I found this holiday film to be a good kickoff film for my holiday film marathon and it’s a film I do recommend to those who love the holidays, especially the holiday Lifetime telefilms! Delightfully charming, entertaining and a holiday pleaser! “A Christmas Exchange” is recommended!
PURCHASE THIS FILM ON AMAZON PRIME
TITLE: A Christmas Exchange
FILM YEAR: 2020
DURATION: 88 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition
COMPANY: Lifetime Television
RATED: TV-PG
RELEASE DATE: 2020
Base don the novel by Barbara Hannay
Directed by Justin G. Dyck
Written by Neal Kimmel
Executive Producer: Beth Stevenson, Nancy Yeaman, Stan Hum
Produced by Rebecca Lamarche
Associate Producer: Patrick Dzal
Music by Meiro Stamm
Cinematography by Jeff Maher
Edited by Elizabeth Stadtlander
Casting by Rebecca Lamarche
Set Decoration by Katie Jones
Costume Design by Kenda Hoggan
Starring:
Laura Vandervoort as Molly Cooper
Rainbow Sun Francks as Patrick Kensington
Nigel Bennett as Garrett/Bartender
Martin Roach as Jim
Rachael Crawford as Jules Blossoms
Conrad Coates as Robert
Yanic Truesdale as Andy
Kathryn Davis as Kate
The holiday season has started, and Molly is looking for joy. Finally living her childhood dream, Molly swaps her farmhouse for London Financier Patrick Kingston’s posh apartment.
Today marks the first day of my Christmas holiday film marathon. And for day one, I wanted to check out the Lifetime 2020 Christmas film “A Christmas Exchange”.
For me, this was rather fascinating because we have two well-known talents known for their sci-fi work.
Actress Laura Vandervoort, known for her role as Kara/Supergirl on “Smallville”, Elena Michaels on “Bitten” and Lisa from the “V” remake. While Rainbow Sun Francks is known as Lt. Aiden Ford on “Stargate: Atlantis” and Dev Clark on “The Listener”. And for “Gilmore Girls” fans, Yanic Truesdale who played Michel Gerard also stars in the film. Along with Martin Roach, Nigel Bennett, Kathryn Davis and Rachael Crawford.
So, the film revolves around Molly Cooper (portrayed by Laura Vandervoort), a hopeless romantic from Connecticut who has not found love, finds out that her job at the newspaper is done as the newspaper is closing down and so, she needs an escape and thanks to cajoling of her good friend Andy (portrayed by Yanic Truesdale), she decides to go to London and hopefully find true love.
Cooper, has always been smitten by a British romance film based on the books by Jules Blossoms (portrayed by Rachael Crawford) and now, she has the opportunity to trade flats for a few months with Patrick Kensington (portrayed by Rainbow Sun Francks).
Patrick is a successful financier who is always busy working and never having the time to find love and do the things he has always wanted to do.
Tired of the routine, he tells his assistant Kate (portrayed by Kathryn Davis) that he will pick a spot on his globe that he will go to and focus on writing a book. He ends up putting his finger on Connecticut and sure enough, through a travel app, he will be staying at Molly Cooper’s home, while she stays at his lavish home during the holidays.
And what was to be a trip about two people trying to accomplish a goal in a new location, they find themselves texting and communicating with each other on places to visit and places to go.
And in someway, by communicating with each other and getting to know each other, could it be that these two individuals who have never met but are staying at each other’s home thousands of miles away, may be a perfect match?
For the most part, “A Christmas Exchange” is a film that I will review as a holiday film.
For one, these films do have a banality but that’s what people want to watch these holiday films is for its magic, its happy endings and sure, there are going to be moments of cheesiness, there is going to be predictable scenes but it’s a banality that people want to see in a holiday telefilm.
Otherwise, if these telefilms drew the kind of holiday dramas from Japan and Korea, one would get heartbreak or something of a horror film. Western audiences have been treated with happy ending holiday telefilms and personally, that’s what makes me drawn to these films. The feeling of the holiday season, the magic, the hope, the drama but of course, the happy ending.
Cliche it may be for a few, for those who don’t like banality, then avoid these holiday films. But for those who continue to watch for the holiday vibe, then “A Christmas Exchange” is a holiday film worth checking out!
Aside from the cheesy green screen effect towards the end of the film, what I do like is the feeling of the holidays. The feeling of finding romance through digital communication.
I, for one, knows from personal experience in the past, that it’s possible. So, not for once did I doubt the film. Granted, these two individuals live in very nice homes but there is something about a nice home with Christmas decoration that I adore.
The characters are quite likable and I enjoyed the chemistry between Vanderhoort and Francks. Beyond the science fiction films or TV series that these two are known for, I absolutely love watching these two together and the challenges they have once they arrive in each other’s country.
I also enjoy the casting which may be to a few’s chagrin of traditionalists, but I give Lifetime a thumbs-up for showcasing an interracial relationship and the film also showcases Molly’s friends being a gay couple and allowing these two characters to have an important part in the film, not to be a token character for political correctness. So, kudos to the writers for giving the characters of Andy and Jim more dialogue/screentime.
If anything, I found this holiday film to be a good kickoff film for my holiday film marathon and it’s a film I do recommend to those who love the holidays, especially the holiday Lifetime telefilms!
Delightfully charming, entertaining and a holiday pleaser! “A Christmas Exchange” is recommended!
PURCHASE THIS FILM ON AMAZON PRIME
