Jen Lilley is a bit hit and miss for me and it is always dependent on how her characters are written, there are times where she is sincere and charming but when she has a character with over-emphasised negative character traits she tends to overdo it. Kevin McGarry is a good deal more consistent, he has been in his fair share of less than average films but he has always been an amiable actor and a saving grace in a vast majority of the average or less films he's in.
'Winter Love Story' is neither among Hallmark's best or worst. Instead the low in between category, leaning closer towards being a lesser film of theirs. There are a few good things that can be found often in Hallmark's work, but there are also most of the usual flaws. McGarry comes over well and is definitely one of the better aspects of what is a pretty mediocre film, Lilley doesn't for reasons fairly similar to her performance in 'Snowkissed' and neither does their chemistry.
Shall begin with the good things. Two things particularly stand out. One is the scenery, which is beautiful to look at and has a lovely festive atmosphere to it. All captured on film with a lot of love. The other standout is the performance of McGarry, his character is actually likeable and while he is cliched too it's not a dull or one-dimensional one. McGarry is a very charming presence too.
The supporting cast are also game. The music has pleasant moments and doesn't annoy or is as intrusive as the music in most Hallmark Christmas, and overall, films.
Unfortunately, 'Winter Love Story' has a lot of drawbacks. Really disliked the female lead character, characters shouldn't be too perfect but if they are characters one is supposed to root for exaggerating their negative traits to an over the top degree that it becomes impossible to see their appeal is not going to do it. She just came over as too unpleasantly petulant and Lilley overdoes it throughout and plays her too neurotically, especially with the insecurity. Instead of allowing her to have a character growth, this is a character that gets worse as the film goes on and at her worst in the final 15 minutes. Which agreed was the worst part of 'Winter Love Story' story-wise, very over-heated dramatically and contrived as well as rushed. How it all ends isn't a surprise but considering one character's behaviour in this portion it comes over as a pretty unrealistic outcome.
Lilley and McGarry also have very little if any chemistry together and actually felt mismatched, it doesn't blossom or glow and it is too distant and lacking in emotion. The relationship doesn't develop really either, not really going anywhere and any crucial decisions are almost out of left-field-like. McGarry's character later on does frustrate a little in how he inexplicably still sees something in her despite how she acts. The story is very thin and predictable, really struggling to sustain material for feature length meaning that the pace really drags. The conflict is bland at best and there is not much of it anyway, while the dialogue is cheese and schmaltz personified wrapped around awkwardly. The direction is indifferent.
In summary, mediocre. 4/10.
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