Sugar Plum Twist

The romance was as lame as can be but I loved the message and the character arcs. From the beginning Miss Kat the head of the ballet company was a very unsympathetic character. Cold, Rigid, harsh and snooty. Maybe a little bit bigoted. I loved the way she turned around. The actress did a superb job. We hear a little back story of why she blew up at our heroine Natalia. And when she sees that Natalia was not being disloyal with all of the hard work and professionalism , she apologizes sincerely and promotes her. And then she makes the finale perfect with her own initiative reflecting Natalia's vision and dreams. The good ending, interesting plot, beautiful dance, seldom seen Latino culture well presented rescued this one which did get a little draggy at times.

"Is Miss Kat actually smiling? It's a Christmas Miracle!"

This was ok. Hallmark still trying to pull in viewers by being more diverse in storyline and performers used.

Can't complain about that, but I feel the writing and storylines just aren't as strong as they used to be overall.

That comes with new staff and writers, so can't be helped.

Saw that someone said Hallmark used to show movies based on good clean fun.

What about this wasn't good clean fun?

Just because it wasn't your culture or race it was horrible?

It wasn't mine either, but that doesn't make it horrible or bad or "not good clean fun."

Overall this was an ok Holiday movie.

As always based on wishes, hard work, good people and romance.

I hope the writing and storylines get better, I can be patient.

Keep working at it Hallmark.

Don't worry so much about being PC.

Just make it about life in the world as it is today, but don't forget about the dreams and romance.

People went to Hallmark for the that and Prince Charmings. That should still be that core of your movies. Don't forget to focus on that.

I watched this movie and when I heard Richmond, I was hoping they were talking about Richmond VA. Nothing I saw in the movie or heard in the movie told me it was Richmond, VA. The only thing that came close was when they said the dance studio was on Grace St. There is a Grace St. In Richmond and they do have store fronts that could house a dance studio like this one. Also, there is a ballet company in Richmond that presents the Nutcracker each year. But neither of these look anything like what is in the movie.

This was just another love story. And Hallmark is advertising they have a radio station now. Whoppee, opportunity to hear more or their cheesy music. The karaoke scene showed that a good singer can even make a bad song sound better.

Now that I have panned this movie, the good part was the diversity of this film. I loved the latin music and dancing. That is the reason I gave it 8 stars.

I enjoyed this Latin twist on the boring Balanchine nutcracker...don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Tchaikovsky and disagree with those classical snobs who think his work is too Plebeian! (Check out his piano concertos...they are amazing.)

I love Latin dancing and I enjoyed its incorporation in a Hallmark holiday film.

The acting was great, the music good...I think they could have used a bigger budget for the costumes...but otherwise was happy.

Lately Hallmark has often been accused of going woke. For many, this movie will be another example of that. I prefer to look at their recent lineups of movies as having some that educate about and celebrate different ethnic cultures that are all around many of us. It is interesting, however, that this story is set in Richmond, VA where the Hispanic population is a fairly small percentage.

This movie explores two things related to cultural diversity. One issue is the difficulties some minority performers face in classic performing arts. Another is the question of including new cultural ideas into these traditional cultural activities,

We have Ms. Kat who stands for all the traditional or classic norms in a big-time ballet production company, especially as it regards a production of the Nutcracker. And then there are Natalia and Vivi. They represent minority performers in a world many assume doesn't give minorities enough opportunity to shine.

And it goes deeper. Passion is always important in Hallmark and other similar TV movies. Natalia tells Vivi that her performances must have passion. And to be truly fair to the performer, she needs the opportunity to explore her own cultural background in her performances. So, Natalia choreographs the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in a Latin style similar to Salsa. Her objective is to give Vivi something to put in her performance reels.

This movie also explores where does an iconic performer (or sports hero) go when their body is no longer fit for the actual performance?

And we have two simultaneous romances. Both are secondary plot threads.

There is plenty of sappiness and a little melodrama. And lots of dancing.

The acting was good across the board. The dancing looked good to me, both classic and Latin. The result is an upbeat movie that also explores cultural issues.