Hallmark's Christmas offerings have always been a mixed bag. Some are good, some are lacklustre or even bad and some are somewhere in between. 'Snow Bride's' premise could have gone either way in execution. It could either have been a heart-warming, feel-good sort of Christmas film with a real feel for the festive season and better than average acting or it could be charmless and mean-spirited with a lot of predictability and characters not easy to get behind.

'Snow Bride' fortunately is one of the good Hallmark offerings, definitely among the better ones seen as part of my festive Hallmark/Lifetime etc. quest that started around November last year with a lot of spare time on my hands. It is not perfect and reading the synopsis part of me was preparing to not like it as it didn't sound promising at the start and neither did the lead character. Am very glad about giving it a chance without too much prejudice.

It doesn't contain any surprises or much new, if you are familiar with the festive Hallmark formula you have a pretty good idea how things are going to go and map out.

Also didn't find Greta likeable at first, am aware that's the intention at first but she comes over initially as very obnoxious and representative of what really irks me regarding the media and journalism, what her job does is pretty much faithful to what that particular profession does in real life but somehow it didn't sit right with me and felt a little overplayed.

Once 'Snow Bride' gets going, being a film that also takes time to find its footing, and Greta starts to grow as a character, it becomes a better film with enough of what Christmas films should be like. The production values are very pleasing to look at, nice use of locations slickly shot. The music captures the Christmas feel very well and is not near as over-scored or intrusive as too many of later Hallmark films. The script has moments of cheese, but mostly flows nicely and has a light-hearted and sweet tone without being sugary.

Despite the predictability, the story does have a good deal of charm, is light on its feet and warms the heart. Much of the pace doesn't drag and the characters are generally not one that bored or irritated me, despite not warming to Greta straightaway. Nice to see characters that actually show growth. The acting is better than average, with solid supporting turns and very engaging lead performances in particularly Katrina Law, who essentially is the film. The chemistry between the actors has spark and the love and conflict are done believably.

Summing up, surprisingly good. 7/10

Katrina Law is a reporter for a gossip magazine. She winds up invading a political family in a wedding dress; since one brother is dating the ex-girlfriend of the other, she winds up pretending to be the girl friend of the ... well, it's all put together pretty well in this decently written Hallmark Channel romantic comedy.

My reviews of Hallmark romcoms frequently seem cynical. That is a reaction to the cynical manner in which they are assembled to appeal their audience. The leading ladies are all brittle, driven, unattached, beautiful professionals who need to connect to their hidden niceness. The men vary over the lot until they end up thoroughly domesticated. However, in this one, Jordan Belfi STARTS as the good-looking scion of a rich, truly decent family. He wears elk-pattern sweaters and drinks chamomile tea of his own free will. He could be a senator for the asking, but yearns to write romance novels. He almost cries a couple of times and probably likes cuddling and long, romantic walks on the beach. It's another chick flick with a Christmas background. It could have been rewritten slightly for Arbor Day.

There's nothing wrong with this particular genre of movie, no more than with a western, or a murder mystery, or a buddy picture. However, neither is it incumbent upon us to cheer wildly every time the beautiful young woman discovers happiness in the arms of the handsome young man with the assumption that this time it's for ever after. Sometimes some one puts in some extra effort or some major talent gets interesting. Sometimes you get something where you want your time back. Most of the time, however, what you get is something to kill a couple of hours; and that is okay.

And so is this one. There are a couple of nice plot twists that drive the story and which make sense because of the characters. There are the older supporting actors who perform their roles gracefully, simply and interestingly. The establishing shots up by Big Bear Lake are pretty and if the music is again too intrusive and controlling, that seems to be another aspect of this particular genre. I just wish they could change the last.

A tabloid reporter (Katrina Law) trying to get a scoop on a Kennedyesque family winds up meeting one of the rich single sons (Jordan Belfi),lies to him about who she is so she can get the story, then falls in love with him and feels bad about her revolting career choice. If there was ever a Hallmark romcom that was propped up by one person, it would be this one. Katrina Law is the only thing about this that isn't completely forgettable. Having seen her playing tough chicks in the Spartacus and Arrow TV shows, it was nice to see her tackle a romantic comedy role. Still a tough chick (of sorts) but a different kind. But there's only so much she can do here as the predictability of the script (this is Hallmark, after all) and the unlikable nature of many of the characters works against her. Plus there's this skeevy undertone to so much of this. The lying, the scumbag tabloid press, the guy dating his brother's gold-digging ex, etc. It's just not much fun to watch, despite Katrina Law doing her best to keep things light.