Nothing feeds into the fantasy of romantic salvation than a rehash of the Cinderella storyline.  Movies that find common women marrying a prince is such an important subset for romance movies that it could probably have its own channel.  So it’s no surprise that these movies have regained new life in the Holiday movie genre.  Following in the footsteps of such classic holiday royalty films as 'A Christmas Prince', 'Crown for Christmas', 'A Prince for Christmas', 'Once Upon a Holiday', 'My Christmas Prince', 'Royal Christmas Ball', 'A Royal Winter', 'A Princess for Christmas', 'Royal Christmas', Law and Order Special Victims Unit (Okay, maybe not the last one) comes a new vision of royal romance with a unique title: 'Christmas with a Prince'.  Christmas with a Prince (not to be confused with A Christmas Prince, A Prince for Christmas or Prince’s Purple Rain) stars Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, in her biggest role yet, as . . . wait, my bad . . . the movie stars Kaitlyn Leeb as Dr. Tasha Miller and Nick Hounslow as Prince Alexander.  Our story begins with hunky Prince Alex falling down a ski slope in the states and badly injuring his leg.

Meanwhile in the Hall of Justice . . . . I mean . . . . in the Pediatric Wing of some secluded hospital Dr. Miller (heretofore called Tasha) is struggling to find funds for her pediatric care unit from the Evil Hospital Administrator Dr. Gonzales (Lanette Ware).  Tasha’s brother, who just HAPPENS to be a nurse in the same wing of the same hospital (nepotism???), lets Dr. Gonzales know that all is well because they are going to have a special royal patient arrive who is going to give the hospital a big donation to cover the expenses.  It just so happens that Tasha’s brother, Nurse Jeff (Josh Dean), is BFFs with Prince Alex.  He, Tasha and Alex all went to boarding school together (making nurse Jeff, BY FAR, the least successful and accomplished of the trio).  All the Prince needs is a little TLC and privacy and the hospital will soon be flush with donation money.

We quickly learn through Tasha’s discussion with . . . well . . . just about everyone she talks to . . . that she bears a grudge against the spoiled royal prince from their time at private school.  And while I say grudge, it’s actually more of a searing, deep resentment towards the Prince (whom she has secretly longed for since school and whom causes her to drool all over herself when she thinks about him at night) over his rejection of her in their youth.  As you can imagine, this is all setting up really well for a redemption romance.  The only other characters of note are Charles Shaughnessy, as one of the most stereotypical caricatures of a monarch ever seen on screen, playing King Edward and Melinda Shankar as the cute but completely out of place, unbelievable and incompetent head of the Prince's security detail, Bella.

It turns out that the Prince is a really spiffy guy with rock hard abs who loves children (which is a good thing since he is recovering in a children’s ward) and is attracted to Tasha.  Tasha and Alex bond over their long strolls through the hospital, their arguments with the King and Dr. Gonzalez over security concerns and when playing with all the sick children (who seem really spry despite the fact they must be in the hospital because they are sick right?).  There’s a scene where she is forced to confront the embarrassing, accidental, butt dialed voicemail she left on Alex’s phone where she describes how devastatingly handsome and charming the Prince is (My, how convenient and . . . what realistic sound quality for an inadvertent call.).  We see nurse Jeff hit on Security Chief Bella following an incident where she physically immobilizes him because he’s wearing a Santa Suit (Oh no, another hitman posing as Santa.  Get him!!!).  Prince Alex also bonds with a lonely little boy who has a big surgery upcoming.

Tasha gets into an argument with Dr. Gonzalez regarding security issues (And then lashes out as Prince Alex as the cause of it – ooooh, tension!!!!) and only intervention by the Royal family saves her job.  Alex brings the sick boy’s mother in so she can be there for the boy’s surgery and arranges for the boy’s favorite pop singer to visit and perform for the children.  At a Christmas gift giving for the sick children, Alex gives Tasha the gift of going to his family’s Royal Christmas Charity Dinner and dance up against the Prince’s chiseled body and rock hard abs (Oh and by the way, sorry for dissing you all those years back when you were jailbait.).  The Dinner is normally held in locations around the world and this year it will be held in locally because of production budget issues . . . . the Prince’s broken leg.  Tasha handles this offer by going all gaga and kissing the prince.  Things then take a sudden turn when she meets Miranda (Anastasia Marinina), who introduces herself as Alex’s fiancé (Uhhh . . . . ohhhh).  Furious, she storms off before Alex manages to fake a leg injury and explains that Miranda is just some crazy, delusional ex-fiance of his brother (recently deceased).

Tasha dresses up for the charity event after her shift at work.  She looks amazing (of course) and meets up with Alex in the lobby who is either wearing a royal uniform or something he stole from an early 20th Century Canadian Mountie.  Miranda takes over the film's role of evil adversary from Dr. Gonzalez (who is pretty much out of the story by this point).  Tasha uses her incredible bionic hearing to overhear two women thirty feet away, in a loud and crowded dance hall, discuss how Prince Alex will dump the loser American doctor because she’s not of royal blood.  Miranda walks up and tells her the same thing.  Tasha, who has constantly been switching personalities between assertive, confidant doctor to pathetic, insecure, rejected schoolgirl switches to the latter and attempts to leave.  Elsewhere, King Edward meets with Alex and tells his son that he’s been a huge, irresponsible, disappointment up until recently.  However, now that he’s been made aware of how good Alex is around sick children, Edward finds him to be a fit and worth heir to the crown and a remarkable young man (Sure, why not?).  King Edward also finds Tasha before she leaves (mainly because he told security to detain her) and gives her an inspirational speech to tough it out with Alex because she loves him and she’s the reason he has become the man he has (So much for that earlier talk praising Alex on the strides he’s made.  Turns out it was all Tasha.).  The King then excuses himself because he needs to hurry over to Wendy’s to try their new Classic Smokey Applewood Bacon Burger while he’s in town – it’s a limited time offer you know!!!

