5/10 - the story was fine and I love Ashleigh Murray, but I was so thrown off every time her character sang because it sounded like an entirely different person did her singing which is deeply confusing given that she is a very gifted singer (why did she not get to do her own singing???)

For me the musical singing performances dominated over the story. But the story was fresh for a Hallmark Christmas movie. Even so, I was hanging on my seat to hear the music, especially Ashleigh Murray. What a voice. Is it possible she outshined Michelle Williams?

Christmas in Harmony is another decent Hallmark movie this 2021 Christmas season, with solid acting and some 'wow' musical performances. The story revolves around Harmony (played by Ashleigh Murray),a music exec expecting a promotion to Senior Director of Acquisitions after 10 years of paying her dues. However, to her surprise and frustration, she is let go due to the company's recent merger. Furious, she heads home to spend the Christmas holiday with her family. Her mother (played by Loretta Devine) sets her up with a gig directing the Holiday Chorus at the local church. Little does she know that her ex-boyfriend Kyle (played by Luke James) is co-directing the choir. The story follows Harmony and Luke as they rediscover their passion for music and each other, as they prepare and rehearse for their big holiday performance. The script, I thought, was decent. The writer had some very good dialogue (and banter) between Kyle and Harmony early on in the story. There was also a nice scene (and dialogue) in the living room with Harmony and her mother and sister drinking wine, having a girl's night. That said, about halfway into the movie, I did start to lose interest. The dialogue between the leads, which started strong, started to fall flat. It wasn't until the last ten minutes, at the concert, that things started to pick up again. Which leads me to the music. Wow. It is good. Indeed, the movie's strength, as other reviewers have pointed out, is the musical performances. Both Murray and James can sing; they have great voices and perform wonderfully in this one. The movie is built around these musical performances. However, I did find the pre-recorded music scenes - where they lip-sync when shooting - to be a bit of a distraction on a couple of occasions (e.g., the Christmas caroling scene). These scenes just did not feel real. Why not shoot them live? Sure, they might not sound like they were produced in a studio, but they will sound real and feel authentic. In terms of acting, both Murray and James had solid performances. The first few scenes were excellent. The back and forth between the two in the church, while they waited, was brilliant. I could feel the chemistry on the screen. However, as the movie progressed, I found their performances increasingly less impressive, though the ending was strong. Their scenes were, simply put, a bit dull at times in the second half of the film. Their performances stopped engaging me. The supporting cast was a bit mixed. I enjoyed watching Devine as Mama; she is great to watch. Michelle Williams (playing Melo D),on the other hand, was difficult to watch on screen. It felt like she was acting, especially her first scene, which is never a good sign for an actor. All in all, it is a decent Hallmark film, not one of their best, nor one of their worst this season thus far.