Holly Star

It actually started well. I enjoyed the first hour, then it took a nose dive and then, just ended. It's hard to explain. The love interest angle was really forced. They kissed when they were five, so that means they have to fall in love later in life? The entire movie minus maybe ten minutes at the end, the main girl just saw him as a childhood friend. Then she chokes on a peppermint and she's in love! And what about the puppets? The treasure? The car? Her parents? Anything?!?!?!? Sigh, what a weird movie.

I thought this movie was refreshing from the same romantic Christmas movies. The characters were great, instead of sappy, forced dialog, the girls seemed like my friends and the dialog was sharp and often seemed ad-libbed. I love that everyone is confused by the ending. There is a clue written on a board, before the snowball scene at the end, that tells you where the money is...

She's a puppeteer? Really?? Lamest part of the movie. And her friend Kay K was so annoying I wanted to punch her. I am doing them a favor giving them 3 stars.

...especially those whose first adult dreams have failed them. Returning home as an adult is never easy. When you're a dedicated puppeteer whose last job has dried up, leaving you broke and alone, where else do you go? Then you find out your parents have left town for the holidays, making you responsible for your crazy grandma. The catastrophes pile on from there, abetted by a nutty best friend with a paintball fixation and a childhood sweetheart determined to save you from yourself. There's a mystery, touches of personal history, some broad physical humour, and the usual triumph of seasonal joy to round off this surprisingly twisty script. The puppet sequences add a surreal quality. Enjoy with a beverage.

This could have been a fun, quirky movie if it had been sure of what type of story it was trying to tell. It tries to be part romance, part comedy, part drama, and part mystery, and consequently the plot "wanders." The puppets feel "inserted" for their own sake, instead of being a plot point. The main character's best friend comes off as annoying in the scene where she's trying to wake the main character, when she could have been fun and encouraging. I liked was the grandmother. The rest of the characters are "painted on" the backdrop instead of being put to real use, and there are dropped plot threads. This film could have benefited from a thorough script edit to deliver a more focused plot.