The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (2008)

Very well executed

Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

What a shame. One bad scene puts a negative spin on an otherwise great Christmas flick. I really enjoy the characters, amusing one-liners, and predictable but fun plot. Henry Winkler is a bright spot as always. Unfortunately, the scene when the main characters assault a man behind his store and then leave him lying unconscious is just too foul to overlook. The characters behave as though beating a man with a metal trash can is a big joke, but there's really nothing funny about it.I like everything else about this movie. What a shame that someone didn't see the implications of a violent scene and edit it before the film was released. I still watch the movie at holiday time, but that one scene spoils it for me every time.

My family loves this movie. The acting is smooth and charming, the dialog lively, the plot familiar but still fun, and Henry Winkler gives one of the breeziest performances since Bing Crosby played a priest. Winkler is a good natured retired police officer who visits his uptight niece who happens to be a single mom with a sweet young son and she is engaged to a stuck up business suit. In the cute meet Winkler brings home from the airport a stranger who turns out to be chef, a handyman and a very cute "tall glass of egg nog with a scarf." There is a must have Christmas gift, a running joke about lights and a wreath, and a bit of turkey cooking humor as well as plenty of romance. Ah Christmas. Ah, Bartleby.You will love this movie. Great script for about 45 minutes, then charming and fun the rest of the way. Do yourself a favor and pour yourself some egg nog and sit down with a few ginger snaps and the ones you love. Enjoy.

Another Christmas movie. It is not a comedy but it is interesting enough. Henry Winkler is a retired cop who comes to his daughter's and her son for the Christmas season. Henry brings along a man he found at the airport who had no place to stay. This guy turns out to be a lot better than the guy the daughter is dating. He has flair, unlike the boyfriend, who is a real tool. He proposes in front of a bunch of people, what is she to do? Of course she feels compelled to accept. She then finds out what a tool her fiancée, no longer that is. She dashes to the airport to look for the guy and after her plea is broadcast over the PA they meet and obviously get together. A decent enough movie for he season but not great.

If you like the Hallmark formula (and I do!), this one should hit all the right buttons. There's not much plot going on (but you don't watch these things for the plot, do you?). Our heroine is a single mom to an overly-mature, curly-top child; favorite uncle meets stranded hunk on a plane and invites him home for the holidays. Okay, so Mom is not keen on Christmas, and she really can't cook; Son isn't sure there's a Santa Claus; and Stranger is a holiday-lover who happens to be a chef. Any doubt where this is going? So how could that garner 9 stars from me? The casting! I hardly noticed there was no plot until I was thinking about it afterward! Brooke Burns -- not an actress that I would expect to see on stage at an award show -- is actually quite good. One of my favorite scenes: She's talking through the car window to an irritating neighbor, trying to keep her composure with a forced smile on her face, and after she rolls up the window and starts to pull away, she mutters (almost without moving her lips), "Step in front of the car, lady!" She just nails the line -- she's not a nasty person, so the nastiness she musters in the line works. I've never seen male lead Warren Christie before, but ... where has he been all my life! The chemistry between the two is awesome, really awesome, and he may be my favorite Hallmark hero of all time. Henry Winkler is the match-making uncle. I find him a little annoying -- he always plays the same character, and he's obviously intended to be droll, but it's a bit too overt -- like he has "I am droll" stamped across his forehead. It's a credit to the leads that he recedes into his proper place. This was an enjoyable entry into the Hallmark holiday collection. I highly recommend it.