2017 - CHRISTMAS GETAWAY, is the prototypical Hallmark Christmas movie

Christmas Getaway is a good example of the Hallmark Channel's November and December Christmas movie onslaught.  The film is competently put together by the director Mel Damski who was a veteran of many TV movies and series.  The film features a cast of very good looking people who if they will probably never star in a big budget action movie franchise (like most of those are ever any good) are professional performers who know how to deliver their corny dialog without bumping into the furniture as they say.

This constantly recycled Hallmark plot goes something like this.  A big city writer journeys to a small mountain town to write an article on what else, Christmas in a small mountain town.  She meets a widower with a young daughter naturally.  It's all incredibly easy to guess what will happen next, the travel writer and the widower will make goo goo eyes at each other for the next hour and a half.  There will be romantic misunderstandings but eventually true love will find a way. This story all takes place during Christmas but the reality is that the Christmas setting is really not important to the story.  This romance could have been set during the 4th of July, Hanukkah, Ramadan or National Spaghetti Day for that matter.

 

The film has the usual supporting cast, the white writer has a black female friend she can rehash her romantic troubles with.  The widower has a mother who looks like she's only about 2 years older than him. There's and old guy hanging around for no particular reason.  Finally there is an overly cute little girl to bond with the travel writer who will become her surrogate mom.  The women all have the famous Hallmark hair style with half of it flipped over their shoulders. The men always have that rugged mountain man look with their sort of facial hair which is not quite a beard.  It usually makes me think that the female lead is kissing a face that must feel like a Brillo pad.

It's really hard to criticize a movie like this, it is what it is.  Christmas Getaway is a well done feel good holiday film, and it is well made.

This movie was written by Marlene McPherson, Elizabeh Snyder and Tracy Andreen.  That's a lot of writers for such a cookie cutter of a scrip.  The running time is 90 minutes.