Where Are You, Christmas?

Weird meet cute of the main two characters. There are some sort of magical background music when he looked at her. Not sure what that was about. A little weird overall, but fun. The storyline had such great potential. Wasn't executed as well as I would've liked, but pretty good overall. Love the premise and what people are supposed to do to remember Christmas. It's the memories and relationships, not all the things. It's a great message for viewers. The script wasn't written very well. Some things didn't flow very well. Michael Rady was not a good choice for his character. He's better at being upbeat and jolly, not so much at being sad and a loner. Watching him portray this role, it's like he's bored with his character or just not into it. He did portray his hurt feelings at the end well. Absolutely no chemistry between the two main characters. Way too forced. The main female was awkward. I almost feel like this movie could have been better done as just a happy family Christmas movie and not a romance movie. Maybe with just some small flirtations at the end would have been better. The father played his character really well. Loved it. The mother was adorable and funny. Absolutely loved her. She even made me happy cry laugh at one part. The brother's proposal was awkward. I know he's not the main character, but his relationship with his girlfriend really didn't add anything to the movie. They didn't really seem like they were in love at all. But then again, maybe that's more realistic anyway. Ha. It also makes absolutely no sense how his girlfriend remembered Christmas. The boyfriend didn't do anything to jog her memory. Too easy. The way the father remembers Christmas wasn't very satisfying. I was really hoping it would have something to do with his daughter and their relationship and maybe some sort of Christmas memory between the two of them seeing as though they were the last two that were black and white and they had this tension the whole time. Plotline hole I think- the main male character says his pops took him in when his parents died, and the main female supposedly grew up in that town, and it's a tiny town, but they've never met before? Bad writing/editing. They for sure would have known each other. The main female character did portray her character pretty well for the most part though, minus the romance part.

7.6 stars. This is certainly a movie that caters to the whole family. It's obvious that 'Where Are You, Christmas?' is geared more toward a younger audience, say 7-14 year olds. But for me it was entertaining and fun, because Fonseca rocks her performance, as well as the rest of the cast. I can see why they initiated the holidays with this movie. It's about a woman who was very close to her family, but she left town some years ago to pursue her dreams. Unfortunately, this decision left her dad with a saddened spirit she was wholly unaware of, and he also has forgotten the source of his grief and resentment toward her. Her career involves having too much Christmas, fixing Christmas and planning Christmas for customers. She returns home after many years of avoiding her family over the holidays and is so burnt out on Christmas, she wishes to be rid of it. The wish is granted with ominous strings attached: her hometown and its citizens have turned grey and lost all memory of Christmas. I think the theme explores a philosophical realm deeper than the usual formula. Fonseca's character's anti-Christmas wish has influenced everyone, including herself, yet she cannot reverse the damages even though she is aware of the situation and retains her memories. I think this is a lesson of how our decisions affect those around us and the only way to reverse it is to accept the ramifications of our own cynicism and negativity. This lesson will be very effective for a young audience regarding the importance of a positive attitude. What the author has failed to point out is that her flaw is narcissism which pervades her personality and is the root cause of the whole debacle. Later, as we witness this character defect, it is contradicted by unrealistically positive traits that she would likely not possess. Therefore, the crux is overshadowed by the exhibition. If the naysayers may pause a moment, please look beyond the surface and notice the poignance and practicality of this film.

Hallmark and the like are known for cheesiness, but this? Only fit for 10 year olds. I can only imagine the actors tried hard to keep a straight face when reciting the script. I love a good Christmas movie, even though us here in the UK never indulge in "heart" speak - as in 'having a good heart' or 'listen to your heart', in other words we don't do "cheese" much, but it's nice to watch a film without profanities or high speed chases. However, the lead actress playing Addy, over acted so badly to the point where it was laughable, the amateurs in my drama group would have made a better and more professional job of it.

First, nice story, very typical Hallmark (with can be a good thing). The two leads had great chem and were nice to watch together. Lyndsy was funny on her own and a better actor than some of the other Hallmark Heroines. But there were too many problems to overcome for me to like this more. 1) Dad's constant passive aggressiveness toward his daughter. No wonder she doesn't come back more often. I know I wouldn't if I had face that barrage of attacks. 2) The green screen effects for a bunch of the fake backgrounds (in color or BW) were so cheap, I thought they were done with an iPhone. I guess if they had to blow their budget on the BW -> Color stuff, something else was going to suffer 3) Dad DOESN'T get his color after the heartfelt convo with daughter, but only when the rest of the town sings his praises... self-centered much? 4) Too much of a rip off of Pleasantville. My wife and I often play the "guess the movie it's based on", but this wasn't even subtle. Good people in a less than good movie.

I'm a fan of the lead, Lyndsy Fonseca. In this movie, she is completely obnoxious and unbearable, which I can only attribute to the movie director. I'm also a fan of Julie Warner. She and I are the same age, and while I too am no longer at my ideal weight, unless Julie has a medical reason for her current appearance, it was difficult to see that she has completely given up. I barely recognized her, and was distracted for at least 10 minutes, upon realizing who she was, with Googling her in her prime. (Gorgeous! Although her actor husband, from whom she is divorced, looked like a weasel.) This is my first Christmas movie of the season, and I have NOT kicked off the season on a positive note. I tried to like this movie. But there is nothing redeemable about it. It's predictable, unoriginal, badly directed, includes actors acting badly, and is so hard to watch. Yuck. An hour of my life I wish I could get back.

