etc So sugar sweet you will pucker. Nobody is like these people. Every movie is near the same as the last. Its a 5

The Christmas Cure

[JoBloTheMovieCritic · 6/10 · 20 July 2019]

6/10 - fairly festive Hallmark Christmas feature that doesn't stand out among the rest

ordinary Christmas film

[Kirpianuscus · 18 November 2018]

The motif for see this film was, in my case, the presence in cast of Patrick Duffy. And the lovely location. And the predictability. A soft, sweet Christmas film, with the right doses of romance, drama, cliches, a not credible end but, like each modern fairy tale, giving a good state to the public . So, it works in decent manner. And, in strange manner, this is the only important thing , in this salad of the love stories of teenagers and young adults , neighbors stories and doctors .

Patrick Duffy lifts this above the ordinary

[SleeplessinDenver · 7/10 · 20 November 2023]

I've seen this one several times now and have grown to like it a little more with each viewing. Brooke Nevin and Steve Byers seemed a little uneasy together and their chemistry wasn't the best, although I've certainly seen much worse in Hallmark movies. What plays better in this is Patrick Duffy, who was a genuinely warm presence as the father and town doctor. He obviously has made quite a difference in the lives of many over the years. There are several scenes of real warmth that show this.

There is also a cute side story involving the younger brother who has a crush on a schoolmate, played by Jocelyn Hudon.

The scenes with Vanessa (Nevin) and her father (Duffy) work much better than the romance with Mitch (Byers) in my opinion. Again, Mr. Duffy's scenes lifted this up from what easily could have been a very bland film, and it's because of him that I recommend this.

Middle of the road

[MickyG333 · 7/10 · 11 December 2022]

7.0 stars.

I really like Brooke Nevin, she's got the looks and charm I really fancy in a female lead. She alone could not bring life to this movie. There are many formulaic films that are above average because of certain random factors, and sometimes they just get lucky, but unfortunately this one had no extra magic.

The chemistry between the leads was non-existent. The supporting cast were nothing special. The lead male had no personality. Her brother and his high school crush were a dead end storyline (her brother was a gluttonous creep). Her dad was ok, but he looks like he's in pain the whole time. The mother was fine, but didn't have much to work with script-wise.

The music was the same as usual, which is always really good. One reason I invariably award a minimum of 6 stars to most Hallmark films is the great music. The cinematography was standard. Where is that special x-factor that often happens in these wonderful Christmas films? Nowhere to be found.

What I'm looking for is that joie de vivre that some actors are able to find within themselves. I felt that we might find some of that here with Brooke, but it didn't happen. She is the central figure, but the script did not allow for her to bring any vitality to the character. She had no quirky, super fun, or particularly joyful personality traits. The writers made her too career driven and pragmatic.

Good enough to cross the 7.0 star threshold, but that's only because of a pretty girl named Brooke.

Another great career in the city and the love nterest in the small town

[phd_travel · 3/10 · 13 February 2018]

A doctor in the city is about to become head of trauma. When she returns to her small town she rekindles a romance with her childhood sweetheart. Her father is about to retire from his small town practice.

The cast is likeable enough. It's nostalgic to see Patrick Duffy as the father all grey haired. He is still a welcome presence on screen.

Note to Hallmark: a little tired of giving up a great career and life in the big city for the charms of the small town. Everything she has worked and achieved don't count for anything? Why can't the small town person ever move to the city. Few are good enough to make it.

Not a must watch.

Not as much romance story as family story

[Jackbv123 · 8/10 · 16 July 2017]

Vanessa is a big city trauma doctor up for promotion. She returns home for a short Christmas holiday, where her father is a small town doctor. Most of the rest of her story is about being shown that even small town doctors save the world in their own way.

The romance is with Mitch, her long-past boyfriend who she's know most of her life. There isn't much romancing, relatively speaking. The connection is obvious and goes back to childhood, but Vanessa isn't really letting it get romantic.

The things that convince her are more incremental than sudden, so there are no huge surprises. But this is where the heart-warming part of the story lies. In the end, it is the small town practice that hooks her, but big Hallmark surprise, she ends up with Mitch too.

Brooke Nevin appears to be a rising star in the Hallmark movie world. She is charming and beautiful and does this kind of story well.

Adorable cast held back by a too predictable story.

[cgvsluis · 4/10 · 22 December 2021]

Great cast, particularly our two romantic leads...it even felt natural, but the storyline was far too predictable. Daughter finished medical studies in California, dad back home retiring from small town family practice. Puzzle meet piece.

A warm and enjoyable movie

[robby77777 · 9/10 · 10 December 2021]

I liked this movie although the plot was typical Hallmark. What stood out to me was the gorgeous Jocelyn Hudon who stole every scene she was in. I don't know why they didn't use her more as she is the star of this movie. I hope Hallmark uses her more!

Not cured for long enough.

[adamjohns-42575 · 5/10 · 7 January 2021]

Just your average Christmas film. Nothing to shout about, but not so bad that I had to turn it off.

I thought the lead romance could have had a bit more to it, they kind of just fell back in to things, but I did like the cute teenage romance between the Brother and the girl from school.

