A California Christmas
I admit to being quite surprised by this movie. I was expecting it to have some connection to Christmas and it has none other than someone having a Christmas tree in their house, a song at the end, and a countdown to Christmas day but it really could have been Easter, Thanksgiving, or a random Tuesday. I was very disappointed in this aspect as I was looking for another Christmas movie to get me in the holiday mood. No, what we have here is a traditional, straight up romance. There are attempts at humor such as slopping out cow dung but they don’t land.
After watching this film, please let me know what the heck was going on with the chauffeur. Why was he continually drinking wine? Why did he take his own to a bar? Why was he going out driving after drinking?
The film starts with Joseph (Josh Swickard), a playboy that is living off his family’s money, having to convince Callie (Lauren Swickard – she is also the screen writer), to sell her farm so it can be developed by Joseph’s family company. The deal has to be made by Christmas, hence the countdown. Here is another surprising thing in this movie – Joseph’s mother essentially sends him there to seduce Callie so he is being prostituted out by his mum for profit! Perhaps this movie is all about the moral corruption of capitalism? This movie may be deeper than I thought it was!
It follows an expected path – initial conflict that eventually turns into love as they get to know each other. The lies he has told her don’t matter. They never do in these types of films, do they? There are hints of drama – Callie’s mum is suffering from cancer, and there is a rival for Callie’s heart that escalates a little but nothing very much comes from these situations.
It would be rather mean to criticize it too much as it is very earnest in its intentions. It isn’t saccharine and the acting is not too bad at all. It earns its happy ending but it won’t live in the memory for very long.