MIamiReviewer Reviews

Seduced by a Killer (2019)

The mom was almost as bad as the villain

[3/10 · 14 January 2022]

So I get that the mom was on edge, because she's been having a lot of bad things happen in her life.... she was assaulted in college, and more recently was attacked at her salon.

However, this movie drives me bonkers because the mom acts deranged about her daughter's boyfriend for the first half of the movie. I get that it would be off putting to find out your 18 year old daughter is dating a 38 year old man. However, without knowing anything is amiss about the boyfriend, the mom goes crazy stalker - sneaking around at the restaurant, tracking her phone, and then shows up at the guy's house, goes inside and then PHYSICALLY ASSAULTS him. Just because he is 38 and is dating her 18 year old daughter. Listen, I would be concerned if my 18 year old was dating someone twice their age. However, it happens. It is not illegal. Eighteen is an adult. I remember at college, there was always a couple first year students who dated older men. Gross? Absolutely. Worth an intervention? Uh, no.

It was not until hour 1:07 of the movie that the guy went psycho on her - by grabbing her neck and making a crazy threat. Although i note that this was in fact in response to the mom taking a swing at him. So for the first hour of the movie, the mom is acting this deranged solely because her daughter is dating a 38 year old man. Anyhow, rant over...

Separately, the daughter is unbearable in this movie.

I'll Be Watching (2018)

Not a fan of the sexual violence

[5/10 · 26 October 2021]

So here's the thing: Lifetime movies are terrible. And fun. I leave them on during my work-from-home workday as entertainment in the background, because they require low emotional and intellectual investment. They always feature a lead woman, with a support cast. Bad things happen to the woman, but she takes control of the situation and in the end, always prevails without the help of any of her supporting cast.

One thing Lifetime movies never have: Sexual violence. Despite having stalkers and murderers in every movie, the movies just don't go there. And I appreciate that. These are silly romps that are intended to pump you up, and sexual violence would take away from that. And honestly, sexual violence is often the easy, expected thing to include in this kind of script. Ninety-nine percent of tv and movies, when they want to create a dramatic plot involving a woman, just resort to sexual violence against her.

This one has sexual violence and sexual trauma to the lead character. I hate it. It's one of the few Lifetime movies that goes there. Just putting it out there, because people don't often recognize how cool and noteworthy it is that Lifetime typically avoids it.

The Killer Next Door (2019 TV Movie)

The real villains are the neighbors

[4/10 · 23 October 2020]

Typical Lifetime fare. Watching it in the background while I work, and like most Lifetime movies, I have a low grade pit in my stomach for the movie's duration. Kind of a "don't go in the basement!" low grade stress.

Only in this case, I wasn't stressed at all by the evil sister in law murderess.

No, my blood pressure was highest every time the horrid neighbor ladies hustled out to the curb with their tut-tuts. Loud music! Loungewear during the day! Recycling bin still out! Missing kid! There was no issue, big or small, that these hags couldn't get their Lilly Pulitzer undies in a wad over. You could have literally removed the murder plot, and just had typical neighbor stuff happening (left the trash can out, security alarm unintentionally set off, etc) and the movie would have been just as stressful. Then the protagonist could have snapped and murdered the neighbors. Would have been just as watchable.

Love at First Glance (2017 TV Movie)

Uncomfortable

[3/10 · 2 March 2017]

Were the other reviewers paid to give this high marks? I love Hallmark movies, but this one was terrible. It made me physically uncomfortable. It's like Hallmark scored some very high profile actors, and then got too comfortable with the presumed success of the movie, so didn't bother paying for a decent script/director/cameraperson/editor.

To start, the timing of this movie was all off. I can't tell if the actors didn't know their stuff or if the problem was with the editing. But the whole thing just felt off.

More importantly, the entire premise is off-putting. Sure, I get why she falls for him, given that her job has her learn all kinds of stuff about him. But he knows nothing about her, but is sending creepy texts to her the whole time, and then comes home and immediately tells her he loves her. If this movie had instead been aired on LMN instead of Hallmark, I would have been waiting for the "twist" when it turns out he is trying to lure her into an Eastern European human trafficking ring. I know we are supposed to suspend belief for TV, but even suspending belief made me feel like I needed a shower to get off the creepy feeling.

Finally, Adrian Grenier, did you even read your lines before doing your 3 scenes? He had maybe 5 minutes of screen time in the whole movie, and I think they just paid him to show up, not to actually put any effort in. His weird, script-reading performance only amped up the creep factor.