With her newfound sense of self confidence she goes back into the ball, tells Miranda off and that she looks and sounds like Natasha from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show (well she should have because it’s absolutely true.  It is uncanny.).  She AGAIN tells Alex she loves him (Nobody disputes that anymore, it’s like the 9th time you have mentioned as much in this film).  They dance, they kiss and he tells her she will be in charge of his new Children’s charity (Whoopee!!!).  Nurse Jeff even has a music-less dance with Bella back at the hospital.  Whether either of these relationships will last more than a week in the real world is up to your i-m-a-g-i-n-a-t-i-o-n!!!!

Both leads were attractive enough but there less spark between them than you'd find setting off fireworks during a hurricane.  The story was bland and forced.  The characters were shallow and unappealing.  If I had to say anything nice about the film it would be that it ended on time and didn’t run over it’s 120 minute program window.  I give it a 1 out of 5.

Finally, a Christmas movie that takes a chance interaction of two characters diametrically opposed and antagonistic to each other and gradually brings them together to find something greater.   It is about time!!!!   Vanessa Lachey plays Abby, a super organized (i.e. OCD) writer and mother who has her life pre-planned to the Nth degree.  Abby has scoured the city to find a special toy robot for her son, Elliot, played by Christian Convery.  Abby also learns she that her editor has lined up an for her with her personal hero, child rearing lecturer and author Dr. Baxter (Rick Fox).  She quickly rearranges her schedule and heads to the Toy Store.  Brendan Zub plays Ryan, a corporate attorney in heavy competition with a coworker for a partner position who learns that his secretary has found another highly sought after toy, a Magic Talking Unicorn, for his young daughter Jasmine (April Cameron).

Arriving at the store at the same time, Ryan and Abby get along together like fire and ice.  Arguing about who was in line first, who’s toy is more important, who can get the additional music box they find elsewhere in the store, etc.  Luckily, before it reaches the point where they challenge each other to a duel to the death, the store clerk gives them their packages and their acrimonious interaction ends.  Abby meets up with her son, Elliot who is displaying hesitation at participating in an upcoming Christmas concert (more on that later).  A cancellation of a babysitter requires Abby to wrap presents that night (instead of the pre-scheduled time).  Much to her chagrin, she discovers that Elliot’s toy robot is missing and instead, she has Jasmine’s Magic Unicorn.

Abby embarks on a search to find Ryan from what little information she overheard during his phone conversation at the toy store.  She soon identifies his firm but when she calls, she cannot get in touch with any attorneys without knowing their name.  Unable to go any further online or by phone she decides to visit the Law office in person.  At the office she notices Ryan going into a conference room for an important business meeting.  She goes to the room's window and, while he tries to ignore her, he finally relents and excuses himself from the meeting.  Abby, Ryan and Elliot proceed to Ryan’s office where they find Jasmine who is overjoyed to see the Magic Unicorn toy (which is still unwrapped).  While Jasmine is ecstatic to get her toy (Surprise!), Elliot is dismayed to learn that Ryan can’t reciprocate because the Toy Robot is at his ex-wife’s, Brooke (Sarah Smyth), house.  Abby doesn’t want to go all the way out there alone so Ryan agrees (thanks to Jasmine’s encouragement – “It’s Christmas Daddy!!!”) to go with her.

I fail to see how Ryan accompanying Abby helps her get the toy any faster than her getting it by herself.  It simply takes Ryan’s time away from an important corporate merger he is a part of (still going on in the conference room).  Ehh, whatever.  It turns out that Ryan IS a big help because he needs to drive after Abby finds her car has been towed from the 15-minute parking space she left it in (She couldn’t have been inside more than a half hour. Is there a tow truck that just sits and waits behind the law office or something?).   Add this as yet another reason why no one likes lawyers.  During an incredibly convenient long drive (plot wise) to the exes, Abby and Ryan's discussion explores each character's life.  Ryan even comments on the obvious difference in their parenting styles (she’s a hyperactive, controlling mom and he’s a distracted, overly lenient dad).

They finally arrive at Brooke’s house and it turns out she is living in a place just slightly smaller than the Buckingham Palace with her famous, hot, rich, cardiac surgeon, husband Kenneth (Matt Dowden).  We now see an uncomfortable Ryan, who while being attractive and successful in his own right, cannot hope to compare with his replacement.  Abby and Ryan find out that the gift has already been wrapped and placed under the tree (with dozens of other presents).  Brooke refuses to open all the presents but Abby comes up with a plan for Kenneth, using his stethoscope, to listen to each present for an internal humming (unique to the toy robot).  They subsequently recover the robot (much to the joy of Elliot).  On the way out, Ryan promises Brooke to have Jasmine back on Christmas Eve, before their ski trip vacation, and Kenneth gives Jasmine an expensive watch/phone/supercomputer that he takes from his super cool sports car (Ah-ha! Ken isn’t perfect after all. He must have a super small weenie to need to compensate with a car like that.).

This is a turning point of the movie.  Ryan goes from the annoying self-absorbed, narcissistic, aloof lawyer to an embarrassed, anguished, sympathetic father and Abby notices.  Her empathy changes their dynamic for the rest of the story.  It isn’t forced or spurious and actually works quite well.  Ryan agrees to pick up Abby’s parents from the airport and even plays along when the parents believe him to be her driver.  They all then go together for lunch at Abby’s house.  Ryan tries to do work on his laptop but that’s against Abby’s “no screen time” rule of the house.  Jasmine and Elliot become fast friends while their parents engage in disagreements over the best parenting style.  Abby’s mom then tells Abby how Ryan is a real catch (of course) despite Abby’s dissenting focus on his workaholic, distracted nature.  The kids conspire to get their parents together at Santa’s village and Abby agrees so she can interview Ryan for an article she wants to do on distracted parenting.

While the kids and grandparents wait in line for Santa, Abby interviews Ryan which inevitably leads to them ice skating together (Boy, if I had a dollar for every time a magazine interview ended up on the ice . . . sheesh.).  Abby learns that Ryan's determination to get the unicorn for Jasmine is based on the guilt he feels about not seeing her as much as he’d like.  This way he could record his voice in the toy that she could hear and be reminded of her Dad (Wow . . . that’s actually incredibly sweet.  This guy is single???).  Ryan asks Abby to attend a company Christmas Cocktail party with him.  She finds out that Ryan's supposed girlfriend Lexi, that Brooke had asked about earlier at the mansion, has not been in the picture for months but Ryan was too embarrassed to admit it to his ex-wife.

