My last review was not posted so I'll try again, without spoilers (or language) as to why this "movie" is bad.
I'll start by saying that enjoying a movie and the movie itself being bad are two different things. And the rating should be about the quality, not if "you" like it. Something people seem to forget. Check the writing, the directing, the acting, the production, the soundtrack etc. Again, you can still like it, but let other people think for themselves if they would like a movie like that or not, don't force your own opinion.
So, it begins. To start a movie you need a script. The writing is bad. Really bad. Full of plot holes and making things happen just to push the story. And that's the definition of bad writing. The directing was bad. For a lot of reasons. I'm not even gonna start, especially when the scrip is that bad. Sometimes, even if the writing and the directing are bad, the acting can still save some. This is not the case. The Imani actress was bad. Yes, her role was written poorly, but the acting was also on par. You don't need to be Nicholson or Hopkins, but c'mon.... And the focus being on her, it made it even more obvious. But here is the reason why the extra star. The actor playing the diner owner (I know him as Murphy) did a good job. Check him, acting even when he did things in background, when the camera wasn't focusing on him and Imani, who was trying to act and failing. I won't even bother with production and soundtrack. Maybe I should mention this though. There is a scene when the radio announces heavy snow storm, I think the term used was "snowgheddon" (as in snow + armageddon, get it?) and the next scene let us see a street with barely 1 inch of snow. Really? Nowadays the fake snow vfx is a given in the Hallmark movies, but only when falling? They couldn't be bothered to film a street in a different city, where the was lots and lots of snow? *sigh* About the tip scene that got all the people riled up I'll say only this: it's fake and put in the script just to force things happen. Really bad writing. That scene in itself and the scene after. That will never happen in real life. And to make it worse, the preacher roasts the poor guy and in the next scene talks about how he saw himself in the guy and that guy wasn't happy and maybe had his own problems. So, you knew that and you still made fun of him? Nice going, preacher! Flawless writing right there!!
Again: it's a Christmas movie. You can like it or not, but the movie is bad. Really bad.
I'll start by saying that enjoying a movie and the movie itself being bad are two different things. And the rating should be about the quality, not if "you" like it. Something people seem to forget. Check the writing, the directing, the acting, the production, the soundtrack etc. Again, you can still like it, but let other people think for themselves if they would like a movie like that or not, don't force your own opinion.
So, it begins. To start a movie you need a script. The writing is bad. Really bad. Full of plot holes and making things happen just to push the story. And that's the definition of bad writing. The directing was bad. For a lot of reasons. I'm not even gonna start, especially when the scrip is that bad. Sometimes, even if the writing and the directing are bad, the acting can still save some. This is not the case. The Imani actress was bad. Yes, her role was written poorly, but the acting was also on par. You don't need to be Nicholson or Hopkins, but c'mon.... And the focus being on her, it made it even more obvious. But here is the reason why the extra star. The actor playing the diner owner (I know him as Murphy) did a good job. Check him, acting even when he did things in background, when the camera wasn't focusing on him and Imani, who was trying to act and failing. I won't even bother with production and soundtrack. Maybe I should mention this though. There is a scene when the radio announces heavy snow storm, I think the term used was "snowgheddon" (as in snow + armageddon, get it?) and the next scene let us see a street with barely 1 inch of snow. Really? Nowadays the fake snow vfx is a given in the Hallmark movies, but only when falling? They couldn't be bothered to film a street in a different city, where the was lots and lots of snow? *sigh* About the tip scene that got all the people riled up I'll say only this: it's fake and put in the script just to force things happen. Really bad writing. That scene in itself and the scene after. That will never happen in real life. And to make it worse, the preacher roasts the poor guy and in the next scene talks about how he saw himself in the guy and that guy wasn't happy and maybe had his own problems. So, you knew that and you still made fun of him? Nice going, preacher! Flawless writing right there!!
Again: it's a Christmas movie. You can like it or not, but the movie is bad. Really bad.