Il Natale di Jess

Hallmark is predicting and trope written all over. Of course a woman who has successful job and go to a farm where so happens to be a handsome man with perfect hair and qualities that will make any white women fall in love with him and of course has a daughter or a child who is annoying. I am hater of Hallmark movies obviously but can't say I over hate them as Hallmark can produce some really great Christmas movies but those are with great plot and actors. But why do Hallmark movies still produce these Christmas all the time despite how people make fun of them? Well first off they still have an audience who love these movies as if bring the joy of Christmas and how cute the message is and how these movies bring in tons of views no matter its hate watching or not.

This movie depends on the usual tropes with little to set it apart except perhaps the timing of those tropes. Aspiring city girl designer, Jessica, quits her job because her boss won't go "sustainable" enough. She goes to the Alpaca farm run by the handsome widower, Andrew. He has to sell the farm because of a setback with Jessica's firm. He resists Jessica's offer to help save the farm by entering a contest. That resistance goes on longer than I thought worthwhile. But then after he agrees, he puts up with Jessica's mistakes which cost him time and money far longer than I would have expected.

Andrew has trust issues which is why he resists the offer. He also has a daughter, Georgia. Like so many of this type of movie, Jessica and Georgia bond. Jessica even makes Georgia a costume for the pageant. Both leads are nagged by those close to them to fall in love with the other. There is even a short snowball fight (my favorite cliche trope). Have we checked all the trope boxes yet? As the story proceeds, many predictable things happen, although one big one that usually comes late takes place around half way. That leads to the conflict which I saw coming early on. This conflict is also a bit earlier than usual.

The acting is OK but Kirsten Comerford had far more chemistry with Ai Barrett than Matt Wells. The dialogue was also OK but nothing special. What the viewer sees of the Alpacas is nice.

This movie is not bad. It's just common. It will not satisfy viewers looking for something more than all the usual stuff but may work for those who just want that.