Abby goes to her re-scheduled (due to the whole toy incident) interview with Dr Baxter at a coffee shop while Ryan takes Abby’s parents and the kids to Elliot’s Christmas Concert.  Elliot is still having second thoughts about performing so Ryan attempts to ease his fears.  He finds out from Abby’s father that Abby wasn’t always anally retentive about schedules and instead it was her coping mechanism to deal with the loss of her husband.  At the coffee shop interview, Abby questions Dr. Baxter’s parenting philosophies versus some of the ideas Ryan had given her.  She then learns that Dr. Baxter, with several children of his own, relies heavily on his wife and paid caretakers to implement his philosophies.  Abby realizes that she and most parents are not blessed with nannies and chauffeurs and that his teachings are impractical for the modern parent (especially single parents).  She politely tells him off and decides to skip the rest of the interview to attend her son’s recital instead.

She reaches the concert just before it is underway.  She notices Ryan is missing only to discover that he is actually one of the human trees standing in the background (where he went to offer support to Elliot) of the stage.  The entire group then goes out to find a Christmas Tree (Didn’t Ryan have to go back to work sometime today?  Maybe I should become an attorney.).  At the Tree Farm Abby learns that Ryan used to have Jasmine for Christmas morning while Brooke and Kenneth were building their enormous palace outside of the city.  She also finds out that he wasn’t always so work obsessed.  Brooke pushed him to be more successful as an attorney but by then it was too late to save their marriage (So she then went out and found someone even more successful?  What a betch.  Can anyone say “golddigger”?).

Ryan and Abby attend his corporate party as friends but when Ryan’s coworker goes on about his fiance and their impending nuptials, Abby introduces herself as Lexi.  She then goes to his boss and tells her that Ryan deserves to be partner more than anyone she knows.  While dancing, Ryan admits Lexi dumped him when he couldn’t go off with her to Milan because he had Jasmine that week.  Abby replies that “He’s better off without her.”.  They then make plans to pick up her car from the towing lot and have dinner at her house with everyone.

That night the family decorates the tree (of course), the kids play with their respective toys and Abby and Ryan both work on their respective projects.  Abby heads to the store for cocoa, with Ryan in tow, and a long romantic walk ensues (To get to the nearest store you are required to walk by a peaceful lake on a lighted wooden walkway?  What f’in city IS this?).  When they return Ryan gives Abby the music box they both admired previously at the toy store for her to give to Elliot.  It is only the ill-timed fall of Elliot’s telescope from his bedroom window that stops Abby and Ryan from kissing.  It’s not at all disconcerting to see your children and parents secretly observing you from your house is it?  Not to mention that Elliot is probably going to need a new telescope.

The family then plays party games before Ryan has to check his email for work.  He uses Abby’s computer and accidentally deletes the article she had just completed (Apparently Ryan is a successful corporate attorney but doesn’t know how to minimize a window on a desktop or choose ‘Yes’ when a program asks “Would you like to save your work?”.).  Abby is upset she will now miss her deadline, finds out her cookies have burned and lashes out at Ryan blaming everything on his constantly distracted state.  She states she isn’t ready for all these changes to her perfectly scheduled and independent life so Ryan and Jasmine head home.

The next morning Abby finds Elliot making a mess in the kitchen.  Elliot mentions Ryan is alone for Christmas which gives Abby pause and reflection.  Ryan is at work where he learns that even though the merger is on hold due to the clients, he has been promoted to partner at the firm.  Abby works on her new article while Ryan and Jasmine go Christmas window shopping.  While home making Christmas cookies with Jasmine, Ryan receives an email linking Abby’s new article.  In it she describes, the lessons she learned from spending time with Ryan and hints that she is ready for some new surprises in her life.

Ryan goes for his morning jog on Christmas but he returns to discovers Jasmine (Brooke gave up Jasmine for part of Christmas Day just like that?  Well, she may be a materialistic, golddigger but I guess she ain’t ALL bad.), Elliot and Abby waiting in his kitchen.  Glossing over how she actually got inside his condo, she tells him they are kidnapping him to have Christmas at her house.  There they enjoy Christmas Dinner with everyone when the children discover it is snowing (Which should kill all kinds of plants because all the vegetation in this area is still green despite it being December.).  While outside admiring the snowfall they are notified they are standing under mistletoe and are thus legally obligated to finally have their first kiss.  Merry Christmas!!!

I wasn’t sure about the pairing of these two leads in the beginning, but I’ll go on record now as they hit it out of the park.  Their characters flawed but sympathetic and the chemistry between them seemed credible.  I also enjoyed their individual relationships with their children which was a nice touch in the movie.  Both were single parents who, though far from perfect, had a touching connection to their child.  Definitely a movie worth watching.  I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Many Holiday movies seem to rehash the same plots over and over with a few tweaks here and there.  Christmas Catch shows us there is still some creative twists left out there to be explored in a holiday romance.  This movie presents an interesting premise that seems like a great concept . . . at least on paper.  The movie stars Emily Alatalo as Mackenzie Bennet, a local police detective.  We first meet Mackenzie undercover as a Santa's Helper staking out a counterfeiter while her partner Reid (Andrew Bushell) backs her up from a police van.  This scene sets up a few details about Mackenzie such as; she loves Christmas, has a great working relationship and friendship with her partner and is completely inept when it comes to flirting or dealing with the opposite sex.  Mackenzie later tackles the bad guy in an alley after a long chase, breaking his arm.

Because of Mackenzie's disastrous personal life, her friends set her up at a social mingle.  She attends but has to leave after just a short time due to a work call.  Leaving the gathering she notices a Christmas tree display with its star tilting to one side.  While attempting to fix the star, she slips and falls into the arms of Carson, played by Franco Lo Presti, who also happens to be on his way to the singles social.  The two hit it off and engage in casual conversation before Mackenzie is again pulled away by calls from work.  The biggest problem with this scene for me is that Carson looks like your stereotypical Syrian or Libyan terrorist and the entire time I was expecting him to tip his hand (drop his AK-47 or bomb detonator) and be arrested by Mackenzie.  An important plot point here is that Carson mentions the word serendipity in their conversation (although I would have expected him to say 'Death to America') which is an idea Mackenzie has associated with finding true love.

