2023, Jonah Feingold (Dating & New York) -- Amazon
Seriously though, this movie felt like someone had the budget and production team for a Hallmarkie but gave it over to Buzzfeed Studios to make it connect more with the ... wait, who is the demographic for Buzzfeed these days? Anywayz, even if you ignore the bad-editing influenced continuity issues, this movie just felt like a bunch of footage that was pieced together into a movie by two interns on their laptops. Even the filming of the movie seemed amateurish -- there were so many scenes where things either felt 4K-jarringly-clear and then the next scene had only the middle (as in a line through the middle of the screen) in focus while the rest was out of focus. I honestly thought my eyes were going thru a focal event, but it kept repeating, like someone found a filter that looks cool.
And yet, I chuckled enough to say I enjoyed it. Like I have said before, Kent is the "comedy guy" so he may (did) enjoy the rhythm of the movie more than me. Meanwhile, I was constantly being annoyed by how much his parents ... wait, I haven't recapped it yet. Never mind, just go read Kent's post, and I will continue making my commentary. Anywayz, so his parents keep on choosing Ali (Leighton Meester, Surface) over their own son Graham (Robbie Amell, ARQ). There seems to be some whole unspoken dynamic where Graham is just not the son they wanted, and Ali was going to be that redemption. And the he screwed it up. But from his point of view, she did it by dumping him. The problem is that the movie never really explains how the breakup happened (until the very end), so we kind of have to accept his explanation of things at face value. The fact they would accept her presence for Xmas seems... cruel. But that is the whole plot of the movie, so... comedy?
I still can't get over how Hallmarkie it felt. And now that Kent commented that its similar to the plot of An Unexpected Christmas, I might have to go grab that one and see. But Hallmarkies would never be callous with their leads, even when they have their "conflict". But the parents, the parents are soooo Hallmarkie, if a little elevated in their dork.
P.S. What the frick is Freevee? Another of those America-Only services, I assume...
I should note that I watched this on my phone, on a plane, so maybe I missed some of the uglier aspects of its production values ;) I freely (freevee) admit I probably enjoyed this more than most people AND have a much higher opinion of its quality (I've seen the Letterboxd reviews).
ReplyDeleteI have personally witnessed marriages or engagements that have ended but the parents of the dumper or dumpee refusing to let go of their child's ex-partner. It can take some time because they do become part of the family and some parents grow really attached (and Ali having lost her parents young, it's easy to see why she is attached to them). Honestly, this may seem like a far-fetched plot to some people but I've seen it happen where the family remain in contact, at least for a time, with their child's ex. I can even see a situation where, should that child not show up to Christmas, that they actually invite their ex to have Christmas with them. Especially here though, when you see how much Ali fits in with Graham's parents. She's a big goober, like them. I think it's unconsciously what Graham likes about her. He's not like his parents at all, but wishes he was, so he's drawn to someone who is more like them. I think there's a lot of subtlety in the thinking of the characters and performances here that builds a connective thread. I'm not saying it's perfect by any stretch, but "elevated Hallmark" I think works (bigger budget, more time, smarter performances, that kinda thing).
I also think that Graham and Ali's breakup wasn't really what either of them wanted and so they never actually emotionally separated from one another (and the reason why Ali remained in contact with all of his family). They just didn't know how to properly communicate (as we see throughout the film).
The funniest parts of the film for me were not the big moments but all of the little asides from the characters (Amell does them the best), and at times the editing or camera work. I giggled so hard at every shot of Michael Hitchcock when he was "skating" in the hockey scenes. It also has one of the best "race to the airport" sequences (action smash cut to: everyone tying laces). I even liked the fact that Graham had to wear his dads clothes throughout the movie due to lost luggage, just subtle background details that your typical Hallmarkie has no time for.
Anyway....
Ha, my comment is, like, as long as your review :P
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