For the most part, the movie is a good one. It's not entirely your typical Christmas movie, although it does borrow a number of overused cliches, there are a few twists to them that aren't typical.
Nina Dobrev is supposed to sell us her character and make us believe--in the end--that she prefers Josh to Tag. She doesn't succeed. You can see her eyes and body language take in Tag while it's forced and completely wooden in regard to Josh. While the end is a nice idea, we're unable to buy it because Dobrev is unable to sell it.
Still, the movie's premise is actually a very good one. Many people who suffer from a low self-esteem, or those caught up in a very superficial ideal about what a "perfect mate" is supposed to look like, find themselves invariably thrown a curveball. The person suffering from low self-esteem can never truly believe that they are worthy enough. And the person caught up in an unrealistic ideal will always be disappointed by the outcome. Enter Josh and Natalie, each representing these all-too common aspects.
Josh is able to initially win over Natalie by creating a real online dating profile with fake photos. Natalie is completely enamored with the whole package, until she realizes that the wrapping isn't what she thought it was.
We get a very typical and overused plot-line in which--after finding the real Tag--Josh agrees to help her land him. On the other side, Josh asks Natalie to pose as his girlfriend for the sake of his family. Sound familiar? I thought Hallmark had a copyright on these things.
As you might easily guess, the "plan" falls apart. However, the way in which the reveal happens as well as the confession, are actually done quite differently from what you might have expected. This helps save the film from being a total disaster.
The performances are very good across the board. What ultimately prevents this move from really working is the lack of chemistry between Dobrev and Yang. Dobrev treats him more like a kid brother than a love interest. We are unable to buy for a second, that her character has any romantic or loving feelings for Yang's character, which unfortunately, makes us not believe in the contrived ending at all.
In the end, we get a very wasted effort in which we are given a very bland and vanilla ending to what should have been something far more profound. However, the film's ultimate message about learning to just be yourself, is the true winner here.
The movie gets points for its message as well as not using the entire Hallmark playbook that so many Christmas films utilize. It does have some uniqueness to it. It's just so unfortunate that--in the end--the romance is as lacking as a Christmas cookie without any sugar and spice.
Nina Dobrev is supposed to sell us her character and make us believe--in the end--that she prefers Josh to Tag. She doesn't succeed. You can see her eyes and body language take in Tag while it's forced and completely wooden in regard to Josh. While the end is a nice idea, we're unable to buy it because Dobrev is unable to sell it.
Still, the movie's premise is actually a very good one. Many people who suffer from a low self-esteem, or those caught up in a very superficial ideal about what a "perfect mate" is supposed to look like, find themselves invariably thrown a curveball. The person suffering from low self-esteem can never truly believe that they are worthy enough. And the person caught up in an unrealistic ideal will always be disappointed by the outcome. Enter Josh and Natalie, each representing these all-too common aspects.
Josh is able to initially win over Natalie by creating a real online dating profile with fake photos. Natalie is completely enamored with the whole package, until she realizes that the wrapping isn't what she thought it was.
We get a very typical and overused plot-line in which--after finding the real Tag--Josh agrees to help her land him. On the other side, Josh asks Natalie to pose as his girlfriend for the sake of his family. Sound familiar? I thought Hallmark had a copyright on these things.
As you might easily guess, the "plan" falls apart. However, the way in which the reveal happens as well as the confession, are actually done quite differently from what you might have expected. This helps save the film from being a total disaster.
The performances are very good across the board. What ultimately prevents this move from really working is the lack of chemistry between Dobrev and Yang. Dobrev treats him more like a kid brother than a love interest. We are unable to buy for a second, that her character has any romantic or loving feelings for Yang's character, which unfortunately, makes us not believe in the contrived ending at all.
In the end, we get a very wasted effort in which we are given a very bland and vanilla ending to what should have been something far more profound. However, the film's ultimate message about learning to just be yourself, is the true winner here.
The movie gets points for its message as well as not using the entire Hallmark playbook that so many Christmas films utilize. It does have some uniqueness to it. It's just so unfortunate that--in the end--the romance is as lacking as a Christmas cookie without any sugar and spice.