The next day, she spends the morning talking to herself about her dreamy first encounter with the love child of Grace Jones and Dolph Lundgren, Carson.  At work, Mackenzie and Reid are called into Mackenzie's mom's . . . . errrr . . . I mean their Captain's office to meet with FBI agent Robinson (Genelle Williams) who needs the local police to stakeout a suspected diamond thief.  The FBI needs to determine if their suspect is going to sell the stolen merchandise or if he and his crew are planning another heist.  Mackenzie soon realizes that Carson is the suspect they will be keeping under observation (which makes sense because he already looks like a mob enforcer).  While setting up their surveillance Mackenzie receives a call from 'Eastern European Henchmen #4' . . . I mean . . . Carson, who obtained her cell phone number from people at the coffee shop during the singles event (because that's not creepy at all).  Carson then asks her out on a date and she hangs up in a panic.

The surveillance team meets with Agent Robinson and Captain Mom where Mackenzie finally admits she knows the suspect from their encounter outside the coffee shop.  Agent Robinson believes this to be the perfect opportunity for them to get more information and orders Mackenzie on a date with the suspect.  Mackenzie arranges the date and then her and Reid set up wiretaps and cameras in Carson's residence.  The abundance of Christmas decorations in Carson's home make both Detective Mackenzie and Captain mom (also a huge fan of Christmas) just giddy with delight.  At the dinner date, Mackenzie attempts to glean information from him about his wife (a suspected associate for the robbery) while the meeting is recorded from the police van.  Despite Carson's charm and sweet demeanor during dinner I still half expected him to lose control and pistol whip the waiter for bringing him a plate of cold spaghetti.  I mean, seriously, the guy looks like every Italian organized crime member ever shown on Law and Order.  It's hard to be drawn into a growing romantic connection when you are compelled to scream at the female protagonist to "Run . . . JUST RUN!!!".

The team goes over what they have learned but Agent Robinson doesn't feel it to be enough, so she orders Mackenzie on another date.  They arrange to meet again at the coffee shop.  During this meeting an old associate of Carson, David (played by Eric Hicks), arrives and is quickly identified as a notorious safe-cracker.  Things get tense between the two men but David eventually leaves, after which Carson dips out to return to work.  However, since Carson is under surveillance, they know he went home instead and called into work as being sick.  More importantly this chance meeting proves that every single bad guy in this movie has a beard and since Carson also has a beard, he must be guilty right?  Mackenzie, Reid and Captain Mom meet at the stakeout location and teleconference with FBI Agent Robinson because nothing is more clandestine during a stakeout then people in police uniforms walking into a rented house right across the street from the suspect who has already been established as being home at the time.  Sounds like some top notch policework there.

That night Carson calls Mackenzie and they set up another date, this time at his house for dinner.  While at dinner they do some Christmas tree decorating (Of course, check off that box for a Christmas romance.) where Carson shows Mackenzie his prized ornament that he and his mom made when he was a child.  While eating, Carson receives a call that can't be picked up by the surveillance . . . (why not?).  Carson returns and tells Mackenzie that he knows she's a cop.  She initially denies it but then comes clean.  Okay, is this it?  This will explain his nefarious appearance as he pulls out a pistol and tries to put two bullets into Mackenzie's forehead right???   Nope!  Instead he simply tells her to leave because he doesn't want to see her anymore (and she's blown her opportunity for that private tour of the Holiday themed jihadi bomb-making room in his basement).

The stakeout is now exposed, Mackenzie and Reid pack up.  The police also pack up their surveillance equipment from Carson's house (For which he signs paperwork for in a scene?  What the hell?).  Mackenzie is put on administrative leave but after talking to her friends decides to go back to the stakeout location and watch Carson's house (If you are already suspended, this would seem like a good way to get completely fired).  Looking out the window she spots safe-cracking David going into Carson's house and decides to investigate.  Upon entering, she finds Carson prone on the floor.  David walks in and tells her that Carson really likes her (I think we can agree that's what every criminal would say at that particular moment.).  Special Agent Robinson walks in and we find out that she is actually Bethany, Carson's diamond thieving ex-wife.  She remarks that David is an excellent forger and Captain Mom is the worst police captain ever when it comes to verifying FBI task force authorizations.

It turns out that the missing diamond reindeer has been hidden in Carson's beloved handmade ornament the whole time (But wait, wouldn't Carson have noticed that there was a large diamond pendant loose rattling around inside the ornament when they placed it on the tree?).  Despite having ample opportunity to draw her weapon (which she started to draw before Bethany walked in) and arrest the two of them Mackenzie is too enthralled in the story to remember the task at hand (arrest the criminals).  Then Bethany draws her weapon (See Mackenzie?  See how it's done?) and explains her plan to kill all three of them (Why kill David again?  And why tell him when he is behind you?) but all this is thwarted when Captain Mom shows up with several other officers and at least 3 snipers with laser sights targeting Bethany through the window . . . so let’s just say she shows up with the entire police force.

While lying injured on the floor, Carson insists on giving Mackenzie a present (saving himself a frustrating trip to the post office) which turns out to be a Christmas ornament.  Mackenzie rushes out to the ambulance where Carson had been taken where they are both invited to Captain Mom's annual Christmas dinner and finally kiss.  I'm assuming that Captain Mom will have plenty of time to prepare dinner since she has to be sacked for operating a police stakeout on behalf of a known criminal, right?  Luckily, all the embarrassing romantic banter recorded between Mackenzie and Carson will not be public since it was obtained illegally.  I mean there can't be a valid FBI warrant if there are no real FBI agents, correct?  And what in God's name was Bethany's plan?  Why bring the police in to watch your ex-husband, identify your partner (David) and make them aware of the entire situation when you knew where the diamond was the whole time?  Wouldn't it have made more sense to break in around Christmas and steal the ornament or force Carson to turn it over to you?  Seriously, what was the freakin’ point Bethany???

