User reviews

My wife and I have not seen every made-for-TV Hallmark movie, but we have seen several dozen. I can't remember a better Hallmark movie than A Bride for Christmas.

This movie has a lot of strengths. It has lead characters Jessie (played by Arielle Kebbel) and Aiden (Andrew Walker) who are unusually attractive and likable. Indeed, Andrew Walker has a striking resemblance to a young Tom Cruise. The acting by Kebbel and Walker, and by all the supporting actors, is excellent. The dialog is reasonably realistic. The camera work is quite good and adds interest. The musical score is also very good, effectively enhancing some of the scenes.

The plot is predictable (as in all Hallmark movies) and we've seen certain plot elements before in several well known rom-coms (The Runaway Bride, 10 Ways to Lose Your Lover). But given those drawbacks,the movie does an excellent job of telling its story. The inevitable "change of heart" on the part of Jessie and Aiden proceeds at a slow and realistic pace and the actors convince us that there is romantic chemistry between the two lead characters. The lead and supporting characters all behave in realistic and believable ways.

While watching A Bride for Christmas, my wife and I repeatedly said to each other "This movie is good!" We thoroughly enjoyed it and will watch it again.

Jessie (Arielle Kebbel) is about to tie the knot with her third fiancé. She is in a white gown and guests are waiting for her grand entrance. But, as Princess Vespa, she goes right past the alter and out of the ceremony. Nobody is pleased. Certainly not her fiancé Mike, who proposed on a Jumbotron. Nor is her sister and business partner Victoria or Jessie's grandkids minded parents. But, it was the right choice, as Jessie realizes it wasn't true love. From now on, she tells herself, she will concentrate on her job and her volunteer work at an animal shelter. Meanwhile, Aiden (Andrew K. Walker) is having a card game with three of his male, married friends. As the only bachelor present and seemingly confirmed, he takes on a bet from the others. It involves getting a woman to say "yes" to his proposal before Christmas Day. So, guess what? The first lovely lady that Aiden casts a serious eye on is Jessie, at an art gallery. Victoria tries to get her sis to make a connection with the really cute man but, naturally, Jessie remembers what her present agenda is. Thus, the only exchange made between the two singles is Jessie's biz card, presented to Aiden. Since she is an interior decorator, the betting man hires the dog lover to re-do his condo. Since this requires many an hour of discussion at the bachelor pad, some of Jessie's reluctance vanishes. But, since Mike is still trying to win Jessie back and there is always the possibility that Jessie will find out about "the wager", will there be a future for J and A? You bet! This lovely Holiday movie is just a slam dunk for romcom fans. It features an attractive cast, a beautiful setting (San Francisco), knockout costumes, a sweet, funny script, and a zestful direction. Yes, some of the elements are "borrowed" but no one will be blue after a view. For future sighs and smiles, get Bride for Christmas somewhere, somehow.

Nobody should watch Hallmark films with massively high expectations, their Christmas output particularly. If a Hallmark fan or wanting to see as many Christmas films as possible, expectations would understandably be higher. They are very formulaic with most of them being more of the same narratively and structurally, apart from sporadic attempts at changes of pace. There are a fair share of them though that are surprisingly above average and even good amidst the many average and less ones.

'Bride for Christmas' from 2012 is one of those surprisingly above average Hallmark efforts. Was expecting it to be too simplistic and predictable, with the rather generic title not showing much promise. Although it is a long way from a Christmas classic or perfect, 'Bride for Christmas' is a example of not judging a film by its title and to watch with an open mind and know what to expect. As far as Hallmark Christmas/wedding films go, this fares quite favourably.

There are more good things than not so good things, but there are a few drawbacks and am going to mention those first. The film did feel rushed at times, with some events jumping about a bit too much with not enough time to breathe. This is especially true of the development of the central relationship and conflict, which moves too unrealistically fast.

Predictability is expected in a Hallmark film, and there are not that many surprises in 'Bride for Christmas', especially in the final act which is pretty much exactly how it maps out in many other efforts of theirs. Some of the music could have been used less and been less loud.

