User Reviews

Hallmark follows pretty much the same story line with some slight variations. The good guys are incredibly good, the bad guys are terribly bad and there doesn't seem to be any gray areas in either group. The movie is saved by some nice performances, especially by Alicia Witt. She seems a genuinely nice person and you root for her to be happy. Of course, you pretty much know after the first 15 minutes how this will all turn out.

Alice owns an antique store and somehow hooked up with a stuffy corporate type which stretches belief right off the bat as there is absolutely no chemistry between them and they apparently have nothing in common (in first 5 minutes he plunks a really cheesy artificial tree the middle of her quaint antique shop). Because of the ever-present "deal", she ends up traveling to meet his family for the first time all alone.

In an incredible coincidence, she ends up meeting a man who shares the same last name as her fiancé and off we go to Hallmark World where she falls in love with a perfect but unrelated family. Once she learns the truth, she's off to the sterile mansion with the stony-faced, uptight soon-to-be in-laws. If you can't figure out what happens next then you've never seen a Hallmark movie.

I found the music distracting - as a matter of fact most of the newer Hallmark movies have that issue. The music is too loud or the voices are too soft but I often miss things and have to use closed captioning. I love Christmas music but tone it down already!

Alice (Alicia Witt) met a man named Will on an online dating site. Although she runs an antique store with a modest income and Will is a high-powered salesman, she thinks she has found the right guy. The gentleman decides to propose to Alice in a restaurant, where his food choices have left her baffled. Nevertheless, she says yes. Just as they are making plans to meet his parents, Will has to miss the flight for business. But, he persuades Alice to go on solo and he will catch up. What a mistake! Alice's luggage goes missing and then her cellphone accidentally gets wet and dies. Thus, Alice doesn't know the address of Will's parents. By happy accident, Alice meets her fiancé's brother, Matt (Mark Wiebe) who has just returned home by plane, too. Initially apprehensive, Alice is welcomed warmly by Will's parents and grandfather and all is joyous. Or is it? Unbelievably, there are two families in the same town, with the same name. Alice is SUPPOSED TO BE at the other one! Once at the correct home, the poor redheaded, newly engaged lady is very much disappointed in Will's actual family. Plus, she misses Matt, whose likes and dislikes are more like her own. In addition, could Will possible working behind the scene to damage her business, which he doesn't truly like? This very merry, sweet, romantic Hallmark film is a fine choice for a snowy or sunny evening. Witt and Wiebe are attractive cast members with a great appeal and all sets, costumes, script lines, and direction talents are topnotch. Want to "get merry" ? Get this one!

I really liked this Hallmark movie. It was actually pretty funny! Okay, so yes in real life they probably would have realized the misunderstanding a lot sooner and avoided much of the mess, but of course this is a movie and the unrealistic plot makes it more romantic, funny, and entertaining. I might even be willing to watch this one again!

A charming film for its high unrealism, first. And for humor, spirit of family, effort to preserve the memory/ legacy of father and for a beautiful mistake of a young, real seductive young woman discovering, step by step, the truth in many senses. A beautiful film and beautiful performances, noble message and the taste of hot cocoa in Christmas Eve evening.

A charming, if predictable, holiday romance.

Alicia Witt, as a sweet and artsy semi-ditz happily running her family's antique store, is engaged to a polished, money-focused, big-city real-estate salesman.

Through a series of cute travel mishaps on her way to meet his family for the first time, she ends up at the wrong house a couple of days before Christmas. That warm, happy family, by a credulity-stretching coincidence, welcomes and cherishes her in their extremely - but tastefully - decorated home. Of course they have a very nice son who falls for her, and shares interests and values that aren't on her fiancé's radar.

Complications, emotional struggles, and a happy resolution ensue.

Apart from that one weak plot coincidence to get her into the family, and the general niceness of both men when the chips are down, the only thing that annoyed me was the heroine's little speech at the end, in which she declaimed about a character issue that was not well set up.

Overall, a nice way to spend 2 hours while you're writing Christmas cards.