I'm going to slam the casting in this movie.  The look the production staff gave to Franco Lo Presti was awful.  Did I mention he looked like your stereotypical thug, serial killer or monster villain for the entire movie?  His casting made as much sense as choosing Kermit the Frog to play President Obama in both appearance AND performance. Emily Alatalo was serviceable as Mackenzie and at time cute and engaging but I actually think if you had switched out the roles of Genelle Williams and Emily Alatalo it would have been a better fit.  And Andrew Bushell was excellent as the partner, Reid.  Cast Genelle as Mackenzie, Reid as Carson and let Emily and Franco play the FBI agent and police partner respectively and this is probably a 4 or 5 star film.  In its current form though, disappointing . . . I give it a 1.5 out of 5.

If anything, this movie certainly wins the award for longest title.  “Time for Me to Come Home for Christmas” or possibly identified by its longer, unabridged title “Time for Single Business Owner and Lonely Country Music Star to Come Home to Oklahoma for Christmas Together” is another one of Hallmark’s patented Christmas Romance movies.  This movie stars Megan Park, as business executive Cara, and Josh Henderson, as country music star Heath Sawyer.  These two characters are flung together as they both try to return home to Oklahoma in time for Christmas.  Heath is the music star living in New York trying to return to his family out of guilt while Cara was in town for business and is now trying to get back in time for Christmas with her father.

They first meet in the Airport where Cara seems to be the only person in the country who doesn’t recognize Heath.  In a cute scene, Heath gives Cara an autograph when she was simply letting him know that he was in her seat.  Fun scene but apparently Cara never read what Heath wrote nor bothered to wonder why he would suddenly give her his autograph.  Perhaps all this is lost in the ensuing moment when Heath accidentally knocks his coffee all over her shirt.  Their flight is cancelled and they are rerouted on a flight to Chicago, Cara puts on her award winning entry in the Gaudy Christmas sweater competition and they spend some time sitting and talking at an airport restaurant.  Later Heath befriends a young boy, Lex, travelling by himself (Easy prey for successful country music stars).  Lex calls Cara over to sit with them because . . . it gets them together and moves the plot along (I mean we ARE in an airport.  How much plot can you fill in an airport if our leads are separated?).  The flight leaves and they make it to Chicago only to find out their connecting flight to Tulsa has been cancelled due to the weather.

Both of them end up at a historic hotel where Cara jokes about, but doesn’t take seriously, the very REAL possibility that this guy is stalking her.  Instead they have dinner together (smart move Cara, he wouldn’t try and kill you in public) where she suddenly learns that Heath is actually a big country music star.  Her big tip off is when a bunch of adoring fans ask him to sing for them at the hotel bar.   She had previously called her friend Lindsey to brag about meeting handsome Heath but now calls to say she’s given up because handsome Heath is world famous celebrity Heath Sawyer.   Despite the fact that Cara walked out on him during his musical interlude the night before, Heath doesn't attempt to reach out to her again until the next morning (20 minutes after she has checked out).  All flights are still cancelled but the Hotel clerk directs him to the bus station (where I assume she knows Cara has gone).

Heath enters the bus and finds a seat next to Cara (Betch, if you DIDN’T think he was stalking you before . . . how about now?).   They argue over his not telling her who he really was (okay . . . fair point) only to run into an older couple who travels as a country music duo in the seats next to them.  The couple has a gig at the next town to sing at their local Christmas festival so Heath agrees and ropes Cara (who has some time in her HS glee club on her resume) into participating.  After the event, Heath gets a rental car and invited Cara to travel with him.  She refuses but then relents and finds him at a nearby restaurant where they make paper snowflake cutouts to post on the front window and . . . . well . . . start to find Holiday love.

They hit the road to reach Tulsa but end up stranded in a blizzard in Joplin, Missouri.  Luckily Heath has an old band mate who lives in Joplin.  They eventually makes contact with Nathan (Billy Wickman) who brings them to his home and then leaves them unsupervised with his two young daughters while his ill wife is asleep upstairs.  While in some movies, Nathan’s complete lack of responsibility and questionable decision making might lead to a movie of the week involving murder and kidnapping . . . in this case it positions him for 'Father of the Year' as Heath and Cara teach the girls how to sing (for a Christmas gift to their mother) and how to bake a pie.  This time with the girls bonds the two leads closer and they exchange gifts later that night.  Cara gets a music CD of the couple they met on the bus while Heath gets a harmonica (which he can play perfectly just like the guitar, piano, etc, because he is a musical genius).

That night Cara figures out a way to save her family business (of course).  They spend Christmas morning at Nathan’s before Heath drives her home.  Cara invites Heath inside where he meets her father.  Cara then tells her father that the bank wants them to cut employees but she’s got a plan to save the company with new products.  Dad balks so Nathan offers to step up and fund the company.  Apparently offering money to any proud Oklahoman is one of the worst mistakes you can make.  He is asked to leave and all the country music albums found in the house are then immediately rounded up and tossed into the fireplace (maybe I embellish a bit).  Heath returns to his own family but is visibly somber because . . . well . . . . no Cara.  After some familial advice, he decides to go see her to apologize.  Cara is already in a better mood now because since Heath left, Banker Bob called to say that after trying her new products he will recommend her product line expansion to his bank.  Heath arrives, he and Cara smooth things over and they all go over to his giant mansion for the rest of Christmas.  The last scene is everyone together by the tree singing Heath's new Christmas song.

I’ll say it, the chemistry was weak.  Megan Park is cute but not charismatic and ditto for Josh Henderson.  The most interesting character was probably his assistant Liz, played by Lucie Guest, who spends, perhaps, 2 minutes on screen.  And is this couple supposed to stay together?  It seemed like the only thing they had in common (besides being single) is living in Oklahoma and having a parent die recently.  Seems like a solid foundation for a long relationship to me!

I give it a 1.5 out of 5.

Nothing spells holiday romance and the spirit of Christmas as much as a desperate marriage of convenience.  Yep, that’s the gist of this little Holiday tale staring Jes Macallan as Carrie Tate.  Carrie is the top executive for a family owned food distribution company (sounds exciting so far right!?!?!).  Everything is going smooth until Carrie’s sister Kate (played by April Bowlby) comes to Thanksgiving and announces that she’s engaged.  It’s on this occasion that the parents feel it is the right time to let everyone know that Grandma, the founder of the family business, was an ultra-conservative traditionalist who believed that women should only be barefoot and pregnant and not working outside the home.  So to that end, she placed a clause in her will that her daughter would not inherit her company.  Instead, it would go to the husband of her first granddaughter to get married (hahaha . . . . . . no what?  Seriously?).  So, I guess Mom must have worked when she was younger and Grandma felt that Carrie and Kate’s father was a complete piece of chit and unworthy to own the company himself (but not such a loser that he couldn’t run the day to day operations of the company with granddaughter Carrie).