However there are so many good things in 'Bride for Christmas'. It is visually pleasing and has a professional look. The appropriately festive locations especially. Enough of the soundtrack is nostalgic and pleasant enough. The direction is accommodating while not going through the motions. The film is also very enlivened by the two leads, which was a relief after struggling through 'Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas' recently which had poor lead performances and even poorer chemistry. Arielle Kebbel (in one of her better Hallmark outings) and Andrew Walker are very engaging in their roles and their chemistry is genuinely charming.

Kimberly Sustad sparkles in her supporting role and Peter Benson is a lot of fun without being annoying. The chemistry between the whole cast, all on solid form, is never disconnected. Moeover, the dialogue is tighter and less stilted than a lot of Hallmark Christmas films and the cheese and sentiment isn't as much. There are a lot of funny moments and other parts genuinely touched. The story is very predictable admittedly, but it still engaged me and was charming and heart-warming while not taking itself too seriously. Did appreciate too that there was more to usual. The characters may be cliched, but they came over to me as likeable enough and any negative character traits didn't come over as over the top like can be the case in Hallmark Christmas films. Actually cared for these characters, not the case with a lot of recently seen Christmas films.

Overall, nice film. 7/10

That was a bet I wouldn't regret either. I've seen Mr. and Mrs. Charming (Andrew Walker & Arielle Kebber) in other Hallmark movies and they make a cute couple in this one. I would watch this one again. Mainly because I missed what happened during the poker game. This is a solid 7 star movie IMHO!

This romantic holiday flick stars Arielle Kebbel (Midnight Texas) and Andrew W. Walker (numerous Christmas films) as the love interests Jessie and Aiden.

Jessie has been engaged three times and just about given up on love and all that it entails. Aiden is the static bachelor whose friends make a bet with him that he can't be engaged by Christmas only four weeks away.

Lead character meet and banter, eventually get to know one another and fall in love. Then Jessie learns of the bet.. Will it be happily ever after or a lonely new year's eve & Christmas for the duo?

Cute movie, worth a watch!

My goodness. As I am writing, this movie has a 5.8 rating. How anybody could choose to watch a movie called A Bride For Christmas and come away disappointed with this movie is completely lost on me. I mean, what were they expecting? Were they perhaps caught off guard when there was a wedding/Christmas theme? I was expecting a bride, and Arielle Kebbel was a really, really good one. She so reminds me of watching Katherine Heigl in little movies like this one she used to make not too many years ago. She is adorable here, which is what I was expecting in a movie where "Bride" is prominent in the title. I was expecting a wedding and I was expecting Christmas. Past that I was hoping for a well written script. This one is sweet, thoughtful and pretty clever considering it sticks to familiar story lines. What it comes down to is whether you want to watch a well made movie about A Bride For Christmas or you want to watch something else. When I sat down for this movie, I was expecting they'd show me a sweet movie about a cute bride at Christmas. Given those parameters, this Christmas movie highly exceeded my expectations.

I've been binging on Hallmark movies this Xmas week. I know many use the ole formula. I look for best rated, good chemistry and stories that sound to be most interesting dare I say 'different' i.e. story lines, locations. We all agree that from the starting gate we know this is Runaway bride run amuck. Super damaged goods. Then, Aiden makes a crazy, horrid bet. I mean, he's going to prank an innocent young woman with a false marriage proposal. OK...we suspend disbelief that he could be so cruel, especially when he's matched with Jessie who has herself basically done this to three guys. Did I mention that Jessie is drop dead gorgeous! Sort of a Jessica Alba clone, I think.

