User Reviews

Delightful romantic Christmas movie with Mayim Bialik and Ryan McPartlin making the most of a formulaic plot. The story here has Mayim's character dumped by her boyfriend right before she's supposed to move in with him, while Ryan is about to propose to his girlfriend for all the wrong reasons. Fate (in the form of a vaguely Santa-esque Brian Doyle Murray) brings the two together as they try to make it to their respective destinations for Christmas. Familiar TV movie tropes follow: winter weather grounds all flights, couple is forced to share a room, couple gets advice from older married couple that has been together for centuries, and so on. As I said, it's pretty formulaic in most respects but what makes it work so well is the chemistry and likability of the leads. Yes, that's right, Blossom and Captain Awesome actually have great chemistry. Who knew?

Major points for whoever cast Mayim Bialik in the lead. She doesn't look or act like the female leads in these things usually look and act. I'm not someone who typically cries foul about diversity in TV and movies but I will admit it's nice to see a leading lady who isn't your standard size four perky WASP. Ryan, yes, is a little more of the norm for these things (though he does an exceptionally good job being more than just the 'hunky prize'). The highlight of the movie for many will be the reunion of Reginald VelJohnson and Jo Marie Payton, the loving parents from Family Matters. They play the older couple that I mentioned before and steal every scene they're in. If there's no other reason you might check this out, you should for them. Children of the '90s get their nostalgia's worth in this one, with Blossom and the Winslows representing well.

If you enjoy made-for-TV Christmas movies, I see no reason you won't like this one. It's got heart and humor and (surprisingly) well-written characters. That it was made for Lifetime and not the king of Christmas movies, Hallmark, is all the more impressive. Glad to see Lifetime can make more than misandric thrillers and cheesy soaps.

Starring Amy/Blossom (Big Bang Theory & Blossom) Mr. Awesome (Chuck), Carl Otis Winslow, Harriette Winslow (Family Matters), and Lou Loomis (Caddyshack). I mean... Starring Mayim Bialik, Ryan McPartlin, and even Reginald VelJohnson (Family Matters), Jo Marie Payton, and Brian Doyle-Murray.

Short Synopsis: Two strangers share a room at a bed-and-breakfast when an unexpected snowstorm delays their flight on Christmas Eve.

My Thoughts: First, props for showing this shot at the beginning. It's not just Staples Center here, home of the Kings and Lakers (and the Globetrotters), but it also has an Outdoor Ice Skating Rink (my favorites)!

Second, props to the casting involved. A lot of actors from shows (and movies) that I really loved.

"Of course I can book a cross-country flight the day before Christmas Eve, with less than a day's notice. It's called "power of positive thinking."

And low and behold, the "Last Minute Flights" prices is more than her rent! No surprise there. And Mayim was able to make that whole situation a little funny too.

But enough of all that nonsense with the flights, because it's Mr. Awesome time. My Grandpa and I are fans of the show Chuck, so we know Michael (McPartlin) as Mr. Captain Awesome. He played the dream-guy in that show, and once again plays a dream-guy in this movie too. I don't think he'll ever escape being Mr. Awesome (although Zachary Levi is doing pretty good).

His role as Michael Nolan is a pretty likable on IMO. And he has a really nice smile too.

And from there, everything gets wrapped up into a Christmas Detour, only a lot better!!! I really didn't like Hallmark's Christmas Detour. Lifetime was able to use a somewhat similar story-line and make it 10 times better in my opinion (IMO).

Plus, I really wouldn't mind sharing a hotel with Mr. Awesome too.

Now I won't go on and compare the Hallmark movie to this Lifetime movie. If you're curious about the comparison, this Yahoo TV, Mandi Bierly (Deputy Editor) did it perfectly I thought. And they even agree with Mr. Awesome being better Eye-Candy than Paul Greene in a robe in a Christmas Detour.

I really think The Flight Before Christmas was better because of the actors, and a better script. And I liked really liked this movie (my grandpa liked it too).

The lead actors are both my favorites. And I know Paul McPartlin is his name, but my grandpa and I just know him as Mr. Captain Awesome from our favorite show, Chuck. I grew up watching Blossom (and Family Matters), and love Mayim as Amy in the Big Bang Theory!

And as for the ending... there was a Happily Ever After. But at least it wasn't one of those insta-love things where they say that they love each other after a couple days (Christmas Detour). Nope. It took them a little more realistic time to declare their love.

