Breaking the Ice
As a child Emma (Taylor Cole - Christmas in Homestead) loved Christmas, in the town of Westford where she grew up, thanks to the Christmas festival and the annual ice-sculpting competition she would take part in with her father. But this year things are different as the ice-sculpting competition has been cancelled due to budget issues. Determined to bring it back Emma uses her skills and contacts as a lawyer to enlist not only sponsors but finds competitors as well. And it is Nick (Joey Belfiore), a talented ice sculptor, who Emma wants to be her team-mate in the competition who after some reluctance agrees to join her. As they spend time together Emma starts to realise that there is more to life than work whilst Nick, having become jaded since his last girlfriend left him at Christmas, begins to give love another try.
"Christmas Festival of Ice" is the greatest Christmas movie you will ever watch - that would most definitely be a whopping lie but it is certainly a typical Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. As such what you get is this easy to watch romantic drama as the career focused Emma, in trying to preserve a Christmas tradition in her home town, finds herself falling for the laid back Nick who she comes across selling Christmas trees in a parking lot. As such what you get in this predictable romantic storyline is the charm of two people falling in love at Christmas and dealing nervously with matters of their heart and career as they team up for an ice sculpting competition.
But look; I could attempt to make "Christmas Festival of Ice" sound more than it is but anyone who knows their Hallmark Christmas movies will know that the majority of them are little more than wintry feel good movies which play on a look. As such "Christmas Festival of Ice" delivers exactly that with snow strewn streets, garland wrapped columns, beautifully decorated Christmas trees and people wrapped up in puffy Christmas jackets and wearing warm scarves. It simply delivers the Hallmark vision of Christmas and yes that is exactly what audiences who intentionally watch these movies watch for.
What this all boils down to is that "Christmas Festival of Ice" is your standard Hallmark Christmas movie with an obvious romantic storyline, an appealing cast as well as that Hallmark Christmas movie look and as such it is a pleasant little Christmas movie to watch in the lead up to the big day.
Tags: TV Christmas Movies, Christmas Movies