Mom and Dad have talked with various attorneys but it seems the will is incontestable.  Maybe Grandma was just a very sweet, insightful and misogynistic woman with stunningly archaic beliefs regarding gender roles.  Either way, Carrie does not take this information, nor the fact her parents withheld it from her all these years, very well.  I mean you can’t really blame her, she spent her life working for and growing a family business which will eventually be turned over to someone NOT in the family.  To top it off, Ethan (played by Adam Senn), Kate’s fiancé is somewhat of a self-righteous, organic food obsessed, hippie douche.  When Ethan expresses interest in owning the company, Carrie makes a mental note to separate Ethan from the group and stab him in the heart with a potato peeler (well, it’s never mentioned in the movie but how could she NOT be thinking that?).

The next day at work, Carrie and her father (who never seems to take slight at the fact that he was never considered to take over the company in favor of a complete and utter stranger) meet with attorney Dylan (played by Coby McLaughlin) who represents a business that ‘Grandma foods’ wants to acquire.  The meeting does not go well as Paul wants guarantees that there won’t be layoffs and believes the offer is low.  Carrie responds by being rude and condescending to Paul (Not exactly top negotiating tactics but hey, she’s under a lot of stress.) and the meeting ends.  While there is tension at home, Carrie decides to ignore everything related to the will when dealing with her family and focus on making Kate’s engagement and wedding everything it should be.  At the same time, though, she tries to reconnect with an old flame from her youth Paul (played by Ryan Caltagirone).

This sounds like a solid strategy until an engagement party reveals that Ethan’s best man is in fact . . . . (wait for it) . . . . Dylan, the handsome attorney Carrie had been so ill-tempered with a few days prior.  Carrie introduces everyone to her charming date and old flame Paul and processes her new predicament.  Later, Dylan shows up at the company Christmas party (where Carrie is dressed as an Elf delivering candy canes to children) to discuss Kate’s bachelorette party.  Carrie then realizes that she is responsible for throwing it (actually Carrie, it seems you are the ONLY person in the bridal party which makes you responsible for everything).  As luck would have it, Ethan (aka hippie fiancé) wants to have his Bachelor party at a family cabin and would like to combine the two parties as one.  After some awkward interaction where Dylan is charming and Carrie is terse and short (a little TOO much so) they agree that Ethan’s idea, to have what has to be the LAMEST sounding Bachelor and Bachelorette parties in the history of mankind, to be the perfect plan!

At the cabin Carrie is her typical mean self to Dylan while he remains sweet and charismatic.  Despite Paul showing up, Carrie and Dylan do manage to spend a few moments together where not even Carrie’s omnipresent, pre-adolescent, social behavior can hide her obvious interest in Dylan.  A gown fitting causes a strained confrontation between Carrie and Kate over the family business which convinces Carrie to solicit Paul into a marriage of convenience (how romantic), so she can retain control over the company.  She plans an engagement dinner and subsequent flight to Vegas but things go awry when Paul admits he is gay and will only marry for love.  Carrie later counters that statement by telling him that gay men should never use sports cliches (cause you know . . . gays can’t play sports???).  After proving to the audience that she can be a mean drunk, she shows us she can also go full on crazy drunk which leads to her calling . . . you guessed it . . . Dylan.  Dylan, the guy so selfless, sweet and charming you’d think he was ALSO gay, shows up and takes Carrie home.

The next day Dylan arrives at Carries work to give her back her phone.  Carrie accuses Dylan of inappropriate behavior (#METOO) for being in her home when she changed into her pajamas and her not remembering anything of the evening.  This leaves Dylan a bit miffed since Carrie only seems nice and complimentary when she’s drunk outta her mind (but then she won’t remember!  Catch 22).  At the rehearsal dinner she reconciles with her sister, let’s everyone know she is not with Paul (everyone seemed to know he was gay anyways) and shows a softer side to Dylan.  Prior to the wedding she resigns from the company.  At the reception, she dances with Dylan where we find out she has accepted a job to run the company he had earlier represented in their attempted take over.  Dylan admits his feelings toward her (Are you sure about this Dylan?  She seems a bit emotionally immature and extremely high maintenance.  And just ask Gay Paul how she reacts to bad news.).   Carrie admits she feels the same and they kiss.  The End.

I felt Jes played her character well as the angry, conflicted Carrie but she never gave us the emotional payoff and gave Carrie any vulnerability at the end.  Coby made Dylan sweet and likeable but also made him sort of a pushover in how he reacted (or didn’t react at all) to Carrie’s constant mood swings.  The actors were okay, the story was okay, so I guess overall it was . . . . okay?  I give it 2.5 out of 5.

Claire Coffee plays Holly Maddux, your typical, every day, lonely, single, hot, blonde, workaholic Ad Executive living in the city.  She may not realize how attractive she really is because everyone at her Ad Agency is equally as stunning to include her best friend Deena, played by Gabrielle Dennis and her assistant Meg, played by Annie Quinn.  And the men aren’t too shabby either as staff photographer Milo, played by Jeff Ward will confirm.  Claire and Milo are both assigned to a big new client who needs a rush campaign by Christmas (which is fast approaching).  As the boss states, they are two of his best employees and both are complete losers with no families or social lives to interfere with them working near the holiday (although Milo does meekly offer up that he has a dog).

So these two single, lonely, attractive coworkers are paired up on the project and we can only fathom to guess where this might lead.  Holly is the typical advertising executive who believes in selling fantasy while Milo believes that fantasy is painfully unattainable and wants to sell a more flawed campaign to the masses.  Deena tells Holly to come to a club that evening where she and her model boyfriend Marcos (Aletza Lopez) will be along with all of the other beautiful people.  Holly invites Milo to go as her plus one but he declines since it’s not really his scene.  Milo is more of the Seattle grunge era dressing, anguished artist, simplistic type of guy (with a dog).  Claire arrives at the club where she meets Deena and then watches Deena’s philandering boyfriend Marcos flirt with other girls behind Deena’s back (I take that back because Deena actually knows about and allows it???).

