I enjoyed this Lifetime Christmas movie; it is one of their better films this year thus far. The story was unique in a way (a bit different than many of the generic Christmas movies I have seen this season), and it had a pretty good script to boot (especially the dialogue and banter between the couples). I grew up watching 90210, so it was great seeing Jason Priestley as Chris on screen. He had a pretty good performance, I thought, a Priestly performance. I enjoyed his scenes and interactions with Melissa Joan Hart (playing Natalie). He is not the most expressive actor, but in this film, I think his performance worked nicely. About 28-minutes into the movie, he starts playing the guitar and singing a Christmas song...or was he? There was a bit of lip-syncing going on here, I suspect, as the voice singing did not sound like Jason's voice. Hart had a very good, convincing performance in this one. Her exchanges and interactions with her family and Chris were great. She performs well in this genre of film. The chemistry between the two was not bad. Again, Jason is not the most expressive actor, but I felt it worked, that is, it was believable. There were several scenes with some nice banter between the two (e.g., when they decorated the house together). The supporting cast was great. For example, Natalie's father (played by Ed Begley Jr.) and mother (played by Faith Prince) were brilliant; they had several cute and fun lines/scenes together. Fans of One Tree Hill are in for a treat, as two of the show's cast make a special appearance on Natalie's laptop. Finally, the scenery, props, and sets were pretty good, quite festive (not a fan of white Christmas trees though). I had a little laugh in the scene where Chis (aka Priestley) is carrying an axe to cut down the Christmas tree as opposed to a saw. The former looked good but the latter, of course, is a bit more practical. Was that a real Christmas tree they brought home (Natalie and Chris)? I thought it looked fake. You have got to love those Christmas sweaters (Priestley's worked well with the scene, by the way). I also thought the inclusion of the read glass hearts in the script/movie (in support of the first responders during the pandemic) was a timely and welcomed part of the story. I enjoyed too the glassblowing scene where Chris showed Natalie how these were made. Overall, this is a fun, warm, and sweet movie, a nice new edition to Lifetime's original Christmas movie lineup this 2020 season.
Review of Dear Christmas
