Hallmark For All Seasons

Home stretch, folks.  I don’t know what I’m going to do when Hallmark moves all their movies to Saturdays and Sundays in a couple weeks. I may die. They are easing into it this upcoming weekend – one movie on Thursday, one on Saturday and then two on Sunday (see right sidebar for this weekend’s schedule of movies). Then the following weekend the wheels come off and we’re all just barreling through a billion movies until New Year’s.

“Picture a Perfect Christmas” aired on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, November 9 at 8 p.m.  It starred Merritt Patterson and Jon Cor, as well as the adorable Luke Roessler (previously seen in Hallmark’s “Miss Christmas” in 2017) and Paula Shaw from 2017’s “Coming Home for Christmas” – a Hallmark movie I really like.  The movie is based on a book entitled, “A Family Under the Christmas Tree” by Terri Reed.

In a nutshell

I’m having a tough time coming up with my final evaluation of whether or not I liked this movie.  I definitely have a score for it, but I have no explanation for the score, and no feeling as to whether it’s a generous score or a harsh score.  I liked many things about this movie, but I was also a bit bored by it.  It seemed very vanilla.  I’m sorry I can’t give any more opinion on it. *lol*

Plot

The movie centers around Sophie, a photographer who makes a quick journey home for the holiday to look after her grandmother before heading out of the country for an assignment, and ends up lending a helping hand to her grandmother’s neighbor, David, who needs assistance watching his young nephew Troy during the busy holiday season.

Actors

I do like Merritt Peterson a lot, so she’s a definitely highlight for me.  Jon Cor was perfectly fine, although not one of my favorites.  I know this is terribly shallow to say, but his hair was very distracting.

Two people I will gush about are Luke Roessler and Paula Shaw.  Roessler, in particular, was a standout in this movie as young Troy, and I wanted to put him in my pocket and take him home.  And Paula Shaw was delightful as Sophie’s grandmother because she played such a different character from her portrayal of matriarch Pippa in “Coming Home for Christmas.”  I would love for Roessler to co-star with Jill Wagner in a future Hallmark movie together.  I can envision their energies as mother/son blending together quite nicely on screen.

As for Six Degrees of Kris Polaha, Paula Shaw is only two steps away.  She co-starred with Danica McKellar in “Coming Home for Christmas” in 2017, and McKellar co-starred with Polaha in 2014’s “Where Hope Grows.”

Chemistry

Cor and Patterson did have good chemistry together.  I liked their banter at the toy store when they both confirmed they are not interested in each other (even though they totally were), and their slow dance was really nice, even though the almost kiss was just dumb.  I’m sorry – but if you get a text on your phone, that’s not a reason to completely give up on a kiss.  Now, people walking into the room?  That’s another story.  But a text?  IGNORE THE PHONE.

But I digress.  I thought the cast overall was a good mix and interacted very well with each other.

Feelgoods

I was pretty indifferent coming out of this movie, sadly.  I wanted to feel something, because I did like Sophie and David, but I couldn’t muster much of anything other than “time to watch the Pickler movie now.” (that review will be out late this afternoon)

Tropes

“Picture a Perfect Christmas” had several tropes.  It started out strong with the cups of hot cocoa with the bonus of being held in two hands.  David was a single parent (by way of being an uncle).  This movie featured not only a very cute kid but an adorable dog to boot!  Both the grandmother’s house and David’s house had front porches.  Sophie wore a ginormous red scarf at one point, that came down all the way to her knees, and they all went tree shopping.  And for the first time this year, we finally got a snowball fight, albeit a very short one.  Troy participated in a Christmas pageant (more on that later).  And while not strictly a baking montage, Sophie did put on an apron and make cookies while Troy decorated them.

Did I miss any others?  I feel like I need to add slow dancing to my list of tropes, since this movie and a few others have had it as well. Comment below if I missed one!

Bingo Card Score for “Picture a Perfect Christmas”

I came so close to getting a bingo on this movie.  I needed them to build a snowman and I’d have gotten a bingo.  As it was, I covered 9 spots on my bingo card.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

Let’s talk about that Christmas pageant first.  Troy was twice the age of the other kids playing reindeer.  Had I been him, and relegated to Reindeer #5, I’d have been fit to be tied and horrified to be cast in what was essentially a TODDLER’S role.  Troy deserved better in his initial casting.

This movie featured the busy boyfriend with no real emotional connection to the lead character, thus enabling her to begin to emotionally cheat on him.  Not good, Hallmark.  We need to stop with that type of storyline.

I don’t know what it takes to become a professional photographer, and I would not claim to be a photographer.  But even I know that you do not need a zoom lens on your camera when you are in a room putting a puzzle together while sitting across from each other.

My only other major disappointment was the slow dance scene, which I already mentioned.

Re-watchability

I can see myself watching this one again, but I can also see myself skipping it entirely.  I just feel “Meh” about the whole thing.

The Ranking

It is almost directly in the middle of the pack.  Which makes complete sense since I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it.