I felt physically uncomfortable for most of this movie. Ugh.

Christmas Land (2015 TV Movie)

Ending is the Antithesis of the xmas spirit

[6/10 · 8 December 2016]

Actually a charming movie with good actors, decent chemistry and enough filled to make the first three quarters fairly entertaining. Then, as others have said, the ending is enough to make your blood boil.

The evil real estate mogul manipulates the lead and flips the property back to her a day late for a $1.3 million profit. And everyone is singing merry Christmas and thanking him for being so kind and generous to sell it back. Are you kidding me? Also agree with others that the lead was frustratingly stupid for signing over the property without reading it, given that she was supposed to be so savvy. And agree that she would have been able to sue the pants off her boyfriend/attorney for malpractice, because he clearly violated her client privilege by colluding with the seller to mislead her into thinking he would keep the property as is. Or because he conveyed to her that the contract would keep the property as is, an he clearly knew the opposite.

The ending of this movie is like if scrooge didn't learn the meaning of Christmas but instead sold tiny Tim a crutch for $150 and then let Tiny Tim sit on his lap and help count the gold coins at the end.

A December Bride (2016 TV Movie)

Oh gosh this was bad

[4/10 · 28 November 2016]

This one was terrible. I had high hopes, because the dude from When Calls the Heart is charming enough that i thought he'd pull this one through. Not so much. Here are the problems with this movie:

1. It was enraging that everyone wanted the lead actress to forgive her cousin. Like, my blood pressure was skyrocketing the whole movie. Here's the thing: If you steal your cousin's fiancé and get married 6 months later, you DO NOT invite the jilted cousin to the wedding, you do not put pressure on her to attend the wedding, you do not refuse to choose sides, and you do not ambush her like a family intervention so that she can *finally* get over it. Instead, the nasty cousin should expect years of appropriate shunning and consequences. Neutral family members should not be saying "oh be a bigger person and come to the wedding". Any good friend or family member would skip the wedding and take you out of town for the weekend to avoid the whole thing. My husband and i were watching this and both of us could barely make it through the movie because of this infuriating story line.

2. Why was the dude so vested in the fake wedding? what was in it for him? In real life, this would be creepy.

3. The house was gross. It was grosser after it was decorated.

4. Once they had both acknowledged that they were into each other (but before they went public about the rouse), i don't understand what the barrier was for them to getting together. Why couldn't they just be a real couple at that point? It didn't make sense that they had to break up.

5. This was one of those infuriating hallmark movies where absolutely nothing happens over the course of an hour and twenty minutes. They got fake engaged in the first 10 minutes. Then there was an hour and ten minutes of filler where they are just talking to their friends and family and having dinner and other stuff. And then, last 5 minutes, they were about to break up but no, they decide to stay together. Like, nothing in the middle. Usually these stories need a twist, like he doesn't know she owns the firm he works for and is going to have to close it by xmas! And he has an ex girlfriend with a bluetooth who keeps mucking things up! Yes, some movies can be held up solely by charming romantic banter. But "A December Bride" is not Before Sunrise or Fifty Days of Summer. The writer here is no Richard Linklater. And the girl from 90210 is not a charming manic pixie girl.

Sorry guys, this one is a dud.

The Color of Rain (2014 TV Movie)

Ugh

[4/10 · 9 June 2016]

One of the brutal Hallmark channel movies that manages to go on for two hours and nothing happens. The "info" descriptive that my cable company provides is that a man and woman, both grieving the loss of their spouse, grow close and fall in love. I'm now an hour in, and that's literally all that is happening in this movie. The first ten minutes was showing them losing their spouses. Then the rest of the movie has been them running into each other several times, going to each others houses, having dinner. It's basically like if I set up a video camera to just film my own life every day.

Add to that the 1950s tenor: that he is a hopeless sad sack, who can't possibly do laundry without staining everything pink and can't keep track of a household schedule. And she has to call him and beg "heavens oh my, I can't assemble this bunk bed frame." To which he calls on her two "strong men" sons. The dad has a family game of some sorts that only involved his sons. And when the guy's daughter asks the other mom if she knew her deceased mom, she said "I did, and she was so pretty, just like you." Because seriously, that's the legacy to say to a 10 year old girl about your mom.

Pretty in Pink (1986)

Lightweight and a real stinker

[4/10 · 29 February 2016]

To preface: I love high school movies, feel-good movies, lightweight fluffers, and have a soft spot for several John Hughes movies.

