Mr. 365

The writing is bad, the directing is bad and the acting is strained. The situations are stupid and unbelievable. Quite possibly one of the worse Christmas movies I've seen and I've seen quite a few.

I liked the story line and the lead actor but there was no obvious chemistry between the two leads. And the actress, well...she should stick to being the villoness; she always has a look of being devious and hateful about her. Perhaps they can remake this movie with a different lead actress.

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 'Forever 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, 'Forever Christmas' fits this negative definition sadly. Very little works and the worst aspects are pretty awful and this is being said with regret, not malice. 'Forever Christmas' is not a disaster. The scenery is truly beautiful and the photography is also attractive and slickly framed. Christopher Russell is a likeable leading man that deserved a better film and female lead, much better than he was in 'Merry Matrimony' where he was too introverted. Was a lot less enamoured by Chelsea Hobbs however, who came over as bland and awkward. Their chemistry is non-existent, the two look so indifferent and under-rehearsed when together and there is just nothing to the relationship. The rest of the cast are a mix of very stiff or overripe. The 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 'Forever 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.

I loved this one. It was a different setup than we've seen before and the romance was delivered quickly without all that drawn out tension that usually happens. Although there is some towards the end as you would expect. I could have done without the vile gay guy. I prefer a kinder LGBT representation in films, but it was nice that it was there at least. I would also have liked to have seen the lead in his fireman outfit, although topless was good too. He is gorgeous!!! I also think another 15 minutes to show a bit more depth could have been good in this instance. Maybe show him at work or the shelter or perhaps give a bit more detail about his love of the season and how people could follow his lead, a moral message. It could have gone down a very silly route, but it was played straight which I prefer. So what happens when you celebrate Christmas all year around and a reality TV show wants to film you? Watch this to find out.

I thought the movie started off well in the setup in terms of providing something different. Then it became totally cliché from beginning shooting on through the ending. The viewer can almost write the script. And the climax is the worst of all. The exec starts her speech and I'm like "your grim face is not convincing me at all, so wait for it ...." And there it was just as expected. This isn't Hallmark, so not every little detail is wrapped up neatly in an HEA bow, but it's still a Rom/com so the big thing is. I'd like to say that Chelsea Hobbs and Christopher Russell had good chemistry. They are certainly an attractive couple. For once, even I as a male could see that this guy is the epitome of "hot". Hobbs is beautiful but with a sweet element. But there wasn't enough screen time with just the two of them, and much of that was overwhelmed by the elephant in the room of how the show would turn out. The executive producer, Paul, had some funny moments and he wasn't an ogre of a boss.