This movie starts with a premise that has been done a few times, more or less, but it does it differently. For one thing, it doesn't take the easy way. It does get a little cheesy.
Tiya Sircar is a ball of energy and optimism. Jennifer is larger than life in this story, so much so that she usurps much of the store's management functions.
Joe Dinicol's acting isn't horrible. Casting him is unusual, not bad. It's an interesting risk by the movie makers. Jack Desmond is not the usual hunk leading man. He's quirky and only a character like this could tolerate the interloper in their midst - Jennifer.
Kudos to George Wendt. At first, I almost thought he would turn out to be a "real" Santa, but no, he was just vintage George Wendt.
In my reviews, I often say that the thing I usually watch these movies for is the relationship building and this movie spends a lot of time on the reporter and the store rather than the romance. There was a hint of chemistry between the leads, but it didn't have enough time to blossom.
There's a side story with Rose and Manny, but it seems forced and disconnected from the rest of the movie.
Journalistic integrity is a pet peeve of mine. Even though, it didn't have a huge impact to the story, I was very disappointed in Jennifer's broken promise. She makes the promise and in the very next scene her editor is making her break it.
I have to echo other reviewers that there are some great scenery shots, especially if you like Chicago. There's an echo of nostalgia throughout the film.
Going into the climax, things start to develop like you'd expect. Totally predictable. But then it doesn't unfold exactly like you'd expect. And there is one little surprise. (It's surprising largely because of how ridiculous it is. Oh well.)
Note: there are at least two other excellent reviews here already that put some thoughts I already had into words. If I've borrowed some of those words, it's only because they were so accurate and after reading them they cemented within my own thoughts.
Give this movie time to develop. It will still be a tossup - many people still won't like it and many will. But in a season, starting at the end of October, where together on 5 cable channels you can watch or record upwards of 30 Christmas movies a day and more on weekends, this movie is not like the majority of the others romance based Christmas movies.
Tiya Sircar is a ball of energy and optimism. Jennifer is larger than life in this story, so much so that she usurps much of the store's management functions.
Joe Dinicol's acting isn't horrible. Casting him is unusual, not bad. It's an interesting risk by the movie makers. Jack Desmond is not the usual hunk leading man. He's quirky and only a character like this could tolerate the interloper in their midst - Jennifer.
Kudos to George Wendt. At first, I almost thought he would turn out to be a "real" Santa, but no, he was just vintage George Wendt.
In my reviews, I often say that the thing I usually watch these movies for is the relationship building and this movie spends a lot of time on the reporter and the store rather than the romance. There was a hint of chemistry between the leads, but it didn't have enough time to blossom.
There's a side story with Rose and Manny, but it seems forced and disconnected from the rest of the movie.
Journalistic integrity is a pet peeve of mine. Even though, it didn't have a huge impact to the story, I was very disappointed in Jennifer's broken promise. She makes the promise and in the very next scene her editor is making her break it.
I have to echo other reviewers that there are some great scenery shots, especially if you like Chicago. There's an echo of nostalgia throughout the film.
Going into the climax, things start to develop like you'd expect. Totally predictable. But then it doesn't unfold exactly like you'd expect. And there is one little surprise. (It's surprising largely because of how ridiculous it is. Oh well.)
Note: there are at least two other excellent reviews here already that put some thoughts I already had into words. If I've borrowed some of those words, it's only because they were so accurate and after reading them they cemented within my own thoughts.
Give this movie time to develop. It will still be a tossup - many people still won't like it and many will. But in a season, starting at the end of October, where together on 5 cable channels you can watch or record upwards of 30 Christmas movies a day and more on weekends, this movie is not like the majority of the others romance based Christmas movies.