User reviews

The main character spends the whole movie getting childishly upset over things that aren't worth getting upset over. She gets mad at the guy because he doesn't say he's a famous football player, so what? She gets mad because, well, a lot. And he supposed to suddenly care about her because she's funny it's smart etc.. I don't see her being funny and smart I just see her being a pill. And he likes her because she treated him like a person, but she stopped treating him like a person really early on. Just ridiculous. Kudos for a nod to the original Notting Hill, because the dad is seen reading a copy of "Horse and Hound."

Featuring plenty of the Christmas traditions I know and love as an Australian, and filmed on location in London - which is a big deal, as many Hallmark Christmas movies are set in cities that they're not actually filmed in - Christmas in Notting Hill is a decent festive romance centered around Graham Savoy (William Moseley, of 'The Royals' and 'The Chronicles of Narnia' fame) who is an injured Premier League soccer/football star who must consider his future in the game. He meets Georgia (Sarah Ramos), a special education teacher from America, in London to celebrate Christmas with her sister.

Some Hallmark tropes feature here, but with a decidedly British touch.

Mosely and Ramos are pretty good together, but there were a few scenes that didn't make sense. Like Graham being able to walk and run despite him supposedly having an ACL tear.

Reasonable entertainment, but not nearly as enjoyable as, say, 'A Biltmore Christmas'.

I enjoyed the opening parallel between a group of small kids playing soccer and a professional UK football team playing to the tune of Elton John's "Step into Christmas". Georgia Bright (Sarah Ramos) travels to London to visit her baby sister for Christmas. When she arrives her sister, Lizzie (Joelle Rae) has a whole British Christmas itinerary...including shopping and getting Christmas crackers even though neither one knows what they are. While out shopping alone, Georgia runs into a gentleman...or maybe he runs into her, either way s one of a kind ornament is broken and Georgia, not knowing he is the famous captain of the local football team (soccer) Graham Savoy (William Moseley), treats him like a regular person. The novelty of being treated like a regular chap intrigues Graham who eventually helps her finish her shopping trip...including the Christmas crackers. What they both eventually find out is that their younger siblings are not only dating, but Graham's younger brother Henry is actually planning to propose to Georgia's sister Lizzie this Christmas. This throws the two of them together and eventually makes them accomplices.

Meanwhile there is this whole sub storyline about both Georgia and Graham questioning their futures and their chosen professions.

Things to like: there were some cute nods to the movie Notting Hill, Georgia and Lizzie's dad with his Hawaiian shirts was a kick, the two girls seemed to have nice camaraderie, there are some great touristy British things and Christmas traditions like the Christmas crackers. I think the drag queen Christmas special was a little over the top. I did enjoy the extended family for the holidays.

Things that kept this from being in the top tier of Hallmark movies...the injury recovery was unrealistic, Georgia's anger at Graham seemed inappropriate, and finally the leads seemed to lack chemistry with one another. The fight between sisters over the potential marriage of the younger sister seemed disproportionate to their relationship...making them seem close sometimes but like strangers others.

Overall, it was a good film that I think romantics will appreciate. I recommend it to hallmark fans and Anglophiles alike.

5.8/10 (6)

Same story, different country. It doesn't matter if it's America or England. It's a small world where the love interests will collide.

The thing that drew me to checking out this film was the inclusion of Association Football. Football is my favourite sport, and so I got curious on how the romantic dynamic would be incorporated.

It went about as well as I imagined. Only a slight bit of the game being shown, and the rest inferred along the way. The initial romantic meet up was classic, and the continuation really wasn't much of a surprise.

The two main leads were cute together, and had good chemistry. The second couple of the film, while not the primary story per se, they were also enjoyable.

My downsides were passion, editing and effects. While I did enjoy the actors, at times, I didn't feel there was a lot of passion which made the less than ninety minute film feel stretched. The editing and effects were a little choppy at times. Quick succession of camera cuts that seemed unnecessary. Also, the effects of snow felt too fake which bothered me for some shots. It looked like an overlay on the screen.

Overall, not a terrible movie. It's bad enough to get a 5.8 out of me, but just good enough to be rated a 6. If you're a Hallmark fan then you won't go wrong and you'll enjoy it I'm sure. If you're not a Hallmark fan and you're being forced into watching one then this is one of the better ones. You may still dislike it, but it's not as cheesy as others.