Lyndsy Fonseca is two for two as far as Hallmark Christmas movies go. She follows up 2021's Next Stop Christmas (which was brilliant) with what will surely be one of the most inventive Hallmark movies of the 2023 festive season, 'Where Are You Christmas?' Certainly borrowing a little from Pleasantville (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, remember...), Fonseca plays Addie who returns to her hometown for Christmas and there wishes for a world without Christmas. Lo and behold, thanks to a pesky Christmas app, she wakes up in a black and white world where no one knows what Christmas is, and where everyone thinks Addie is going crazy, her family included. It's a race against time to make everyone remember Christmas, turning them colour again. She is aided by the town's mechanic, Hunter (Michael Rady) who might just hold the key to everything... The two leads have good chemistry and the storyline is just different enough to the usual Christmas small town homecoming theme to make it memorable. Fonseca is beautiful and an engaging actress. If her first two Hallmark Christmas films are anything to go by, she is going to have a long and successful career. Here's hoping we don't need to wait another two years for her to make a Christmas film.

It was very hard to like Addy - I'm not a big fan of obnoxious, pushy, inconsiderate characters in these movies, as it's just too hard to find fun in the movie when the main character is unlikeable. Thankfully, I DVR'd this because I fast-forwarded thru three fourths of the movie. Too much crankiness and yelling. It's also not very fun to watch movies where people argue, loudly, a lot. I watch these shows for relaxation - if I wanted to listen to loud people fighting with each other, I would turn on one of the news channels! It was nice to see Julie Warner in a movie again, although it took me a few minutes to realize it was her.

Hallmark? Really?? Your movies are getting more dull with each passing year. For me, WAYC was so bad I couldn't even finish it. I watched for about an hour but up to that point, I had not developed any special feelings towards any of the characters. Why must you try to copy movies which have been done before, it's lazy quite honestly. Christmas is such a wonderful time of year and with the way the world is now, escaping for two hours while being caught up in a warm & fuzzy movie would bring us joy. It's like you put almost zero thought into your holiday movies, there's no nostalgia, sitting by the fire roasting marshmallows, ice skating, snow (and not the fake flakes) shopping, etc. I also didn't care for the leads, I've enjoyed them both in other movies but together as leads, nah no chemistry. You missed your "mark" on this one.

I have to confess, I am a big component of no Christmas until after Thanksgiving (and my husband and I are huge fans of Christmas music...so there is a big restraint not fa la la la-ing early). So, I have been resistant to watching Christmas movies when we haven't even celebrated Halloween yet...but I allowed a few to creep up on our to watch list and I have to say Hallmark is actually succeeding in getting me in the mood. My toes were dragging, but they have lifted my spirits and put a smile on my pumpkin spice chai latte self. I really enjoyed this new twist on a Hallmark holiday romance. I don't know how they did the mixed black and white and color...but it was a fun concept and definitely one I hadn't seen before (the closest thing to it that I have seen visually is WandaVision). The premise is busy achiever Addy comes home to her Christmas obsessed home town of Red Lake Falls only because her brother is going to propose to his girlfriend...otherwise she usually skips it and goes to a tropical island. She had been selling Christmas commercially and this year has just launched a Santa app for your phone. All these years Christmas has lost it's true meaning for Addy and in a moment she wishes Christmas away...only to have that work everyone and everything (including Addy) are black and white. No one, not even her very Christmas-centric father, knows or remembers what Christmas is. In fact they not only thing Addy is crazy, but that she is s trouble maker for bringing it up! It starts with the local mechanic Hunter, who is a bit of a hermit, but slowly Addy brings color and Christmas back to Red Lake Falls. "You got caught up in your stress and made a mistake." Coming together and pitching in...that is what Christmas is about. I was initially concerned when they started to say that Christmas was about forgiving and healing what's inside you...but they brought it back to coming together, pitching in and family, which I really appreciated. "It's like one of those Christmas movies...now we just need someone to fall in love and kiss"-mayor. Trapped in the town of Red Lake Falls and unable to leave. I can't believe Addy doesn't figure out the answer sooner. I appreciated that it could poke a little fun of the genre itself and have some good current messages. "Sometime speeding through life is a way of keeping people at arms distance."-dad The life you want to or the life you are supposed to. The message I appreciated the most though was one of ditching the phone and enjoying the moment. Best line... "I have never, Kiss scared someone out of town."-Hunter This is a recommendation to anyone who enjoys a good Christmas movie, especially the hallmark romance variety. Have patience through the beginning...you will enjoy it in the end.

It is difficult to find truly new themes for these Christmas movies. It was a good effort borrowing the main idea from Pleasantville to give us a new angle for this Christmas movie. But when it comes down to it, there were still many of the usual Christmas movie subplots. Addy living in big city Chicago comes home for Christmas. Like many of the leads in Christmas movies, she hasn't been home in a while and there is family resentment. And even Addy is having trouble finding her Christmas spirit. It gets so bad that she wishes Christmas away completely. The rest of the movie is Addy trying to restore the color of Christmas, first to those around her and ultimately to herself. She quickly teams up with her romantic opposite, Hunter. I usually consider Michael Rady to be one of Hallmark's go-to actors, but I was disappointed this time. He and Lyndsy Fonseca didn't have much chemistry and the inevitable love affair between the characters lacked credibility. Part of this was because Addy was the center of the story until later in the story and until then Hunter was secondary. Another reason for lack of chemistry was the attitude of Hunter. His wish to stay out of the spotlight came off as him wanting to be a victim. I thought the vehicle for Addy's restoration was obvious until it wasn't. I was mostly wrong leaving the movie with a cliche ending. Still, give the movie points for a new take on losing the Christmas spirit. My interest was maintained to the end despite my preferring a slightly different ending.