User Reviews

I usually really enjoy watching Andrew Walker's Hallmark films; he is a good actor in such roles. He did a decent job in this movie too. But there was no chemistry between him and Alicia Witt, at least, I did not see it. I felt Alicia's performance was rather weak, though, to be honest, I am not a huge fan of her Hallmark films. The supporting cast was great, especially Nate's parents. The movie is enjoyable enough and instills a bit of Christmas spirit. Worth a watch if you are familiar/like Hallmark movies.

As much as I love both leads in this film, they are not two that I would put together and I think the film ends up being a bit middling, because the chemistry is not there, but it is a nice enough story.

How do you save a whole street that is due to be demolished? You put on a Christmas show of course, but what happens when the new hot guy in town turns out to be working for the developers?

Andrew W Walker is lovely here, but Alicia Witt is just a bit wrong in her part.

Loved the message of this movie that traditions as well as old buildings and history are worth saving. I am so tired of this new disposable culture who likes to say that they are green but then has to have everything new. The male lead, Nate, was fantastic and too good to be true. Beautiful Christmas tree lane in historic downtown Chicago. We really should be preserving history and learning from our past.

The best part of Alicia Witt Christmas movies are her songs at the end. I hope the trend continues in the future. This movie covers no new ground, there are no storyline twists and you can see the ending coming after the first 5 minutes. But if you enjoy watching Alicia act, sing and play piano, you will like this movie. Just forward to those parts and enjoy the song at the end.

I think "pleasant" is the key word here. The story is fine, the pace seems fine, the cast is fine, but it lacks any real spark romantically. To me it seems like the leads could be really good friends. What I did really enjoy was Alicia Witt's piano performance, she's the real deal musically and we got a taste of excellence there.

Nothing original, which isn't unusual I suppose in these movies, but it was like a greatest hits collection of all the favorite tropes. Almost like it was a competition to see how many they could fit into 90 minutes. Good actors doing good work, but just lacking in anything that pulls you into the story because of how obvious the tropes are, and how little romance there actually is. Is this the new standard that the first and only real romance or kiss is at the very last moment right before the credits roll. I guess that would be ok if there were clearly visible sparks earlier on, that were not acted upon for propriety or other credible reasons. This movie had none of that. Oh well.

In the last couple of years, Witt's Hallmark Christmas movies have been somewhat lackluster with scenes that struck me as unintentionally funny, mostly due to her performances that came across as overwrought or just plain hammy. But here, she is back in fine form with a leading man, Andrew W. Walker, who is quite good. As Meg and Nate, they join forces to prevent Christmas Tree Lane from being demolished in order to make way for modern office buildings. Nate's father is the developer. There are no really big surprises here, but Witt and Walker are very believable as a couple and their scenes together really work. The dialogue is smart and interesting throughout, with a really fine supporting cast, particularly Paul Anthony McLean and Shannon Engemann as Nate's parents. The sets are attractive with lots of Christmas spirit and Witt sings a really endearing Christmas song at the end, which apparently she wrote and it is quite good, as is her singing voice. All in all, this is an enjoyable, realistic holiday film, with Witt's best work since "A Very Merry Mix-Up." She and Walker work nicely together giving sincere performances that serve the story well.

To me this looked like the typical Hallmark themed movie but with two of Hallmarks power leads in the main roles they managed to pull it off. I thought they had very good chemistry.

This is also the first time that I can recall that Alcia Witt has gotten to sing in one of her Hallmark movies, Christmas or otherwise, and she has a beautiful voice. That made the movie for me.

Yawnful.

Nothing about 'Christmas Tree Lane' works, in my opinion at least. It was a chore to sit through from start-to-finish, with every single beat being predictable and/or cringe. It takes itself way too seriously, not helped by average acting and non-existent chemistry between the leads.

Alicia Witt and Andrew W. Walker are OK actors, but neither give a performance to be remembered or praised. The support cast are lame. I'm all for festive film cheese, but there needs to be something more substantial than this.

The plot is so glaringly obvious, it holds back the big reveal for a good chunk of the film. Yet, when it finally does arrive it's resolved almost instantly. We've seen this exact premise so many times before - get a little creative, especially for a production released in 2020.

It deserves be better. For the effort of actors,for few real good points - especially the music - , for the potential of a nice friendhip story with reflexes of romantic comedy of 1930 - 1950, with good start point to become romance in authenthic way. But it remains a good try, mixing different pieces, a conflict and an initial war in something acceptable with some indulgence, forced change of intention and a beautiful concert.

This movie was drenched in Christmas spirit! From music, to décor, to fancy cocoa. If you are looking for a movie to bring you some Christmas cheer, it is this one! So glad it was my first pick of the season!

It is a nice movie. Everything you might expect from a Hallmark movie, nothing out of the ordinary. The setting and decorations were very lovely.

The biggest problem I have with this film is that Nate (played by Andrew W Walker) is supposed to work for a workaholic father who expects all his underlings to work long hours, and yet Nate never seems to do any real work while he's in his office. And Nate is barely in the office, since he seems to spend most of his time cavorting with Meg (played by Alicia Witt). So Nate seemed more like a plot device than a believable character.