The writers came up with a different and believable plot, good actors who sell their characters, and a story that unfold with growth by both would-be lovers. Snow usbreal and decoration believable. We'll done.

I am not fan of Christmas romance films. But this movie could be a reasonable exception. For the story who tries to be little more complex than many other pink Hallmark products from the same genre. For charming couple created by Jo Marie Payton and Reginald VelJohnson. And, sure for the contrast, very smart, between Mayim Malik in the clothes of Ugly Duck and Ryan McPartlin in the shield of a mix of Clark Kent and sophisticated Prince Charming. The result is nice , the story is seductive for the risk of director to propose a not ordinary story , not so different but nuanced. Short, a good cocktail of romance, humor and the right choice.

I watch a lot of these with my wife. We know the formula and this one follows it also.

But, Mayim is not the typical female lead and that's a good thing.

Christmas films can go either way, which has been my experience watching overtime the festive output of Lifetime and Hallmark. They can either be well-meaning, charming, warm-hearted and don't feel too heavy. Or they can be too over-sentimental, cheesy, contrived and bland. There have been many films of theirs that have fallen in both camps and in the camp where there is a bit of both. And Lifetime's 'The Flight Before Christmas' did have the sort of premise where the execution could have gone either way.

'The Flight Before Christmas' for me unfortunately was in the latter category, and this is being said with regret. Have been pleasantly surprised by a lot of Christmas films overtime as part of my Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas film completest quest but 'The Flight Before Christmas' was not one of those films. Of the recently seen ones, it's one of the weaker ones. Is it terrible? No it isn't as it does have its good things. Unfortunately it was a flight that potentially could have charmed and soared but in reality sadly in my view never did take off.

Its best aspect is Ryan McPartlin, who is a very likeable male lead and brings a lot of ease and charm to his character. Jo Marie Payton and Reginald VelJohnson are fun in supporting roles, the latter's character is pretty preposterous but he gives his absolute all and makes the performance just about work.

Some of the music is quite pleasant.

However, 'The Flight Before Christmas' has a lot working against it. Mayim Bialik came over as miscast, her performance comes over as wooden and unenthusiastic and she lacks warmth. Also found Stephanie as a character very irritating and her flaws over the top in the first third particularly. There is no chemistry or spark between Bialik and McPartlin, too distant, too stiff and the relationship doesn't really go anywhere. The rest of the supporting cast don't stand out. The direction was mediocre at best and often pretty plodding and not very organised.

Other Lifetime Christmas films look a lot better than 'The Flight Before Christmas', which has a rather drab look and even the locations are quite limited. Some pleasant moments aside, the music could have been used less and been more subtle. The script is heavy in cheese and awkwardness and is also very cloying, while the story tends to be uneventful and is lacking in charm and heart. So pretty dull and bland.

Concluding, very weak and doesn't get off the ground. 3/10.

Production values might have spoiled this from the start, as it looks like the production budget was less that 500 bucks. Most of it was shot in homes belonging to staff, Bialik is more wooden than a Canadian summer house and has no screen presence at all. There's the default funny old mystery man/sage that represents the magic of God/Christ/Arch Angel/Spirit ...but he comes across as just an irrelevant nuisance. The irony of his sage suggestions being thrown in the bin weren't lost on me, as Bialik, in real life, is an extreme Zionist who would have zero sympatico with that premise. Tragic Fail

I've seen lots of people complain about this movie, about Mayim Bialik being too rude, sarcastic, ugly or prickly or whatever, but I love it. Women don't have to be blonde, optimistic and bubbly. This movie has a snarky and sarcastic female lead, and it really works. Sure, if you want the stereotypical christmas romance, this movie might not be for you. And if you can't deal with a woman being strong and sarcastic and maybe slightly awkward, feel free to skip this one. If a woman has to look a certain way to be a female lead, well I'm just sorry for you. Go and choose another movie. And maybe reexamine your life choices. Or go out and meet some real women. Merry Christmas, y'all. Merry Christmas.

I'm not sure where to begin here...I do admit turning it off 10 minutes to the end...I just couldn't take it any longer. While the storyline was nothing original, the casting was the worse ever. The male star's character was handsome, kind, and patient ...more than patient...with his co-star's character. That character was awful...on too many levels...bitter, thankless, prickly, rude... If this movie was considered a "romance", then I would question the writers and producers. He was a Prince...she was a Shrew!!

Two people meet on a flight from LA back East. She has recently been dumped and he is an a long distance relationship. But of course romance ensues.