That's all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Until next time.... Enjoy the show!

The lead actress, Sarah Ramos, is so wooden, it was really hard to watch. At first, I thought it was just the storyline and the character, but no, even as the character was supposed to lighten up this Actress did not lighten up and was so wooden. It was really difficult to watch.

The lead male was charming though. I haven't seen him in many of the other Hallmark films, but would watch him in other films.

They also need to hire more professional hair and makeup artists. The hair for the women distracted from the action of the film. This particular film fell far short of the standards for a Hallmark movie.

8.1 stars.

I didn't think it would be a spin on the actual 'Notting Hill', but I soon realized it was. It only shares one aspect though: celebrity dates a commoner. The story is about an American woman (Ramos) who gets swept up into the drama of a famous footballer (Moseley) who lives and plays in London. His brother who is British is dating her sister, an American, but she hasn't met the family yet. She flies to London over the holidays to finally meet this "mysterious" British family. She doesn't recognize him for the big sports icon, so he's intrigued and somewhat beguiled by her lack of interest. He's been searching for a woman to treat him as a normal citizen rather than a big time football star (soccer for the Americans).

As the story continues, there are some out of place moments which I attribute to acting styles. I disagree that the lead female is standoffish and difficult. I think it's just a quirk the actress is trying to convey, a bit odd at times, but she's portraying a serious person. I lean in favor of giving her the benefit of the doubt. I give her credit though, she is adept at the ice cold persona. Can't put a finger on why some uncomfortable moments, could be clashing performance methods, but as they say: "the show must go on".

I thoroughly enjoyed 'Christmas in Notting Hill', it's a pleasurable romance, entertaining through and through. In my opinion, many viewers don't feel Ramos is charismatic, however I think she has great presence. And Mr. Moseley is quite talented and gives a convincing performance.

American teacher Georgia Bright (Sarah Ramos) goes to Notting Hill to visit her sister for Christmas. Injured professional footballer Graham Savoy (William Moseley) comes home to Notting Hill with his career in doubt. They bump into each other in an outdoor market. He is surprised that she doesn't know who he is.

It is Hallmark in London. The romance is standard Hallmark. It has two pretty leads doing most of the standard fare with limited drama. The big drama with the sisters seem to come out of nowhere. The main difference from other Hallmark movies is the London location. I wouldn't mind more local flavors. The interiors are probably shot on a sound stage. It is still a TV movie after all.

Had all the makings to be a good movie but lead actress was such bad casting. The male lead was perfect and plenty of nods to Notting Hill the movie, which I loved, but I felt no draw to the female lead -- she was sullen, grumpy, rude, in addition to just blatant bad acting. Finished this movie liking all the support cast but not understanding why he found her appealing. There were cute elements throughout but she was so antagonistic against liking him I was left wanting better for him. The rest of the storyline was nice and had the great Christmas feels. The setting in London during Christmas was also great.

A formulaic Hallmark movie that thankfully didn't include the lead actress running her own business, going for a job promotion or developing another dumb app. The script and dialog weren't annoying and it's set in the UK with a talented cast who acted like they were having a good time. The acting was good except for the lead Sarah Ramos, surely Hallmark could have found a much better actress for the lead role.

This had a bum's rush ending which is common with rom-coms. They waste time with inane conversations where characters talk about being rushed with deadlines, while they stand or sit around just chatting.

What a wonderful story and cast! Really wanted to like it more, but the directing choices and directing itself it just awful.. So many cringe moments that I stopped counting after half the movie. Cast was wonderful and did the best they could, but me being in their places, it would have been terribly difficult to follow direction in some scenes, because it was just so terrible. I really think that the wonderful script and great cast was wasted, because the was just a very bad desicion made in choosing directors. You watch the film, this sweet story that flows and see how almost every scene could have been different because they all just feel pushed and made with force, not ease and christmasy inspiration. What a pitty.

Actually I don't remember enough about the movie Notting Hill to compare quality other than the fact that it had A-list stars and this Christmas movie doesn't even have the top Hallmark stars. Having said that, I really liked Sarah Ramos. And I like this movie for what it is and despite what it isn't.

There are no great highs or lows or surprise. There isn't a lot of tension other than the celebrity chaos and Georgia being set to return to the US. The story revolves around the fact that the American Georgia has no idea who Graham is and he allows that to remain so he can enjoy being treated normally.

