I really wanted to like this movie but it was only so-so for me. The character of Molly seemed very immature. How old is she? 21? 24? We're told she's successfully completed college (in spite of her hovering father), and she's currently working at a neighborhood deli where the hero orders the same sandwich for lunch every day. Molly has applied for an entry-level position at PR firm in spite of being over qualified. Where'd all her experience come from? Working at her father's knee? Her insistence upon making her own way, not being helped by anyone became very "one note," repetitive. What's the hero to do but the very thing that upsets her? No thanks.
4 Reviews
Poor storytelling leads to zzz
Jackbv12323 November 2021
Painfully bland and boring. Bland dialogue. Inane story which seemed like it was written by a kid. When it's not stupid, it's boring.
Acting was fair to bad. Steffi DiDomenicantonio has a nice singing voice but her acting is poor. The actor who plays Mike Ward has poor delivery.
I wish I could say that the developing relationship between Molly and Aiden was interesting. There wasn't really any chemistry between Eden Broda and Zach Smadu. No personal connection and Broda often seems stunned when she's with him. It almost seems like Molly frowns more at Aiden than smiles at him.
Molly's relationship with her father and it's effect on her career path could have possibilities. But it's just plumped down into the story without developing the context which is part of good storytelling. Later in the movie we get to see it displayed some, but it seemed poorly placed and still little context. How did Molly and her Dad reach this point? It had something to do with her mom passing, but then what? Dad's shadow is important in the plot but its development is clumsy.
Molly's total obsession with stray animals also has possibilities, but it's just stated at the beginning and then dropped for the rest of the movie with almost no signs of it. Again no contextual development of it. Why is she supposedly so obsessed?
Pet peeve: phone texts that are almost impossible for the viewer to see except for the most eagle eyed. In this movie they were even smaller than most.
Acting was fair to bad. Steffi DiDomenicantonio has a nice singing voice but her acting is poor. The actor who plays Mike Ward has poor delivery.
I wish I could say that the developing relationship between Molly and Aiden was interesting. There wasn't really any chemistry between Eden Broda and Zach Smadu. No personal connection and Broda often seems stunned when she's with him. It almost seems like Molly frowns more at Aiden than smiles at him.
Molly's relationship with her father and it's effect on her career path could have possibilities. But it's just plumped down into the story without developing the context which is part of good storytelling. Later in the movie we get to see it displayed some, but it seemed poorly placed and still little context. How did Molly and her Dad reach this point? It had something to do with her mom passing, but then what? Dad's shadow is important in the plot but its development is clumsy.
Molly's total obsession with stray animals also has possibilities, but it's just stated at the beginning and then dropped for the rest of the movie with almost no signs of it. Again no contextual development of it. Why is she supposedly so obsessed?
Pet peeve: phone texts that are almost impossible for the viewer to see except for the most eagle eyed. In this movie they were even smaller than most.
Dullness under the mistletoe
TheLittleSongbird26 October 2022
Have said many times about my love of Christmas and getting a lot of pleasure out of in particular watching films, cartoons and specials during this period, something that most years has been much needed. Wanted to see some more festive films that were more recent, lower in budget and were not childhood favourites, so in a way to broaden my horizons and have been doing so since November 2019. The idea sounded nice and a couple of the plot strands had a good deal of potential.
Potential that is not really done anything with. There are a few good things but also unfortunately too much bad for me to recommend. As far as Christmas films go, there are certainly far worse out there that fare even worse in the acting and storytelling stakes. There are also a lot better, that have a lot more charm and spark. There have actually been some good Christmas films out there seen in the past four years, so me disliking 'Mistletoe and Molly' is not being said with bias.
'Mistletoe and Molly' does have a few good things. It is an attractive looking film, with the scenery being beautiful. The soundtrack is pleasant and suitably festive.
There are moments of easy going charm with Zach Smadu.
Unfortunately that is pretty much it. Eden Broda's acting is limited to about two expressions, the most frequent one being that of being perpetually stunned. She and Smadu have no spark or chemistry together, too distant, and the relationship never develops. The supporting cast are poor, with a lot of wooden, motionless line delivery going on. Especially Shane Marriott. The chemistry between the whole cast is disconnected and none of the characters are fleshed out enough to care, just bland. The direction is routine.
Furthermore, the writing is too often stilted and forced especially in the very slow going beginning. Tonally, it's unfocused, taking itself too seriously to be light hearted and the lack of interesting characters and underwritten storytelling stops it from having any charm or heart. The story is predictable, when there is signs of any, and is very dully paced. There was potential for the film to have a lot of heart, like the father and daughter relationship, but that also doesn't develop and feels shoehorned in at a point in the story where the placement feels awkward. Anything to give the female lead character development is practically neglected after being briefly introduced, so the film feels incredibly bland and incomplete feeling as a result.
All in all, dull and has very little to it. 3/10.
Potential that is not really done anything with. There are a few good things but also unfortunately too much bad for me to recommend. As far as Christmas films go, there are certainly far worse out there that fare even worse in the acting and storytelling stakes. There are also a lot better, that have a lot more charm and spark. There have actually been some good Christmas films out there seen in the past four years, so me disliking 'Mistletoe and Molly' is not being said with bias.
'Mistletoe and Molly' does have a few good things. It is an attractive looking film, with the scenery being beautiful. The soundtrack is pleasant and suitably festive.
There are moments of easy going charm with Zach Smadu.
