... Con amore Babbo Natale

If you have seen your fair share of Hallmark Christmas films, it would be safe to say that you are very likely to know what to expect generally, especially regarding the fairly samey stories, and one shouldn't expect any more. Have seen my fair share myself and have always watched them with mixed expectations. That are either met and even exceeded, or the film completely misses the mark and does little with any potential.

'With Love, Christmas' was actually, seeing as the premise didn't overly excite me but sounded cute enough, more or less what was expected. Not a bad film with things that are done well and there is nothing offensively bad about it. Also not a particularly great one either with quite a lot of the common flaws in Hallmark's Christmas films evident. If anything, 'With Love, Christmas' left me feeling rather mixed as an overall whole.

Shall begin with 'With Love, Christmas' good things. The production values are very pleasing to look at, nice use of locations slickly shot. The music captures the Christmas feel very well and is not near as over-scored or intrusive as too many of a lot of Hallmark films. There is a light-hearted charm in enough places.

Emilie Ullerup is a very engaging female lead and easy to like, which is not always said for actresses playing similar characters in Hallmark Christmas films. The supporting cast also do well with what they have, with Rebecca Davis being a scene stealer.

Aaron O'Connell on the other hand came over to me as rather stiff and not fully connected with his character, even for a character meant to be uptight. He and Ullerup didn't seem to have much chemistry together and what little there was felt cold and forced in a relationship that never felt fully developed. Excepting Melanie, the characters don't have enough to them to make me invest properly in them and development-wise they are sketchy. They did try with Donovan as well, but his type of character has been done in Hallmark Christmas films so many times and with very little different here.

The script is often excessive on the cheese and is over-sentimental in others, some of it doesn't sound natural either. The story has its moments, but generally there is far too little of it and what there is is very standard, formulaic Hallmark and feels rather stale and contrived. There is a light-hearted charm here, but the cheese and schmaltz go into overload and it never properly connected with me emotionally. The music could have been used less and could have had a quieter tone.

In summary, not bad but not great. 5/10

Like many Hallmark movies, the background music is non-stop and too loud. Sometimes even drowns out the dialogs. And, it just keeps going at the most inappropriate times. Remember, silence can golden. Fun show, typical holiday movie from Hallmark. We enjoyed Emilie Ullerup in the lead. Would like to see more of her.

I really liked the main character. She was flawless. Of course we have the little kid who is around too much. Only turn off that should have been real was that fake cotton snowball snowman outside. Get a real one! Loved the cat too. Enjoying most of the new Hallmark movies this season and am also enjoying many of the old ones. Oh yeah, do all blondes have dyed blonde hair with dark brown roots these days?

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 ( C H R I S T M A S ) MOVIES AND SPECIALS.

PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

Someone keeps reporting my reviews. I guess they are jealous because I do tell the truth. I want to point out that I never make snide remarks about actors weight or real life sexual orientation. If there acting is terrible or limited "I talk about that". If a story is bad "I will mention that" So why am I being "picked on"? IMDB will not even tell me what someone found offensive. Well on to the review :

When the office assignments are distributed for Secret Santa, Melanie is excited that she was given her crush, Donovan. Donovan however doesn't celebrate Christmas. He is not close to his family and so Christmas to him is just another day. He is not a Scrooge. However he doesn't understand what the big deal is.

Melanie however is now his secret Santa. She wants to find a perfect gift. After she finds she herself working side by side with him her feelings for him continue to grow. His eyes and heart also begin to grow.

Now my gripe with this film is that "A Christmas Campaign" kicks off way before "Christmas". Here this project kicks off 2 days before. Also I think Donovan however has been working for years at his job. He would have known how big of a deal his office made about Christmas.

Now it seems to me Hallmark loves casting AARON O'CONNELL as a stuffy business man. I think he is capable of doing more. I hope Hallmark cast him again and let him have a "Fun Role".

In all this film is enjoyable. Above Average

Cute idea. This was an unashamed ripoff of You've Got Mail right down to at least one crucial line. Melanie is a woman who has trouble saying no, but she also loves Christmas like no one else. Donovan is a pretty stiff guy who has absolutely no love for Christmas.

I love Emilie Ullerup, as Melanie. She is so upbeat and has a megawatt smile. For me, she was what made this movie enjoyable. Aaron O'Connell, as Donovan, does stiff and business like so well that he never really lightened up or connected. He talked about having a new attitude about Christmas, but he still came off as stiff. I also liked Melanie's friends and family.

I was generous with my rating because I did mostly enjoy the movie.