User Reviews

First, nice story, very typical Hallmark (with can be a good thing). The two leads had great chem and were nice to watch together. Lyndsy was funny on her own and a better actor than some of the other Hallmark Heroines.

But there were too many problems to overcome for me to like this more.

1) Dad's constant passive aggressiveness toward his daughter. No wonder she doesn't come back more often. I know I wouldn't if I had face that barrage of attacks.

2) The green screen effects for a bunch of the fake backgrounds (in color or BW) were so cheap, I thought they were done with an iPhone. I guess if they had to blow their budget on the BW -> Color stuff, something else was going to suffer

3) Dad DOESN'T get his color after the heartfelt convo with daughter, but only when the rest of the town sings his praises... self-centered much?

4) Too much of a rip off of Pleasantville. My wife and I often play the "guess the movie it's based on", but this wasn't even subtle.

Good people in a less than good movie.

It is difficult to find truly new themes for these Christmas movies. It was a good effort borrowing the main idea from Pleasantville to give us a new angle for this Christmas movie. But when it comes down to it, there were still many of the usual Christmas movie subplots. Addy living in big city Chicago comes home for Christmas. Like many of the leads in Christmas movies, she hasn't been home in a while and there is family resentment. And even Addy is having trouble finding her Christmas spirit. It gets so bad that she wishes Christmas away completely.

The rest of the movie is Addy trying to restore the color of Christmas, first to those around her and ultimately to herself. She quickly teams up with her romantic opposite, Hunter.

I usually consider Michael Rady to be one of Hallmark's go-to actors, but I was disappointed this time. He and Lyndsy Fonseca didn't have much chemistry and the inevitable love affair between the characters lacked credibility. Part of this was because Addy was the center of the story until later in the story and until then Hunter was secondary. Another reason for lack of chemistry was the attitude of Hunter. His wish to stay out of the spotlight came off as him wanting to be a victim.

I thought the vehicle for Addy's restoration was obvious until it wasn't. I was mostly wrong leaving the movie with a cliche ending.

Still, give the movie points for a new take on losing the Christmas spirit. My interest was maintained to the end despite my preferring a slightly different ending.

This movie was, obviously, planned with great ambitions and its theme is perfect for Christmas. Addy, played by Lyndsy Fonseca, has lost proper balance in her life, focusing on material goals, and forgotten her Christmas spirit. Back to her hometown, once the epitome of Christmas yuletide, she finds her family and friends struggling with real life constraints that mar the seasonal joy. She wishes a life without Christmas and wakes up in a black and white world. The story leads us to understand that only finding real joy and love can bring (back) color to a drab life. In this production, the huge metaphor is carried far, perhaps too far. Situations are somewhat overblown and characters feel stereotyped, a bit empty. The love connection of Andy with the somber town mechanic, played by Michael Rady, is poorly developed and unconvincing, with minimal chemistry between the two. Essentially, the movie fails in the attempt to create the magic that could have resulted from the premises, with a more insightful script.

The wonderful metaphor of gray vs color life could have been a winning point, if it had not been stolen, and not so well played, from the successful 1998 movie 'Pleasantville'. In summary, I feel this film is watchable, family-friendly, great on intent, yet weakened by a less than inspired execution. Accepted that real sentiments and emotions provide color to our life, where are the colors in this movie?

Addy is going home for Christmas after his brother asked for it. She usually doesn't go back during this season so this is quite exciting for everyone. While having problems with her car she meets Hunter, a mechanic who is dealing with stuff of his own. She accidentally wishes Christmas doesn't exist and he is the only one who can help her. Funny.

Such a imaginative plot, one that I wasn't expecting but quite liked. Michael Rady never fails (at least for me) and I think Lyndsy Fonseca is quite funny and I hope she gets to make more movies.

Something I really like is that this movie kind of mocked Hallmark with two lines: one about the NYE's movies starting in June and at the end about someone falling in love and kissing like in those movies. Nothing bad just the truth.

For once, the actors playing the parents could actually be the leads parents. They always are so young. I felt this movie wasn't so much about romance but the Christmas spirit. In my opinion, the leads had few scenes for them to fall in love.

Not a favorite regarding the romance but overall, nice Christmas movie.

Very rare to enjoy a new holiday movie,that Hallmark has put out over the years.. With that said,was it perfect? No! Was full of clichés,including taking a concept done from Pleasantville.

However actually nice it wasn't about saving a business,festivals or usual themed topics.

Was cast ok,feel another lead actress might of did better.

Didn't even recognize Julie Warner,until double checking who the mom was played by.

