The Santa Summit

Amy Groening from sexy scene actress to wholesale movie is crazy arc. lol

I gave 2 stars because the inflatable tree guy is amazing. However, the inflatable snowman is horrible. Joey King gives the lack luster performance that she's known for at this point. The concept is stupid, the acting is horrible, and the writing leaves everything to be desired. It's so obviously Winnipeg and the settings are horrible. All in all, a bad movie that could be improved easily. Very hallmark in that it's cheap and the main characters are annoying and superficial. The teachers are meant to be over thirty but act like college kids. Harmless enough, but no need to watch it. You're better off watching anything else.

FAN-SANTA-TASTIC- LOVED IT ALL! - LOVE TO LINK TO SEE ORIGINAL SONG FROM SANTA SUMMIT UNCUT ON YOUTUBE People, Rodrigo Beilfuss. Stephanie Sy MUST BE SANTA SANTA CLAUSE. SONG..! BEST FORMAT EVER! YOU OUT DID YOURSELF -ELF! A FAN. YOU NEED TO PUT OUT A CHRISTMAS ALBUM EXACTLY LIKE THE MOVIE VERSION! I LOVED THE PLOT SO HILLARIOUS with MILLIONS of RED SANTAS RUNNING AROUND HIGH ON A SNOWY SKI MOUNTAIN, SO YOU DONT RECOGNIZE ANYONE! HOW A GIRL, BUMPS INTO A GUY, & FALLS FAST FOR A HIM,( ALSO IN A RED SUIT), THEN REALIZED IT ....AFTER SHE LOSES HIM AMONGST ALL THE RED SANTA SUITS; ONLY TO SEARCH FOR HIM THE WHOLE DAY - & UNBEKNOWNST TO HER HE IS ALSO LOOKING FOR HER. LOVED HOW HE LEFT HER A NOTE...WATCH THE MOVIE TO SEE HOW SMART HE WAS ABOUT WERE/HOW TO LEAVE THE NOTE!,... ALSO WITH OTHER AWESOME ACTOR'S & FUNTIMES & LOVE LOST & ALSO LOVE FOUND ALONG THE WAY! HAPPY ENDINGS ....AS ALL MOVIES SHOULD BE THAT ARE WORTH WATCHING!

8.6 stars. 'The Santa Summit' sits squarely atop most Hallmark material right of the bat. It was a very festive and pleasant experience to watch these three women fall in love with strangers (one of the men is not really a stranger, but seems like one). What is magnetic about this film is the excitement and fun, and it's the opposite of boring. It's non-stop romantic energy and promises of Christmas cheer and wishes of good tidings of great joy for three deserving ladies. The story gets better as we go, which says a lot considering it starts off on full throttle and never slows down. I don't mean it's a fast paced drama per se, but it keeps you on the edge of your seat as these school teachers are attending a Santa Summit because they need a little fun to kick them out of their funk, but amidst their innocent pleasure seeking activities, they are blessed with instant love. What really excites about 'The Santa Summit' is how everything culminates to a wonderful and happy conclusion and it feels like one of the classics...imagine Ferris Bueller, 'Pretty in Pink', 'Sixteen Candles'. These stories all bring that feeling everything will be okay. Life merges with good fortune and romance and it all works out. The final scene is perfectly timed and full of merriment and delight. Yearly must see list.

For some reason, I expected this movie to be kind of silly and wondered if it would be worth the time watching. Maybe it was the title. I'm glad I did because so far, it's one of Hallmark's more cheerful and fun holiday movies this year, in my opinion. Jordin, Ava and Stella are school teachers and best friends who decide to partake in an event called, you guessed it, The Santa Summit, a big party where everyone dresses up as Santa and spends the day eating, drinking, dancing, judging a gingerbread house contest, etc. Early on at the event, Jordin (Hunter King) loses her wallet, which is retrieved by Liam (Ben Hollingsworth) and he gives it back to her. They spend the next few minutes quickly bonding, a very cute meet-cute. But before they know it, they somehow get separated without finding out each other's names or seeing each other's faces under the beards they wear as part of the Santa costume. Most of the movie surrounds whether they will find each other. But rather than spend all the time on them, Hallmark spread the joy by adding two other actresses in lead roles with their own stories, played by two ladies who are usually supporting players. It was really nice seeing Amy Groening (very adept at comedy) and Stephanie Sy (she can sang!) in these roles, and they played them perfectly. Much like Hallmark's fall offering of Field Day, these three ladies had very believable chemistry and it was fun watching them enjoy themselves, support and encourage each other and evolve as much as one can in at a one-day event. Very enjoyable holiday movie that's sure to put a smile on your face!

This was the first 2023 Christmas movie I watched, and it was a great way to kick off the Christmas movie season. "The Santa Summit" is about three women that work together deciding to go to the Santa Summit with the hopes of just having fun and leaving things to serendipity. The Santa Summit is an event where you dress like Santa, and move together to scheduled destinations. Though "The Santa Summit" was completely predictable, it was a lot of fun seeing how the serendipity plays out. It was also nice seeing strangers being kind to each other and how that becomes the start of more. "The Santa Summit" is a refreshing offering from Hallmark that is different from your typical two people falling in love at Christmas movie.

