Unwrapping Christmas: Tina's Miracle

I know not to expect too much from Hallmark Christmas movies, yet I was still underwhelmed. The actors were awful, the storyline was ridiculous, and the chemistry between the romantic leads was non-existent. It's a good thing that there are three more of these crapfests in the Unwrapping Christmas movie series to watch. And yes, I'm still going to watch them because I'm a glutton for punishment and there's always a teeny, tiny, itsy, bitsy chance that one of the four might be tolerable. I love a good Hallmark Christmas movie but sadly this was not one of them...

Why, oh why do I do this to myself???

Did Hallmark put out an open casting call throughout Canada which read: "Actors, have you been rejected for a role in a Hallmark Christmas movie? We want you! The less talented you are, the bigger the role." I kept thinking that surely this movie was going to improve, but each scene introduced another terrible actor. The phony camaraderie of the 4 shop owners was cringeworthy. Plus, how can a little wrapping store support 4 women, enabling them to dress in upscale clothing and live in expensive places? Then the hero "hunk" looks scruffy enough to have recently jumped out of a freight train car. No, I will definitely not be watching the other three movies.

Of course I had never heard about this movie, as I usually don't bother with Christmas movies. But every now and again, with years apart, I go all in and spend all days in December up to the 24th watching sappy Christmas movies. And 2024 would be one such year, and thus I happened to stumble upon the 2024 movie "Unwrapping Christmas: Tina's Miracle" as I was essentially sitting down to watch any Christmas movie I possibly could.

Was I expecting much? No, not really. I mean, the movie's cover is a bit boring, so I didn't really have any grand expectations. Not that I normally have high hopes for Christmas movies, as they tend to be rather formulaic and generic; once you've seen one Hallmark Christmas movie, you've essentially seen them all. But still, I opted to give director Max McGuire the benefit of the doubt.

Writer T. Booker James put together an enjoyable and entertaining script and storyline. I will say that the movie actually turned out to be an enjoyable Christmassy movie, for better or worse. I was genuinely entertained, and surprised of course, with the outcome of the script. Sure, it was generic and formulaic, but it was sappy enough to actually make it work and stand out in a vast sea of similar Christmas movies.

Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with leading actor Alec Santos. I will say that the acting performances in "Unwrapping Christmas: Tina's Miracle" were good. And there was a good on-screen chemistry between leading actress Natalie Hall and leading actor Alec Santos.

I am sure that the diehard fans of the sappy Christmas movies out there would really enjoy this 2024 movie.

My rating of director Max McGuire's 2024 movie "Unwrapping Christmas: Tina's Miracle" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Did Natalie forgot how to act,felt so annoying or wooden.. Unfortunately you learn to not expect much,in Hallmark movies these days.

Was a boring story & didn't really feel just because it was all decorated for Christmas,that it had that magical type of charm.. Obviously not every story needs to be a cheery topic,but it really should make you feel something.

The music during several scenes always felt overwhelming,as though it was pushing the narrative in that scene.

Such a clichéd movie & the leads chemistry just was awkward,he didn't come across right or something when talking & them having anything together felt out of touch.. Hallmark made the daughter sound like she was challenged & although dyslexia can be complicated,was just oddly handled too.

Overall the actors chosen to acting was,very average & cinematography was decently done.

Will not make a rewatch list,instead will be watching better holiday ones.

6.6 stars.

This is the simple story of a woman who is trying to save an historical building. We've seen a variation of this trope at least 50 times in Hallmark movies.... Save the manor, shop, building, landmark, etc...

In the opening scene we see not one, but four female leads. There is no mystery that this is the first of several movies in a series. I figured, since there are four leading ladies, there must be four films in this "unwrapping" franchise. I see only three listed, but that simply means it's a couple weeks too early to list the air date of the fourth. I noticed that the most notable female of the four is not starring in the three listed, so I assume she'll get the fourth installment (the currently unlisted one). If one is released each week, the fourth one will be in early December. The first week in December is usually an important week for Hallmark releases.

This particular story begins very sluggishly, but it starts to grow on you gradually until the conclusion, which was somewhat endearing. But in the end, this film is right in the middle of the pack. If I had to pick a quintessential average Hallmark movie, this one is one of a thousand that blends in to the woodwork. I don't plan on returning to watch it, but it was nice for a one time viewing. It was not a total waste of time, if you are wondering.