I'm a sucker for a good, get-in-the-mood Christmas movie as much as anybody else -- some of my favorites are Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, and Elf. It's my habit to start watching Christmas films the weekend after Thanksgiving to get myself into the spirit of the coming holidays. So last year I rented Christmas Lodge, and really, really tried to get into the spirit...or at least the story...the romance?....meh. Okay, it was a nice setup for picturesque wintertime scenery.
Christmas Lodge's plot is about a woman who is inspired to restore an old family building to please her dying grandfather. I hope I got that much right, because honestly, a year later the details escape me (not a good sign for the memorability factor). In any case, there's a subplot about a romance between the lead actress and another man who also has connections to the lodge; lots of family memory moments; and a wholesome message about faith in God.
It pains me to have to put down a film with such good intentions and Christian messages, but..there is no charitable way to say that I thought the acting was flat and wooden all around. Any higher praise than that is simply lying. The dialog and the overall direction of the story did nothing to make me engaged or interested in the characters or their plight: I can barely even remember most of it, except that the production values seemed decent, because this is a "Thomas Kinkade Presents" after all..but the guy's a painter, not a filmmaker. Whatever made him decide to sell his name for movies? Films are a lot more than pretty "moving pictures"-- somebody should have thought of that before making this one.
So dear readers, my purpose in outing this movie is now clear: I don't want anybody to waste their time/money on Christmas Lodge simply because a famous name that appeals to Christians and evokes sentimentalism is plastered on the cover. It's such a blatant money-grab on the part of the producers. There are a much more heartwarming and romantic Christmas films out there than this one if that's your desire.
Christmas Lodge's plot is about a woman who is inspired to restore an old family building to please her dying grandfather. I hope I got that much right, because honestly, a year later the details escape me (not a good sign for the memorability factor). In any case, there's a subplot about a romance between the lead actress and another man who also has connections to the lodge; lots of family memory moments; and a wholesome message about faith in God.
It pains me to have to put down a film with such good intentions and Christian messages, but..there is no charitable way to say that I thought the acting was flat and wooden all around. Any higher praise than that is simply lying. The dialog and the overall direction of the story did nothing to make me engaged or interested in the characters or their plight: I can barely even remember most of it, except that the production values seemed decent, because this is a "Thomas Kinkade Presents" after all..but the guy's a painter, not a filmmaker. Whatever made him decide to sell his name for movies? Films are a lot more than pretty "moving pictures"-- somebody should have thought of that before making this one.
So dear readers, my purpose in outing this movie is now clear: I don't want anybody to waste their time/money on Christmas Lodge simply because a famous name that appeals to Christians and evokes sentimentalism is plastered on the cover. It's such a blatant money-grab on the part of the producers. There are a much more heartwarming and romantic Christmas films out there than this one if that's your desire.