It is magical and fun. Love this movie from start to finish. Absolutely love the Alicia Witt character. The movie focuses on how Alice and Matt are meant to be together. So many memorable lines and scenes. Matt tells of his ex girlfriend "she wasn't even willing to get wet for me". The exact time his grandpa saw his grandmother for the first time. The Christmas game they play around the tree. So much niceness. This is the movie that hooked me on contemporary Christmas movies. I crown Alicia Witt as the queen and this was her first and best. Love Susan Hogan as the mom and Lawrence Dane as the grandpa.

Very surprised of the 17 reviews already posted only 4 were excellent. Stand up for "Happily Ever After" and give this one an excellent review.

I love movies like this, based on pure belief that there's no such thing as coincidence and everything happens as it should. Alicia Witt plays a perfectly innocent wise young woman, whose want to hold on to her father's memory by keeping his store is more about following your heart than your pocketbook. Her current (and wrong-for-her) fiancé, who is in real estate, encourages her to sell her memories (the store) and become a multi-millionaire because of the store's location. She realizes this man has no sensitivity or understanding of her feelings and who she really is. Of course, there's more to the story.....she had met another man in the most peculiar and humorous way, a way that probably really could happen. As it is said so beautifully in this movie, "Life is about Timing, and Timing is Everything in Life and Love.".

This is the third time I watched this movie in less than a year. This movie is all about symbols, but I think I missed some of them the first two times. It's true that some of these are not done as subtly as perhaps they should have been and may even come off as clumsy, but I still loved it.

Alice is all about tradition and family and romance and especially about Christmas and nostalgia. For this woman, giving up the symbol that represents her father is like cutting off her arm. And she revels in the chance to share Christmas, to decorate the tree, to make Christmas cookies.

I won't try to say that Alicia Witt is the greatest actress in the world, but she does have a lot of talents. I think her facial expressions are one of those talents. I could watch them all day. And her laugh is overpowering and to some may be fake, but I think it is just gusto. I love it. Her acting in this movie is solid. Her chemistry with Mark Wiebe is just incredible in this film. In so many romance movies you wonder how the main characters could fall in love so quickly, but in this film you can see these two are just two parts of one whole and time is irrelevant.

I have only two very slight complaints about this movie. My first is how could Alice and Will ever have thought they belonged together, much less thought they were in love? They have anti-chemistry. Not that Will is a villain boyfriend, especially at the start of the movie. But it is clear they aren't on the same page and Will has no idea who Alice is. Maybe, as she says, she even forgot herself. Besides, without the relationship, over half the story would be gone.

The second is that I really wish we could have seen more of Alice with Matt's family, and less of her with Will's. All of the time with Matt and his family was heartwarming and enjoyable. The time spent with Will's was discouraging, and I really believe that not so much of it was needed to make the point.

Hallmark Christmas films vary in quality. Some good ones (a reaction not always expected), some mediocre at best and even very bad ones and plenty that fall somewhere in between. The concept for 'A Very Merry Mix Up' sounded nice, though hardly innovative. Am not always a fan of Alicia Witt, a Hallmark regular. Sometimes she is charming and has characters easy to like, at other times her acting to me is too affected and it makes me struggle to root for her or the film.

'A Very Merry Mix Up' is one of those solid/high-in between Hallmark festive efforts, certainly out of the ones seen by me recently. Not great (some major flaws here) or a complete Christmas cracker, but merry enough and far from the equivalent of a lump of coal at the bottom of a stocking. It also contains one of Witt's better and more endearing Hallmark festive performances, something that would have made or broken the film depending on whether she would be good or not considering she's the lead.

There are flaws in 'A Very Merry Mix Up'. As others have said, it is a very typical Hallmark Christmas film, with plot tropes that can be spotted a mile away from being used frequently. So it felt very predictable and in need of freshness throughout. The film can fall into ridiculous territory, especially towards the end, and is too reliant on coincidence.

Do agree that the music is distractingly overbearing. Not only does it dominate the film too much and is used too much, sometimes it doesn't even fit either and other festive films seen recently did much better at capturing the spirit of Christmas (some of what is heard here can be heard anywhere regardless of the occasion). More understated scoring was needed. Too many of the supporting characters are underdeveloped.