But on the 30th anniversary of this one, I was inspired to add my two cents - because apparently I am alone in my unbounded hatred for Pretty in Pink.

Problem #1: every character in this movie is unlikeable. Andie is whiny, pouty, and while she's going for the "quirky" thing, her droning on and on about being an outsider is insufferable. Blane is obviously a jerk who has little going for him other than his computer skills. He certainly lacks a backbone. He also lacks a personality or any interests. Duckie is grating, obsessive, and like a bad case of eczema that you keep needing to scratch but it never goes away. All three of these main characters are superficial tropes of stereotypes. Yeah, sure, stereotypes are Hughes' forte (see The Breakfast Club, e.g.) but the stereotype thing doesn't work as well when they are all loathsome.

Problem #2: And this is my biggest problem with the movie. Andie and Blane's relationship is devoid of any relationship. There is no real relationship here on which to build a romantic plot line. Their interactions are fleeting and, to the extent they have any real conversation, it is almost entirely Andie going on and on about how much she hates the preppie kids. They first interaction is by 80s computer - no real conversation. Blane stalks her in the record store. Not much real conversation. They go on a date and spend literally the whole date with Andie freaking out about his rich friends. She is petulant and unbearable. And every time I watch this movie, I cringe in wonderment that Blane ends the date emphatically telling her he really likes her and wants to make their relationship work. Based on what?? It makes absolutely no sense. If I recall, they hang out once or twice more - but certainly not at school. And then he bails on her. And then we're supposed to believe at the end that it was true love and they just didn't "believe" enough? Arghhh!

Problem #3: Andie and Duckie. Everyone knows the story was originally written with Duckie getting Andie. Lots of commenters on here complain that it should have gone that direction. I say "ick". First, this movie was a different era, but if that character was written in 2016, he would have been the non-threatening gay best friend. He so lacks any charming sexual tension with Andie that it's impossible and almost gross to imagine them as a couple. Further, see above comments about how astoundingly annoying he is. Creepy, stalkerish, obsessive, interfering and rude. The only reason he belongs with Andie at the end is because they're both so unlikeable together.

Problem #4: The dress. The dress. Why did she have to take that beautiful specimen of a 1950s prom, so perfect in its shape and features, and turn it into an unflattering potato sack? My mom used to give me old scraps of fabric to craft with when I was a little kid. With a pair of scissors and glue, we used to make Barbie dress sacks pretty much the same as Andie's dress. Horrible.

I watch this movie about once a year because I'm a sucker. And every time, I spend the whole thing cringing and annoyed with this clunker.

The Martian (2015)

Meh, but mostly annoying because of the lame female roles

[6/10 · 6 January 2016]

Watched this on a plane, had heard great things about it and figured it would be an entertaining 2.5 hours on my flight. It was okay, but i'm not sure where all the hype is coming from. Matt Damon puts in a good but not great performance. And the plot is pretty predictable without any particularly exciting moments. The whole time i just was thinking "meh".

But the movie did manage to consistently annoy me with its subtle misogyny. How? First, the basic premise of a man getting trapped on a planet and quickly figuring out his way to survive, all the while narrating his amazing accomplishments to the audience. All Matt Damon does is narrate his smartness. It is basically 2 hours of Matt Damon mansplaining Mars. Annoying because this movie would literally never be made with a female lead because the world could not fathom a woman lecturing the audience that long. Second annoyance was that, with the exception of Kate Mara, there was not a woman in this movie who said a line without looking at a male character for reassurance or confirmation that she was making the right decision. I didn't notice it for the first 30 minutes, and then once i noticed it, it became like a drinking game. Kristin Wiig, Jessica Chastain, the blond woman who works at NASA. Seriously, they don't do a single thing in this movie except look at the men to see what they think. Other than a handful of exceptions, the men in the movie never do this. It was both comical and infuriating to watch. Argh.

Merry Kissmas (2015 TV Movie)

One of the worst budget xmas movies out there...

[2/10 · 27 December 2015]

I spend a lot of December watching low-budget xmas movies on basic cable channels. I have very low standards. This one was painful. The protagonist woman started out charming enough, but became pretty unbearable as she stayed with her horrid boyfriend until almost the end of the movie. The movie lacked any real plot whatsoever, other than the basic premise of a woman needs to choose between two men. The rest was pure filler, sinking to such painful tropes as a fun-filled cookie-making session and a non-sequeter trip to the dog pound to play with puppies. Seriously??This might be the worst one i saw this holiday season....