A lesser problem is that the story is incredibly predictable. You know what the "complication" is going to be and you know what the conclusion is going to be.

Still, the too leads are pleasant enough and it's all pretty harmless and mildly entertaining, which is perhaps all you can really expect from an Xmas TV movie.

The story is about a street of small businesses in downtown Denver that are about to be destroyed for large businesses, condos, etc. This a definitely issue in many cities in the US. But, the story shouldn't have been in Denver, as doesn't have areas like this.

Andrew Walker is great as usual. Alicia Witt is a very talented musician, with a beautiful singing voice, but she does better in movies that are funny.

Overall, not a bad movie.

6/10 - Alicia Witt and Andrew Walker's latest holiday flick is just fine

I saw a promotional interview for this movie and thought, "oh, no, another movie with all the same old overused themes". And this movie does have a bunch of them, but somehow many of them are done just a tiny bit differently than the usual. For example, when the leads meet, it is a situation just ripe for the obligatory antagonism that all Christmas rom/com leads have when they meet. But the movie didn't exploit that and instead the leads had a slightly wary, but friendly encounter. Another example: the lead male, Nate's sympathy and involvement for the cause are a slightly uncommon take on the usual opposite-lead-works-for-the-enemy theme.

The dialogue is interesting and witty. The screenplay is funny. The actors are invested in their roles. Alicia Witt and Andrew Walker have chemistry.

There is a strong current of appreciation for music even beyond Witt's two song performances.

The battle over the destruction of Christmas Tree Lane consumes much of the movie especially the last half and with it the tone is a little sadder and the humor a little less.

The path of the story is such that you can pretty much see how the final scenes are going to go. Part of the final scenes is the musical performances. Alicia Witt is a talented musical writer and performer, both her voice and keyboard. This is not an actor being thrown into a position of doing a song for a movie. This is a singer (and actor) doing what she does professionally.

Alicia Witt said in an interview that she wrote the story for this and at least one source confirms that. As of this writing, IMDb does not credit her for writing or for the original song.

Geez. Is anyone else as embarrassed for Alicia Witt as I am for writing this story?

If you played a group drinking game and drank shots for each holiday romance trope, everyone would be trashed by the half-hour mark. These are some re-re-recycled threads, even for Hallmark.

Big fans of Witt's and the most diehard Hallmark crowd are the best audience for Christmas Tree Lane. It's a shame Andrew Walker was wasted as the male lead here, serving as Witt's romantic concierge. With a more dynamic co-star, Walker has been a standout in some of the most original, funniest Hallmark films in recent years. He's surely capable of generating his share of sparks.

Although one of the first after COVID and its restrictions, the film is not entirely harmed, thank goodness. Both leading actors are lovely, story line although predictive is still nice, and overall it gives a feeling of warmth and happiness. I would watch again. Always like to see Andrew...very expressive eyes.

I really wanted to like this movie. However, the plot was very predictable. As much money as Hallmark makes from its movies, why not hire better writers? Let's make a hallmark movie thats new and original.

I love Andrew, but the chemistry between him and Alicia were non existent. It could be, because I'm not a fan of Alicia's acting. Please stop making these predictable, over used plots and hire better writers and make a hallmark movie that we would love to watch every year and become a Christmas classic.

In other user reviews a number of people commented on the good chemistry between the leads and a roughly equal number felt there was little or no chemistry. Put me down firmly on the side of *good* chemistry, supported by a charming, cheerful, positive plot that is thoughtfully structured and nicely developed.

Every year there always seems to be at least one Hallmark movie where some treasured institution or tradition is about to be sold/converted/demolished, etc. In 2020 there are at least two: this one and "Christmas by Starlight", another good movie that I also enjoyed. Even though "Starlight" has a full point higher user rating, I liked "Christmas Tree Lane" better. I think it is one of the best of this genre that I have seen over the years.

Script isnt really award winning script, its just fine. Music is fine, spirit is fine ...but I just cant look at the main female character. Her acting.... I just cant watch that. I love christmas movies, even thiugh 95% od them are almoust the same. But they should at least choose actors to match the movie. She has zero christmas spirit....

The beautiful Alicia Witt and Andrew Walker are inspired here and often play excellent lines of an excellent script where humour is present. It is impossible to give just 5 to this romance that is unusual for the right reasons. These actors, especially the two leaders, play well. They are natural and convince us easily. Like a real nice couple ! To see them is a dream in a romantic movie. Several lines are touching us too. Alicia and Andrew are a team who works well. Rarely I have seen Andrew so at ease like if he was at home. It is the cinema at its best ! Alicia and Andrews are winners.

I watched this around 3am when i was feeling down in the dumps. Not even the springtime can keep me away from Christmas movies it seems. And for me, this gave me the instant hit that i needed at that time.

The lead actress was a joy to watch, not over saccharine like some Christmas heroines can be, she gave this movie some glamour and some class. The setting was inviting and charming, and most of the budget seems to have been spent on decorating the street (not a bad thing) why anyone would feel the need to knock it down, was a mystery to me.

The story was a tad predictable,. But not corny.

Over-all it was very easy to watch and get into that Christmasy feeling.