Christmas Cookies (2016)

Great Film overall

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I have many "stones" against this film. flaws, predactibility, unrealism. but the poor of it has a small virtue - the name of town. and the spirit of family of a small community. and the idea of recipe for the cookies of aunt Sally. so, it works. with the well known love story and the end who you expect be different - sure, in this case is real forced, fake, bizarre -. but who coould resist to... Cookies Jar ? and, sure, twoo good looking lead actors, P. Lynn Johnson remembering Eve Marie Saints and the flavor of cookies.

I know, I'm a sucker for these and I admit it. Yes, they are, for the most part, Cheesy; hopelessly romantic drivel that flows like maple syrup, but every once in a while THC gets it right, and they got it right with this one. A clever plot line twist at the end that saved the situation, but when you have Jill Wagner in a role like this, it seems this is the one she was born to play. You can either believe she is an astounding actress (which I do), or you can believe she went into this with no script and just lived the part, because that's how it comes across. She is so expressive and the way she looks; laughs; reacts and speaks you come away thinking this is real life. Her protagonist is equally adept, and he makes his role believable as well. So do the supporting characters. The girl who plays Jake's daughter is a scene-stealer, who will, no doubt, grow up to steal more than her fair share of hearts as well. From the town cabbie to the woman who runs the inn where Hannah stays, you connect with all of them. The waitress in the coffee shop going to Princeton has an incredible range of acting tools. I'm sure she'll be around for a long time as well. Hannah's big city boyfriend is the typical "other man" in the Hallmark Channel Movie heroine's life. Instantly unlikable with an array of traits one wonders what she ever saw in him to begin with. (Remember Faith's boyfriend in The Christmas Card?) I will watch this one again. I already have. Most are good enough for one look and you can pass them by a second time. A few of the good ones grab you and pull you inside. They push you into a cushy chair beside a blazing fireplace, wrap you in a warm blanket and make you wish you could be there with them. This is one of those.

I sometimes wonder where the Hallmark Conglomerate came from. When I was very young, Hallmark meant special programs—Hallmark Hall of Fame--produced by Hallmark Cards and these were special specials. Now there seem to be a proliferation of Hallmark Channels.I'm retired now and my wife watches the Hallmark Conglomerate and occasionally I drift into a chair and semi-watch. Laptops mean you never have to attend to any show ever again. This was the "episode" my wife was watching: Christmas Cookies. I figured it out pretty quick. Christmas hating/ignoring female exec gets sent to a cute town, Cookie Jar, to close a deal that will allow a food conglomerate to swallow the town's single industry—Aunt Sally's Cookies—and put everyone on unemployment/welfare/Medicaid in rapid time.Female exec meets sweet B&B owner who drops a crumb/clue into the plot early that I suspect will eventually save town. In-between, heartless female exec (Grinch, used to be Scrooge, but now all baddies or semi-baddies are Grinches) begins to find love for male owner of Aunt Sally's and doesn't want to destroy all the nice people she has met in Cookie Jar.But the owner is going broke and has to do what he has to do which is sell the company. While all of this is going on the exec is falling in love with the owner, refuses the proposal of her New York boyfriend, gets an idea from her Christmas loving sister, helps her boss accept the idea the cookies need to be made in Cookie Jar and saves everyone's jobs, and then gets her heart's desire. Pretty sure that was what happened.I have a hard time knowing who the actors are in these Hallmark shows as they all tend to be very pretty or handsome and tend to look alike (to me). In this case it's Jill Wagner as Hannah Harper and Wes Brown as Jake Carter who lead the cast.

There are lots of similar Hallmark movies around Christmas time. Often they involve a bailout of a struggling business in a small town and this movie is no exception. But this one is above average for a couple of reasons. The leads are likable attractive and not annoying. Jill Wagner is lively without being too perky as the corporate executive trying to bail out the cookie company in a quaint town. Wes Brown is the head of the struggling cookie company who wants to keep the factory and the town going. Of course romance ensues in a gradual not too cute way. The little Christmas traditions are quite alright and the rides on the sled look fun. Also the cookies are delicious looking. So there is an appetizing focus to the movie. The weakness is the solution to the problem seems a bit sudden and unconvincing - but what do you expect from this kind of movie.