Christmas for Keeps

I love Hallmark movies but this just average at best. I didn't really buy the life long connection between the 5 high school drama students, only one of whom actually tried to continue that experience as a career. The relationships all seemed forced (I found the chants of "Noah, Noah" and the peer pressure of him really irritating) and all 5 of the old classmates had multiple conflicts and issues that really couldn't be adequately explored and resolved in one TV movie that was supposedly about the passing of a beloved high school teacher.

Although the stay at home dad married to a doctor subplot was an interesting change of pace, I'm tired of the "I can make a career out of baking cookies in my home kitchen" trope. And Noah couldn't go sledding with his busy wife and their kids because he had to help Mia sell his cookies at a Toy Drive? Seriously? It's not like he was in the back of a bakery trying to churn out more cookies for an unexpectedly high demand. He was at a table selling pre-made cookies at a Toy Drive that Mia could have handled without any help. Go spend time with your wife who's apparently never around.

Christa Allen, who plays Avery, was recently in the news for turning 30 after once playing the 13 year old in 13 Going On 30. She does what she can with the role of a daughter of an overbearing mother (way over the top) and the love interest of a morose and unpleasant character named Ben (we get it, losing parents sucks; welcome to the club everyone joins and one that's featured in virtually every Hallmark movie). But, without spoiling anything, the solution of the geographical challenges facing their relationship was out of the blue and unrealistic, as was the manufactured tension between Ben and Noah.

And why did it seem that these were the only 5 former students of the beloved Mr. Massey (all from the same class) who cared enough to show up for him?

For me, the best Hallmark movies of 2021 were An Unexpected Christmas, A Dickens of a Christmas, My Christmas Family Tree, Next Stop Christmas and Every Time A Bell Rings.

I love 98 % of Hallmark and have watch at least twice and this one without a doubt is the worst one of all time.

The characters are all unbelievably irritating especially Avery's mother who has got to be the worst helicopter parent ever. Of course Avery with her fixed face.is impossible to believe is an adult. Who would let their mother constantly infringe on their life as Avery does? Move out Avery and take your father with you!

Doctor Sarah is so unbelievable and naïve. What doctor would work 2 extra shifts after being conned by her co-workers. Geeze what an idiot.

Mia, what be said about her. She blames the world for her failures and is arrogant while doing such.

I like Hallmark but this group is the most offensive group of millennials of all time.

I'm not going to say how corny and stilted the lines are but you eat popcorn while looking through the second floor window

Avoid.

I struggled a bit with assessing and reviewing a 'Christmas for Keeps'. On the one hand, I liked the friends' group concept, especially the individual storylines (and backstories) for each friend and how these intertwined together (with their past). On the other hand, I did not connect with some of the individual characters and their stories as much as I would have liked. Put differently, aspects of the story did not engage me, pull me in, unfortunately. That said, 'Christmas for Keeps' is still an entertaining movie that highlights friendships and the positive impact teachers can have on their students (the student-teacher bond) in a warm and heartfelt manner. The story follows a group of close, high school friends - Avery (played by Christa Allen), Sarah (played by Ashley Newbrough), Mia (played by Marielle Scott), Noah (played by Cardi Wong), and Ben (played by Ryan Rottman) - as they return home at Christmas to celebrate the life of their favorite high school (drama) teacher, Mr. Massey (played by Everick Golding), who recently passed away. However, getting the gang to spend time together this Christmas is not going to be easy, as each one of them is busy with jobs, kids, and much more. As I alluded to above, the writer does a good job of intertwining the friends' individual stories (i.e., the struggles they face in their personal lives) into a coherent narrative. The beauty of the movie lies in the love, support, understanding, and encouragement the friends give each other in their time of need. I also enjoyed the individual flashbacks where we learn how Mr. Massey impacted their lives and how this influence helps them reconnect and strengthen their friendship. Moreover, the individual stories are quite diverse so that most viewers can find a bit of themselves in the characters. Of course, there is some romance in the movie as well, a sweet friends-to-lovers storyline with some heartwarming scenes between Avery and Ben. The acting, overall, is pretty good. Both Allen and Rottman have strong performances. The chemistry between the two is great (it is convincing). They have a couple of touching scenes together, which are lovely to watch on-screen. Wong especially has a brilliant performance as Noah, the stay-at-home dad with unfulfilled career goals and a passion for baking. Out of all the friends, I found his performance the easiest to engage with; it pulled me in from the start. Finally, the movie has all your classic Hallmark Christmas elements, from lovely decorations and hometown traditions to Elf and Santa Klaus costumes and much more. All in all, 'Christmas for Keeps' is a sweet, festive, and heart-warming story. It will likely have you wanting to catch up with friends and reminiscing about the good old days.

This movie tries so hard. So hard that it hurt to watch. Unfortunately characters like the mother (played by Janet Kidder) are so overbearing that they irritate and annoy. The constant push for the main characters to fall in love is annoying. The shining stars for their acting abilities sit with Marielle Eisner and Cardi Wong. They are honestly the only ones worth paying attention to.

Slow, boring, not a typical Christmas movie for hallmark. Cardi Wong was the only one who could act. The other main characters were boring and blah. We turned it off bc we just couldn't watch it any longer. The female main lead was physically expressionless in her face, which made her look like, well-nothing. I don't mean to be rude, but the Botox in these young women has to stop.