A Vintage Christmas (2024)

A Vintage Christmas (2024). A Vintage Christmas: Directed by Colin Budds. With Merritt Patterson, Christopher Russell, Laura Bunting, Paul Cant. Sparks fly when a developer, Noah (Russell) arrives in Oak Creek with plans to replace an abandoned Post Office with a modern office complex and needs to work with Tessa (Patterson) the town's historian/preservationist to compromise.

“The premise is based on plot elements that include very common ones (save the town building, unrestrained commercial progress is bad, fulfilling othersu0026#39; Christmas wishes, a secret by one lead that comes out inconveniently), and at least one that is unusual (the Christmas letters are over 30 years old). In the secondary romance story there is a variation on another (a woman coaches a man on relationships with women) with it also being a little unusual in that the woman is not herself a really qualified coach but rather speed reads relationship books and summarizes them for the man. On paper all these elements may be a lot, but they provide a lot of potential for an entertaining story.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI was entertained, but subconsciously I think I felt like things were piling up too quickly. Barely noticeable, but something was ever so slightly off. Transitions perhaps.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSpeaking of too quickly, Hallmark-like movies are notorious for people falling in love very quickly. In this case, it was both the initial ease with which these two rivals over the building started working together, and then later the falling in love. I think this is where I felt it was off because it seemed like a leap rather than building into it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMerritt Patterson and Christopher Russell do have chemistry. I would have liked to have seen more of that.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI have long been a fan of Patterson. To say that she is a beautiful woman is an understatement. It is her eyes that can really grab your attention. Iu0026#39;m not joking here to imply something else. Iu0026#39;ve noted this before. There is one scene where she wears a green outfit, and I swear her eyes are bright green. Later she is back to blue, even when Russell in green is right up close to her. Also, interesting that the math puts the letter writing Tessa at close to or older than 40 and Patterson is merely 34.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSome of the fulfilled wishes make for nice moments. I did find it unlikely that you would but a singer on the spot to perform with no warning or preparation and consider that a gift.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, this is an enjoyable Christmas movie in part because of the unusual story elements. Iu0026#39;m not sure how eager I am to watch it again, although I am drawn to movies with this particular actress.”