A Glenbrooke Christmas

source: A Glenbrooke Christmas

Moviecut—A Glenbrooke Christmas

There is a romantic Christmas story in the town of Glenbrooke that says if you make a wish while the church bells are ringing on Christmas Eve, your wish will come true. It is said that Jessica's mom, who grew up in the town, made just such a wish to one day be married to Jessica's dad. Jessica's parents passed away and she has been raised by her wealthy grandfather. She is on the cusp of taking over her grandfather's real estate dynasty and before all the craziness begins she decides to take one last Christmas vacation to where everything began for her parents...in Glenbrooke. She also decides to use a fake name do no one will know she is a wealthy heiress. Her first encounter in Glenbrooke is when she almost runs over the town fire-chief (Kyle) and his boxes of cookies...aka the ginger-apocalypse. Not having ever lit a fire she ends up meeting the fire chief the second time in his official capacity when she forgets to open the flue and the cottage she is renting (which coincidentally is the one her mom grew up in) fills up with smoke. Jessica ends up being surprised at how friendly and well informed the towns members are as to the goings on around town...like her arrival, smoke and ginger-apocalypse! Lots of Christmas events going on around Glenbrooke, but the one disappointment the Christmas bells are not functioning due to a burnt out motor. Our fire-chief is more than meets the eye, he had an engineering degree from MIT, but grew up in Glenbrooke and wanted to come home. Initially a little awkward at the start of the tree trimming, but this romance did grow and become more natural. Can we send the ugly Christmas sweaters back to the purview of the fun uncles and spinster aunts? "Well, I am pretty sure romantic and fire station have never been used in the same sentence."-Jessica. Jessica ends up getting roped in to helping at the art center and organizing a fundraiser to get the bells up and ringing by Christmas. Will Kyle be ok with her being a millionaire? You will have to watch and see in this sweet Hallmark holiday romance. Not my favorite of Hallmark's Christmas films...but still a good one and worth a watch.

Starting Christmas in July early! Missed this movie last Christmas season so gave it a look today and it's a lovely movie! Love these two main leads and they have great chemistry. The setting reminds me of Christmas in evergreen, perfect little Christmas town where everyone knows your name and all your business it seems. Main character comes for vacation and is sucked into yet another fundraiser to save something in the town. Enjoyed watching the leads banter, nice side characters who are just on the cusp of being too nosey but don't quite cross over and stay likeable. It had a nice ending too. Will give it a watch every Christmas!

After being pleasantly surprised by the previous Christmas and Mysteries Hallmark film 'The Christmas Bracelet', despite a underwhelming first act, part of me was eager to see 'A Glenbrooke Christmas'. Despite the subject not being as appealing. 2020 was a mixed bag for Hallmark, though could have been a lot worse considering the circumstances, with some real surprises as well as some average or less ones. Not too dissimilar to previous years. To me, 'A Glenbrooke Christmas' is towards being in the weaker end of Hallmark's Christmas films for 2020, while being nowhere near one of the worst films overall. As far as Hallmark goes, 'A Glenbrooke Christmas' is an average middling effort with good things but with not much that makes one go wow. If asked whether it's recommended, my answer would be a small y but only as a one time watch rather than one of those worthy of repeat viewings sort of films. Beginning with the good, there is nothing to blame the production values for. The scenery is truly lovely, magical even at its best, and appropriately festive. Makes one want to go there and definitely at Christmas. The photography complements them beautifully. There are moments of affectionate nostalgia in the soundtrack, with sprinklings of Christmas song favourites. Although it took me a while to warm to her character, who was a little too neurotic to begin with, Autumn Reeser gives a committed and charming performance. Matching her in the charm department is Antonio Cuopo, whose performance was a little more consistent and quite liked its subtlety. The supporting cast are fine, zesty Latonya Williams standing out. However, a lot of things could have been done better. The chemistry between Reeser and Cuopo could have been a lot stronger, it was too underplayed and could have done with more warmth. The writing for the romance doesn't help, did find the romance rather underdeveloped and erratic in how quickly it moves, taking too long to begin with and then rushing too conveniently. The conflict is contrived and predictable, it takes a while for anything to progress and any development comes out of nowhere and is rushed through. Did feel that the characters in general were underwritten and little more than typical Hallmark cliches, while Reeser and Cuopo do well it took time for their characters to connect with the viewer and relax (particularly Reeser's). Furthermore, the story is dull as dishwater from being way too thin and excessively predictable from being the same formula as with most Hallmark films with all the long well worn out cliches done to tired effect. Some of it is very repetitive too, the final act is contrived and lacking in realism and the ending is too neat and can be seen from miles away, Hallmark really do need to get some new ideas. The script is very stilted and is full of cheese and sugar to the point that it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The music generally is on the drab side. Overall, alright but not much more. 5/10.

