User Reviews

This movie is unrealistic, saccharine, annoying, & has terrible acting. Real people don't act like these characters. The lead pair, Max and Ivy bicker like teenagers, even though they are supposed to be in their late 20's. Max's dad even sent him to his room at one point. Laughable. And it's extremely obvious that the actress who plays Ivy is several years older than Max. That would be fine, if they weren't supposed to be near the same age. Plus the way Max's parents try to push him & Ivy together is weird. Like they literally just met. Let them figure this out organically.

Almost no one can act very well, even for a hallmark type movie. I think the actor who plays Ivy's brother was ok, with his limited screen time. And Max's mother was fine too. Most everyone else says their lines completely different than in real life. Either it's too sweet or like they're just saying lines. Plus the facial expressions & mannerisms are off, especially from Max's dad.

I rate tv movies like hallmark & lifetime on a different 1-10 scale than regular movies. If I didn't, the rating would be too low. Compared to box office or good streaming movies, this one would be a *1. Compared to other tv movies, this one is a *5. It's a feel good, fluffy, Christmas flick, good enough to watch once or twice. Maybe because Ivy's character is as adorable as she is annoying. Or because Max's is so cute. Lol Or it could be that I'm just a sucker for Christmas movies.

The acting was feeble but I understand that everyone has to start from somewhere so I overlooked that. What gets me is the female protagonist who changed her view of the male protagonist because she found out from his mom that he went to an ivy league school and that he quit "his very good job" and returned home to help out when his dad was diagnosed with cancer. I wish that the female protagonist changed her mind before she was told that "he's not just a tow truck driver". How shallow can someone be. I like the comment of no room at the inn in the Town of Bethlehem. It was cute the first time it was said but not at third comment.

I have a very high threshold for Christmas/Holiday films during the season... Bad, terrible, good...it varies from what outlet is putting them out. Obviously Hallmark and Lifetime are the gold standard...streaming giants like Netflix are given them a slight run.

But then you get the low budget fare that end up on Amazon Prime, Up Faith & Fam or Pixl streaming channels.

"Ivy and Mistletoe" is definitely the low budget Christmas film that will find a home on those latter platforms.

Ivy & Mistletoe is a basic plot...Daughter trying to get home to her family for Christmas but an incoming blizzard derails her plans. Shes attempts to make a 6 hour drive but that doesn't go quite as planned and she gets stuck in a town where she meet a grumpy and obnoxious tow truck driver.

The plot isn't the problem...if you enjoy the Christmas movie genre, the plot of a Christmas movie is usually the same 4-5 stories anyway..

The problem with this film is the acting. It's terrible. Just plain bad.

Julianne Michelle isn't terrible, sure she has her low points but she tries to play the starry eyed Christmas lover like so many before her but the guy who plays "Max" (Cody Calafiore) who is and I quote the "Handsome tow truck driver"

He plays his character like an overgrown child...not the typical knight in shining armor that most of these films have their male leads play.

Max whines and moans throughout the film. He's rude and mean whenever he isn't whining and moaning. It's just hard to get past. For example he insists on calling her "princess"...she asks him to stop. He then proceeds to call her princess throughout the film...literally up until nearly the end of the film. Couple that with a plot that doesn't really go anywhere and the fact that the movie doesn't show you anything other than the same 4 actors for most of the movie, you almost feel like you are the one stranded.

Pass this on your Christmas viewing list. You'll have plenty others to keep you busy.

The acting was absolutely incredibly terrible to the point i had to turn it off. The voices over power the screen and it sounds very badly voiced over. The editing is horrendous and I wish i could take back the minutes of my life i spent watching this. The plot had potential and it could've been okay but the acting ruined it all. I couldn't stand watching this... The way the max kid kept calling her princess throughout the movie after she told him to stop and he was just whining like a little baby the whole time made my ears bleed. I physically couldn't even stand to have this playing in the background.

This was a very cute Christmas movie. I believe the cast went perfect together! I loved the bond between Ivy and Max's mom Judy. His mother really opened up her home to Ivy and made her feel like one of the family members. The whole family really came together to take care of Ivy and see to it that she got her Christmas wish!

I also really enjoyed the backstory of Max. It reminded me of the film 'It's a Wonderful Life' where the lead actor also chooses to stay behind to help out his family in need rather than to further along his career.

I loved how Max's family didn't take Ivy and Max's bickering too seriously in the beginning and even joked around about it. His parents could tell from the beginning that they had the potential to form a romantic partnership.

The ending was my favorite with both families sitting around the dinner table and Judy announces that she wants to invest in Ivy and open up a restaurant with her in town. That was a really special moment. I'm glad I watched this film.

"Ivy & Mistletoe" is a super cute movie about a young woman named Ivy (Julianne Michelle) whose flight home for the holidays gets cancelled because of a snowstorm, so she decides to drive home. On her way, she gets into a little accident in Bethlehem, PA and is stranded. Unfortunately, there is no room at the Bethlehem Inn (get it?), and she ends up staying with the Mayor of the town, Judy Carson (Carrie Genzel). During her stay, she ends up falling for the Mayor's son, Max (Cody Calafiore).

This is a cute and predictable Christmas movie, just like the ones that you would see on Hallmark. Cody Calafiore and Kenney Myers are a great father/son team and bring a lot of humor to the movie. The music is really great, too, especially the songs by Rorie Kelly.

"Ivy & Mistletoe" emphasizes the bonds between family, and still brings in romance sprinkled with Christmas magic. It's a must-watch for Christmas movie junkies!