Acting overall was decent enough,as well the cinematography.. Some color adjustments despite the black & white parts felt dull in vibrancy,so that may of helped it feel more magical.

Music didn't overwhelm the conversations,but could be toned a bit.

As mentioned rare to enjoy newer movies,have only liked a handful in years because Hallmark mass produces cookie cutter productions.

Worth checking out,as its something different.. Well,for Hallmark anyway.

It was very hard to like Addy - I'm not a big fan of obnoxious, pushy, inconsiderate characters in these movies, as it's just too hard to find fun in the movie when the main character is unlikeable.

Thankfully, I DVR'd this because I fast-forwarded thru three fourths of the movie. Too much crankiness and yelling.

It's also not very fun to watch movies where people argue, loudly, a lot. I watch these shows for relaxation - if I wanted to listen to loud people fighting with each other, I would turn on one of the news channels!

It was nice to see Julie Warner in a movie again, although it took me a few minutes to realize it was her.

I love Lyndsy Fonseca and have since her turn in Nikita. It's great to see her doing another Christmas movie, and this one is good. It feels oddly similar to Next Stop, Christmas back in 2021. But it doesn't take away from this being a good movie and her giving a good performance. The whole cast is good, and the setting has that small-town Christmas charm these movies love to showcase.

The message of finding your Christmas spirit, which is so prevalent in Christmas movies, is handled very well. It doesn't seem too forced or outrageous, and the whole premise seems very grounded in the hustle and bustle of today.

This one is a keeper and worth watching,

Hallmark? Really?? Your movies are getting more dull with each passing year. For me, WAYC was so bad I couldn't even finish it. I watched for about an hour but up to that point, I had not developed any special feelings towards any of the characters. Why must you try to copy movies which have been done before, it's lazy quite honestly. Christmas is such a wonderful time of year and with the way the world is now, escaping for two hours while being caught up in a warm & fuzzy movie would bring us joy. It's like you put almost zero thought into your holiday movies, there's no nostalgia, sitting by the fire roasting marshmallows, ice skating, snow (and not the fake flakes) shopping, etc. I also didn't care for the leads, I've enjoyed them both in other movies but together as leads, nah no chemistry. You missed your "mark" on this one.

Lynsy Fonseca has a future in Christmas movies and this outing shows that 2021's Next Stop, Christmas was not a fluke for her. That was one of the best outings of the year and I have a feeling this will be one of the best if this year.

The casting of the leads was spot on. While they're wasn't a crazy connection where they looked like they wanted to jump into bed, the connection they did have appeared genuine and was very sweet. He played the recluse well.

Obviously some lines were overly cheesy but the script seemed to be of a high quality, there were funny parts, endearing parts, realistic parts.

Some parts the production quality were really. Really bad. But it happens.

This is one I will likely watch again in future years.

Hallmark and the like are known for cheesiness, but this? Only fit for 10 year olds. I can only imagine the actors tried hard to keep a straight face when reciting the script. I love a good Christmas movie, even though us here in the UK never indulge in "heart" speak - as in 'having a good heart' or 'listen to your heart', in other words we don't do "cheese" much, but it's nice to watch a film without profanities or high speed chases.

However, the lead actress playing Addy, over acted so badly to the point where it was laughable, the amateurs in my drama group would have made a better and more professional job of it.

I'm a fan of the lead, Lyndsy Fonseca. In this movie, she is completely obnoxious and unbearable, which I can only attribute to the movie director. I'm also a fan of Julie Warner. She and I are the same age, and while I too am no longer at my ideal weight, unless Julie has a medical reason for her current appearance, it was difficult to see that she has completely given up. I barely recognized her, and was distracted for at least 10 minutes, upon realizing who she was, with Googling her in her prime. (Gorgeous! Although her actor husband, from whom she is divorced, looked like a weasel.)

This is my first Christmas movie of the season, and I have NOT kicked off the season on a positive note. I tried to like this movie. But there is nothing redeemable about it. It's predictable, unoriginal, badly directed, includes actors acting badly, and is so hard to watch. Yuck.

An hour of my life I wish I could get back.

I have to confess, I am a big component of no Christmas until after Thanksgiving (and my husband and I are huge fans of Christmas music...so there is a big restraint not fa la la la-ing early). So, I have been resistant to watching Christmas movies when we haven't even celebrated Halloween yet...but I allowed a few to creep up on our to watch list and I have to say Hallmark is actually succeeding in getting me in the mood. My toes were dragging, but they have lifted my spirits and put a smile on my pumpkin spice chai latte self.

