Rings a Bell or Two
With Christmas just two week away the local council have discovered they have enough money to stage the Christmas Parade, something they haven't been able to afford for many a year. Single mum, Laurel Bishop (Erin Cahill - Last Vermont Christmas) finds herself being put in charge of a seeming impossible mission to organise the parade for this year. Driving home with her daughter, Scarlett (Dakota Guppy), they pass a house they have never noticed before with an old sleigh out front owned by the bearded Mr. Winters (Donovan Scott - Matchmaker Santa). With the sleigh needing some fixing up Laurel tries to find someone to repair it but it seems the sleigh has a mind of its own, constantly leading her to Alex McCord (David Alpay - Ice Sculpture Christmas), her former boyfriend who when he received a decent job offer it led to their college relationship coming to an abrupt end. Whilst still hurt all these years later Laurel allows Alex to fix it and in doing so they become close again. Trouble is that after Christmas Alex is suppose to be leaving for a big promotion in the city which he knows will cause Laurel and Scarlett a lot of hurt.
In a way I have given you too much plot for a review of "Sleigh Bells Ring" but with this being one of the most cliche Hallmark Christmas movies I have watched this year I don't feel bad about it. Did I hear you ask how cliche? Well we have a single mum with a young daughter who both love Christmas, we also have a town where old shops are part of the make up and would lose something if they closed. On top of that we have former high school sweethearts who parted company when one person's career became important. And just for an extra bonus we have the mysterious Mr. Winters, the jolly old man with a white beard and a sleigh on his front lawn. As such "Sleigh Bells Ring" is in truth a by the number Hallmark Christmas movie but still plenty entertaining for those who enjoy Hallmark Christmas movies.
What that means is that we get the combination of Erin Cahill and David Alpay bringing plenty of humour and pleasantness as their romance rekindles whilst fixing up the old sleigh. We also get streets, homes and shops with the sort of Christmas decorations which not only must cost a small fortune but need a team of designers behind them to make sure they look absolutely perfect. And then there is the third thing which is the constant soundtrack featuring various Christmas songs playing along in the background to almost every scenes.
What this all boils down to is that "Sleigh Bells Ring" is some extremely typical Hallmark Christmas romantic fun with just a touch of Christmassy magic and mystery to the storyline for good measure. Truthfully it doesn't break new ground when it comes to the story but it delivers the pleasant seasonal entertainment you expect from a Hallmark Christmas movie.
Tags: TV Christmas Movies, Christmas Movies