Feeling along and out of place at the club who should show up but . . . MILO!  Dressed as if he stopped off on his way to Starbucks after a Pearl Jam concert.   This club is the hottest in town but either there is no dress code or the bouncers have a wide latitude on enforcement.  Additionally, he didn’t arrive with Claire but was allowed in anyways.  She tells him to take a selfie to prove he was at the super exclusive Ouvre nightclub but Milo, the professional photographer, can’t accomplish this and ends up with a picture of their hands holding as his phone falls to the floor.  Milo and Claire spend the rest of the night together and he walks her home.  The next day he calls her as she is coming to work because of a great new idea he has she promptly says no (though she hasn’t heard it yet) and he says he’ll wait and tell her when he arrives.  She then promptly slips and falls on the concrete sidewalk in front of a mannequin display of a department store. 

When she comes to, she is immediately greeted by Bo, played by Captain Awesome himself (for those of you who watched the TV series Chuck) Ryan McPartlin.  Claire immediately falls deep into Bo’s dreamy eyes and blindingly white smile.  They flirt and she returns to work where she is all giggling and gushing over Bo to Deena like a smitten schoolgirl.  She gets a call from Bo and he immediately asks her out on date.  One thing I haven’t mentioned so far is that the pair of mannequins in front of where Claire fell is missing the male figure.  These same mannequins have been a focus in many shots and even were admired by Claire and Deena during a prior shopping trip where she wished she could have the perfect man (hint, hint).  I’m not normally at all interested in movies where wax figures come to life but I figured I would give it a chance.

Claire and Bo spend quite a bit of time together (to the detriment of the new ad campaign) leaving Milo to carry much of the workload himself.  Milo is not at all happy with the situation and even expresses it to Deena who by now has caught Marco cheating on her (did she finally put in her contacts and was half blind up until now?) and is close to being single herself.  At this point I can’t help but notice that everyone at this agency is very groomed and well-dressed except for Milo, who would have to upgrade his wardrobe to look as fashionable as the pizza delivery guy (Maybe that’s one reason Claire doesn’t see you as dateable?).  Claire goes to Bo’s large city loft/apartment for dinner (how does a mannequin get an apartment . . . or come up with the money to pay rent?) where for the first time we see things are not perfect when she spills a glass of wine at dinner and he reacts oddly.  Still she seems to be completely enamored and under his ‘perfect’ spell.

At work it is all Milo and Claire, though she is still ignoring most of his ideas, but after it is Claire and Bo to include a surprise visit from Bo and his Parents to her apartment.  Bo’s parents are perfectly delightful to the extreme and the only thing weird about them is when asked what they did for a living and they start making mannequin poses in the dining room (Run Claire . . . just run).  Romantically, Milo is the odd man out although he does give Claire a very heartwarming and sentimental gift of all her project Ads in a 3D Viewmaster.   When Claire and Milo head to their photo shoot for the new Jewelry campaign they find the studio empty and dark as the shoot has been cancelled by Bo.  Claire if furious, she finds and confronts Bo who tells her that he arranged for a world-famous photographer to do the shoot (instead of Milo) but he would only do it at Bo’s place, the photographer’s former studio.  Claire relents and the shoot goes on that evening at Bo’s . . . at least until Bo’s ex (mannequin) girlfriend arrives and trashes the place.  It was a matter of time as there were more shots of the lone, remaining female mannequin in the store window as there were shots of the overall city.

Milo is angry and hurt that Claire used a different photographer.  She apologizes and he tries to salvage what he can from the shoot.  He comes up with the perfect shot for the Ad and sends it to Claire just before the company Christmas Party.  Claire goes with Bo, who has been planning their future life together for a while now including a New Years Trip he springs tonight, while Deena and Milo go alone.  Bo’s crazy, ex-mannequin ex-girlfriend shows up with Deena’s philandering ex-boyfriend Marcos.  Deena convinces Milo go throw caution to the win and go kiss Claire, however Bo steals the moment and delivers a kiss instead.  Milo leaves the party while Claire breaks up with Bo.  She chases him out into the street where she calls to him and then falls in the road on her head again.

Claire wakes up in a hospital room with Milo at her side.  It seems that she had been unconscious for two days and everything that had happened since her original fall was simply a dream (rendering 70% of the movie now completely moot).  Milo had pretended to be her husband so he could stay with her the entire time (I hope he has roommates to take care of the dog).  The doctor tells Claire that she only has a minor concussion but will need to stay 1 more night for observation (Are you f**kin kidding me Doc?  She LOST CONSCIOUSNESS for TWO WHOLE DAYS!!!  That’s a severe concussion by just about any reasonable definition!  Did you get your medical degree from a box of ‘Cocoa Krispies’?).

As you can imagine, Claire is now ‘super’ into Milo and, to no one’s surprise, Milo doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest (or even wonder why).  When Claire finds out that the shoot has already been completed, she is beside herself, she now wants the flawed campaign that Milo advocated.  She gathers the team in her hospital room where she searches for a new image for the Ad.  In doing so she sets Meg up with the Agency Tech guy she has secretly been crushing on and invited a guy from the 5^th floor (who Deena had hit it off with at the fantasy Christmas Party) to bring a flower to Deena.  Of course, this is despite in the real world where Deena and Marcos haven’t broken up (Girl, it was an unconscious DREAM, not a vision of the future shown to you by Christmas ghosts.).  Claire insists they need a new image so they spend hours searching through every image on Milo’s laptop until everyone goes home except Milo.  Even he falls asleep next to Claire on her hospital bed (how romantic) before Claire finds the perfect picture . . . the one of them holding hands at Ouvre.  This becomes the new campaign and our last scene is of them walking down the street, arm in arm and kissing while carolers walk buy (because . . . of course . . . in New York City Christmas Carolers constantly wander around neighborhoods at night like some juvenile street gang marking their territory.)