Best Christmas Party Ever (2014 TV Movie)

Started strong, but really week ending

[6/10 · 24 November 2015]

As the previous reviewer noted, this is actually pretty good on the scale of Hallmark Christmas movies. Pretty people, cute plot that was slightly more substantial than the average Christmas movie. The leads were good enough, and he was charming and unlike most of the leads in most of these Hallmark romantic comedies, didn't come across as an asexual non-suitor. The leads here actually had a little chemistry, and my cringe moments in the first hour and forty five minutes were few and far between. Then the last 15 minutes came, and ouch. They threw everything together on the backdrop of this manic, low-budget movie Christmas party, which completely distracted from the sweet plot that had otherwise been developing. And managed to put together a get-together final scene that was entirely devoid of chemistry. It felt like the end of Wayne's World where every character popped out in the last thirty seconds and awkwardly and quickly tied up their lose ends.

As an aside, the obsessive emphasis on the value of party planning was a little over the top in this movie. All the poor kids telling the party planner that her previous charitable Christmas parties changed their lives -- all while ignoring the toy store that paid for and provided the gifts for said parties? Really? Of those two people, the party planner was the one responsible for changing your life?

What I Did for Love (2006 TV Movie)

Nasty people - except the boyfriend

[6/10 · 24 November 2015]

I watch this one every year because there are enough charming moments to suffer through the nastiness of Sadie's family. I can't believe some of the other reviewers on here call this a "family friendly" movie, given that the family is nasty, antagonistic and entirely unfriendly to Sadie's boyfriend. A family friendly group would have, uh, i don't know, not judged a book by its cover? Do unto others as they do unto you? Treat your neighbor with kindness?

And despite what other reviewers say, I think the boyfriend acts about as reasonably pleasant as one could act in those horrible circumstances. If i was suffering for a week with that family, i'd probably find myself doing stupid things under pressure, too.

And Sadie was a nasty jerk, criticizing her boyfriend instead of backing him up against her family. Ugh, they stress me out so much. That said, i enjoy her boyfriend whipping up a frittata and calling out the family for their total ignorance of Shakespeare. Seriously. Jeremy London was pretty hilarious in this movie.

A Cookie Cutter Christmas (2014 TV Movie)

Pretty low end

[2/10 · 15 November 2015]

I love me some Hallmark holiday moves. I can't tolerate this one. Two catty, unlikable women competing over the new dad in town. I assume you're supposed to like the lead actress because she's the "nicer" of the two? But she's just as pathetic as the nastier one, meeting the new dad once and immediately setting her desperate sights on him. That is literally the whole plot of this movie. No charming romanticism that develops over two hours. Nope. Just that a single hot guy shows up, and the ladies pull out their claws. Oh, and the hot dad's "job" is running a nonprofit goodwill type ramshackle empty storefront for needy people. Ugh.

Always and Forever (2009 TV Movie)

Nothing happens in this movie

[4/10 · 31 October 2015]

I love me some Hallmark Sunday afternoon movies.

However, I have put this movie on on probably 6 separate occasions (it reruns a lot) and every time i lose interest before the halfway mark -- because absolutely nothing happens in this movie. There is no conflict, no obstacle to overcome. Except that they just have to finally get around to saying that they still love each other. The acting is probably fine. The actors are quite pretty. But it's like having to listen to your best friend, every single time you see her, talk about how she's not sure if she should move in with her totally fine but not fantastic boyfriend boyfriend. You just don't care that much, and it just doesn't matter. Arghhh i want my two hours back!

Love on the Air (2015 TV Movie)

Above par for Hallmark

[8/10 · 27 September 2015]

I give this an 8 out of 10, on my "hallmark movie scale". That is, sure, it's no Gone With the Wind. But relative to other HMM movies, this was really enjoyable. Even my husband, who is usually beside me napping/browsing the web, piped up that it was a whole lot better than my usual Sunday afternoon light fare.....

Anyhow, Alison Sweeney has got a real HMM thing going on, and is usually pretty charming and likable -as she is in this one. The lead guy is equally likable, and unlike most HMM movies, does not come across as gay (which, as an aside, is a major problem with this channel's movies - it's hard to get into the chemistry of a budding romance when the lead males are all so painfully, painfully gay. I don't know why HMM does this -- maybe they've tested their audiences and found out that they are drawn to this? But i digress....). The characters here have real chemistry, and great that, unlike so many HMM movies the lead woman actually has a real, successful career - and not just as a ubiquitous "event planner" or "marketing woman" or "wedding coordinator". And nice that she didn't quit said job at the end of the movie, as so many of these leads are inclined to do. Anyhow, just a cute fun movie, well acted, well-written, and pretty much lacking the painful awkward script moments that these movies usually have.