On the other hand, 'A Very Merry Mix Up' does have a lot of things that work in its favour. Witt plays her role with a lot of charm and doesn't take things too seriously. She is very comitted here while not getting too forced like some of her other Hallmark performances. Mark Wiebe is very down to earth and their chemistry has a good deal of spark. Their characters, while very familiar for Hallmark, are also actually interesting and are not annoying. All the acting is well above average, regardless of the flimsy character development in support.

Script has less of the corn, cheese, overdone sentiment and awkwardness that can be heard in other Hallmark efforts. Yeah, some of the dialogue still isn't great and can get contrived, but it flows well, is heart-warming and it doesn't get sugary. The story is very flawed, but it has a lot of charm and heart and some parts are quite poignant. The ending is foreseeable and a bit too tidy, but is very sweet nonetheless. The pace doesn't feel too rushed or too dull.

Concluding, has major flaws but has a lot of things that work well. Worthwhile. 6/10

Exactly as the title starts. If you enjoy hallmark movies you will enjoy this one. I'll admit that I prefer action or comedy over romance so my opinion might not mean much. The script and acting weren't too bad in this movie. Some cheesiness but what do you expect in a hallmark movie?! Seriously, if you enjoy hallmark movies or even Christmas movies, you'll probably enjoy watching this one.

I purchased this movie after seeing it on TV . It's one of my favorite love stories. The connection between Alicia Witt and Mark Webe is believable...it's like they have known each other forever...a very enjoyable movie.

The first two thirds of this movie is really good, above average for a Hallmark Christmas movie. The plot is actually somewhat interesting and not the typical woman goes to small town and meets an old friend romance thing. Nobody is a marketing director trying to finish the "big job before Christmas," but yes of course they are all from New York City. One of the main relationships in the movie is not very convincing, but the other is pretty believable. Unfortunately, after two thirds of good plot, the movie implodes and the irresistible ridiculous events of Hallmark Christmas movies and questionable leaps of logic and timing start to occur. One "yeah right" moment happens after another, leading up to an ending that is the biggest can of cheese ever. A desperately desired epilogue is cut to a few irrelevant moments. But Alice is refreshingly believable and unique for a leading lady in a movie like this. Worth watching but the ending makes you puke.

The movie features a really naïve girl believing a stranger she meets in an airport when he tells her that he is her fiancé's brother. Even better, she takes his word for it without asking for ID and accepts a ride from him to get to her destination. This movie managed to insult my intelligence in its first 20 minutes. Then, there's the scene when they share a hospital room. Didn't know hospital rooms have gone co-ed. PULEEEEEZ!

181212: Why am I so susceptible to love stories? I liked this film from the moment it started. Most of the credit can be given to Alice (Alicia Witt) who captured my attention and kept me intrigued. Slow paced but I never lost interest. A predicatable yet pleasant Christmas film. Well worth watching; at least once.

REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

Someone keeps reporting my reviews. I guess they are jealous because I do tell the truth. I want to point out that I never make snide remarks about actors weight or real life sexual orientation. If there acting is terrible or limited "I talk about that". If a story is bad "I will mention that" So why am I being "picked on"? IMDB will not even tell me what someone found offensive. Well on to this review

In this film a woman who flies to her fiancé's home town alone to meet her future in-laws for the first time at their Christmas gathering. At the airport, after discovering that her luggage is lost and her mobile phone is broken, she meets her future brother-in-law by chance for the first time. He takes her to his parents' home, where she meets a warm loving family preparing for Christmas. Everything seems perfect until her "fiancé" arrives-and she realizes that she is with the wrong family.

Alicia Witt limited acting range is all apparent here. She is the same in all her roles (Then again so is Tom Cruise). This film however could of been better but it still works. The filmmakers did a great job by setting up "The Choices" that Alice Chapman has in front of her.

This film is predictable and has some flaws The phony laugh at the end should of been re-shot however the film does work.

What is nice is the fact that this film did not involve a poor widow woman or orphans.

Now will I watch it again. In fact I have. Twice more since I originally posted this review!