Unfortunately that is pretty much it. Eden Broda's acting is limited to about two expressions, the most frequent one being that of being perpetually stunned. She and Smadu have no spark or chemistry together, too distant, and the relationship never develops. The supporting cast are poor, with a lot of wooden, motionless line delivery going on. Especially Shane Marriott. The chemistry between the whole cast is disconnected and none of the characters are fleshed out enough to care, just bland. The direction is routine.
Furthermore, the writing is too often stilted and forced especially in the very slow going beginning. Tonally, it's unfocused, taking itself too seriously to be light hearted and the lack of interesting characters and underwritten storytelling stops it from having any charm or heart. The story is predictable, when there is signs of any, and is very dully paced. There was potential for the film to have a lot of heart, like the father and daughter relationship, but that also doesn't develop and feels shoehorned in at a point in the story where the placement feels awkward. Anything to give the female lead character development is practically neglected after being briefly introduced, so the film feels incredibly bland and incomplete feeling as a result.
All in all, dull and has very little to it. 3/10.
Help Not Wanted
rebekahrox8 December 2021
We meet Molly in the coffee shop where she works with her best buddy. We learn that she is the daughter of a prominent founder and head of a PR firm, but she is very anxious to snag a job with a rival firm and is trying to avoid her father. We only see the father through Molly's eyes and that made me wonder if he deserves her treatment or is he just misunderstood? Is her insistence of making a success in her career without any of her father's help justified or is she just being stubborn and prideful? Especially since she's dead broke. I liked the mystery and "show don't tell" aspect to this. Meanwhile, she has some encounters with a rich and handsome man, Aiden, (who we know is a good guy because he has a hearing impaired nephew that he is nice to.) It turns out that he is friends with a partner in the firm that Molly is wanting to work for. Molly and Aiden start to date. They are smitten.
I loved the actress who played Molly. She was beautiful in a girl next door type of way with gorgeous hair and a natural delivery. She was a very good actress. The actress who played her friend, on the other hand, was annoying. She was supposed to be extroverted and quirky but just came across as loud and rude.
On a special date with Aiden, her father shows up in the same restaurant and Aiden invites him to join them! This is a very tense scene and had me on the edge of my seat. (mostly because of the acting) Aiden knew how she felt about her father. And for the first time, we get a dose of him first hand. And he is horrible! He totally disrespects Molly by overriding her preferred house Chardonnay with the most expensive bottle in the restaurant. He is overbearing, patronizing, and controlling. He takes over the date and Aiden goes along with it! We later find out her father stalked her to the restaurant! He wants her to work for him, and won't take no for an answer. I found his behavior abusive and dangerous. Aiden doesn't get it, since he got along with him fine, but after talking to his sister he realizes that he really screwed up and practically begs her to forgive him. She is offered the job and she is thrilled. She goes over to Aiden's apartment to forgive him. But while there she accidentally sees a text that shows that he tried to pave her way to the job offer even though she told him in no uncertain terms to let her earn the position on her own. OMG! What an idiot! Plus that is treating a grown woman like a little girl who needs to be taken care of. That kind of discounting is an intolerable insult. At this point, I was hoping she would dump him for good.
The resolution and the happy ending for her love life and her career was an anticlimax. Of course, I was happy for the happy ending but.... She asks for Dad's help to help Aiden's sister's charity and their relationship is repaired just like that. Apparently he finally gets that he is not going to have her under his thumb. It was way too easy. She realizes she got her new job because she is awesome and not because of the undue influence of Aiden. So she forgives him. I was OK with that because I think he really learned his lesson. And she learns that it's OK to ask for help. That part was lame-It is NOT OK to take advantage of who you know to get something you want. It's not fair. She was right the first time. It was not made clear that it IS OK to do so to do good works for others.
Despite the ending, I loved this. But it could have been a 10.
I loved the actress who played Molly. She was beautiful in a girl next door type of way with gorgeous hair and a natural delivery. She was a very good actress. The actress who played her friend, on the other hand, was annoying. She was supposed to be extroverted and quirky but just came across as loud and rude.
On a special date with Aiden, her father shows up in the same restaurant and Aiden invites him to join them! This is a very tense scene and had me on the edge of my seat. (mostly because of the acting) Aiden knew how she felt about her father. And for the first time, we get a dose of him first hand. And he is horrible! He totally disrespects Molly by overriding her preferred house Chardonnay with the most expensive bottle in the restaurant. He is overbearing, patronizing, and controlling. He takes over the date and Aiden goes along with it! We later find out her father stalked her to the restaurant! He wants her to work for him, and won't take no for an answer. I found his behavior abusive and dangerous. Aiden doesn't get it, since he got along with him fine, but after talking to his sister he realizes that he really screwed up and practically begs her to forgive him. She is offered the job and she is thrilled. She goes over to Aiden's apartment to forgive him. But while there she accidentally sees a text that shows that he tried to pave her way to the job offer even though she told him in no uncertain terms to let her earn the position on her own. OMG! What an idiot! Plus that is treating a grown woman like a little girl who needs to be taken care of. That kind of discounting is an intolerable insult. At this point, I was hoping she would dump him for good.
The resolution and the happy ending for her love life and her career was an anticlimax. Of course, I was happy for the happy ending but.... She asks for Dad's help to help Aiden's sister's charity and their relationship is repaired just like that. Apparently he finally gets that he is not going to have her under his thumb. It was way too easy. She realizes she got her new job because she is awesome and not because of the undue influence of Aiden. So she forgives him. I was OK with that because I think he really learned his lesson. And she learns that it's OK to ask for help. That part was lame-It is NOT OK to take advantage of who you know to get something you want. It's not fair. She was right the first time. It was not made clear that it IS OK to do so to do good works for others.
Despite the ending, I loved this. But it could have been a 10.
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