Rectify (2013–2016)

Nothhhiiinnngggg Happppeeeennnnsss.....

[4/10 · 20 July 2015]

I liked the first season. Five or six episodes, if I recall, and while slow paced and not much happened, I felt like there was a great premise, good acting and the groundwork was set for some great developments, side plots, movement forward in the second season.

Holy smokes, I'm now through season 2 and NOTHING HAPPENS in this whole season. As others have said, same conversations, same looks, same indie camera shots. As another posted noted, my husband and I are saying a lot of curse words as we suffer through the last 2 episodes of season two. What started as an interesting premise has devolved into a bunch of insufferable, simple-minded unlikeable characters who do nothing whatsoever for 43 minutes an episode. We will not be watching season 3.

Love It or List It (2008–2023)

So annoying

[5/10 · 20 July 2015]

One of the worst on HGTV, but has such a prime time slot as it seems to be on whenever I work from home....

Hillary promises to do a full house gut, moving 2 bathrooms, redo kitchen, knock down a structural wall and finish an unfinished basement for $60k. Quoted prices are often low on HGTV because they seem to ignore labor costs, so I can deal. Then, some unforeseen issue like a few spots of mold shows up in the basement. The work to spray some bleach on the mold is going to cost the same as what they had budgeted for the kitchen!! No more kitchen. So when all is said and done, instead of getting the original list of crazy promises, for $60k they get a coat of paint, a new bathroom vanity and a built in desk in the otherwise unfinished basement. And lots of stuff from Winners Homesense.

The flip side is that they always start in awesome semi-urban neighborhoods in Toronto and say that they value the location. Then David tells them that they have to compromise "slightly" on location, that they will go "just 5 minutes" away, and suddenly they are looking at a new build in north, barren Oakville - and for the sake of television drama, the owners are actually shown debating this. The suburban options are "just 5 minutes" away, like I am 5 minutes away from my parents' house - by bullet train at 240 mph.

The drama in this show is so contrived. I don't know why people keep participating, because the producers go to such lengths to make them look like such brats.

Also annoying is how many of these people just need to bring a trash dumpster to their house, throw everything out, put in some built ins and stay put.

The Good Guy (2009)

Entertaining

[7/10 · 10 June 2015]

Huh. I'm surprised this didn't get a better rating. I just watched on netflix and thought it was half decent. The acting, while not Oscar-worthy, was passable and not distractingly bad. The script, while a bit cheesy and clichéd throughout, was also fine. More importantly, I thought the ending twist was quite clever. Yes, as others have pointed out, they flash forward at the beginning of the film gives you some idea that things don't work out well in the end. But it was such a quick comment (I feel sorry for you) that it really didn't cloud the rest of my watching for the next hour. So when the story suddenly shifted and Tommy suddenly starts talking about the long day he spent with another woman, it felt like it was from left field. And then they did a great job quickly shifting the story from the point of view from other women and Tommy's other life. It felt surprisingly like you just learned you'd been duped by a cheating spouse, and had to go back and see how you'd had your rose colored glasses on for the first part of the relationship. Again, not rocket science, but i thought it was clever in a way far surpassing your average rom com.

Class (2010 TV Movie)

Clichéd

[4/10 · 3 June 2015]

I'm only half watching this as I work from home today, but it's pretty bad and very annoying. The characters are superficially stereotyped: rich guy is selfish and bad, and needs to be saved by the poor girl, who is beautiful and good. Given the title of the movie, Class, and the reality that there are very different social and other behavioral differences between the various classes in this country (not to say that one is worse than the other, but it's a reality), i've never seen a poor single mom act more like they were raised in a wasp-y upper middle class home in the NE or west coasts. The actress seems like a rich person who is acting like an idealized version of a poor single mom. Not much like a poor single mom, though.

Also, I had to point out the glaring casting of the lead female, who the lead male initially deems so gross, sloppy, etc that she wasn't even a viable candidate for a secretarial job, until she gets a haircut and puts on a suit jacket, and he's like "wowzers, you be hot!" The lead female, not lost on me, is the same actress who played the super hot ex-girlfriend of Freddie Prinze Jr. in She's All That -- a movie with a remarkably similar premise. The fact that she was the super hot girl that the ugly-duckling-soon-to-be-made-hot new girlfriend was compared against, but now plays the too-ugly-to-be-a-secretary character here -- this is a painful irony that was not lost on me.