The dialog is a bit more interesting than the usual Christmas TV movie. There seems to be a subtle message about compatibility of personality over looks. " This is Mayim Bialik's movie. For fans of "Big Bang Theory" where she plays Amy Farrah Fowler - it's a treat to see her. Usually Lifetime or Hallmark Christmas movies don't feature lead romantic actresses who look like or are shaped like her. It's nice to see someone like her leading this type of movie. Ryan McPartlin of "Chuck" is a good enough comedic actor to make his role believable.

If you are going to watch one Xmas movie this year this is a good choice.

Terrible over acting and horrendously cheesey. The two main characters have no chemistry whatsoever. Bad casting here. Didn't make it to the end but am sure I could guess girl gets the guy blah blah blah!

The Hallmark and Lifetime formula seems to be predicated on giving actors wooden lines to say, so they will say them woodenly. Of course we are told how to feel about each scene by the melodramatic music; I suppose this makes the script and the acting less important.

Mayim Bialik seems a strange choice for the female romantic lead, given her homespun look, which clashes terribly with Ryan McPartlin's hard-body physique. From the beginning it seems like a serious mismatch, rendering the story rather hard to believe. It doesn't help any that neither of them are particularly good at their craft. If formulaic, improbable romance is what you are after, then this one is a veritable motherlode.

But if you are looking for a well-formed film with a reasonably convincing plot, something that will not make you cringe regularly, The Flight Before Christmas is not it.

I will give this movie credit for having maybe one of the most horrible breakups ever, making Stephanie "homeless".

I would also say that the story premise was somewhat unusual except that Hallmark had the exact same premise the same year as this movie. Still those are the only two movies I've seen with it out of hundreds I've watched.

But beyond the premise, the story was not good. And the dialogue was also bad. I especially hated the heart to heart conversations each of the leads had with the innkeepers. And in the first 1/3rd of the movie, Stephanie was so annoying, crabby, and rude, that I wanted to shut off the movie. Her behavior ran deeper than just a bad breakup. Then suddenly she was empathetic and caring.

Mayim Bialik has so much experience but in this movie she delivered her lines like an amateur. It looked like she was trying too hard. Ryan McPartlin was better but there was still no chemistry between them and certainly no reason for him to do what he did. Reginald VelJohnson and Jo Marie Payton were also bad. Again it was like they were trying too hard. Perhaps it was the direction that made it look the same for all of them.

Absolutely love this movie! Have seen 4 times already and plan to buy so can watch at least 4 more times. These stars are really good & humorous together. Though being opposites, the chemistry works. Mayim has that cute down-to-earth type of look. Really like her acting. Have never seen her in The Big Bang Theory as I have never watched the show. Will be definitely checking it out now. Ryan has that Clark Kent sophisticated type of appearance. Have never heard of him or seen him act before so a pleasant surprise. He would have made a really wonderful Superman too. Definitely one of my new favorite Christmas movies to watch every season.

So you know how this is going to go. The main girl character was going to be moving in with her boyfriend for xmas but he dumps her. Even worse, she no longer has a home because her old one has been relet to someone else. She gets the bright idea to hop a plane home for x-mas at the last moment but she isn't in a great mood. Ok sure, but the problem is two fold... the actress is not exactly a supermodel and she is insanely unpleasant. Even a supermodel would be unattractive under these circumstances. She meets someone at the airport and, shocker, they don't get along. No real reason for this other than the woman taking her feelings out on him. Eventually they have to share a hotel room due the plane being diverted and they fall in love. The thing is.. it is hard to believe. It isn't just that, as others have noted the female is a 5 and the male is an 11, there is just no real reason for them to fall for each other, especially in light of how nasty she was at the start. It kind of seems like a rebound relationship. Just skip it.

I think this movie is perfect for a Christmas afternoon. It is very relaxing, no violence at all. It is the classical story of two people lost in a storm ( well you will not see too much of the storm,though) who end up by having a good time together. I must admit that i liked watching it, drinking a nice cup of chocolate and thinking that Cinderella stories still exist. I strongly recommend it for a quiet relaxing morning or afternoon. I underline that it is not a masterpiece at all and the scenario is pretty plausible. DO not set too many high hopes on it, it will not make your brain work to find i don't know what hidden meaning in it... but....sometimes we all need to watch something relaxing and nice. enjoy!

