Catch a Christmas Star (2013)

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Yes everything about this movie is predictable, but so is every Hallmark movie. I miss Hallmark's regular scheduled late at night program during the holidays and I don't care for most of the Christmas movies, but this one is one of my favorites. There's just something about it. From the second the movie starts, Chris and his kids are people you want to be happy. You can tell he's a great dad who doesn't have much happiness in his life since his wife died. Even Shannon Elizabeth's character Nikki is someone you want good things for. There's just something about reconnecting with your high school sweetheart. This doesn't have many good reviews on IMDb but I think it's great.

Catch a Christmas Star is an average Christmas TV Movie about a music star who meets her high school sweetheart years later. It's a typically cheesy and predictable tale. Shannon Elizabeth isn't convincing as the music star Nikki and the lead male Steve Byers whilst suitably good looking is too wooden. To make matters worse there is little chemistry between them both which makes the story even less unlikely than it already is. To be fair there are a few funny moments and these are all provided by the singers assistant Carmine played by Christopher Jacot. He is easily the star of this film. One plus was that unlike many of these type of movies, the kids in the film ( played by Julia Lalonde and Kyle Harrison Brietkopf are actually quite good and aren't either sickly sweet or just plain annoying. There is nothing special about this film but it will have it's market and is moderately entertaining.

I had no idea who Shannon Elizabeth was. As I watched this movie, she was so full of herself and her acting was so "self aware" ( like a smiling in the mirror all the time effect) that I looked her up. I have never seen her in anything else.The main Dad's daughter was a little brat to me where they thought they wrote her part as a cute kid helping her Dad find love, the actress overplayed it and was obnoxious. I did not find her cute and sweet trying to set up her Dad with "Nicki" the rock star old high school girlfriend. Ugh. Nicki makes speeches about fame, the paparazzi and her life as a famous person and it is so cringe-worthy. All the scenes where she is a big famous person felt so fake and cheesy. The Dad and her do not any chemistry either. The other bit actors felt like they got hired from local theater or were extras. The actor who played the Dad was not bad. I have never seen him again either. I watch lots of Hallmark not so great Holiday movies, but this one was below even that standard.

Romantic made-for-TV Christmas movies are a specialty niche that has plenty of fans. I am a man, and both my wife and I enjoy a well-made sentimental Christmas movie; we both often start blubbering when the lead romantic couple finally overcome their obstacles and get together. As of 2013, when A Christmas Star is being "released" on TV, we feel there has been a recent upswing in the quality of Hallmark Christmas movies - better acting, better dialog and better cinematography.Unfortunately, this recent upswing in production values somehow by-passed A Christmas Star. The biggest flaw in this film is its unrealistic plot twists and dialog. It's plot is built on music studio executives behaving like Mafia heavies because their recording star has done something very innocent and ordinary. And, there is a 10-year old daughter who is supernaturally wise and talks eloquently to her Dad as if he is a child and she is the adult. Even the climactic scene, which involves a Christmas Eve concert, progresses along an increasingly illogical and impossible course. In addition,the characters played by Shannon Elizabeth and Steve Byers, seem to have very little romantic chemistry. The combination of dialog and acting performances is such that many of the key actions taken by the main characters seem illogical and unrealistic. If you are an incurable romantic and huge fan of the made-for-TV romantic Christmas movie genre,then you might well enjoy A Christmas Star despite its many problems. But I found that my eyes were rolling frequently and that they never teared up. So, I suggest you might pass on A Christmas Star. There are plenty of better romantic Christmas films this holiday season.