Enchanted Christmas (2017) Movie Review

Enchanted Christmas (2017)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Alexa PenaVega in Enchanted Christmas (2017)

It's a Hallmark Family Affair

Laura Trudeau (Alexa PenaVega - Destination Wedding) left Utah and with it her father, an old sweetheart and her passion for dance, instead focusing on being a mum to her young daughter and her career in managing renovations. It is her job which sees her returning home a few weeks before Christmas as she is needed for a rush job to renovate the now derelict enchanted lodge. Whilst things are a little tense between Laura and her father, Manuel (Rene Rivera), she is shocked to learn that Ricardo Archuleta (Carlos PenaVega), the guy who broke her heart when he left to become a professional dancer, is back in town and in charge of the choreography for the annual Christmas Eve benefit. When Ricardo's dance partner walks out as she has a big audition in London, England Laura finds herself persuaded to stand in. It leads to her not only rediscovering her passion for dance but also her feelings for Ricardo. It leaves her feeling conflicted when it comes to her career, especially as her daughter loves being with grandpa.

A career woman returns to where she grew up and finds herself not only rediscovering her passion and aspirations, which she left behind in favour of a career and being a grown up, but finds herself falling for a former sweetheart who broke her heart many years ago. That is a one line story idea which fans of Hallmark movies will be very familiar with and it is the one which is used in "Enchanted Christmas", a Hallmark Christmas movie. As such what you get in "Enchanted Christmas" is what fans will expect which first will be the issues between the former sweethearts before the frost between them thaws and of course are young woman, Laura, finds herself torn between her head and her heart as she reconnects with the person she once was. I could go on about the story in "Enchanted Christmas" but in truth there is little which isn't built around the usual formula, including a city boyfriend of sorts.

Carlos PenaVega in Enchanted Christmas (2017)

But "Enchanted Christmas" does have two things going for it with one of them being the husband and wife team of Carlos and Alexa PenaVega as Laura and Ricardo, the former sweethearts, who discover they still have feelings for each other. In truth there are times they seem a little awkward around each other, especially during those early frosty scenes, but they certainly do end up becoming more relaxed the longer the movie goes on and they get some dancing scenes. The other is the fantastic location they picked to film this movie in as not only is the town typically beautiful but the enchanted lodge is like the dream Hallmark movie location which has a touch of Christmas magic about it.

What this all boils down to is that "Enchanted Christmas" is another good Hallmark Christmas movie which re-uses their typical formula and does a nice job of making it a fun and pleasant Christmas movie. But despite it featuring the husband and wife team of Carlos and Alexa PenaVega it doesn't have that something extra to make it stand out from the crowd.

Tags: TV Christmas Movies, Christmas Movies


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