A watchable Christmas film but the actress playing Steph is totally miscast. Loved the elderly gent who keeps popping up and getting the two leads together, and love the B&B owners. Loved the actor playing Michael, his girlfriend was likeable too. The two leads did seem a good match as they are not suited, she looks more like his mom! Her clothes, looks, overdone fake tan, negativity, over the top acting and silly facial expressions were very off putting.. She seemed to be trying very hard at an attempt to be funny and failed and was very annoying. With a different actress playing Steph it would've been so much better. Unfortunately her looks make what should be a predictable story with another actress, unbelievable with her. He would never be attracted to such a miserable, negative, odd looking, older woman.

Harsh summary, but it fits. Simply put, the lead character establishes herself as an unattractive shrew for the first 1/3 of the movie. Perhaps there are a lot of women out there that believe a woman like this would get a dreamy guy, but it ain't gonna happen. It's not that she's angry about getting dumped by a butt-nugget. No, her fatal character flaw is that she takes that anger out indiscriminately on others.

The movie would perhaps be more believable if she were unattractive and sweet. Or attractive and bitchy, maybe. But, unattractive AND bitchy? (Yes, I know, it's "Hollywood Unattractive", but the bitchiness brings it out.) Not even chime rills and santa's magic can do the trick. (BTW, can we PLEASE find something other than the chime rills anytime Santa or an elf or angel does some magic??)

The failure of this one falls on the producer and writers. The "harried guy/gal who's life falls before the holidays" is a staple, but the poor harried sap has got to be Likable at the start. I dunno, perhaps they nailed it if their intended audience, the lonely woman who thinks that being bitchy is being a "strong woman", who can't really figure out why her personal life isn't working out, and is hoping for some magic to fix things. I suppose that may be Lifetime's spin on the Hallmark Christmas romance.

The only thing that could have saved this film was a new cast, new script, new director, New sound mixer, new DP, eliminating 90% of the campy royalty-free music. It was so bad that I got several laughs.

I like hallmark and Xmas movies and all those romances. This one though stands out as mayim is the kind of girl we want to see in this kind of movie. Good actress. Has personality. More real! Put her in more of these type of movies or more actors like her who are perfect for these types of roles. Can relate to her.it's like Hollywood actress in telemovie. Loved it.

If not for my admiration of Mayim Bialik, I never would have watched this Lifetime movie but watch it I did and suffer I did. Formulaic movies don't have to be horrible but this one sure was. There may have been powdery snow in the picturesque Montana locale but it smelled like a combination of skunk and cabbage on a hot summer night. I don't blame the actors - they did a nice enough job and it actually started off well but by the time our two leads were forced off their plane due to inclement weather, the plot and dialogue skidded off the runway. It's nice to see Mayim playing someone other than Amy from Big Bang Theory and I'm sure casting her brought over BBT's huge fan base to their first ever Lifetime movie but it would have been nice if she had something meatier to work with.

Watch this if you're a Mayim Bialik fan or want to see a shirtless Ryan McPartland.

Give it a chance! Mayim and Ryan have great chemistry, and their romance develops as a charming fairy tale. I only wish there was a follow up movie, where they eventually marry.

I found the female lead to be annoying and well..not very suitable for a romance movie.Isn't she the nerd from The Big Bang Theory? Ugh! The male lead needed a better actress for there to be any real chemistry and the female lead should be likable. Oh well.I liked her in Blossom.She should stick to nerdy roles.I found the movie aggravating because of her.You shouldn't feel annoyed watching a romance movie but I guess that may be partly the intended reaction to her character I don't know.Its also pretty annoying to have to write ten lines for a review sheesh! What more can I say? If you like the female lead from The Big Bang Theory you'll probably like this movie but you may find her character annoying like I did.

are you going to tell me that a hundred people worked for a month or so to create this garbage?

good looking successful guy falls in love with unattractive woman and drops his beautiful and sweet girlfriend for her. don't waste more than a few min on DVR, laughable implausibility is the only entertainment value.

repeating to fulfill length requirement: good looking successful guy falls in love with unattractive woman and drops his beautiful and sweet girlfriend for her. don't waste more than a few min on DVR, laughable implausibility is the only entertainment value.

I have never reviewed a movie before. There has been many amazing movies I wanted to review and many bad ones... not one of them invoked enough energy to overcome my laziness to write a review. This one did. What get's me the most is that, although formulaic, this could have been a cute holiday movie if it wasn't for the lack of chemistry of the actors. I am sorry to say but the male lead was like a 10 out of 10 and the female was a 5 at most. If we had a better match, a believable match, coupled with awesome chemistry this could have been a great little holiday movie. Very disappointing. What a waste. Better casting next time please.