Hallmark's Friends & Family Christmas: Rewatch Or Regift?
It was an interesting choice for the filmmakers behind Hallmark's "Friends & Family Christmas" to not include any kind of excitement in the movie. What could have been a fun story instead suffers from being plodding, boring, and aggressively mediocre. Humberly González ("Ginny & Georgia") plays Daniella McCallan, a wannabe artist and photographer for the Brooklyn Artists Lab in New York City, who calls her parents to tell them that she won't be coming home for Christmas — much to their disappointment.
Ali Liebert ("Dead Like Me"), is Amelia Kasmerac, an NYC lawyer in line for a partnership after her doting father retires, who is still boo-hooing about breaking up with her ex-fiancé a year prior. Mom and Dad, Raquel and Luke McCallan, just want Dani to be happy, and Luke is friends with Amelia's father, John Kasmerac. The parents connect Dani and Amelia, who meet for coffee. Although they have zero chemistry, the two end up pretending to date (at least until Christmas Eve), to placate their parents.
Of course, eventually, they start developing feelings for each other, but a job opportunity for Dani might involve traveling, which is why Amelia previously broke up with her girlfriend. Will they have a happy ending? Well, that goes without saying as it's a Hallmark film. Sadly, González and Liebert generate precisely zero sparks onscreen, and both characters constantly whining about their blessed lives gets old fast. This movie is a regift, for the romantic film completist only.
The main characters aren't very interesting
While Humberly González and Ali Liebert don't make much of an impact in Hallmark's "Friends & Family Christmas," many of the other characters are thankfully far more entertaining. In fact, González's Daniella had magnificent chemistry with her friend, Kylie Cook (Samantha Cole). Gabriela Reynoso ("Peacemaker") and Christopher Shyer ("V") are also infinitely more interesting, as Raquel and Luke McCallan respectively. Likewise "Final Destination 5" star Barclay Hope does a great job as single dad, John Kasmerac.
But the film's snail-like pacing drags it down interminably. The last ten minutes boasts some exciting moments but they're not enough to save it. At its core, the movie is a cute enough romance, but director Anne Wheeler — who's been making features since 1978 — seems to have phoned this one in a little bit. Writers Gary Goldstein ("Lights, Camera, Christmas!") and Tracy Andreen ("A Very Merry Bridesmaid") are no strangers to making enjoyable TV movies either, but this story could have been served better by picking up the pace and making the protagonists more interesting and relatable.
The themes in "Friends & Family Christmas," such as getting back into the dating world after a bad breakup, and having confidence in one's work, are great starting points, but the storylines all ultimately culminate in a predictable final act. And, considering this film is part of Hallmark's new foray into same-sex-oriented stories, it feels like a completely missed opportunity on top of everything else.