A Christmas Together with You

source: A Christmas Together with You

6.6 stars. I'm glad we have a different type of story. A woman co-owns a business with her friend, but it's not her dream, because she went to culinary school and always wanted to be a chef. She and a much older man (the true star of this movie) who frequents the place have become really good friends over the years. He stumbles on an old photo of the one that got away 50 years ago. The two of them go on a journey to find his lost love, and on that journey she also finds love. I am going to be cynical now because it's fun and much more satisfying. First of all, there is no way you find a woman that beautiful driving hundreds of miles across the state in the cold and some snow with a much older man to help him find his old soulmate. She drives, why, because he's too old? At a gas station they stumble on a busy guy on his cell phone who spills his coffee on her and doesn't have the time to apologize (she later falls in love with him). Soon they happen to run into him at the inn that he owns? They weren't even supposed to be at that inn. That's where the weird stuff only begins. She and the elderly fellow share a room? It's not frowned upon because he's old? She takes the couch?? No way he ever lets her do that, I don't care how much insisting is done on her part. And let's face it this guy is not THAT old, he is young enough he would probably be thinking to himself maybe there's an outside chance she likes me for more than a friend. Just being real. Show me any guy that is in his 70's who isn't going to try and bust a move. Trust me, I know... my parents were baby boomers. I think the writers try to diffuse this line of thinking by having her say that he is the father she never had but, there are too many holes in that theory and it doesn't jibe. And side note: there is no way he or his lost love are in their 70's. She's maybe 62 and he looks about the same, but he said they met in the 1960's and fell in love, so he had to be at least born in the early 50's, so doing the math... And when she thinks about moving to this new town that they've been staying at for several days (why does she want to move there?) she is talking on the phone to her friend/co-owner of the diner who says at the drop of a hat without hesitation: go ahead and move to Timbuktu, I have a friend who will buy you out... Huh? Not realistic AT ALL. The romance in this movie is non-existent, she falls in love with the innkeeper after wrapping presents and making food with him one time. There is a lack of any growth of this courtship whatsoever. And the older man can't seem to get his lost love to fall in love with him again because he can't, (or won't) tell her why he left her 50 years ago. She has always thought he abandoned her (we call it ghosting these days) so who wouldn't defend themself immediately, spit it out, you left her because her dad forbade you to marry her, say it already. Our young "lead" male (definitely a supporting character) gets little screen time. The point is there is minimal romance... if you are going to make this a romance movie then give it some romance! When the young "couple" kiss at the very end it's practically awkward. He says he doesn't want to spend another day without her. First of all they never even spent a day together, well maybe almost a day, but there's no real relationship yet. She certainly has shown no indication that she really likes him, yes she's attracted but...It was very strange. If I were her I'd be running for the hills. My first thoughts would be, "what on earth did I do to give him the impression that we are soulmates? I must be putting out signals that scream of desperation, but I am not desperate I am a confident woman and I won't give any man the impression that he can tell me that he doesn't want to spend another day without me before making sure he understands that I'm a catch and I'm not that easy..."

Sauce

Storyline is good. Drawn out dialogue. Boring. Not the greatest acting except for Niall Matter. What is he doing in this movie? The dog was a nice touch though. Just not Christmassy enough for me. Not on my list to watch again next year.

If you want to see how to beat around the proverbial bush in six different ways, spend your time on this movie. I typically do not review holiday romance movies, but man alive, this one has me yelling at the telly in four languages. No one is saying what they mean, or meaning what they say. (This is not a spoiler because you'll see it happen within five minutes.). Of course, if you want the muzak to help you sleep, go for it.

Ugh this film is bad very bad even for hallmark. The story was so boring and it dragged on and on. And the chemistry is so bad. It's been done 100 times and there's nothing new too it.

Story was good. All the actors did a good job, Niall Matter, Laura Vandervoort, Harry Lennox, and Liza Higet we're excellent. The story between Megan and Frank was sweet. Loved that it wasn't a typical Hallmark love story. Loved the dog.

This is a decent enough story line (s), and the acting is good. But I have some issues with the flashback scenes and photos of what is supposed to be 1971. They are completely out of touch with the time period. In 1971, high schoolers were not wearing shirt and ties to school, they weren't singing "I've got my love to keep me warm". This was the peak of anti war protests and hippie movements. That is my issue with this movie.

Did I blink and they built a romance between Megan and Steve? Seems like we got very little work on their romance...Megan's pain, yes...romance? No. I felt like they did a nice job on the relationship from the past between Frank and Claire. This is the story of a coffee shop co-owner Megan who is left be her fiancé and is melancholy with no plans over the holidays...oh! And she is also now an orphan. She sees an old photo from her loyal customer Frank and decides to help him hunt down an old flame. This takes them to a sweet Christmas-y town where Megan gets her flirt on with the inn owner Steve and Frank has some things to work out with Claire. The acting was great. I love all four of our leads and I appreciated having an older love story. I do think that they either needed more time to tell the story or a tighter script. Otherwise a nice story...and I appreciate the age gap between the friends Frank and Megan!

Hallmark has upped their game this year with some very good Christmas movies. A Christmas Together With You is no exception. It has an excellent cast and a very warm and charming story. That said, someone please, for the love of God, give Megan (Laura Vandervoort) a sandwich!