I really enjoyed this new twist on a Hallmark holiday romance. I don't know how they did the mixed black and white and color...but it was a fun concept and definitely one I hadn't seen before (the closest thing to it that I have seen visually is WandaVision).

The premise is busy achiever Addy comes home to her Christmas obsessed home town of Red Lake Falls only because her brother is going to propose to his girlfriend...otherwise she usually skips it and goes to a tropical island. She had been selling Christmas commercially and this year has just launched a Santa app for your phone. All these years Christmas has lost it's true meaning for Addy and in a moment she wishes Christmas away...only to have that work everyone and everything (including Addy) are black and white. No one, not even her very Christmas-centric father, knows or remembers what Christmas is. In fact they not only thing Addy is crazy, but that she is s trouble maker for bringing it up!

It starts with the local mechanic Hunter, who is a bit of a hermit, but slowly Addy brings color and Christmas back to Red Lake Falls.

"You got caught up in your stress and made a mistake."

Coming together and pitching in...that is what Christmas is about. I was initially concerned when they started to say that Christmas was about forgiving and healing what's inside you...but they brought it back to coming together, pitching in and family, which I really appreciated.

"It's like one of those Christmas movies...now we just need someone to fall in love and kiss"-mayor.

Trapped in the town of Red Lake Falls and unable to leave. I can't believe Addy doesn't figure out the answer sooner. I appreciated that it could poke a little fun of the genre itself and have some good current messages.

"Sometime speeding through life is a way of keeping people at arms distance."-dad

The life you want to or the life you are supposed to.

The message I appreciated the most though was one of ditching the phone and enjoying the moment.

Best line... "I have never, Kiss scared someone out of town."-Hunter

This is a recommendation to anyone who enjoys a good Christmas movie, especially the hallmark romance variety. Have patience through the beginning...you will enjoy it in the end.

Great hallmark movie. Yes it's cheesy but it's great and gets you into the Christmas spirit with whimsy and magic. It is a movie that brings joy, but also inspires. Michael Rady is a great actor and really makes you believe in the magic of Christmas and brings joy. Even though it's in true hallmark fashion of wild and far fetched but guess what it's a fictional story that just captivates if you allow yourself to be taken in. Take it in and enjoy the ride. You will not regret it if you allow yourself to enjoy it and give it a chance. It can easily be taken into reflect on life and how easy it can be to forget the meaning of Christmas.

7.6 stars.

This is certainly a movie that caters to the whole family. It's obvious that 'Where Are You, Christmas?' is geared more toward a younger audience, say 7-14 year olds. But for me it was entertaining and fun, because Fonseca rocks her performance, as well as the rest of the cast. I can see why they initiated the holidays with this movie.

It's about a woman who was very close to her family, but she left town some years ago to pursue her dreams. Unfortunately, this decision left her dad with a saddened spirit she was wholly unaware of, and he also has forgotten the source of his grief and resentment toward her. Her career involves having too much Christmas, fixing Christmas and planning Christmas for customers.

She returns home after many years of avoiding her family over the holidays and is so burnt out on Christmas, she wishes to be rid of it. The wish is granted with ominous strings attached: her hometown and its citizens have turned grey and lost all memory of Christmas.

I think the theme explores a philosophical realm deeper than the usual formula. Fonseca's character's anti-Christmas wish has influenced everyone, including herself, yet she cannot reverse the damages even though she is aware of the situation and retains her memories.

I think this is a lesson of how our decisions affect those around us and the only way to reverse it is to accept the ramifications of our own cynicism and negativity. This lesson will be very effective for a young audience regarding the importance of a positive attitude.

What the author has failed to point out is that her flaw is narcissism which pervades her personality and is the root cause of the whole debacle. Later, as we witness this character defect, it is contradicted by unrealistically positive traits that she would likely not possess. Therefore, the crux is overshadowed by the exhibition.

If the naysayers may pause a moment, please look beyond the surface and notice the poignance and practicality of this film.

And that is be a great, dreamy eyed, pining king! I thoroughly enjoyed the ridiculous yet careful color editing bringing this story to life. I mean, this has to be the most special effects (can I call it that?) that a Hallmark film has ever had. From the corny colorblind white liberal lines à la "I'd love you no matter what color you are" to the surprisingly touching story that was at the center of why the big conflict happens this film fully committed to its over-the-topness. And Jerry, Garry, Larry, Terry turned out to be such a touching father figure it had me tearing up. All and all, this could have gone really bad but shockingly I would put this on in front of my holiday movie haterading friends for the laughs and the tender moments!