Olivia Newton-John's Special Night
Barely 15 minutes into "A Christmas Romance" and I already felt like I could stop watching it and write this review because whilst I had never watched it before I had still seen it all before. Confused? Don't be as "A Christmas Romance" is a derivative made for TV Christmas movie which sees two strangers who don't get on stuck in the middle of nowhere because of snow and lo and behold end up falling in love with each other. As such whilst we have a storyline about a woman and a debt collector played by Olivia Newton-John and Gregory Harrison what happens is charming but also far too familiar for those who enjoy Christmas movies.
It's Christmas and unfortunately widow Julia Stonecypher (Olivia Newton-John - A Mom for Christmas) is laid off from her job due to the economic troubles which makes matter worse as not only does she need to try and keep her two daughters believing everything is fine but she knows the bank will be calling as she is behind on her payments. And that is exactly what happens when vice chairman Brian Harding (Gregory Harrison - Sudden Fury) shows up during a blizzard just days before Christmas as he is ready to call time on the loan. Except Brian crashes the car as he goes to drive away and is forced to stay with Julia and her daughters till he can return to the city. But whilst there is initially animosity between Julia and Brian they end up growing quite close as they are forced to spend time together.
So as already pointed out "A Christmas Romance" is another one of these made for TV movies which uses the two strangers who don't get one stuck together in a snow storm set up. We may have a set up of a city debt collector stuck with the woman he is about to foreclose on and humour of Brian not use to the ways of the mountain, presuming the power is out because the bills have not been paid but everything which happens is ultimately predictable. But in its familiarity "A Christmas Romance" works, it is sweet, warm, charming and not demanding on your attention.
Having said all that "A Christmas Romance" is only an average version of this sort of movie and it just lacks that extra bit of magic to make it really sparkle. That is because whilst Olivia Newton-John does a good job of playing Julia and Gregory Harrison is equally good as Brian the story calls for too much animosity between them. The bickering is just too much and makes the switch in character too much to accept when they eventually warm to each other.
What this all boils down to is that "A Christmas Romance" is an okay Christmas movie but just an average example of one of those movies where people who don't get on end up stuck with each other only to fall in love. That means its main appeal is to those who like Olivia Newton-John and Gregory Harrison.
Tags: TV Christmas Movies, Christmas Movies
