Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

The movie's only flaw is also a virtue: It's jammed with characters, stories, warmth and laughs.

I love Alicia Witt and look forward to her Christmas movies every year. This year is a big letdown. David Alpay is a good leading man but they have no chemistry and a dire script to work with. Here's hoping next year we get something close to the perfection A Very Merry Mix Up was.

The plot and characters are unremarkable because it's a Hallmark Christmas movie. Cozy small town girl with a Dad-confidant is wowed by something. All that's needed is the reconciliation with an old high school boyfriend. Enough said. This time, it's Alicia Witt chewing the scenery. I lost count of the number of times she said "WOW"! Regardless of the role, Ms Witt delivers every performance exactly the same, and this is no different. She talks with the corners of her mouth pinched together and the rest of her mouth squeaks out the words in that oh-so- cutesy way that she does in all her movies. Maybe if the role had gone to someone else, that 3 rating would have been higher, but I simply can't get past Witt and her charmless delivery.

I do love Alicia. She was my very favourite part of 'Cybill'. Continuity people need to be strung up from their toenails! Is it really that hard to figure out if the purse is in the shot? (snowball fight scene) Where did her suitcase go? Why is there a 'Birks' in NY??? Come on people - sharpen up! If I can 'proof read' from home, send me a msg!

Personally, I find Hallmark's movies just the right start to bringing in the Christmas Season. Sometimes they have an edge, but mostly they are good stories well told and acted. Schsmaltzey, a little too sweet, perhaps, but that's what makes them endearing and what I think gives the actors some latitude in their characterizations. While some have characterized Alicia Witt's acting in this movie as a step above her earlier roles, I find it fitting for the role. As I do her earlier work. This isn't Shakespeare, it's a series of feel good movies that stand or fall on the actor's ability to create relatable characters. I think she and her fellow Hallmark studio actors, deliver on those points almost every time. It's what keeps me coming back anyway. What is driving me crazy this year though is the set design/special effects. This movie is an unfortunate example of a trend where things like snow is nothing more than blobs of suds, when it snows, the sun is always out and shining brightly, it's as if Hallmark just gave up trying. The actors are doing their part to make these stories real. The production department could at least back them up with realistic props and effects. Bad effects can kill a story just as easily as bad acting.