Ramos and William Moseley have chemistry. Their relationship building is pleasant. The acting is decent as is the dialogue.

I give this a slightly higher rating than I would typically based on what I describe and I can't really say why except that the movie is mostly upbeat.

OK, truth time. I've never seen Notting Hill, the neighborhood or the movie, so many of the connections of that movie were lost on me, so if you're looking for special insight, ask Julia Roberts, not me. So, we have an English soccer star recovering from an injury and an American school teacher falling for each other. Our American doesn't know who he is, despite the fact that he is the brother of her sister. Hmm. That's the biggest stretch of this film. Credit where credit is due, they shot this thing at least partially in London and the production values show. It's no classic, but it's unique and that's worth a watch.

I mean it is a Hallmark movie, we watch those for relaxations and escape into romantic fantasy, but I would expect at least some standards even in their productions. They have so many lovely actors so I do not understand how did they so fail with the casting in this one.

William Moseley and the actor that plays his brother are lovely, charming and talented, radiating with warmth and so is the rest of the cast. But the lead actress and her sister were beyond terrible, how did such two wooden actresses even pass the audition? Lead actress was lost in literally every scene, with idiotic facial expressions that we would expect in a high school not in a production from a worldwide popular channel. She was cringeworthy in literally every scene showing absolutely no charm nor acting skills, and of course she had no chemistry at all with always lovely Moseley. She just shows absolute disrespect towards the audience, her colleagues and Hallmark with her absolute lack of skill and preparedness.

The story itself is mostly ridiculous and boring, she is a gym class teacher but has never heard of a world famous footballer?

The rest of the cast was lovely, and I would like to mention Marcus Lamb who only appears in one scene at the beginning as Williams coach, but is still very magnetic and charming and I hope he gets some lead roles at Hallmark because he certainly has charisma for it.

This is one of the more enjoyable Hallmark movies released so far this year. The leads were charming. The situations are low-key droll. The dry humor seems very British to me.

For instance, the heroine Georgia (Sarah Ramos) obliviously ignores all the signs that Graham (William Moseley) is famous, including the literal signs with his picture on them.

Later, Graham tells Georgia that the bag from the jewelry store was for his brother, who was about to propose to his girlfriend. Don't tell anyone, though, because it's a secret. Georgia responds, oh, who am I going to tell? She says she doesn't know the brother or his girlfriend (aka her sister).

And the Secret Santa hijinks, which I won't describe here.

Other positives: I liked the way they describe a panto. Spot on. I think there's usually a bit more of a plot to it.

I liked the supporting cast, especially the brother (Peter Rothwell) and the mother (Kate O'Toole). The fathers (Ford and Mullen) are funny together.

I went into this movie with low expectations, especially after I saw the previews. Now, there are times when I'm wrong. However, this is not one of those times. I have to say, the lead actress who played Georgia, I found her character to be annoying, and I didn't really care for how she treated her sister. She wasn't supportive at all. The leading actor, I enjoyed him in the show The Royals, but the whole ACL tear and him walking around like it wasn't a big deal was definitely cringe. I didn't feel any chemistry between them. The entire storyline felt off, and it wasn't easy to remain engaged.

They clearly had no idea how to represent an ACL tear or the recovery from one either. He should have been in a brace with crutches because the only way to repair an ACL is with surgery, not a TENS machine. He would have been non-weight bearing for 6 weeks after surgery. As they had shown him getting injured right at the beginning of our story line he would have only been out of the hospital a few days and most definitely would not be walking around London. The only thing they got right about the recovery is the recovery time. Otherwise it was a cute predictable Hallmark movie that makes you believe in Christmas.

No surprises here if you know the Hallmark tradition.

Based in London, Notting Hill to be exact, there are some respectful nods to the famous film, look out for them.

This British Hallmark production doesn't let you down with this uplifting, romantic tale.

A 'famous' footballer and an American, yes Ted Lasso does get a mention!

She hasn't got a clue who he is and that's what attracts him to her.

Two families and the two people who finally fall in love and the usual ups & downs as they go about it, with their friends and family contributing to the magic moment, you know you won't stop yourself smiling!

You know how it goes, it's predictable, it's cheesy but we love it!