Then everything kind of mellows out and the same quality of jokes persist, but without the same level of flopsweat in trying to sell everything as so goddamn kooky and cutesy. It’s odd how the film is legitimately all sorts of wackadoo shenanigans for the human story right up until a very specific scene where a lesson is delivered by an incredible actor delivering the best performance of the film. Like “yeah, obviously these wacky inventors for the leading pet technology firm will all have to live together in a basic suburban development that’s how adults do!” Soon Robert meets Holly (Sara Lindsey), the obvious love interest and owner of Ginger, but he’s too busy being a big ole klutz and absent-minded inventor to act like a person. There’s that odd thing in family films where it’s not from a child’s perspective, but it uses child logic. There’s not many of these brief moments, but they are good vehicles for exposition delivery and made me (awkwardly) chuckle a couple of times. The animation itself resembles Brad Bird’s post- Family Dog/pre- IRON GIANT days with a dollop of Don Bluth thrown in for good measure. But Marlon Young’s narration is very smooth and pleasant, and the jokes about the camera not following where he’s directing them or simply giving up on how stupid the characters are is nice bit of audience representation. Robert gets so sucked into his work as an inventor that he neglects his daughter and then they suddenly have to move so Robert can work for Pet Tech, a company never mentioned until they arrive at the neighborhood that Pet Tech apparently owns and populates with its employees.Ī word about the occasional animated (computer renderings of drawings on paper that pop up like the Game Of Thrones opening credits) interludes before moving on: I laughed a couple of times at them. In an UP-like animated prologue in which Charlie is adopted by the family, the mom suddenly gets sick and dies, leaving behind her husband, Robert (Tyler Hollinger), and daughter, Jenna (Isadora Swann). Skip If: You think that committing grand theft tractor is a serious offense, you think money is the best way to mend a broken heart, or if you think children’s book authors are real writers.To back up just a little, while the film is sold on the HOMEWARD BOUND ALONE mash-up (eh), the film is fairly split with the human story. Watch If: You like to give your Thanksgiving turkey a pep talk, if you have a deep addiction to Hemingway puns or if you’re the Incredible Hulk of guilt. It also makes Love Always, Santa more than just a light and festive holiday romcom. When do you get a best friend character with an inner-life? You never get that! The characters in Love Always, Santa feel about as rounded as you can get in a made-for-TV Christmas movie, which makes it more satisfying when the whimsy comes in and the leads fall in love. The female best friend in this movie is in an unsatisfying marriage that the film keeps underlying as her motivations for her terrible advice, which is amazing. The pretend-Santa writer is divorced and not happy about it. The single mom is a little quiet and bad with outright dealing with her grief. A single mom and a pretend-Santa writer become pen pals and fall in love! Happiness everywhere for everyone!īut it’s not really, because to its credit, Love Always, Santa lets a little bit of the darkness of the two leads situations fit in. But I digress.)Īnyway, I didn’t really get what differentiated the types of movies on the two channels before watching Love Always, Santa which on paper, seems like a romantic comedy straight out of the Hallmark brand. If they do not, then really Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is not the place for dramatic Christmas stories, but instead is the place for movies not good enough for Hallmark proper. (By the way, if you want to see how strongly Hallmark believes in this brand, look to see whether they shunt Candace Cameron Bure’s new World War II nurse movie over to the channel next year. What’s a dramatic holiday story, you know? Half the movies on that channel are not dramatic holiday stories! For instance, I have seen Lucky Christmas, and I have given it a good review and I am under no delusions that it is dramatic in the slightest. In My Humble Opinion: I don’t think I truly understood the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Christmas brand until I saw this movie. Lilly writes a letter to Santa with one wish-for her mommy to be happy and find love again. Now, her entire world revolves around taking care of her daughter Lilly. Plot Synopsis: After losing her husband Bradley three years ago on Christmas day, Celia Banks never thought she’d fall in love again. Mom, can I be excused from my imagination?!? Love Always, Santa (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 2016)
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