This movie has two things I hate.  1) Mannequins coming to life (creepy right?) and 2) finding out much of what occurred in the movie is rendered pointless by some time travel or dream sequence.  However, I loved the leads, I bought into their chemistry and who could hate Ryan ‘Captain Awesome’ McPartlin.  I give this a 4 out of 5.

We are quickly introduced to Poppy, played by Nicky Whelan, the owner of a struggling floral shop (I know, a florist named Poppy?  How prescient of her mother.). Through a chance collision she meets Garrett, played by Miles Fisher, the number two employee at Covington Designs.  Covington is the pre-eminent flower shop in all of greater Santa Mesa and Poppy’s chief business competition.  The attraction between the two is obvious even as they go their separate ways (foreshadowing????).  It turns out that Poppy inherited her shop from her grandmother who actually named the shop, Poppy’s Petals, after her granddaughter.  Unfortunately, the shop is underperforming and Poppy giving away free flowers to the elderly (awwwww) isn't helping their bottom line.  They need clients and need them quickly!

Meanwhile at Covington Designs, Garrett is telling his boss and business owner Blaire (Daphne Zuniga) that he expects to be given some stake in the company or he’s leaving.  Eventually Garrett convinces Blaire to let him run the Covington entry into this year’s world famous Santa Mesa Holiday Floral Show.  If he wins, he becomes a partner and if he loses, he does whatever Blaire wants for the next 5 years.  Because of her financial woes, Poppy also enters the competition hoping to earn the incredible grand prize award of $5000 to keep Poppy’s Petals afloat ($5K???  What is that, a few months rent?  Hell, her delivery van breaks down 9 times in this movie.  I’m not seeing it).

Thus begins our adventure.  Guess who just happen to bump into to each other (literally) at the Flower Competition?  No, it’s not Woody and Buzz Lightyear . . . Poppy and Garrett.  Of course, the sparks start right back up from their previous encounter.  Poppy then makes the embarrassing mistake of talking about Blaire Covington TO Blaire Covington (Despite the best efforts of Poppy’s cute and loyal assistant Natalie – played by Julie McNiven).  She also comes to find out that the handsome stranger she talks about to Natalie and herself (i.e. the viewers) is the floral arranger for the Covington Design entry.  We are also introduced to another one of the competition entrants.  It’s a good rule of thumb that if the script bothers to introduce any competitors it’s for a reason.  Sure enough, after the initial judging Poppy, Garrett and the Flower shop owners we met advance to the next round.

At the competition, Garrett finds out about Poppy’s financial troubles and asks his best friend to throw some work her way.  Poppy and Natalie are thrilled about landing a big job from Garrett’s friend.  At the next level of the competition Garrett mentions the referral came from him.  It was subtle and modest and didn’t come across as, “Hey, I just wanted to get my due credit for sending you that work.”  but the end result was pretty much “I just wanted you to know it was I who sent you that work.”   Poppy is touched and appreciative for Garrett’s assistance so . . . who says you can’t buy love anymore?  Garrett convinces Poppy to go out to dinner with him to celebrate making the finals should they both win.  They do, so on to dinner they go.

Garrett arrives at Poppy’s house and is interrogated by Poppy’s father while he waits (Ummm, quick mental note Garrett: your girlfriend still lives at home and she’s probably . . . 30ish?).  He handles the questioning pretty well and exudes just the right amount of charm.  They talk at the house giving us more background on Poppy and her family and then head to dinner.  As prophesied by the Christmas Movie Gods, the dinner is super romantic.  The two leads have very good chemistry and they end the night as all legendary floral couples do, making a flower arrangement (How . . . quaint???).  We also find out Garrett’s background and how his degree is actually in Architecture (are there even degrees in floral design?) and he has been Blaire right hand man for a dozen years.

So, things are going great right?  Not so fast!!!  All this smiling and prancing around the office by Garrett has drawn the attention of Evil Queen Blaire who admonishes Garrett for his lack of attention on the true goal . . . winning the Flower Competition.  I will now interject that I don’t think ANY flower show outside of the one held at Disney World is a big deal.  And take the alcohol away from the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival and you might as well replace it with the North American Barn Painting Championships because no one is showing up.  So, after Blaire lays down her concerns to Garrett he responds essentially with, “Don’t sweat it Mom, it’s all good!!!”.   As you expect, this does not allay Blaire’s concerns.

Two things I learned from this movie is that Flower Show judges aren’t that hard to read.  If they are smiling and nodding at you and each other when they look at your display, you are good to go!  If they are scowling, looking at each other shaking their head . . . all the future flower competition dates you reserved on your personal calendar have just freed up.  The other thing I learned is no matter how confident you are (pay attention Garrett) if your boss is anal and somewhat sour in temperament, being dismissive is simply pulling a pin on a hand grenade – Something bad is bound to happen.  Blaire responds by convincing Poppy that Garrett is secretly in love with and destined to end up with his long-time friend who is her new big client.  Poppy hears this at the client’s event and, to make matters worse, the Grandmother who is the center of the event is allergic to one of the plants she used in her place settings.  Poppy then lashes out at Garrett for not warning her about the allergy.

Poppy refocuses on winning the competition (remember, we’re talking 5 THOUSAND big ones here).    Car trouble causes her to be late and nearly disqualified at the Flower Finals.  Garrett goes to look for her, despite risking his own disqualification, and runs into her (AGAIN) as she enters the setup area.  Garrett professes his innocence, Poppy believes him, he helps her carry in her supplies and they both just reach the contest in time.   During the display creation, Garrett suffers a malfunction that can’t be fixed because all of Covington’s craft materials have been packed up and returned to their vehicles (just go with it).  Despite being his direct competition, Poppy runs over with the required item in just the nick of time for Garrett to complete his arrangement.  This display of good sportsmanship greatly impresses Blaire and her small heart grew 3 sizes that day.

The winners are announced: Poppy wins (SURPRISE!), Blaire fires Garrett (more on that later) and our two leads finally kiss.  The new, kindler, gentler Blaire actually fired Garrett to release him from their agreement (allowing him to go out on his own).  A final scene shows Garrett and Poppy celebrating Christmas together with Poppy’s new bestie, Blaire, stopping by to share the holiday with them.

The story was fine, both leads were charming and had good chemistry.  It was a simple, yet effective story.  I give this a 4.5 out of 5.