Dec 19

Dec 19 A Bride For Christmas

After three failed attempts to make it down the aisle, Jessie is ready to swear off weddings...and love. Aiden is afraid of commitment, too – only thinking about marriage when he makes a silly bet with his friends. Can a little Christmas spirit bring these hardened hearts together?

Bride For Christmas.jpg — Christmas clichés:

PR / Event Planner / Decorator
They Play Piano!
Public Domain Xmas Music
Charity Work
Ends w/ Kiss or Ring

Our Thoughts

Very few Christmas movies could stand up to traditional rom-coms. They’re either more focused on a character’s holiday redemption or don’t give main characters enough screen time for their love to actually blossom.

But if “Runaway Bride” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” joined forces to create a Christmas movie, you’d get this Hallmark classic, one of our household staples.

Interior Decorator Jessie Patterston (Arielle Kebbel, who commands your attention whenever she’s on screen) breaks off her third engagement and decides to swear off men. Cut to the beautiful playboy Aiden MacTiernan, who never turns down a bet – his friends think he can’t get a woman to marry him by Christmas, only 4 weeks away.

When Aiden picks Jessie to win his bet, and thus asks her to decorate his apartment so he can win her over, the rest is rom-com history.

We always argue whether this movie meets our Christmas threshold. The main characters don’t hit many cliché boxes, but the charismatic supporting cast does – the lovelorn but optimistic sister is a Career-Driven Woman and Jessie’s dumped fiancé could be a Small-Town Guy Who Works w/ Hands. (Your call if you count them as squares in Christmas Movie Bingo.)

The Christmas storyline is also a bit thin. The characters love scary movies; the family scenes are more are about Jessie’s lack of romantic commitment than they are about togetherness; and there’s not a sleigh, reindeer, or jovial white-bearded man in site. But once the Charity Work at the local dog shelter starts on screen, you’ll warm to the plotline and get sucked in to the buildup to the 25th.

If you hate rom-coms or aren’t a dog person, this one isn’t for you. But if you want quality acting with a focused plot, you’ll appreciate how “A Bride for Christmas” includes the less obvious elements of the holiday season.

Rob's Final Take: Merry
A Christmas movie in title (and simple plot device) only. But the couple’s chemistry is good enough to keep it off the Not Very Merry list.

Jess's Final Take: Very Merry
While I could use a dash more seasonality, PUPPIES!! Plus the acting caliber of our leads makes their love seem genuine. I cry at the end every time.