A Kismet Christmas

source: A Kismet Christmas

I really enjoyed this movie!! I am a HUGE fan of Carlo Marks and his movies. This was a very different kind of Hallmark Christmas movie. Centered around kismet and a Christmas cookie. I liked the unusual premise. I really thought Carlo Marks and Sarah Ramos have amazing chemistry. Snappy chemistry and dialogue. I really enjoyed the interaction between the two main actors. The little girl Jazzy played by Rubi Tupper I thought was really cute. I really enjoyed the scenes as well between the father and daughter. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this movie. If you are looking for something a little different from Hallmark. Great movie!!!

Watching a Christmas movie, one is prepared to accept a good dose of fantasy, call it magic. That sleeping on a pillow hiding a kismet cookie, baked according to an ancient family recipe, would make you dream of your destined 'love of your life', though farfetched, could be seen as sweet. That an entire town almost obsessively depends on this notion, it becomes a bit silly. The pivot moment of the story is when young Sarah dreams of Travis and runs to his house to tell him and finds him in the very act of getting married, which leaves her brokenhearted and mortified, to the point of not wanting to live in her town. How could she be unaware that her neighbor, best friend, and love crush was getting married? This is so absurd that it makes the rest of the story quite hard to digest. Such premises aside, the rest of the film, Sarah's return to her hometown , family and friends, and her reunion with Travis and his daughter, follows predictable gentle lines, with the sweet moments and kind feelings one expects in a Christmas movie. Sarah Ramos and Carlo Marks have good chemistry and the girl, Rubi Topper, delivers a charming performance, as in her last year debut, in "A Christmas miracle for Daisy". The movie provides enough values of family, friendship, and kindness to render it suitable for family viewing at Christmas time.

Ok so from the ads I new that I'd like this one, but I'm surprised at how much. First, I do really enjoy Carlo Marks. Something was wonky with his hair in this and it was distracting me, but he turned in a solid performance. He played a great single father without being too much and still a good romantic lead. Here is where my surprise lies. Sarah Ramos. I whole heartedly disliked her on Parenthood. I found myself searching for reasons to dislike her in this. And to be fair, she gave me very little other than some nitpicky moments. Unfortunately the last scene was one of them, but overall I was pretty impressed. I think Hallmark may have a new actress here (hopefully not too used) but she is is nice looking without being gorgeous, can play hardworking, quirky, family oriented etc. The daughter- typically the HM children are far too overly precocious. Did she have her moments? Definitely, but it didn't seem nearly as bad (I'm looking at you boy from bramble house). Her hugs were pretty darn bad but most of it was pretty good and didn't distract me! I really loved the town used. The pretty staircase and 2 levels really made me feel like I was there and made for some scenes that appeared to have a higher production value that some movies. I got irked that the main house was supposed to be the grandmothers great grandparents home and it was definitely not that old- there was nothing historical or old world charm about it. It's a pretty cookie cutter house that may be a bit older but no way is this turn of the century let alone before. Marilu Henner- obviously who doesn't love her! Also perfectly cast as Sarah Ramos's grandma. I enjoyed this casting. I needed a bit more of some background here for later scenes. The agent is a bit much at the beginning but there always has to be that person and it calmed down and was much more realistic by the end. I liked the grandmas friends and how their story fit in without being too much hit it also wasn't just thrown in for something. Without spoilers there were a few things script wise that should have been changed and a few scenes that should have been reshot as the acting was much worse than the majority. But I liked the story. I liked the acting. Overall pleasantly surprised with this one. While it's 10/10 it's also not one I'd be eager to watch again. But I would watch it again. Give me a Carlo Marks and Bethany Joy Lenz movie now please!