Movie: Jolly Good Christmas
Starring: Reshma Shetty, Will Kemp
Network: Hallmark Channel
Synopsis: When by-the-book architect David hires free-spirited personal shopper Anji, he finds himself on a wild ride across London in search of the perfect Christmas gift but finds something he wasn't looking for.
⚠🛑 Disclaimer: This review may contain movie spoilers
Rating (out of 5 stars): ⭐⭐⭐
Review:
Full disclosure...I was seriously distracted with the New York accent of Will Kemp for the majority of this movie. I couldn't get over the fact that a British actor starring in a movie based in London England was cast to put on an American accent. I'm thinking I may need to watch this movie again as there is a chance that this movie is way better than this rating. Will Kemp just sounded weird. I've become so used to his charming accent and it honestly bothered me more than it probably should have.
Plot
The plot isn't unique by any means but had the potential to be good. We have David who is an architect from New York who moved to London England for a job and is now dating Charlotte who is the boss's daughter. He bumps into Anji while shopping for a present for his girlfriend. Anji is a struggling personal shopper/writer who ends up working with David to find the perfect gift for David's girlfriend.
I found that the beginning of the movie was quick and lively and had a good deal of humour and physical comedy. It did die down significantly in the middle and was a tad slow but then picked up closer to the end again. The ending was especially good.
I enjoyed some of the little issues they found themselves in. The shoplifting scene and the chase afterwards provided some good comedic elements to the movie. The chase through London and having them hide in the crowd and having David play the violin as a distraction were quite humourous.
I loved the secondary storyline of Anji's parents wanting her to take over the family pub. And honestly I just enjoyed her parents. I liked their relationship with each other and I liked how they were supportive of each other and their daughter.
I really enjoyed how the movie came together at the end with Big Ben chiming. I honestly didn't pick-up on this possible ending when Anji mentioned the make a wish at midnight thing. It's obvious now but I didn't see it while watching and did gasp at the end when he looked at the coin and heard the bell chiming. It was then that I said to myself..."he's going to meet her at the bridge!" Everything ell into place there and that's when I saw a little chemistry between the leads.
The 1 year later flash forward was a bit of a surprise to me in that it didn't have any indication of where their relationship was in a year. It just focused on showing her book release in the window shop. I thought this was such a nice change to the year flash forward we always see of the couples.
Chemistry & Performances
Chemistry - I actually found little chemistry between the two leads until the end when it picked up. They spent their time shopping and honestly I didn't see much between them through that part. They were amicable with each other and had a good rapport but I just didn't feel any sparks. When they met at the bridge and kissed...then I felt a little more chemistry.
Reshma Shetty - I really liked Reshma Shetty as Anji. I don't think I've ever seen her before in anything but I enjoyed her performance. Not to mention that her accent is beautiful albeit she said "Happy Christmas" a bit too much for my liking. I would love to see her in another movie for sure. Oh and she looked gorgeous in that green Christmas dress.
Su McLaughlin - I absolutely loved Su McLauglin who played the mother of Anji. She was funny and almost dominated some scenes when she was in them. I could have watched quite a bit more of her and her on screen husband in this movie.
Will Kemp - I thought Will Kemp handled the physical comedy aspects of this movie quite well. That was one of the highlights for me as I've always seen him in more serious roles. I thought he was charming and funny at times. Although I didn't like the accent I thought he did a relatively good job with the American accent. I did hear a few slip ups but nevertheless it was ok.
Stand-outs or questions
Humour - The funniest line in this movie came during the shop lifting chase when Anji needed a distraction and yelled "Look the King!" I laughed pretty hard with that one. I do think that the comedic elements of this movie were quite well done. The chase seen was well done by both Will Kemp and Reshma Shetty. The physical comedy...well done.
Set design - London is by far one of my favourite places in Europe but I have never seen it at Christmas. It looked spectacular and I am wanting to go back now over Christmas...especially if that is what I will see.
Personal Shopper - I do have to say that I'm not sure why David participated in the shopping with the personal shopper. Isn't the idea of a personal shopper to have someone else go buy the present for you? Yes I know that the whole idea is based on them getting to know each other while shopping but I certainly hope that Anji gave David a serious discount in her shopping prices seeing as he did the same amount of shopping as her.
FInal Thoughts
This was an ok movie that seemed slow at times for me. I was distracted alot by the fake accent of the lead character and will probably watch this one again later in the season to see if my opinion changes a bit.
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