Life-Size 2 (2018)

Life Size 2

Life-Size 2 (2018)

Director:

Steven K. Tsuchida

Starring:

Tyra Banks

Francia Raisa

Gavin Stenhouse

Plot:

Grace is a hot mess in the middle of a quarter-life crisis, realizing that she is in over her head as a toy company’s CEO. To make it worse, her wild-child ways are causing the company’s stock to plummet.

Review:

I remember watching the first movie years ago, but don’t really remember much about it. I watched this movie last night and I’m experiencing the same phenomenon. It was truly unremarkable and had very little to do with Christmas.

Grace, Francia Raisa, is an Atlanta party girl that is supposed to be running her mom’s business. She acts like a spoiled child and accepts no blame for anything. She eventually acts like an adult, but I don’t really feel like her character grew.

Eve, Tyra Banks, comes to life, is super kooky, and somehow teaches Grace life lessons. She falls in love with a chef, though, she’s so childlike that was kind of creepy, but it ends with her turning back into a doll and taking her chef with her, which was even creepier.

Grace also has a love interest but that is sort of shoe horned in there and apart from physical attraction there’s really no reason why these people are together.

Lots of stuff was shoved into the movie and it just did not connect.

2/5

Holly’s Holiday (2012)

Holly's Holiday

Holly’s Holiday (2012)

Director:

Jim Fall

Starring:

Claire Coffee

Ryan McPartlin

Gabrielle Dennis

Jeff Ward

Plot:

NYC ad exec Holly Maddux dreams of the perfect life, the perfect job, and of course, the perfect man to sweep her off her feet. When she wakes up one day to find the “perfect man” awaiting her, who is nothing more than a mannequin come to life, she must decides if “perfect” is the perfect fit for her.

Review:

Holly’s Holiday was a perfect mixture of Mannequin and The Wizard of Oz. I loved it!

Holly, Claire Coffee, has worked her butt off to be exactly where she wants to be career wise. Now, it’s time for her to find the perfect man so she can have the perfect romance and then perfect family. It’s all too pat, but she doesn’t see it, until Captain Awesome, Ryan McPartlin, rescues her from a caroler induced fall.

Perfection is a myth and she quickly realizes that what she thought she wanted wasn’t what she really wanted. Thankfully, the gorgeous boy next door Milo, Jeff Ward, is there to be everything she needed.

The supporting cast at times felt a bit shoe horned, but they were fun and cute so I didn’t really care. Everything was wrapped up fairly nicely, but I did feel like the ending was too rushed. We didn’t even get a nice ending kiss between the couple. It was a bit disappointing, but I still really loved the movie and would recommend to everyone who loves these holiday romances.

4.5/5

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (2018)

A-Christmas-Prince-2-The-Royal-Wedding-Review

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (2018)

NETFLIX

Director:

John Schultz

Starring:

Rose McIver

Ben Lamb

Alice Krige

Plot:

A year after helping Richard get to the throne, Amber is about to become his wife. But is she really made to be queen?

Review:

Holy shit I was excited to see this was coming out. I love when they take Christmas movies and continue on with the story after the normal happily ever after.

Amber, Rose McIver, is still blogging away while her prince, now king, Richard, Ben Lamb, rules his country. Young and ambitious nothing seems to be going as planned for the couple. This is the first test of their relationship and things don’t go as planned, both have their failings, but hopefully they’ve learned some lessons for the future.

Lots of returning characters, tons of pairings off, and a dorky Christmas tree. The romance was a little bit lacking this time around, but it was understandable considering the story that did play out. Still, it was missed and I hope any future movies play more into the romance of the couple and less into the supporting characters. Give them their own movies!

The Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding was a faithful sequel. It hit all the expected notes and was full of holiday cheer.

My Christmas wish is that this because a yearly series. Next year can be Royal Honeymoon, then Royal Heir, Royal Spare, etc.… If everyone was willing to do it I see no downside!

5/5

 

You Can’t Fight Christmas (2017)

You-Cant-Fight-Christmas-

You Can’t Fight Christmas (2017)

Director:

Kenny Young

Starring:

Brely Evans

Andra Fuller

Plot:

Leslie uses all her Christmas charms on Edmund to love Christmas. – and love her.

Review:

Leslie, Brely Evans, is a strong capable woman that knows exactly what she wants. She’s kind and dedicated to Christmas. Edmund, Andra Fuller, is a wealthy son, with an Ivy League degree, who thinks he knows what’s best for his family, but has forgotten that Christmas trumps everything. He is pursued by a woman that, on paper, is his perfect match, but he prefers his women sane and thick.

I didn’t really get the appeal of the other woman, she was more than a little controlling and I think she was his subordinate, technically, not sure. Leslie is the very clear winner in all ways. Edmund definitely fit the bill of sexy love interest, but he really lacked in emotion. I was pretty disappointed in the kiss at the end of the movie, because he kept his arms at his sides and just seemed like he wasn’t in the moment.

You Can’t Fight Christmas was a nice holiday movie, that very clearly had a smaller than usual budget.

3.5/5

The Princess Switch (2018)

The Princess Switch

The Princess Switch (2018)

NETFLIX

Director:

Mike Rohl

Starring:

Vanessa Hudgens

Sam Palladio

Nick Sagar

Plot:

One week before Christmas, Margaret, the gorgeous Duchess of Montenaro, switches places with Stacy, a “commoner” from Chicago, who looks exactly like her. With the assistance of a magical Santa’s helper, Margaret falls in love with Stacy’s handsome co-worker, while Stacy falls in love with Margaret’s fiancé, the dashing Prince.

Review:

This is 2018s A Christmas Prince. The Princess Switch was a fun romance filled with all the awkwardness you’d expect from two adults switching places. At times I was unable to watch with my head buried in a blanket because it was too much for me to handle.

Christmas trope wise, we had a creepy old man that appeared, guiding people toward the happily ever after. We had a cute kid doing that she could to help things along as well. Gorgeous couples. A topless scene for a male lead, which honestly I’ve never considered a trope of Christmas movies, and I’m not sure how I feel about it happening so frequently in movies now, it feels like pandering. We also have a glorious new kingdom that is a bit too perfect to be real.

The couples were adorable, the prince ridiculously charming, the best friend perfect, it was all very sweet. Also, there was baking. I love baking.

The Princess Switch was definitely top tier when it comes to Holiday Romance movies, so I highly recommend if that’s what you’re looking for.

5/5

2019 -The Princess Switch + A Christmas Prince = Crossover???!!