Hunter King is super obnoxious and not a very good actress. Amy Groening is pretty cute to watch. Way too much conversation in the meet cute. It was weird. Hated it. Way too long of a conversation. And not realistic for them to have this long of a conversation with their beards on. I feel like I barely know the characters and they're just diving into the deep end. It's unrealistic and almost made me turn the movie off. The entire conversation was so cringy. So the first date of sorts is while they're drunk? I mean it's super realistic, but not romantic at all. Ugh. Oh wait, they're not drunk. It's just that terrible of a scene. The acting overall is subpar. They really put a lot of work at the finding the girl for whom I don't really see the appeal. And why would you pull down a beard of a perfect stranger if you never saw the girl you're looking for without the beard? How is that going to help? I tried, but I couldn't finish this movie. I had to turn it off. So terrible.

This was a fun and lighthearted movie to watch. It was a different twist on most Hallmark movies. The movie takes place over a day at the Santa Summit where 3 friends/coworkers are spending the day. It's basically bar hopping dressed in festive Santa gear. Jordan runs into Liam and they have a brief conversation but they had a connection. They ended up losing one another and spend the movie trying to locate one another. Jordan's 2 friends were a great addition to the cast. Personally, I really like Amy Groening and would like to see her in a lead roll. This movie was fun, the acting was good, and it kept my attention. It wasn't an overworked script.

I'm an unapologetic fan of Hallmark movies, but it really is refreshing when they try something different. That's not easy to do after churning out hundreds of movies, especially when their "cookie cutter" formula has been so lucrative. And yet the "Santa Summit" is unlike any other Hallmark Christmas movie I've seen and deserves a couple of stars for that alone. I didn't catch the name of the city in which the Santa Summit supposedly takes place, but my son and his girlfriend have dressed up for and participated in San Francisco's "SantaCon", reputedly the biggest Santa themed pub crawl in the country. Apparently, it's a lot of fun, as this movie often was. I'm not the biggest fan of Hunter King (Jordin), and I wasn't really sold on the match between her and Virgin River's Benjamin Hollingsworth (Liam), but they're rarely on screen together given that most of the movie is them looking for each other (imagine "Serendipity" crammed into one night). And this was, in many ways, more a celebration of friendship (between the three teachers) and brotherly love (between Liam and Mac). There was also a nod to the vanishing emphasis on teaching music and art at school. I have long felt that Amy Groening, who plays sexy nerd Ava, should be given a lead role in a Hallmark movie. She's just too good and too cute to just be a sidekick, as she has been in probably a dozen Hallmark movies. A well written movie starring her as a sweet teacher, or a beautiful scientist, or a passionate lawyer would likely be well received. Stephanie Sy was also effective playing Stella, a more surly character, who was understandably resentful after she was forced out of her beloved job as a music teacher. But this was far from a perfect movie. Liam repeatedly confronts, accosts, and touches women in Santa suits mistakenly believing they might be the woman he had a life changing 5 minute chat with while wearing their fake beards. That's not OK. Neither was the music. Although one horrific singer was intended to be horrible, so that Stella would seem better, I wasn't thrilled with Stella either. Or the DJ. Or Freddie. Karaoke may be entertaining for some people when they're drinking in a bar with friends and cheering on those friends. Bar patrons are invariably happy to lower their standards after enjoying some alcohol, but it's a far different experience when you're home alone and sober. I was also annoyed by the way the three teachers treated their reindeer costumed surrey bike pedaler. He only charged $4.00 (despite having 3 passengers) but they literally refused to pay him. And when they meet him later, he doesn't say a word about not being paid, seems invested in their drama, and gives them another ride. I hate it when service people get stiffed. Those complaints aside, I mostly enjoyed the movie. It was probably a 6 star movie on my scale (I grade Hallmark on a curve) but I added a star because I really appreciated Hallmark's attempt to try something new.

This may be my second favorite Hallmark holiday romance of 2023 behind the Heidelberg Christmas. Hunter King, Amy Groening, and Stephanie Sy play the three best friends and grade school teachers Jordin, Ava, and Stella. Each of the three is battling their own demons when Jordin convinces them to go with her to the annual Santa Summit event. (I have always wanted to be a fly on the wall during one of those. It looks like a tremendous amount of fun.) Jordin has seen on social media that her ex is dating again, Ava is afraid to tell someone she loves them, and Stella is uninspired teaching English instead of her beloved music due to budget cuts in their school district. Right away at the summit Jordin looses her wallet and meets Liam...the two have an instant connection but get separated before exchanging names or numbers at an even where everyone is dressed like Santa. Stella meets the cheerful Freddie played by Rodrigo Beilfuss. Freddie keeps cropping up, much to the disgruntled and grumpy Stella's dismay and he keeps trying to drag the Christmas spirit out of her. Meanwhile, all three girls end up talking to a pedal cab driver dressed like Dasher. Ava talks herself into and out of confessing her love and everyone is looking for Jordin's mystery man as they go through all the Santa Summit events like line-dancing, sledding, karaoke, gingerbread house competitions, etc. I love Benjamin Hollingsworth and have really enjoyed his reformed? Character on Virgin River. He plays Liam who is trying to find his mystery girl, and spend time with his brother by trying to get him to loosen up and put down work for a break. I loved the supportive friends through this film and I really enjoyed the crazy fun of the Santa Summit. The combo of those two and the romances make this a recommendation from me to romantics, fans of Christmas, grade-school teachers like my mom and fans of Hallmark holiday romances.