There never has been any bias against Lifetime's output, much of it is formulaic sure and some of it has just as much corn and schmaltz of that of Hallmark's but with the right leads and the right amount of charm and heart they can have some likeability. Provided that not too much is expected from it and enough of their output has been surprisingly good, though they did a fair share of outright failures. Inns and small towns are familiar territory for them, but they have proved at times that they can do decent films in those settings.
'Snowed Inn Christmas', one of the best films of theirs seen in the past two years, is an example of a decent or more Lifetime film in inns. 'My Christmas Inn' however is an example of one of the outright failures when it comes to their inn and small town set films. It is not one of Lifetime's worst films overall and they did do marginally worse films set at Christmas in hospitality. But 'My Christmas Inn' is still a pretty poor effort and close to being towards the bottom for that year.
Did enjoy the performances of Jackee Harry and Tim Reid, who are the sources of the too brief spots of zest and dignity.
Despite the lack of authenticity, the scenery is very nice and is filmed nicely.
However, that is pretty much it when it comes to talking about 'My Christmas Inn's' good things. Tia Mowry's lead performance is too neurotic and her mannerisms and her expressions are over the top manic. Absolutely detested her character too, especially in the early portions, due to her character flaws being so over-written to the point she becomes an absolute witch. And she never really grows as a character, so her appeal is a mystery. Rob Mayes fares a little better but is too laid back and doesn't always look comfortable, his character also comes over as too nice. The two have no spark together and seem ill matched, due to too much of a personality clash. Their relationship is underwritten and under-rehearsed.
Calling 'My Christmas Inn' cliched sums it up well, both story and characters, and that is being generous. Some familiar (well actually well worn out) story tropes here, all predictably executed. The first portions are slow and quite thinly plotted, uneventful at times, and some decision making seemed contrived. The script lays it on too thick with the corn and slushy schmaltz, not unexpected but it was overkill in places. The film doesn't get off to a particularly good start, very cheesy and quite dull, while the ending is rushed and too tidy and the lack of tension and conflict severely hurts what little there is of the drama.
On the whole, not good. 3/10.
'Snowed Inn Christmas', one of the best films of theirs seen in the past two years, is an example of a decent or more Lifetime film in inns. 'My Christmas Inn' however is an example of one of the outright failures when it comes to their inn and small town set films. It is not one of Lifetime's worst films overall and they did do marginally worse films set at Christmas in hospitality. But 'My Christmas Inn' is still a pretty poor effort and close to being towards the bottom for that year.
Did enjoy the performances of Jackee Harry and Tim Reid, who are the sources of the too brief spots of zest and dignity.
Despite the lack of authenticity, the scenery is very nice and is filmed nicely.
However, that is pretty much it when it comes to talking about 'My Christmas Inn's' good things. Tia Mowry's lead performance is too neurotic and her mannerisms and her expressions are over the top manic. Absolutely detested her character too, especially in the early portions, due to her character flaws being so over-written to the point she becomes an absolute witch. And she never really grows as a character, so her appeal is a mystery. Rob Mayes fares a little better but is too laid back and doesn't always look comfortable, his character also comes over as too nice. The two have no spark together and seem ill matched, due to too much of a personality clash. Their relationship is underwritten and under-rehearsed.
Calling 'My Christmas Inn' cliched sums it up well, both story and characters, and that is being generous. Some familiar (well actually well worn out) story tropes here, all predictably executed. The first portions are slow and quite thinly plotted, uneventful at times, and some decision making seemed contrived. The script lays it on too thick with the corn and slushy schmaltz, not unexpected but it was overkill in places. The film doesn't get off to a particularly good start, very cheesy and quite dull, while the ending is rushed and too tidy and the lack of tension and conflict severely hurts what little there is of the drama.
On the whole, not good. 3/10.