Meet Me at Christmas

I would describe this as a classic Hallmark Christmas movie: a nice and enjoyable romantic story, a decent script, good acting, and plenty of Christmas spirit and festive cheer. This is my 14th Hallmark Christmas movie this 2020 season. Lucky me ;-). Again, it was a nice concept for a love story, predictable, but nice. Though I did lose interest a couple of times early on, the movie eventually pulled me in and engaged me. The acting was strong. Both leads are Hallmark regulars and good actors. I am a fan of The Good Witch, so I naturally like Catherine Bell; she performed well here too. Mark Deklin also had a strong performance. The chemistry between the two was just about right for this movie, I think. The supporting cast was excellent, especially the son and niece. Overall, it is an enjoyably film that provides some holiday warmth and spirit. Fans of Hallmark should enjoy.

I like Catherine Bell, but I don't think that Mark Deklin is right for her in this film, she was a much better pairing with Eric Close in "Christmas In The Air".

The general concept of finding a childhood love again, that the story is based on, has been explored many times in films of this genre and it's not a bad try here.

I like the wedding prep build up, but it does kind of take over the Christmas side of things, which is what I really tune in for.

I'm starting to think that Hallmark are reaching a bit with their stories and having seen so many of them, I can definitely say that they are getting very repetitive. It's time to change the format a bit, mix up the story and maybe not everyone has to be happy in the end? Only some of them are currently being done well. I think this one is a good example, but I'm afraid Mark isn't quite the hotty I have become accustomed to.

Good witch star, Catherine Bell, meets GCB star, Mark Deklin, as a teen at a Christmas resort. In classic Love Affair/Affair To Remember style they agree to meet at the tree for the tree lighting ceremony and one of them doesn't show up...fast forward to meeting again at her son's wedding to his niece. The two must pull together and put together the wedding of his nieces dreams when the wedding coordinator quits for a celebrity elopement and her parents flight is delayed...and all of this takes place at the original site of their first meeting. Nice slow build love story with beautiful Christmas backdrop(kudos to the prop workers and set designers!). Also Catherine Bell and Mark Deklin were really very sweet together...another feel good Hallmark classic!

If you have seen your fair share of Hallmark Christmas films, like me as a big fan of the holiday, it would be safe to say that you are very likely to know what to expect and one shouldn't expect any more. Have always watched the Hallmark Christmas films, which have been many over the past few years and especially at the end of last year, with mixed expectations. That are either met and even exceeded, or the film completely misses the mark and does little with any potential.

'Meet Me at Christmas' was more or less what was expected. It didn't exceed expectations, but it is a long way from a waste of potential. Instead it sounded like potentially it would be a pleasant enough diversion with a number of good things and a few big drawbacks, and 'Meet Me at Christmas' turned out to be pretty much exactly that. Not one of Hallmark's best by any stretch but also a long way from their worst as well. 2020 was inconsistent for Hallmark, this is somewhere in the middle.

There are many good things here. The production values are very pleasing to look at, nice use of locations slickly shot. The music generally captures the Christmas feel very well and is not near as over-scored or intrusive as too many of a lot of Hallmark films. The script could have been tighter, but mostly flows nicely and has a light-hearted and sweet tone without being too sugary sweet. It's sympathetically directed without being routine.

While the story is a long way from perfect, it charms and warms the heart and doesn't get too heavy. While having issues with her character initially, Catherine Bell is understated, demure and heartfelt without being too low key. She is matched well by a sympathetic and subtly easy going Mark Deklin and they have a natural chemistry together. The supporting cast do very well and the film generally has characters worth caring for. The ending isn't as rushed or as too neat as those in other Hallmark Christmas films.

As said though, the story for 'Meet Me at Christmas' isn't perfect. There is a bit of an over-reliance on flashbacks and it bogs the momentum down a bit at times, did feel too that some of the writing rambled a little in these scenes (hence what was meant by the script lacking tightness) and the lack of physical resemblance distracted somewhat.

Did feel too that it took too much time to get going story and pace wise. Also Bell's character was not easy to warm to at first, her stubborn-ness was overdone and frustrated. While the music is generally fine, maybe it could have been used a little less and been more varied.

Overall, above average with many good things but some of the pacing and the character writing of one crucial character let the side down. 6/10.

My initial impression was the similarity with Maggie's Christmas Miracle. This movie uses flashbacks several times to fill in backstory of Joan's history especially related to Beau. It's not a common premise and despite the similarity there are definite differences to the afore mentioned movie. We wait to almost the end of the movie for the revelation of the mystery that has been hanging over the whole movie. It is not something predictable. The ending is touching.

Catherine Bell and Mark Bellemy had chemistry but Joan kept damping it with a combination of ghosts and wanting to preserve Liam's memories. Then all of a sudden, without enough transition, Joan lets herself fall into the spirit of the relationship.

There are things that are blown out of proportion for the purpose of advancing the story. It doesn't flow naturally, or to put it differently, too much of it is contrived. Love at first sight is the holy grail of this kind of movie. That theme is treated in an interesting way in this movie. It is definitely unusual and in that sense sets this movie apart. However it didn't sit right with me.

If you expect realism in this kind of movie, you're watching the wrong kind of movie, but the crisis that threatens the ceremony and its solution stretch the envelope too much for my taste.

As I've mentioned more than once, there are some interesting and unusual things in this movie. I think the acting and production are done well. The fact that I didn't care for how the story developed doesn't mean that others will feel the same.