Since I know how all Hallmark movies end I am taking a break, with about 15 mintues to go on this one. I had to stop when the idiot screen writers commit the same 'crime' I've seen too often. In K-dramas they use an easy tool. The screen goes dark and voila, signage on the screen says ONE YEAR LATER! I'm not listing any of this as 'spoiler' because it is basically not possible to spoil such Hallmark movies. We know from scene one, 100% that the two will wind up together. Therein is the HUGE plot hole. This and similar Hallmark movies show a proposal and no engagement or no period of engagement. Totally insufficient time to know one another. I mean propose after weeks of 'non-dating', one kiss, and voila, time to buy the wedding dress and plan the wedding. Please, Hallmark, use the fade, then ONE YEAR LATER or even SIX MONTHS LATER before we see a wedding dress, wedding plans or an actual wedding. This might give them time to actually 'date.' In this and other Hallmark movies the eliminate all dating going instead from one kiss to marriage. Totally unnecessary if done right.

Why does Hallmark make 30 new Christmas movies a year? It is because Great Movies like this led the way. The movie has a great cast (Arielle Kebbel and Andrew Walker in the leads), it is very funny, and it has it's touching moments. Kimberly Sustad played a great supporting role as the sister (she starred in Nine Lives of Christmas) and Peter Benson made for some of the funniest moments (he plays the detective in Aurora Teagarten). I recognized the dad (Eric Keenleyside) from roles in many of the Hallmark movies. The cast looked like a current day Hallmark movie with everyone 6 years younger. Sage Brocklebrand was also in the movie (he played McNabb in Psych).

A BRIDE FOR Christmas is a well-made Hallmark TV movie that debuted in December of 2012. Its leads, Andrew Walker and Arielle Kebbel, are two fine, handsome young actors. The story has some good jokes, fine pictures and some good supporting actors -- particularly by Duffy, a handsome and energetic dog. Yet at its heart is a creepy, stalker plot that made me shake my head.

Mr. Walker is a successful man whose friends are all married. He alone remains committed to a life of casual relationships, but agrees to a bet that he can get a woman to accept his proposal by Christmas. He chooses Ms. Kebbel, a woman who has walked out on three fiancés, including one at the altar, as his subject. Then he stalks her.

Along the way they fall in love in a charming fashion, but that initial set-up, in which he proposes to make a girl fall in love with him with no thought of the consequences is disquieting. Romantic comedies have a long tradition of such attitudes from the way Jimmy Stewart treats Margaret Sullavan in THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER to just about every Rock Hudson-Doris Day movie. In this movie careful writing deals with the issues I felt but do not quite dispose of them. I wound up enjoying it but not awarding it the superior rating I would have without that issue.

What a wonderful and pleasant surprise! My daughter and I watched this movie on and we both loved it - we taped it and left it on so I could watch it again. Jessie reminded me of Jennifer Lawrence - she was that good - all of the actors could transfer easily over to the "big screen"! I never saw any of them before in anything but will make a point to follow their career from now on - It was like an old Doris Day/Cary Grant movie... Loved... Loved... Loved it! I'm trying to find where Jessie got the dress that she wore to the art gallery :-) Any ideas on who made some of her clothes would be greatly appreciated... wanted to see much more- any chance a sequel is in the works?

Having already called off two previous engagements to other men, an attractive woman by the name of "Jessie Patterson" (Arielle Kebbel) disappoints yet another man when she bolts from the church right before the wedding service. Although somewhat heartbroken, her latest fiancé named "Mike" (Sage Brocklebank) remains convinced that he can still win Jessie's heart and continues to pressure her into marrying him. Meanwhile, another young man named "Aiden MacTiernan" (Andrew W. Walker) has just been pressured by his friends into making a bet that he can find a woman to marry him by Christmas. Naturally, since he isn't the marrying type, he has no plans of actually following through. Be that as it may, realizing that he is quite charming in his own right, one of his betting friends named "Matt Harper" (Peter Benson) convinces him to target one specific woman who, known only to him, has sworn off men for all time--Jessie Patterson. But what Matt doesn't realize, however, is that the more Aiden and Jessie see each other, the more they become actually attracted to one another--and this creates a problem for everyone else involved. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film was much better than I initially expected due in large part to the acting of both Arielle Kebbel and Andrew W. Walker. Likewise, I also enjoyed the overall plot as well. Having said that, I consider this to be one of the better Christmas rom-coms out there and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

The synopsis of A Bride for Christmas hardly seems like it'll be full of holiday cheer: a man bets his friends that he can get any woman to marry him, so he woos an unsuspecting victim who's seen her fair share of heartache. However, this Hallmark special takes place during Christmas, so technically it's fit for December.

