source: Hometown Christmas

The is a pretty typical Christmas story in terms of premise and themes with one major exception. A significant amount of time is spent with the Nativity where Beverley Mitchell reads a version of the real Christmas story, Jesus birth. It doesn't differ greatly from what Linus tells us in Charlie Brown's Christmas so it's not unparoled, nor should it be offensive. It is unusual among Lifetime, Hallmark and even UpTV movies. Lest someone ask, it is also true to the original in the Bible as was Linus'. Then Beverley sings O Holy Night which mentions that same story. I think the song was meant to be a surprise, but it was pretty obvious they were practicing something. As to Beverley's singing, her voice is strong and holds notes well. Unfortunately there are those who find her voice unappealing, probably both speaking and singing. I enjoyed the song. Beverley and Stephen Colletti have decent chemistry. (I think) Donny Boaz and Erin Cahill had even better chemistry in a secondary story as Noelle's brother and fiance. Her father also had a secondary romance with Nick's mom. There were no great highs or lows, surprises or tension other than all the potential problems with the Nativity.

Corn does not grow in Louisiana in December. UNLESS it's a corny movie.

Which is a good thing for a Christmas movie, so I enjoyed that aspect and storyline. What kept giving me pause was the casting of Beverly Mitchell and Stephen Colletti. I have nothing against an 'older woman/ younger man' motif, but the pair were supposedly same-year high school sweethearts, and meaning no offence to either actor, my imagination could't strain that far for any sustained period. They were manifestly not the same age. A trivial thing on which to focus, but the thought kept intruding...

My biggest disappointment with this movie is at about 1hr, 17 mins in. The lead is reading the Christmas Story from the Gospel of Luke chap 2. When she reads "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior," she abruptly omits the words, "who is Christ the Lord." Yeah, kind of the whole point of the story...

This isn't a bad story at all, although I'm not keen on Beverley Mitchell, who reminds me of one of the Fraggles (I'm not sure which one). Stephen Colletti on the other hand is like a hot Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) and his character is really nice. I like how they managed to have three relationships going on without compromising on the main story, it was all balanced very well. It's full of Christmas and the Nay-tivity (They can't pronounce it properly) and it does the job that films like this are made to do. I especially liked the Dad and Mary. It's definitely worth a watch, even the brother has something about him.

Been watching more Lifetime 1360 lifehd than Hallmark 365 1365 366 1366 their Christmas movies 2018-2020 lack Christmas appeal too much diversity not interracial no problem same sex I am having trouble with. Hometown Christmas is sweet Beverly Mitchell always like her Stephen Colletti Erin Cahill Donny Boaz Brian McNamara and Melissa Gilbert good casting

Like most low budget Christmas films that are mostly full of wooden acting. I felt that they should have had the script in front of them because it definitely gave me the impression of 'acting'. Why do they bother to waste the celluloid it surely can't return its outlay. Oh and the singing! that's when I turned off. Give it a miss!

Throughout my whole Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas film completest quest undertaken namely late last year through to early this year, an interesting quest but very mixed one, there was never the mentality of expecting a classic or the film in question to be flawless. Something that was never managed with Lifetime's output but in some cases it came not too far off. There was always the expectation of seeing a film where one can see at least some effort rather than merely cash-in level. 2018's 'Hometown Christmas' is sadly not one of watchable ones, though is not quite cash in level quality. Have absolutely personal against Lifetime and have liked enough of their work, but when they were on bad form the film in question was bad. While not one of their all time worst, 'Hometown Christmas' fits this negative definition sadly. A few big things redeem it from being a disaster, but they are overshadowed by the many major flaws. Am going to start off mentioning those good things. Erin Cahill (who would have made for a much better lead) and Danny Boaz are appealing in their roles and their subplot is a lot more interesting than the main one, there is a charm and spark in that subplot that the main one badly lacks. Despite not being lavish or high budget, 'Hometown Christmas' doesn't look too bad. The scenery is especially lovely to watch and is filmed slickly. On the other hand, a lot doesn't work with 'Hometown Christmas'. Beverly Mitchell comes across as bland and too smug, and really did not like her character. Her character is very difficult to endear to from the get go and she doesn't really grow, what little there is feels rushed. Stephen Colletti isn't as bad, but he struggles to bring much life to a colourless role. There is no chemistry between them or even any form of spark and the romance is completely lacking in charm as well as underwritten. Other than Cahill and Boaz, the rest of the cast don't register all that much. 'Hometown Christmas' characters are shallow ciphers and little more than typical Lifetime cliches with no variation, and none of them are believably developed or likeable. The direction throughout is as indifferent as the lead chemistry and is at best leaden. The music is, as can be the case with Lifetime, intrusive and there is nothing memorable to it. When it comes to the dialogue, it is very awkward in flow and there is no heart to it. Both the cheese and sentiment go overboard, and because of disliking the characters so much there was nothing in 'Hometown Christmas' to connect with emotionally. The story is not much of one at all for most of the length, much of the first portion is endless and pointless filler and what there is of the story is very dull and makes no sense. The ending feels too rushed and too tidy. Overall, weak. 3/10.

"Hometown Christmas" is a very welcome deviation from the common Christmas holiday films. It has not one, but a few refreshingly different characters. Both of the young leads are single and have never been married. While they were sweethearts through high school, they split and went their separate ways after that. Noelle Collins isn't a woman climbing the corporate ladder in the big city. She is a medical doctor who just finished her internship in Chicago, and is now moving back home to Youngsville, Louisiana. She is looking forward to working alongside her dad, Peter Collins MD, in his clinic. Peter has been a widower for several years and has recently become quite close to long-time divorcee Mary Russell. Noelle's big brother, Will, is engaged and his fiancé, Jen, is staying with them over Christmas. Noelle runs into her old flame, Nick Russell who is Mary's son. He is a professional baseball pitcher and has been in town for six months recovering from a severe shoulder injury. Unlike so many other films, there's no bitterness between Noelle and Nick, and both missed the other when they went their separate ways. Well, as with all of these films, it's a no-brainer to figure out how it will end. The enjoyment comes from the story details and how the ending comes about. In this film, all of the supporting cast have substantial roles, so it's more like a very good family story with lots of people. There's much happiness among these people that is portrayed so that it appears quite real and believable. Noelle's brother makes up a special room as a surprise for Jen. Mary and Nick bought and now run the favorite lounge hangout. And Nick has organized and heads up a youth baseball program. He has been offered the coaching job at the high school. This is a fine cast, and all seem to put their hearts into this film. With the warmer clime of Louisiana over the holidays, there's a lot of focus on lights and lighting. This is an enjoyable, much better than average family Christmas film for the holidays.