Some years ago, I saw the Hallmark movie 'The Irresistible Blueberry Farm', which starred Alison Sweeney. It was brilliant, and today, it is still one of my favorite Hallmark movies. So, when I saw her at the top of the bill, I was looking forward to seeing 'Open by Christmas'. And I was not disappointed. It is what I call a classic Hallmark movie: a warm and heartfelt Christmas story with a good script, superb performances, and a nice Christmas vibe. One of my favorites thus far, though we are only a few weeks into the season. The story centers on Nicky (played by Alison Sweeney) who has come home to celebrate Christmas with her family. To her surprise, her parents are moving on, retiring, and selling their home. As such, they have hired Derrick (played by Brennan Elliott) as their realtor. When Nicky finds an unopened Christmas card while packing, she and her best friend Simone (played by Erica Durance) begin their search for Nicky's high school secret admirer. At the same time, Nicky and Derrick start spending time together, getting her parents' house ready for an open house viewing by Christmas. The movie has a warm and natural flow to it. The dialogue felt authentic as the story explored some human emotions that were engaging and relatable. The writers too did a good job of intertwining the multiple storylines, though, as other reviewers have observed, this did take away from Nicky and Derrick's romance. I enjoyed the touch of mystery in this one, even though I (and everyone else, I suspect) knew who the secret admirer was from the start. The acting overall was wonderful. Sweeney, a Hallmark regular, had a very convincing performance. Elliot too was impressive. The chemistry between the two was pretty good as well, although they could have used a bit more screen time together. The supporting cast was outstanding, especially Durance's performance. Finally, the props, scenery, and sets were beautiful, giving the movie a nice Christmas feel. No meaningless Christmas filler in this one, as another reviewer observed. All in all, it is an enjoyable movie that provides some holiday warmth and a bit of Christmas spirit. Fans of Hallmark Movies and Mysteries will no doubt enjoy.
Open by Christmas
2021
Action / Romance
Open by Christmas
2021
Action / Romance
Keywords: christmas
Plot summary
Nicky Beaton and Simone Cole have been best friends since they were children growing up as next door neighbors in the town of Marsden. Despite their geographic distance in Nicky now living in New York City, they will be spending both Thanksgiving and Christmas together on Nicky's return for the respective holidays. Those holidays end up not being as either envisioned. After her first husband Ryan abandoned her and their now fifteen year old son Anthony years ago, flower shop owner Simone will imminently be getting remarried, this time to high school classmate Jeremy Winters. While Simone is bracing herself for the arrival back of who she considers Jeremy's overbearing mother Miriam Winters for the holidays, she is ill-prepared for the feeling she has of being shut out of the bonding that is going on between Jeremy and Anthony, especially in wanting that precious time with her son before he goes away to college in three years. And what Nicky believes will be her short Thanksgiving stay in Marsden ends up being extended to Christmas upon news that her parents, Linda and Dave Beaton, are selling the family home, making this holiday season their last in that house. In helping her mother pack up the house, Nicky discovers among her old high school things a never seen Christmas card that was apparently secretly placed in one of her textbooks. The card is truly a love letter from the unknown writer who didn't sign his name. While Nicky is now a successful businesswoman operating her own consulting firm, she has many insecurities from her high school days, and thus goes on a quest, with help from her parents and Simone, to discover who her high school crush was in needing that affirmation that high school was not all bad. While she is focused on that past, she may miss what is currently right in front of her in the form of Derrick Marshall, her parents' real estate agent who is a bigger part of Nicky's past than she realizes.
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A touch of mystery in this one...
Well, at least Hallmark went out on a stretch and tried here...
Well, I have to say that the cover for this 2021 Hallmark Christmas movie at least didn't have the usual cheesy presentation that most of the Hallmark Christmas movies tend to have. So as I sat down to watch "Open by Christmas" I figured that it might actually transcend the usual Hallmark Christmas cheese.
But I was wrong. Boy, I was wrong.
The storyline written by Amyn Kaderali and Christine Conradt was really cheesy and generic, even for a Christmas movie, nay, even for a Hallmark Christmas movie nonetheless. But hey, if you enjoy these super sappy romantic Christmas movies, then "Open by Christmas" should be something for you. I, however, was hoping for a bit more than the usual Christmas sap and cheese.
The acting in the movie was adequate, but it was just difficult to get submerged into the storyline, and thus the characters felt somewhat bland and generic.
"Open by Christmas" failed to stand out in the midst of the nearly 40 Christmas movies I have sat through this year. So I do believe that come tomorrow, then I will have forgotten about director David Weaver's 2021 movie by the title "Open by Christmas".
My rating of "Open by Christmas" lands on a less than mediocre four out of ten stars.
Well worth opening
Despite being very mixed on the 2021 Hallmark Christmas output on the whole (though actually it was much better than expected, speaking as someone who thought that this year would not be good on the Hallmark Christmas front),there were films in the block that were pretty good and more. 'Open by Christmas' had more potential than most of them, due to its interesting story structure (which was a unique one for Hallmark this year) and that Allison Sweeney and Brennan Elliott were the leads.
'Open by Christmas' is one of those films that not only lives up to its potential, but it also exceeds it. To me, it is by some way one of the best 2021 Hallmark Christmas films (and even of the year for Hallmark in general) and the best since 'Christmas in My Heart'. Everything that the film was seen for was far from wasted, quite the opposite, and while it is not my definition of a masterpiece by recent Hallmark Christmas film standards 'Open by Christmas' is pretty darn impressive.
Sure, the identity of the secret admirer was not a surprise at all to me and could have taken more time to reveal.
The ending is slightly on the too neat side and while the romantic chemistry is more than convincing and heartfelt it could have featured more.
However, there is so little to fault. Sweeney and Elliott play their roles with so much nuanced emotions and also light-hearted upbeat energy, two of the best performances of the 2021 Hallmark Christmas films. Erica Durance steals every scene she's in and the supporting cast all play their roles well. This is one of the few 2021 Hallmark Christmas, and overall, films where every character interested and was not hard to care for. Nobody dull or irritating, and Elliott's could easily have been. The script is heart-warming and is never too heavy or too soapy, not repetitive or talky either.
Really liked the story, the structure is different and could have been disjointed and muddled, but it was not hard to follow and it was a case of both plotlines being equally engaging and charming. The Christmassy vibe is nostalgic, while the film has lovely scenery lovingly filmed and has music that has personality without being overbearing. The Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson song was a very nice touch.
Overall, very well done. 8/10.