A Kismet Christmas

source: A Kismet Christmas

I really enjoyed this movie!! I am a HUGE fan of Carlo Marks and his movies. This was a very different kind of Hallmark Christmas movie. Centered around kismet and a Christmas cookie. I liked the unusual premise. I really thought Carlo Marks and Sarah Ramos have amazing chemistry. Snappy chemistry and dialogue. I really enjoyed the interaction between the two main actors. The little girl Jazzy played by Rubi Tupper I thought was really cute. I really enjoyed the scenes as well between the father and daughter. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this movie. If you are looking for something a little different from Hallmark. Great movie!!!

Watching a Christmas movie, one is prepared to accept a good dose of fantasy, call it magic. That sleeping on a pillow hiding a kismet cookie, baked according to an ancient family recipe, would make you dream of your destined 'love of your life', though farfetched, could be seen as sweet. That an entire town almost obsessively depends on this notion, it becomes a bit silly. The pivot moment of the story is when young Sarah dreams of Travis and runs to his house to tell him and finds him in the very act of getting married, which leaves her brokenhearted and mortified, to the point of not wanting to live in her town. How could she be unaware that her neighbor, best friend, and love crush was getting married? This is so absurd that it makes the rest of the story quite hard to digest. Such premises aside, the rest of the film, Sarah's return to her hometown , family and friends, and her reunion with Travis and his daughter, follows predictable gentle lines, with the sweet moments and kind feelings one expects in a Christmas movie. Sarah Ramos and Carlo Marks have good chemistry and the girl, Rubi Topper, delivers a charming performance, as in her last year debut, in "A Christmas miracle for Daisy". The movie provides enough values of family, friendship, and kindness to render it suitable for family viewing at Christmas time.

Ok so from the ads I new that I'd like this one, but I'm surprised at how much. First, I do really enjoy Carlo Marks. Something was wonky with his hair in this and it was distracting me, but he turned in a solid performance. He played a great single father without being too much and still a good romantic lead. Here is where my surprise lies. Sarah Ramos. I whole heartedly disliked her on Parenthood. I found myself searching for reasons to dislike her in this. And to be fair, she gave me very little other than some nitpicky moments. Unfortunately the last scene was one of them, but overall I was pretty impressed. I think Hallmark may have a new actress here (hopefully not too used) but she is is nice looking without being gorgeous, can play hardworking, quirky, family oriented etc. The daughter- typically the HM children are far too overly precocious. Did she have her moments? Definitely, but it didn't seem nearly as bad (I'm looking at you boy from bramble house). Her hugs were pretty darn bad but most of it was pretty good and didn't distract me! I really loved the town used. The pretty staircase and 2 levels really made me feel like I was there and made for some scenes that appeared to have a higher production value that some movies. I got irked that the main house was supposed to be the grandmothers great grandparents home and it was definitely not that old- there was nothing historical or old world charm about it. It's a pretty cookie cutter house that may be a bit older but no way is this turn of the century let alone before. Marilu Henner- obviously who doesn't love her! Also perfectly cast as Sarah Ramos's grandma. I enjoyed this casting. I needed a bit more of some background here for later scenes. The agent is a bit much at the beginning but there always has to be that person and it calmed down and was much more realistic by the end. I liked the grandmas friends and how their story fit in without being too much hit it also wasn't just thrown in for something. Without spoilers there were a few things script wise that should have been changed and a few scenes that should have been reshot as the acting was much worse than the majority. But I liked the story. I liked the acting. Overall pleasantly surprised with this one. While it's 10/10 it's also not one I'd be eager to watch again. But I would watch it again. Give me a Carlo Marks and Bethany Joy Lenz movie now please!

Favorite scene with Sarah Grace/Sarah Collins (Sarah Ramos) - Christmas Tree Hunting and Working on her Book with Travis Up in his Cabin. I Remember Sarah Ramos (Sarah Grace/Sarah Collins) from the TV Series "American Dreams"! BTW #1, I Loved, Loved, Loved this Movie! BTW #2, I Love Marilu Henner (Grandma Mia) in this! BTW #3, Travis Walker (Carlo Marks) is So Dang Charming, So Dang Hilarious, and So Dang Hot!!! I Love Him!!! BTW #4, The Chemistry Between Sarah Grace/Sarah Collins (Sarah Ramos) and Travis Walker (Carlo Marks) was Hot!!! BTW #5, This is my Last Christmas 2022 Hallmark Channel Movie. Set in New York and Maine.