It's nice to see that Patrick Duffy still gets work as the Dad, but the Mother was quite intense.

Put it on while you're wrapping presents and it will suffice.

Christmas cure

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 27 December 2021]

Brooke Nevin is always watchable, though some films of hers are better than others, and Patrick Duffy makes many of his films better, even those that are not particularly good. Hallmark have done a fair share of decent and more Christmas films, and films in general actually. As well as a fair share of average and less ones. Expectations were admittedly not huge for 'The Christmas Cure'. Nor were they rock bottom low. The story did not sound much special but there was potential.

Which was not really lived up in the execution of 'The Christmas Cure'. It was fairly typical Christmas Hallmark, though it was mostly related to the characters' work with Christmas being the backdrop, with some very recognisable plot tropes of theirs executed in a familiar fashion. Is it a bad film? No it isn't. It is also not particularly good, feelings on 'The Christmas Cure' were rather mixed. Carried by the cast but wanting when it comes to the story.

'The Christmas Cure' does have good things. The production values are quite nice, especially the scenery. There are some nice light-hearted and heart-warming moments when the film improves, namely down to the chemistry between the two leads. Which was on the most part very genuine and really liked how they were understanding and supportive of each other while not developing too fast. It was actually their chemistry that helped improve the film when it picked up.

Brooke Nevin and Steve Byers' performances also help quite a bit, with Nevin especially (a strong contender for the best thing about the film) being an absolute charmer as a lead character actually worth relating to with no exaggerated negative character traits or mannerisms. The two are very sweet together. The supporting cast are solid generally, particularly Duffy who is every bit as charming and likeable as Nevin. Also found Dale Whibley refreshing and would like to see his type of character more.

However, too much doesn't work in 'The Christmas Cure'. The script could have been so much better. It is not a strong suit in a lot of Hallmark Christmas films, but this was a case of some of the dialogue being laughably bad in the early portions, so much awkwardness, but even after the film picks up there were too many moments where it was still rather flat and lacked tension and emotion. The story is far too slight, to the point of being very uneventful, in the early portions, and it's all too predictable and contrived throughout. There is an exception to the supporting and that is a far too severe Kathleen Laskey in a role that could have been better fleshed out, in a film where most of the characters are ciphers.

Found the music too often lacking in subtlety and melodically quite forgettable. The pacing was generally off, with a real tendency to lag in the less eventful stretches (too many of those). Badly so in the first third or so, while the ending was typically rushed and pat. There is very little tension and the moments of charm and heart are not enough, also coming over as over serious and over sentimental.

Concluding, very mixed on this film. 5/10.

a real treat of a movie - warm and kind

[anna-05141 · 10/10 · 28 September 2017]

If you are looking for a Christmas movie with a heart to enjoy - this is it! A real joy. A warm and kind sort of a film, would be complemented by a cup of coco under the duvet. Brooke Nevin is gorgeous and a flawless actress, who is a joy to watch. Plenty of snow, holly, goodwill, Christmas trees and a few miracles.

Blah But Good

[cammietime · 5/10 · 22 December 2017]

The only bad thing with this movie is that unlike all other Hallmark Christmas movies where you can figure out the ending after 15 minutes, this movie you can figure out the ending by reading the "info" section on the DVR, or by watching 2 minutes of the movie. So, that kinda really ruins it as it seems like all the actors are pretending throughout the the movie that the true correct ending that you quickly predicted is not actually going to happen.

I did like the actors in this movie, they were all very believable. Brooke Nevin is very pretty and likeable as Nessa, and she likes to wear tight fitting red dresses in nearly every scene, even if it is totally inappropriate for the occasion. The dad is super likeable as well and plays well as Dad figure, much better than most Hallmark Christmas movies. I also liked the addition of the younger brother, who by merely existing, added value to this movie. Usually that character does not exist and is instead replaced by the evil fiance or current boyfriend. Refreshing to have a change here. The town is non-descript and boring, as are all the other characters, including the Mom. But, all in all, worth watching once.

Nothing to see here

[rebekahrox · 4/10 · 28 July 2017]

This is a very bland story with no real conflict. There are no villains that are fun to root against. Not even a somewhat jerk of a current fiancé that our hero has to compete against. The two leads are likable and it is nice to see Patrick Duffy again. There is nothing spectacularly stupid that happens here(so no joy there, either!). Just a young doctor who decides she prefers a slow-paced small town practice to the fast paced big city hospital. No mystery, no big reveals, no tough decisions, no struggles, no humor. And the small town setting vs. The big city has been done to death. It is Christmassy, though. Lots of decorations.

Don't waste your time with this one

[iulya-93 · 1/10 · 14 December 2019]

Of course she worked hard to get herself a career in Los Angeles as head of the trauma department and not live under her father's shadow. Of course she forgets all this when she finds her old love in her family's small town.

If this was not bad enough, probably the worst part of this movie is that... nothing happens. You just sit there for two hours waiting for something. No drama, no romance, no comedy, no nothing. It's just unbelievably boring. Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect a blockbuster. And I really enjoy family movies. But this one has come characters that are so poorly developed so that me, as a viewer, did not feel any kind of connection with them.

My advice - do not waste two hours of your life with this movie, definitely not worth it.