Sadly Over-hyped

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

This was not what I expected from the title. Actually, I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. This is not your typical Hallmark Christmas movie. The story is different, at least to me.In this movie, there are not all the usual holiday traditions ticked off in the story as in so many of the movies. (Not that I don't like them, I do.) For about 2/3rds of the movie, Krissy Kringle is petty and vindictive and often mean. But then she, and the audience, discovers that all real people are not one dimensional. It does get a little preachy, but it is part of the story.The story is excellent. The production is decent. (The house decorations are spectacular.) And the acting is good. There is some humor. I'm not sure the movie would have been nearly as good without Gabriel Tigerman who adds some humorous spice to the story. The movie probably deserves a higher score than I give it, but I rate on my personal enjoyment and Krissy was too mean for too long in the movie for my taste.

I just wrote an extremely long review of how amazing this movie is and somehow it got erased. While I do love this movie and wish to explain why in thorough detail...again...I will not. I will simply say, that this is by far one of my new favorite Christmas movies and I would recommend it to any and everyone. The cast is completely perfect and the plot is extremely refreshing. This movie has the perfect balance of holiday/message/comedy/intrigue/and sheer enjoyment. I will be keeping it on my DVR for as long as I possibly can. I'd love to actually buy a DVD of it but have no clue when that will be available. Already can't wait until it's back on Hallmark again next year! Go watch it, it's on about 8 or 9 more times until December 29th!

Even though I judge TV movies on a more lenient scale than theatrical movies, I don't know how IMDb gets a weighted average of only 5.9 for this when the arithmetic mean = 7.8, and the median = 8 (after 88 viewer votes). Whatever! This was my most-anticipated, and the best Christmas movie I expect to see, this season. Why was this my most-anticipated movie of the season? Simply because it stars one of my favorite actors, Hilarie Burton (okay, I'll admit it: I think she's hot — she's not only a good actor and nice to look at, but she also has attitude, self-confidence, and a sparkle in her eye), as Krissy Kringle (of Candy Cane Lane, no less…don't worry, it's explained in the movie). And, no, she's not Santa's daughter, as one might expect, if you've watched as many of these Christmas movies as I have. In all my reviews, I have never given the producers due credit, but in my honest opinion, they deserve it here. 1. They got Rickie Castaneda, who gained experience writing three of last year's Christmas movies (two sixes and a seven on a scale of ten, in my opinion) to write a relatively non-formulaic, more-clever-than-usual script, both in structure and lines. 2. They hired Lindsay Chag as casting director, whose list of credits is longer than your arm, and who assembled a wide cast of well-known actors, including for supporting roles; and in a special case of inspiration, got "Alex Keaton's" parents from TV's "Family Ties" to play Krissy's here. 3. Finally, they had David Mackay, a veteran of mostly theatrical films, direct. The result is pitch-perfect performances, with nary a hint of overplay. In short, even though I haven't yet seen all of this year's offerings, this is the one I recommend.

Naughty or Nice features a great cast, entertaining story, and the typical charms that are often evident in Hallmark's excellent Holiday offerings. I especially thought the casting in this one was terrific. I was not familiar with Hilarie Burton's previous work, but she won me over as Krissy Kringle, the oft-put upon main character who accidentally receives Santa's magical "Naughty or Nice" log book in the mail. She uses the book's mystical spying technology to her advantage, finding out what "nice" or "naughty" shenanigans her uppity neighbor (True Blood/Grimm's Jessica Tuck) and her fiancé (Kyle XY's Matt Dallas) as well as other random people in her life are up to. This leads her (as well as her wacky co-worker confidant) into several sticky, and typically hilarious, situations. This is a cute, fun movie that kept me interested for the entire running time. Highly recommended!Another casting tidbit: The parents from 80s sitcom Family Ties - Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter - co-star as Krissy's parents. Fun casting choices like this are what keep me coming back to Hallmark movies time and time again!