samhamilton-56421

For a Hallmark movie, I think this one is pretty good, and I find myself rewatching it every year when it's on. Compared to a lot of the Hallmark movies out there, this one is surprisingly decently-written and acted, and has a good story that holds my interest, and has lots of feel-good moments. I also really like Sarah Lancaster from other shows (Chuck, namely), and I feel like she really carries the movie well. I think this one is definitely worth your time. "7" rating is in relation to other Hallmark movies.

I never have high expectations for Hallmark movies, and even I can't recommend spending your time watching this one. One, Nantucket is a truly unique and special place, and while I knew the movie would look nothing like it, it felt like they barely tried to make it charming and festive. The super imposed graphic of the lighthouse at the very end was also cringe-worthy. I know they reuse all the same filming locations in Vancouver, but since they specifically chose to base this movie in Nantucket, maybe they could have tried to make the scenery look even remotely close? The rock and tree stump lined shores (used for Chesapeake Shores) was pretty much the furthest thing from anything on the Eastern seaboard. It would have been better to not have made it based in Nantucket, and just called it "Seaside Noel," since absolutely nothing about this movie felt like an East coast seaside town. Lastly, the acting and writing was just horrible. Another reviewer said it felt like robots wrote this movie with "conversation formulas," and that's so accurate. The movie had no heart, no Hallmark Christmas magic, no feeling and barely any story. The side characters were completely forgettable, and the main actors were a total let down. They had zero chemistry. And while often, the leads in Hallmark movies have no chemistry, at least you have the scenery and Hallmark Christmas magic to fall back on (which is why most of us watch these movies, anyway). And I honestly couldn't get over the fact that the little girl was named Wink. WINK. How has no one commented on this, yet. The whole thing was just a disaster from start to finish. Which is too bad because Nantucket at Christmas is actually one of the most amazing places to see - so much potential to recreate a New England Christmas (the coziest of them all!) and instead we got this garbage.

My guilty pleasure is Hallmark and cheesy made for TV rom coms, and I have a pretty low bar for them when it comes to expectations. But this one I even had a hard time sitting through. One, there was really bad background music in pretty much every scene. It felt like a really bad after school special. Two, the main two love interest characters pretty much had zero chemistry. The main guy seemed like a robot on camera. The writing was really terrible - like, even for this kind of movie where you don't really need great writing. It was just a mess. Wanted to give it one star, but added an extra because of the cute dog, Daisy, who was by and far the best part of the movie.