Love the main characters -- all of the acting is great! Sentimental in just the perfect way. Was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I even watched it twice!

Alicia Witt and Mark Wiebe headline this movie about a woman setting off to meet her future in-laws. Through a series of unfortunate events. Alice ends up meeting and staying with the wrong family. By the time the mix-up is discovered, she has fallen in love with the family and discovers feelings for the man whom she thought was to be her brother-in-law. Upon finally meeting her future in-laws, Alice begins to ponder what she truly wants and who she sees in her future dreams & plans.

I have never looked at Hallmark movies, till 2016. I brushed them off but after watching 15 of them, YES 15 in a week, I must say, most are quite good and well acted and well written.

This movie is no exception. Some familiar characters with familiar plots but it is somewhat refreshing characters. Yes you have a lead ready to be married only to meet another man, but the story is about Christmas, love and fate and does it all exist and intertwine? The movie is about accidental meetings, disaster, and accidental misunderstandings couple with good family and a lesson on life and love and how we maybe should love the simple things.

Go watch this movie, 9.5 out of 10.

Gave it a nine because I was not immediately sold on the folk tale told by Alice the heroine at the start of the movie. And the chance meeting (lost luggage) that brought the main characters together (introduce Mark Wielbe) was just so-so. But as the story develops once they got to Wielbe's warm-hearted family, it's so christmasy and a joy to watch. Top performance from the leads. Alice Witt and Mark Wielbe have great chemistry. Who can forget grandpa (Laurance Dane) ? These are all wonderful characters. As much as Witt and Wielbe were made for each other, the always business-first, deal maker fiancé, was the anti- hero. He treats her like the properties he trades. What sets this movie apart is the unassuming, wholesome charm of the female lead, Alice Witt, who is endearing to watch. She is complemented by Mark Wielbe who is humble and trusty and said many funny,down-to-earth lines.

Thank God for Hallmark. We need to get our fill, especially around the holidays for classic love stories that never get old. I also disagree with previous writer who commented the music was too loud. Quite the contrary the music guides us along nicely. We actually yearns for it in a subliminal way. And I appreciate the subtle drum beats when Alice has to make a big decision. It wouldn't be right without the right notes.

This movie was pretty good. I thought the whole story was a fun idea. I can just imagine how embarrassing it would be.

I picked this for my 100 Christmas movies before Christmas day challenge which now takes my movies watched to 26.

I'm glad I picked it too as I enjoyed it. I've seen the main star in a few things too.

Would I watch it again? Yeah I probably will.

This is another Hallmark Christmas movie that I did not find appealing the first time I saw it. It started off interesting...and was good up until a certain point. But eventually, "Alice" increasingly behaved too immature for a grown woman, especially one that was about to be married...and to a high-power, wealthy exec at that....Wearing her little light blue hoodie and her "little girl" hairstyle...and the way she consumed her milk and cookies...made her look like a 14 year old, with the eating habits of a 4 year old. Then "Matt" attempted to wipe off her little mouth........."Matt" was continuously over-bearing...always explaining the "Mitchum's" traditions as soon as they entered the house about mom's decor...to grandpa this and that ("Right, grandpa?"..."Right, grandpa?")...to grandma "was a real fox." (<--very odd!) The entire family was over-bearing........Be that as it may, repeats made it seem better than a lot of other Hallmark's Christmas movies. It's more tolerable.

Hallmark movies don't usually win awards for plausibility, but 'A Very Merry Mix-Up' takes that even further.

The storyline is improbable (and I called the plot twist about fifteen minutes in) but 'A Very Merry Mix-Up' is nonetheless a wonderfully fun Christmas movie (one of the best that Hallmark has produced, in my opinion), carried largely by the perfect chemistry between stars Alicia Witt and Mark Wiebe as Alice and Matt - it really jumps off the screen at you. Some of the best in Hallmark's history.

Acting is good across the board, the sets are nicely decorated without going over the top, as sometimes happens, and there is plenty of the sentimentality that these movies are known for, and a message about the importance of family at Christmas.

Good Christmas entertainment.