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Christmas Harmony
USA 2018
produced by Nanea Miyata, Claudia Schwartz for June Street Studios
directed by Nanea Miyata
starring Kelley Jakle, Adam Mayfield, Peter Porte, Aden Schwartz, Stephen Howard, Sally Struthers, Lee Garlington, Chandra Wilson, Tiffany Smith, Karenssa LeGear, Gina Hiraizumi, Jessica Obilom, Gregory A. Thompson, Reesa Ishiyama, Shirley Dalmas, Macy Friday, Sean Watkins, Pip Arnold, Molly Joseph, Michael Blake Kruse, Kelii Miyata, Justin Jones, Carolyn Whitlow, Bianca Gisselle, Aleya James
written by Nanea Miyata, music by Matthew Atticus Berger, songs by Nanea Miyata, Justin Jones, additional lyrics by Richard Rudolph
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Singer Devin (Peter Porte) and songwriter Harmony (Kelley Jakle) are a
dream couple, as he's a gifted performer and she has the skill to tailor
songs for him - and that they're romantically involved just makes this all
the greater of the story. But then, shortly before Christmas, he breaks up
with her, basically because she tries to get a little more control over
essentially her songs than he's willing to grant - and suddenly she finds
herself with a broken heart and nowhere to go for Christmas. So she
decides to ditch LA and pay her estranged father (Stephen Howard) a
surprise visit - which means returning to the snowy small town she has
grown up in and always strived to escape. But 15 miles out of town her car
breaks down, and she can count herself lucky to be picked up by handsome
local Luke (Adam Mayfield) and his 12 year old foster son Weston (Aden
Schwartz). And she can't deny she feels a bit attracted to him, especially
after she finds out that he, like her, is a singer/songwriter if, again
like her, not so much a performer. And then, out of the blue the two are
made musical directors of the local Christmas show by its organizer
Shirley (Sally Struthers), and they get really close doing this, also
egged on by Weston. And it seems Harmony has found happiness in the place
she once left to get her life truly started. Things couldn't go better -
unti Devin knocks on her door to tell her he wants her back, and he even
has an egagement ring in tow ... Now I have to admit, on a very
personal note I'm not at all into Christmas songs - to put it mildly -,
and there are quite a few in this film which made it slight torture - even
if I have to admit the singers all had good voices at least. But all my
personal feelings towards a certain music aside, this isn't at all a bad
movie, a nicely structured romantic dramedy with some relatable characters
going through some relatable issues, and not leaning too hard into the
Christmas spirit to find a solution, with its musical theme (my feelings
about the genre aside now) nicely woven into the plot, with a
down-to-earth ensemble carrying the thing rather beautifully. Of course it
helps being into Christmas music and Christmas movies when it comes to how
enjoyable it is for one individually, but objectively the film has lots
going for it.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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