Warm and just-Christmassy-enough, I really enjoyed Falling for Christmas.
The casting was terrific, from Leah Renee and Niall Matter as leads Claire and Luke, to sizable supporting roles for Lisa Whelchel, Gracyn Shinyei and Lachlan Munro, and comic relief from coach Julian and clinic receptionist/hype gal Patty.
Best of all, Claire and Luke felt real. Imperfect, kind and relatable, especially their tentative attraction. With points for largely showing, not telling, us. We didn't need a big speech from Luke to illustrate what he loved about his quiet post-hockey life, even as we saw Claire shed her prima donna ways as she distanced herself from Julian.
It's a shame HMC didn't cast a better skater to stunt double for Claire or really scale back the competitive skating scenes. First rule of movies: don't talk about a triple unless we'll see it. (That Santa dress costume was a flincher, too.)
Yes, some of the fake mountain vistas were distracting, but snow scenes at the edge of the woods were really filmed there, a major improvement over most of these holiday romance sets.
Things were left unsaid; I appreciate it wasn't all tied up with a bow for us in the end. Sometimes 2 big decisions and a lot of winter quality time and affection make for a nice escape.
The casting was terrific, from Leah Renee and Niall Matter as leads Claire and Luke, to sizable supporting roles for Lisa Whelchel, Gracyn Shinyei and Lachlan Munro, and comic relief from coach Julian and clinic receptionist/hype gal Patty.
Best of all, Claire and Luke felt real. Imperfect, kind and relatable, especially their tentative attraction. With points for largely showing, not telling, us. We didn't need a big speech from Luke to illustrate what he loved about his quiet post-hockey life, even as we saw Claire shed her prima donna ways as she distanced herself from Julian.
It's a shame HMC didn't cast a better skater to stunt double for Claire or really scale back the competitive skating scenes. First rule of movies: don't talk about a triple unless we'll see it. (That Santa dress costume was a flincher, too.)
Yes, some of the fake mountain vistas were distracting, but snow scenes at the edge of the woods were really filmed there, a major improvement over most of these holiday romance sets.
Things were left unsaid; I appreciate it wasn't all tied up with a bow for us in the end. Sometimes 2 big decisions and a lot of winter quality time and affection make for a nice escape.