Autumn Reeser is one of my favorite Hallmark actresses and she didn't disappoint as Jennifer in this one either. While the actor who played Kyle seemed too stiff. Maybe it was supposed to be part of his character. Kyle started out with a chip on his shoulder and didn't loosen up very much throughout the movie. Apparently, he had been hurt by his ex fiancé and found it difficult to trust again. Jennifer comes to town to reconnect with her past. She is the next CEO of a huge company, owned by her grandfather. Most everyone knows the family name, and typically they just want to get close to her because they want something. So at least Kyle and Jennifer have trust issues in common. Lol Anyway, what usually happens in these movies, happens. Jennifer spends time with Kyle and they fall in love. However, she neglects to mention who she really is and the fact that she's loaded. To be fair, she tries to tell Kyle twice, but he starts mini rants about how rich people are evil basically. So of course Jennifer stops trying to tell him and later Kyle finds out. He gets upset and sends her away. A coworker of his talks sense into him and he goes and gets her. It ends with a kiss, of course. What did I like, except Autumn Reeser? *The actor who plays the grandfather looks so precious. *Jennifer stands up for her choice not to tell Kyle her position. They both have valid points and share them. Later, they both apologize and explain. *The town was idyllic for Christmas. What was missing? *There was no magic or spark between Jennifer and Kyle. Maybe the actor was trying so hard to have that chip on his shoulder, that it hindered his ability to show emotions. Or facial expressions, except for a few smiles. I just wasn't feeling them together. It was way too awkward at times, even near the end.

The actors did what they could with the smarmy script. The conflict was dumb and not necessary.

I haven't been sold on Autumn Reeser before this movie. She has always seemed to be cast as a character 10-15 years younger than she is. She has just always seemed so old to me and therefore unbelievable with the guys she was cast with. I never felt chemistry between her and other characters. She's finally playing a character closer to her age I guess, so she is much more believable. However, the poor uber wealthy woman looking for true love was a dumb idea. I didn't sympathize with her because she literally had nothing to worry about and no struggle in her life. Her life seems charmed even despite her parents passing when she was little. She seemed spoiled at first and her tastes so upper class that I found it hard to believe that she had "normal people" clothes and enjoyed the rustic decor. Her character didn't seem believable, especially when drinking a beer. The male lead was good though. Never seen him in a movie before I don't think, but I enjoyed his character. He was way too quick to show his heart though and came off way too eager and desperate, but also snobbish and contradicting about wealth. I still enjoyed it though despite all that. It just wasn't very believable and there too many confusing contradictions. For example, she was quick to throw money, except when it was the most important and needed the most. I'm sure the writer could've done better. Let her donate anonymously, but also let her still do the art show and let it be about the students and a scholarship program. That would've been better. The townspeople were stressing over the bell and the money to fix it, and she could've spared them that easily and anonymously. She let them continue in that way for what seemed like her own glory. This movie had some real flaws, but still I enjoyed it for the Hallmark feels.

I like almost all Hallmark movies and especially the Christmas ones. A Glenbrooke Christmas is one of the best! Antonio Cupo is fantastic, as is Autumn Reeser and the whole cast. The storyline is wonderful and the scenery marvelous. Great chemistry between all the cast makes this one a winner!

I liked this movie. It was sweet. The acting was good. Glenbrooke presents the ideal small town living.