A Gift Wrapped Christmas (2015)

Sorry, this movie sucks

As Good As It Gets

Admirable film.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Writing skill, casting and chemistry between the main characters (with efforts from the supporting cast) make or break these generally formulaic Lifetime/Hallmark holiday films.It is very interesting to me that many of these efforts, with similar small budgets, vary so widely in quality.This recent made for TV production clearly didn't have the budget of the long ago big studio holiday films. Once upon a time, these had "A" list stars and the very best supporting actors in Hollywood. But, after all this is a made for TV production. So, direct comparisons are unfair.My opinion is that the writers are not so much mediocre as...restrained.However, mix some charisma and a little chemistry and reasonably witty writing together and you get a watchable story.This one does better than average. It shows off Meredith Hagner at her best (perhaps by pushing other characters into a vanilla background).This seems to be a "hallmark" of the Hallmark films. The female protagonist gets the lion's share of the story and the rest of the cast (with a few exceptions) fades into the scenery very quickly.That would be the big diff between the holiday films of the past and those of the Hallmark channel. These current supporting actors are short-changed both in screen time and vibrancy of characterization.Having said that, this is one of the better attempts.

I'll start by saying that I didn't hate this movie, although it was filled with clichés and unlikely events, and followed the plot of any other Hallmark movie (it's almost the same story as in October Kiss, except that this time it's Christmas, not Halloween). After all, it was so glittery, colorful and filled with Christmas cheer, that many things didn't matter so much. So I pretended that it was normal for a personal shopper to go over her client's indications and buy on his behalf the gifts she thought were appropriate (who cares what the client wants), regardless of how much they cost (after all, the client seemed to afford it). But what I had a problem with was the whole widower background of the male character. Supposedly, his wife died recently enough for him to still be upset about it, but she's been dead long enough for him to have a serious girlfriend / potential fiancé - so I would say, 2-3 years ago. His child, who is supposed to be 8 years old (although he seems younger), has memories of many Christmases spent with his mom and dad at a little cottage, but he says that for the past few years (after the mother died), they don't go there for Christmas anymore. It would be highly unlikely that a kid that young would remember not one, but many Christmases with his family, that happened at least 2-3 years before the present day (so when he was 5-6 years old and younger). I would buy it if it was one Christmas, but not "we used to do this every year, and then...". Other than that, it was just another Hallmark holiday movie, with all the usual items (nobody worries about the money when it comes to expensive gifts and holiday decorations, quirky girl changes the grumpy guy in just a few days, both lead actors have great voices and do a perfect duet singing a carol, snow starts to fall just at the right moment, etc., etc.).

I gave this one a "10" on my special scale for Hallmark movies. This one is set apart by the writing, the enjoyable characters, and most especially, the casting. There are probably 5 or 6 basic plots for these things. This one is the closed down/sad widower with a child who needs our heroine (Gwen) to reawaken him and save his relationship with his kid. No the plot is not original, but I judge the good writing in the little details. The relationship between our heroine's sister (the wonderful Beverley Mitchell-so glad to see her again!) and her husband was fleshed out and added to the enjoyment. The appearance of the Mom at the end was a nice touch and added to the depth (don't laugh) of the story. Gwen was cute, funny, charming, quirky, and so very likable. The actress was another Meg Ryan at the height of her romantic comedy powers. She was an absolute delight. Don't ever change. The Dad was handsome and appealing, making his journey from cold and hostile to warm and open fun to watch. The villainess was very scary. What more could one ask for? Great Chemistry between the two leads, that's what. And yes, it delivers there as well.

If you are a sucker for sappy movies as many romantics are then this film is right up your alley. The story is based upon a widower dad and business man named Charlie who is played by Travis Milne. Milne previously starred in the TV police drama series Rookie Blue. Charlie is attempting to balance his work and personal life as he runs a busy company and also raise his 7 year old son named Owen. Owen is played by Anthony Bolognese who is starring in his first film but based on his strong and adorable performance in A Gift Wrapped Christmas he will be kept busy for at least the next few years as he grows into a young man.Now Charlie has a girlfriend named Victoria played by Anna Van Hooft who will infuriate the audience with her focus on business and lack of any empathy for the relationship between widower Charlie and his son Owen. All Owen wants for Christmas is to go tobogganing with his dad but Victoria wants to push her own agenda of lying on a sun filled beach with Charlie and just let little Owen go play in the sand to leave the adults alone to discuss her self centered business agenda and her strategy to rule the business world. As for little Owen's dream for a white Christmas and tobogganing on a snow filled hill, Victoria is playing Scrooge and buys airline tickets to the sunny south, so she really comes across as Mrs. Scrooge.The main focus of the film is a professional personal shopper named Gwen played by Meredith Hagner, who has a special knack of picking out just the right gifts for all of her clients. What is missing from Gwen's life though is as she continues to make everyone happy around her she is not focusing on herself and as a result she is planning to be lonely this Christmas holiday.As events would happen the stars align and Gwen sets out on a course to not only make Charlie and his cute little son Owen happy this Christmas but she also intends to try and make her own Christmas special this year. The film is very light viewing and romance abounds as Charlie and his personal shopper get to know each other better as Christmas draws near. It is a sappy film but will help put the viewer in a Christmas and romantic mood.I give the film a 7 out of 10 rating.