Movie: #Xmas
Starring: Clare Bowen, Brant Daugherty
Network: Hallmark Channel
Rating (out of 5 stars): ⭐⭐⭐
Synopsis: When Jen gets the chance to enter a brand’s design contest, she poses as a family influencer, enlisting the help of her best friend, Max, and her baby nephew. When her video is selected as a finalist, Jen is torn on whether to go on with her perfect “family” or reveal the truth.
⚠🛑 Disclaimer: This review may contain movie spoilers
Review:
This movie was better than I expected it to be. Then again I didn't really expect much as the title didn't tell me anything about it AND it didn't intrigue me at all. But in hindsight I can understand the use of the title as this movie relied heavily on the "new world" of social media.
NOTE: I am playing catch-up on all the movies that I haven't watched yet for Christmas 2022 so my review is going to be short and sweet.
The good
Sister Relationship - I really enjoyed the dynamic between Jen (Bowen) and her sister Ali (Anna Va Hooft). I thought they were funny and played well off of each other.
Fake relationship - I love a fake relationship trope and this one didn't disappoint. This one added the element that Jen and Max (Daugherty) had dated and broken up earlier but were still friends. I thought the relationship was funny and the interest in both parties was obvious as soon as their "relationship" started.
Humour - There were some great one liners and funny parts to this movie. I particularly liked the passing of the baby through the window. I found that quite amusing.
Chemistry - The on screen chemistry between Bowen and Daugherty was slow but good. I thought they worked well together and enjoyed their slow burning romance. I particularly liked when they kissed under the mistletoe and then their awkward conversation about it in the bedroom afterwards. That particular exchange was quite well done and quite funny.
Clare Bowen - I thought Clare Bowen handled this role quite well. Her character had some serious anxiety issues, self-esteem and mommy issues but that was portrayed well by Clare. At times I felt that she may have over done the acting but overall her portrayal of Jen and her struggles with herself was quite good.
The not so good
Movie Title - I realize it's a social media app movie but #Xmas has to be one of the worst movie titles they've used in the Hallmark realm to date. Just a minor thing but it certainly didn't peak my curiosity or intrigue in this movie
No singing - When you have someone like Clare Bowen in your movie...you have to let her sing! It's a shame that we went the whole movie without hearing her sign.
Love story - I do think that Brant Daugherty was under-utilized though. I think the movie was too focused on the character of Jen and her issues and really put the fake relationship/love story on the back burner.
Final Thoughts
Social media combined with a strong sister relationship, fake couple trope and mommy issues made this interesting. It's not one that I would actively search for to watch again but it was a good watch.
#HallmarkChannel ##Xmas #ClareBowen #BrantDaugherty #romancemoviefanatic #romancemoviefanaticreview #3starmovie #CountdownToChristmas2022 #fromtheheartrmoviereviews