Overrated and overhyped

Disturbing yet enthralling

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Review Date 4/4/2018I Have Reviewed OVER 400 Christmas MOVIES. On all Christmas movies BEWARE OF FAKE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. Many reviewers have only have ONE REVIEW. When it's a POSITIVE REVIEW chances are that the reviewer was involved with the production. If its a negative review then they may have a huge grudge against the film for whatever reason. I am fare about these films.I review them is to keep track of what "I have seen".Noelle Dunn, has dreams of leaving her small town (Echoes of It's a Wonderful Life) and working in the big city. As of now she is an efficiency director at the local factory that makes Christmas ornaments. However no Christmas movie will ever semm complete without a love story and this is no different. As the film starts a new man moves into the smalltown. He and Noelle hit it off well and trouble looms for the new couple as the factory make be in trouble. I hate to say this but Monica Keena is miscast in this. She doesn't come off well. She seems to not convince me that she understand some of her dialog. She also seems like a "Puffy Mess". She is severely miscast here!

Forest City is a Christmas company town depending on the Aikens Christmas decoration factory. Judith 'Noelle' Dunn (Monica Keena) is a MBA student back in town to write her thesis on the efficiency of the plant. An accident with a giant snowman lands her with drifter Justin Allen. Justin gets a job in the factory. Noelle discovers that the late founder had been discretely covering the losses and his granddaughter Ashley Aikens arrives to determine the future of the plant. Justin keeps meeting secretly with Ashley and hiding a secret.This is trying to be cute but it's actually a bit annoying. This is a lower level Lifetime movie. I really love bubbly Monica Keena when she was younger but she's not growing into a mature actor well. The romantic chemistry is really problematic. The guy is a stiff and he keeps going off which leaves Noelle as a jealous mess. Jealousy and plant closing don't strike me as Christmas material. It makes her character unlikeable. I don't expect much from movies like these and this one delivers even less.

Noelle (Monica Keena) is going back to her hometown to do a business study about the local Christmas ornament factory. It's near the holidays and the plant's owner, who died recently, was discovered to have been supplementing the factory with his own income to keep it afloat. Business whiz Noelle is keen to find a way to save it, for her mother and many other residents and area small business operators depend on its existence. As Noelle is blowing up a large company balloon, it breaks free and causes a male driver, Justin (Tobias Mehler) to lose control of his car, inflicting minor damage. Noelle is apologetic, especially since Justin is young, handsome, and coming to work at the factory as a seasonal employee. The gentleman also likes what he sees in Noelle and they begin to "step out" together. But, there are complications. First, the factory really is in the red and there seems to be no way out, other than moving it overseas. Then, too, the locals learn that superstore, Global Mart, will be coming to town, driving several small businesses to their demises. Lastly, Justin seems very smitten with Noelle, at times, but she often glimpses him in close conversation with the former owner's pretty granddaughter, Ashley, who has also come to town to make decisions about the company's future. How will this all turn out? Here is a winning film for the holidays or any other time of the year. It is funny, clever, sweet, and just perfect for an evening of nice entertainment for romcom fans, even ones in their teens. The two principal stars, Keena and Mehler are very winning and so is the rest of the supporting cast. The lovely town setting is also a fine asset, while the costumes, script, and direction are more than adequate. The film, in fact, resembles this year's New in Town, in quite a few ways, and that statement alone is strong praise. Do you love "getting in the mood" around holiday time, by watching a few worthy Christmas films? Include this one, then, in your schedule, as it most likely will be all you ever wanted in a seasonal flick.

A note to all of you budding film writers: Study this film. If your dialog reads like the dialog in this film, please shred your script and try again.I didn't have high expectations, but was intrigued by the description indicating there was a mystery at the Christmas Ornament Factory. The Mystery is resolved very early and the film becomes a straight romance. I almost stopped watching it at 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and at the first break. My spouse , who is the Hallmark & Lifetime fan, gave up at the first break. Forest River is a company town - the main business is Aikens Ornaments, who make all manner of holiday decorations.The patriarch of the company has recently passed away, so the companies future might be in question. We soon meet Noelle, who would rather be on Wall Street than Main Street, and the mysterious Justin, who gets a date with Noelle after a large snowman she is inflating crashes into Justins car. Once we meet Alison Aikens, doing due diligence for the Board, we have our story setup.If you can't nail all the story arcs by the first commercial break, you haven't seen enough of this kind of Holiday film. Maybe that's a good thing.