1. Two Turtle Doves (air date: Nov 1) – 742 pts – weighted score: 123.7 (86.8%)
2. Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses (air date: Oct 26) – 719 pts – weighted score: 121.0 (84.9%)
3. Love to the Rescue RE-RANKED (air date: March 23) – 708 pts – weighted score: 120.6 (84.6%)
4. Winter Love Story (air date: January 19) – 685 pts – weighted score: 115.8 (81.2%)
5. Mystery 101 (air date: January 27 (HMM)) – 454 pts – weighted score: 94.2 (80.5%)
6. Love on the Menu (air date: February 23) – 642 pts – weighted score: 113.8 (79.9%)
7. Bottled With Love (air date: April 13) – 649 pts – weighted score: 112.2 (78.7%)
8. Love Takes Flight (air date: April 27) – 670 pts – weighted score: 111.0 (77.9%)
9. Love, Romance & Chocolate (air date: February 16) – 627 pts – weighted score: 110.2 (77.3%)
10. The Last Bridesmaid (air date: June 22) – 643 pts – weighted score: 109.2 (76.6%)
11. Love, Fall and Order (air date: Oct 12) – 636 pts – weighted score: 109.0 (76.5%)
12. Paris, Wine & Romance (air date: May 4) – 638 pts – weighted score: 108.3 (76.0%)
13. My Boyfriend’s Back: Wedding March 5 (air date: June 8) – 635 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
14. Over the Moon in Love (air date: Oct 5) – 613 pts – weighted score: 106.3 (74.6%)
15. Flip That Romance (air date: March 16) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
16. My One and Only (air date: Aug 31) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.6 (74.1%)
17. Mystery 101: Playing Dead (air date: June 23 (HMM)) – 425 pts – weighted score: 86.5 (73.9%)
18. A Summer Romance (air date: Aug 17) – 577 pts – weighted score: 103.7 (72.7%)
19. True Love Blooms (air date: April 6) – 598 pts – weighted score: 103.1 (72.3%)
20. Forever in My Heart (air date: Sept 14) – 560 pts – weighted score: 102.4 (71.8%)
21. The Story of Us (air date: February 9) – 605 pts – weighted score: 101.3 (71.1%)
22. Holiday for Heroes (air date: Nov 8) – 566 pts – weighted score: 99.8 (70.0%)
23. A Brush with Love (air date: March 30) – 563 pts – weighted score: 97.7 (68.6%)
24. Ruby Herring: Silent Witness (air date: January 20 (HMM)) – 357 pts – weighted score: 79.5 (67.9%)
25. Love, Unleashed (air date: July 6, 2019) – 559 pts – weighted score: 96.2 (67.5%)
26. Love Under the Rainbow (air date: March 9) – 581 pts – weighted score: 96.0 (67.4%)
27. One Winter Proposal (air date: January 12) – 535 pts – weighted score: 95.8 (67.2%)
28. Just Add Romance (air date: March 2) – 548 pts – weighted score: 95.6 (67.1%)
29. Christmas Scavenger Hunt (air date: Nov 3) – 561 pts – weighted score: 95.4 (66.9%)
30. From Friend to Fiance (air date: May 25) – 555 pts – weighted score: 94.8% (66.5%)
31. Picture a Perfect Christmas (air date: Nov 10) – 529 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
32. Christmas Camp (air date: July 11) – 530 pts – weighted score: 93.9 (65.9%)
33. Love and Sunshine (air date: Aug 3) – 504 pts – weighted score: 91.7 (64.3%)
34. Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (air date: March 10 (HMM) – 354 pts – weighted score: 74.1 (63.3%)
35. Sister of the Bride (air date: June 29) – 516 pts – weighted score: 89.8 (63.0%)
36. Valentine in the Vineyard (air date: February 2) – 503 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
37. Love, Take Two (air date: June 15) – 507 pts – weighted score: 87.8 (61.6%)
38. All Summer Long (air date: Aug 24) – 512 pts – weighted score: 87.7 (61.5%)
39. Snowcoming (air date: January 26) – 485 pts – weighted score: 87.3 (61.2%)
40. The Winter Castle (air date: January 5) – 475 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.2%)
41. Merry & Bright (air date: Nov 2) – 483 pts – weighted score: 84.4 (59.2%)
42. Nostalgic Christmas (air date: Oct 31) – 446 pts – weighted score: 79.2 (55.6%)
43. A Merry Christmas Match (air date: Oct 25) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.3 (54.9%)
44. Sailing Into Love (air date: May 18) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.0 (54.7%)
45. Rome in Love (air date: July 27) – 436 pts – weighted score: 76.7 (53.8%)
46. A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas (air date: Nov 7) – 398 pts – weighted score: 72.3 (50.7%)
47. A Taste of Summer (air date: Aug 10) – 403 pts – weighted score: 70.9 (49.7%)
48. A Winter Princess (air date: January 18) – 380 pts – weighted score: 70.5 (49.5%)
49. A Feeling of Home (air date: May 11) – 386 pts – weighted score: 69.7% (48.9%)
50. Love in the Sun (air date: June 1) – 361 pts – weighted score: 62.5 (43.8%)

To see where this movie lands in my overall rankings of Hallmark movies, visit my Hallmark Movie Rankings page!

What did you think of “Picture a Perfect Christmas”?  Comment below and let me know!

#Hallmarkies, check out this review of #Hallmark's #PictureaPerfectChristmas Share on X