MovieChat Forums > Catch a Christmas Star (2013) Discussion > Premiere on Sunday on Hallmark Channel

Premiere on Sunday on Hallmark Channel

posted 10 years ago by ShayLuVsMuSiK85
8 replies | jump to latest

But the title of it is "Catch A Christmas Star".

I'm tired of Hallmark's movies always following the same formula. A widowed parent, who feels guilty about liking another person, but feels they need a step-parent for their child, and the couple doesn't get together until the very last second of the movie and even then you don't get to see if they really make it, just that they're going to give it a chance or maybe they'll admit they like each other.

Their movie romances are too slow-paced and they give no pay-off to the audience because the whole movie is spent seeing the chase and angst. When I watch a romance, I want to get to have time to enjoy the couple together, but Hallmark movies never let that happen. It's almost like the script-writers feel guilty to let them like each other because of the dead spouse.

And that's another thing, can't it ever be a divorce? Yes, I know young people get widowed, but in Hallmark-movie land, it happens all the time. And what I don't like about this plot is that it makes it seem like the widow doesn't really truly love the new person (or in this case the old new person), that they're just settling for that person because they can't have who they really want. So it kills the romance.

As soon as I saw he was supposed to be a widower, I said, nope, not that same formula again. I'll be watching The Walking Dead tonight. You could put the last minute of this movie on and you'll see all there is to see, they'll admit they like each other and MAYBE they'll get together. How boring.

You've seen one of these movies, you've seen them all. (Props to the movie Smooch for actually giving us a real happy ending and a payoff for the couple at the end)

[–] ZGlass 10 years ago

I feel like Hallmark movies can tend to have religious undertones so it'a not surprising they always go the dead spouse route. What I want to know is why they cast the lead role so old, Shannon seems way to old to be playing a pop star.

[–] rikajessie 10 years ago

I definitely think that has something to do with it, I've been told Hallmark donates money to conservative causes. I don't care about that, but, I find their romances totally unromantic and what's supposed to be uplifting, just the opposite. It's actually depressing. In addition to it being depressing that a young person died, it's depressing as far as the romance because you know this couple is only getting together because that woman died.

It lacks romance in the sense that you get the impression the widow/er doesn't really love the new person, but just takes them so they won't be lonely, and in the case of when they have children, so they can get help raising the kids. Thus making the new person nothing more than a glorified babysitter. In other words, they are being used. I never get the impression from these scripts that the widower really loves the new girl. And in the case of this story, apparently he dumped her, so if he didn't really like her then, why would he like her now? Very contrived. I think of the preview where she says "I loved you my whole life" and I think, well honey, he didn't love you, lol.

I feel it's also degrading to women. As if a woman should just be so glad to get a man that she should settle for being his booby prize.

With this film, it also looks like another man likes her, so why she should want the widower guy over a man who might actually like her and only her is beyond me. For the kids? I hate when they make it about the kids, and another unrealistic thing about this recycled plot is that very rarely do step-kids just easily accept the new parent.

Another cliche that's in this movie is the over-worked woman. That's another one of Hallmark movies repeated themes.

I watched one recently with Kristy Swanson that was so much more realistic. She was left by her man, he wasn't some angel who happened to die, and his child from a previous relationship had a hard time warming up to her. I wish Hallmark would do more like that instead of the same plot with different actors.

About Shannon, I was shocked she's the age she is. She looks like she's in her twenties!

[–] ldwriter85 10 years ago

I watched this movie earlier tonight. It was ok in my opinion. It does use the "widower/widow" formula but with this movie it was different because Shannon's character had dated the male lead in high school and he let her go to pursue her dreams. I liked those plot aspects. But a lot of the movie was contrived, but the contrivances were done in somewhat believable way.

As for Shannon playing a pop star. Her character is pretty much written as a pop star who is in her 30s and losing some popularity. Shannon is aging well in my opinion. She is 40, but looks to be in her late 20s or early 30s.

[–] rikajessie 10 years ago

Was the lead actor actually able to make it seem like he was truly attracted to Shannon's character? It didn't look like he was going to from the pictures and previews I saw.

That's one of the big problems I have with Hallmark's romance movies, it seems like the man can't even pretend that he likes the lead character. As an actor, that's a huge part of their job.

And thus it always seems like the girl is the booby prize and just being used to fill a void/be an unpaid babysitter.

This movie reminds me so much of Uncorked, which was one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life. The actor didn't make it seem at all like he liked Julie Benz' character, and she was just a fool who had to grovel at his feet and be the one to beg for forgiveness when he was actually the one who gave her the brush off, then, she had to tell him she loved him and he couldn't even squeak out an I love you back!

It just bothers me because there's almost a misogynistic message in these movies. That girls should be so grateful a man likes them that they should be happy to be his consolation prize and reject their career and another man who loves them and only them, in order to bow down to the lead male character. What an unhealthy message that Hallmark is putting out.

They need to hire better actors/writers/directors for their movies so they can get out of that slump and live up to a better standard.

[–] ldwriter85 10 years ago

They need to hire better actors/writers/directors for their movies so they can get out of that slump and live up to a better standard.

With Hallmark Channel, there have been only a few really good movies they have made. The Reading Room, Our House, and The Christmas Choir have been the only movies that I have rewatched several times. All of those movies were non-romantic for the most part, but the writing was better than the romantic type Hallmark channel movies.

I have noticed that Lifetime movies tend to be a tad better than Hallmark Channel movies. But Lifetime has a bigger budget for better actors and writers.

[–] rikajessie 10 years ago

I have never seen those Hallmark movies, I'll have to check them out.

I feel like I could write a better story than these repeated Hallmark romance movies. This movie's premise sounded like a dusted off version of their 2009 movie Uncorked, which was terrible. I just hope the lead actor did a better job of showing attraction to the lead female than Uncorked's actor did (don't know if that was the fault of the actor, director or script), because otherwise it's making it look like the girl is a fool.

I agree Lifetime's films are better. I feel like Hallmark could do a better job than they're doing though if they'd just branch out more in the writing. Put some variety into the plots, some more action.

[–] clacton0 10 years ago

Just seen this in UK to also called Catch A Christmas Star its showing on the Christmas 24 channel and was an all right film.

I gave it a 5 out of 10

www.youtube.com/eastangliauk