A Song For Christmas (2017)

Becca Tobin plays Adelaide Kay, a country singer who is on the verge of hitting the level of superstar. All she has to do is play along with the narrative created by her manager, which is dragging her away from her earnest roots to become a performer of songs written by other people. She has a major concert coming up, the biggest of her career so far, but ends up waylaid at a small farm instead, as you do, with the handsome Dillon (Kevin McGarry) and his family. Which may just remind her of everything that she needs reminded of, and just in time for Christmas too. Oh, and did I mention that she is trying to keep her real identity under wraps?

Directed by R. C. Newey (someone so new to the game, apparently, that I had to add their name to the credits listing on IMDb) and written by Betsy Morris and Joie Botkin, A Song For Christmas is one of the multitude of Hallmark movies that we are now treated to every single year. On the downside, these things can often feel like products wrapped in tinsel and then dropped off the end of a conveyor belt. On the plus side, it's hard to deny that these people know exactly what they are doing when it comes to this type of holiday fare. Some are still better than others, of course, but most of them are created as the perfect type of thing to have on while you write out your Christmas cards and wrap lots of presents.

As is often the case, the success or failure of this kind of thing rests on the likeability of the leads. Tobin is quite likeable, thankfully, and that helps, even in the moments when she has to be overly earnest (which happens a lot in these films). McGarry is a bit stiffer, but that is his character. The film isn't really about him. He is just one piece used to help Tobin complete her Christmas journey. The other main piece is Hailey (Kendra Leigh Timmins), the younger sister of Dillon, and the one who takes immediately to Adelaide.

It's all predictable, it's all quite ridiculous, and it's just the right level of simple entertainment that clogs up the TV channels while meals are being cooked and alcoholic beverages are being knocked back. And, most importantly, it doesn't have anyone in it who ends up being too annoying.

5/10

Here is a large selection of Christmas movies to enjoy.
And American elves can pick the same set up here.