As Hallmarks go, this one isn't my favorite, but I was entertained when I watched it on television. If you like the pairing of Arielle Kebbel and Andrew Walker, you can see them again in the non-Christmas Hallmark movie (yes, they make those) Bridal Wave. For me, the story was just a tad too depressing for Christmastime. It's nice to see dramas on Hallmark, but if you've just had your heart broken, you probably won't like the premise of this one, especially because it's supposed to be on the lighter side.

Yes, the plot has more holes in it than a piece of Swiss cheese. Yes, the concept isn't original. Yes, it's highly improbable. But, it's also fun and a nice dose of Christmas feel good, which is all you really want from a Hallmark Christmas movie. On that basis, it's a hit - Andrew Walker and Arielle Kebbel are fantastic together as Aiden and Jesse, who both have their own commitment and relationship issues. Their chemistry is about as good as you'll find in a Hallmark film, and despite the obvious plot-related issues with the script, it is free of the worst of the awkward, stilted lines that sometimes appear in these films. I enjoyed the San Francisco setting (sometimes, it's nice to not see a town snowed under) thought Kimberly Sustad was great as Jessie's sister (was that possibly the first gay character in a Hallmark movie, way back in 2012?) and the ending was satisfying. All you want is to finish these movies with a smile on your face, and that happened with this one.

I saw this movie earlier today. The movie is unrealistic because normally, a woman doesn't "Just accept the guy after finding out he accepted a bet with a few co-workers" after he tells her he's in love with her. Something similar happened to me in highschool, but in a different context. Women in reality aren't that submissive when they've been through a few bad relationships unless they're blind and stupid (Three stupid women out of ten with an education.)

Arielle Kebbel is cute in the movie, but again, the movie is unrealistic. To say that someone gets married three weeks after the day you meet someone is as unrealistic as getting married in Las Vegas while going through a drive-through, and is as disgraceful as Britney spears getting married for fifteen hours.

In an utterly unbelievable bet, friends bet a "player" based on whether he can get any particular single girl to accept a marriage proposal.

He manages to pick a girl who has a recently broken engagement--she fled from the church aisle right out the side door--so it's a tough assignment but he takes it on anyway.

In many of these movies, the scenes to build chemistry between the romantic leads are lacking, but in "A Bride for Christmas" they work for me--as she takes on decorating his apartment. Of course, he's also in line for a major promotion at work.

The crisis arrives when she finds out about the bet ...

With a character obviously based upon the Runaway Bride, and a lead guy based on several old comedies as well, this movie really doesn't have much to do with Christmas. It's a backdrop, but the movie could have just as well been told as Arbor Day Bride, Memorial Day Bride, or Columbus Day Bride. Hallmark put out several Christmas-themed movies this year, and most of them pretty good. This one is not.

The girl has already broken off three engagements, and the guy agrees to a stupid bet about getting a woman to say yes to a phony proposal. Are these the kind of people to settle down to watch with a hot chocolate and /or cuddle up with a loved one with a fire in the fireplace? They're stupid and selfish at best. At worst--well, better not to go there.

Everything is predictable: just a brief excerpt list of stuff you've seen in this sort of movie 100 times before: battle of the sexes, hidden agendas, emotions in spite of themselves, family and friends that wants them together in spite of what they've done, etc etc etc. The movie tries to make these elements cute, but doesn't succeed. While most of the cast are likable people and good actors, the tired story line just doesn't offer any Christmas cheer. If you're in the mood for a Christmas movie, switch channels to an old Christmas cartoon movie while this is on.

This movie made me a fan of Andrew Walker! Love all of the Hallmark movies he has been in.