Review of A Christmas Exchange

Unlike some of the reviews here, I liked this Lifetime Christmas movie. The story and dialogue were a bit cheesy and unoriginal, but the film engaged me; i.e., it pulled me in from the start. The script draws heavily from the plots of two classic romance movies: The Holiday and You've Got Mail (though it is thru their mobile phones instead of desktop computers). The story centers on Molly Cooper (played by Laura Vandervoort), who recently lost her job at the local newspaper. As a fan of British-based romance novels, which she enjoyed reading with her late grandmother, Molly sets out to find her true love (a dashing British prince) and (potentially) a new job by swapping her farmhouse (in a quiet, small-town) with Patrick Kensington's luxurious London apartment (played by Rainbow Sun Francks), who has also decided to make some lifestyle changes. If you have seen The Holiday and You've Got Mail, then you can figure out the rest. If you are looking for depth, this movie is not for you. The story is fun and cute, and though the dialogue isn't very deep, I did find myself laughing a bit throughout the film. What made this work for me was the acting. Vandervoort was great. She had this sort of sweet and determined vibe to her performance, which I enjoyed watching on screen. I was a fan of the TV series Bitten, so that helped, I suspect. Though I wasn't as impressed with Francks's performance, he did eventually grow on me as the movie progressed. The supporting cast was excellent. Gilmore Girl fans will no doubt be happy to see Yanic Truesdale (as Andy) in this one. He and Martin Roach (as Jim) were fun to watch. Rachael Crawford too had a very 'drama' like performance as Jules the novelist. The movie does instill some Christmas spirit and festive cheer; the music was pretty good too. All in all, it is not in the same league as The Holiday or You've Got Mail, but for a made-for-TV Christmas movie, it is pretty good, nonetheless. Simply put: it is fun, cute, and engaging.