I liked this movie the first time it was on. I especially liked the leading lady, Sarah Ramos. She was cute and quirky, kind and sweet, awkward yet accomplished. Great story that incorporated Christmas magic and romance in perfect proportions. I liked it even more with each subsequent view - it has a lot of heart. And, to me, the best Hallmark Christmas movies always mix the romance with a healthy dose of Christmas magic, with a lot of family love to boot. This one does all of that. I hope Sarah becomes a regular Hallmark leading lady - she was just that fantastic! I highly recommend this movie.

I wasn't expecting too much from this movie at first, but the story of a family legend was carefully introduced in stages, in a way that was not shlocky and not predicable, and which also incorporated some nice story twists. This set up an engaging movie with two very likable lead characters who were animated by some good acting. Both characters seemed plausible, real, and natural. The movie was a pleasure to watch all the way through, and was not shallow fluff. I felt real joy for the characters at the ending. This would be a good movie for kids and adults to watch together. It works well at both levels. This is one is of my Top 10 favorite 2022 Christmas movies of 2022. You can see my other favorite 2022 Christmas movies by clicking on my profile link above; then look for "2022 FAVORITE CHRISTMAS ROM-COMs" under "Lists".

There have been some pretty ridiculous plot lines in Hallmark Christmas movies, but magic cookies might be the new benchmark. Apparently, if you sleep with the magic cookie under your pillow, you not only won't have a bed full of cookie crumbs and maybe ants, you will dream about your true love. It's Hallmark. We let it go. Sarah Ramos has great appeal in her role as a writer who has become convinced that the whole thing was a lie when the guy she dreamed of married someone else. I hope she does more of these movies. She's just right for them. To be honest, I have a very hard time buying Carlo as a leading man. Hallmark is making movies for the other team now, so... Nuff said. Supporting cast is good, and this movie actually works if you let the plot go. I'll probably watch this again next year.

7.2 stars. I like these two leads working together, and was relieved that they have good chemistry. The first and most important requirement was met. Marks can keep a sub-standard movie afloat (not saying this movie is sub-standard) with his charm and kills, and Ramos actually holds her own. They both have great screen presence, and with the addition of chemistry, I could tell this movie was going to at least be average. Once again Hallmark rarely fails to meet basic standards. The second requirement is entertainment value (EV), or maybe this is the first and most important requirement, I'm not sure. I suppose good chemistry and entertainment value go hand in hand. This film has decent EV, which surprised me because it starts out kinda sluggish. The first 30 minutes did not inspire me much. As the enchantment builds, it's easy to invest more expectation that it will continue to improve and give us a magical ending. One huge observation which is probably a source of some minor disappointment in the HM films: the parents are always dead and gone. Why do these protagonists never have parents? It's as if all these movies are made for a foster child generation (if that is a thing). Are 100% of our HM audience foster children, or adults who grew up in the system, or have single parents? It's so unrealistic, and overdone, the writers should take a break from that routine. Ok, all that aside, I'm not buying this story. If these two were soulmates from the start, why did he marry some other woman? I'm not satisfied with the writer's half-hearted attempts to patch up this obvious disparity. To wrap this up, the conclusion brought us back full circle to the theme: magical cookies. So it's a fairy tale of sorts, and that's fine, and the final romantic scene was tidy.

I enjoyed this film so much. It was full of the love and Christmas magic that I always look for in a Hallmark movie. I was blown away by the leading characters - talk about chemistry! Marilu Henner is always a treat and the girl who played Jasmine did a great job compared to most of the child actors I see in these movies. Story-wise, I was a big fan of the nostalgia of baking with her Granma and the what-ifs of that first love. I also appreciated the line about how it was too early (at 17 I think) for her to use the Kismet cookie. It is an important lesson that sometimes we have to live a little and lead separate lives until it is time to come back together and start a new chapter. I'm not sure why it was necessary for the Granma to actually move in order for her granddaughter to stay. I also hated that Benny did not get his Kismet cookie. Like some of the others have said, there were a few holes and loose ends, but in general I loved it and would absolutely watch it again.