Take Care (I) (2014)

This movie made me happy

[8/10 · 14 May 2015]

This movie is not rocket science, but it is a significant step above most of the romantic drivel out there. I really liked the two leads; at first, I wasn't sure I liked either, but they became very likable characters and had excellent chemistry. I appreciated that both characters' unlikeable- ness at the beginning made contextual sense in the plot, and that they didn't just have a 180 degree change of personality, but developed into softer people as their situations changed. The girlfriend was a bit one-dimensional, and it always annoys me when the romantic lead's significant other -- who is clearly destined to be given the boot -- is so despicable that there's no conceivable way the lead would actually be dating this person. But she was nonetheless entertaining, so not all bad. I also thought the next door neighbor was well scripted and acted. I would easily watch this again - fun movie.

In Your Eyes (2014)

Decent but Formulaic

[6/10 · 22 January 2015]

This was a cute watch, but not the greatest thing I've watched lately. I really enjoyed the premise, and the leads were very good. There were a few moments that I found a bit too cheesy. But all in all, I enjoyed myself for a couple hours.

To the other reviewer who wondered if this were the same as a TV show plot from the 80s.... yes! This is what i was thinking when I was watching it! If I recall, it was actually an episode of the "new" Twilight Zone, which involved a teenage guy in the 80s driving a flashy red sports car, and she was in the 1800s, and she carved their names into a tree and it was still there when he went to look in the 80s! With that show on my mind while i was watching this, I was actually convinced that this movie was going to end by us finding out they were actually living in two different times just a few years apart and that they weren't going to be united at the end. :_)

The Final Countdown (1980)

Major time travel paradox flaws!

[5/10 · 8 December 2013]

Fun movie. But I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone else comment about the major time travel paradox flaw.

In the first minutes of the movie, we see a mysterious figure in the back of the limo, who we hear designed the carrier.

In the last moments of the movie, after the Nimitz has returned from 1941, Martin Sheen enters the limo to meet said mysterious passenger, and who is it but Cmd Owens from 1980 who got stuck back in 1941 -- now 40 years older! And rich from designing the carrier.

Slight problem -- the now-80 year old Cmd Owens/Mr. Tideman could not have been in the limo at the beginning of the movie, because the Nimitz had not yet gone back in time to leave him in 1941. The writers of Final Countdown would have been well-served by waiting 5 years to make this movie so they could have learned a little from the Back to the Future story writing…..

Recipe for a Perfect Christmas (2005 TV Movie)

Really average holiday movie

[5/10 · 6 December 2005]

I live for the Lifetime holiday movie schedule, and always look forward to the new movies each year. Sadly, this one was not nearly as good as some of the past winners.

Christine whats-her-name, the mother, as always gave a great performance. But the daughter and Alex were both really weak characters, and didn't leave much room for the actors to show off. I thought there were zero sparks between them. It's like we were supposed to think they're a match made in heaven just because they brushed arms a couple times, and both like books on WWII history. I watch these dumb movies because they're supposed to make you feel all warm and goo-ey Christmas-y inside. But this was just bland; Their first kiss didn't have any of the predictable goo-eyness that i expect from these movies... I dunno, it just left me feeling flat. So much so that i fast-forwarded through dullsville parts with my tivo. I never do that. Normally I rewind those scenes. And watch them again the next night. Yes, I'm a giant loser.

I won't watch this again next year. But some of the past made-for-TV holiday movies that I've enjoyed in the past, and I'll watch again this year include Picking Up and Dropping Off, Boyfriend for Christmas, Comfort and Joy....All cheesy and feel good....

PS I'm tired of all these lifetime movies being about women in 'high powered' jobs, and they illustrate this fact by making them hollow, shallow, vicious jerks. Like women making over six-figures can't like Christmas. Arghhh.... At least this one deserves credit for giving her an actual job description (food critic), wherein most of these movies just have these ditzes in tight suits, stressing about some vague work-related issue on a wireless earphone, saying stuff like "I didn't get my masters in marketing at Columbia and rise to the top of the marketing business to not close this deal"....just to show how successful and professional, and not into Christmas this character must be (problematic because first, a masters in marketing is an MBA; second, what the heck is a 'marketing business'?, and third, can we be more vague and touchy feely about women in business? Make them an accountant, for god's sake; at least that's a real job.)