Despite the female lead (Sarah Drew) being extremely unlikable and annoying at the beginning, this turned out to be one of the best of the Christmas entries in the Hallmark sweepstakes this year. Probably because it's not really a Hallmark, but on Lifetime. They use the same actors and writers and probably directors, but always seem to be just a cut above the Hallmark movies.
The plot had a lot of holes and had some questionable elements. Almost the whole town agrees to be matched up to a pen pal by one woman postmaster? What are her qualifications? How does she go about this? How does she handle last minute entries? How will Hannah and Sam work out the logistics of their coming marriage? How will she incorporate and sell people on the idea of writing letters before meeting face to face per her failing app/ social media company? Will Sam ever follow Hannah's advice and get WiFi for his coffee shop? These burning questions and probably more go unanswered.
This movie ended up high on my special Hallmark rating scale because of good acting and appealing actors and actresses. Especially the male lead and Hallmark veteran, Niall Matter. My, was he appealing and had great chemistry with Sarah Drew. Michael Gross of Tremors and Family Ties added his veteran acting chops. The cast of secondary characters was exceptional. A special shout out to Latonya Williams who lit up the screen with her smile.
By the end there were 6 match-ups that had some potential. Great job, Santy Claus... uh...Madam Post Master!
Christmas Pen Pals
2018
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Christmas Pen Pals
2018
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Plot summary
Following an unexpected breakup weeks before Christmas, tech wiz Hannah (Drew),creator of the dating app Perfect One, heads home for the holidays, challenged to save her failing business by creating a new romantic dating model. Upon her return she runs into her high-school boyfriend Sam (Matter),whom she had carefully avoided for years, and reluctantly makes a deal with her dad Ted (Gross) to sign up for the town's Christmas Cupid, an anonymous holiday pen-pal service. As the season progresses, Hannah is smitten by each beautifully-written letter she receives and starts to believe that her Christmas pen pal could be her soul mate. It's not until Christmas Eve that everyone must reveal their true identities to their pen pals, even if it means coming face-to-face with the last person they ever expected.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Great Casting and Acting Counts for a lot.
Just better all round then most of the Christmas fare
The acting in this one was strong, especially on the male side with Niall Matter and a surprise appearance by Michael Gross. It took me awhile to warm up to Sarah Drew whom I am unfamiliar with but I did not dislike her by the end. The supporting characters, especially on the female side were very good.
Writing was better then average. Yes as usual with these movies much was already telegraphed 15 minutes in but there were quite a number of moments that brought a smile to the face. As with all these movies you have to overlook all the plotholes and make assumptions about the resolution of many secondary stories which is a bit unfortunate as several of the secondary characters had a nice way about them.
You've got Christmas mail
This is another twist on the famous movie where instead of email, they use good old fashion US Mail. I thought the whole premise of reviving the WWII tradition was a nice take on it.
Nial Matter is always good in these movies and Sarah Drew is new to me, but they worked well together as they danced closer and then away and back and forth.
There were some secondary mystery romances also.
There are some really interesting little twists near the end even though the viewer always knew how it was going to come out in the end. The last scene was sweet and made better by not getting there the easy way.