"Christmas Love Letter" is a 2019 Hallmark Holiday film featuring Ashley Newbrough and Tlky Jones as high school friends who reconnect later in life. Jones has a daughter who has helped him invent a therapeutic robot puppy named Holly. I can say with a high degree of certainty that I have never seen a Christmas movie featuring a robot dog. The dog is really cute and lifelike. If you have seen "Master of None" featuring the real-life robot seal PARO, Holly functions similarly. Too bad the rest of the movie isn't that interesting.
The actual movie is nothing impressive. Newbrough is unappealing here. She's attractive but her character is arrogant and off-putting. A random love letter arrives at her employer's office so she leaves work to find out who wrote it. She flippantly disregards her editor who asks when she will finish her Christmas article and casually interrupts an ex during a volunteer chess game he is playing with a troubled teenager. She even aggressively flirts with said ex! How are we supposed to root for someone like her? Why would anyone want to be with someone like her? Yes, she is attractive but we need something more for a film to work.
The boyfriends or their significant others are portrayed as buffoons or jerks. Not good movie jerks, mind you. The kind of jerk who lies about writing a romantic letter to an ex just to get back with her and lie to cover it up. One boyfriend has a laugh that is intentionally annoying while he laughs at his own jokes. It's unbearable.
At least Jones has an alright character. I enjoyed watching him work on Holly and interact with his daughter. Other reviewers have criticized her as annoying or bratty. I think she is clever but not too clever. She loves her father and wants him to be happy. I choose to believe that a child would want her father to be with an undesirable girlfriend just because he likes her. If she were older, she would see that Newbrough's character is lacking in many ways. Newbrough was in two bad films this year. At least this one is better than "A Merry Christmas Match." I'll try "Small Town Christmas" to see if she is better there.
The actual movie is nothing impressive. Newbrough is unappealing here. She's attractive but her character is arrogant and off-putting. A random love letter arrives at her employer's office so she leaves work to find out who wrote it. She flippantly disregards her editor who asks when she will finish her Christmas article and casually interrupts an ex during a volunteer chess game he is playing with a troubled teenager. She even aggressively flirts with said ex! How are we supposed to root for someone like her? Why would anyone want to be with someone like her? Yes, she is attractive but we need something more for a film to work.
The boyfriends or their significant others are portrayed as buffoons or jerks. Not good movie jerks, mind you. The kind of jerk who lies about writing a romantic letter to an ex just to get back with her and lie to cover it up. One boyfriend has a laugh that is intentionally annoying while he laughs at his own jokes. It's unbearable.
At least Jones has an alright character. I enjoyed watching him work on Holly and interact with his daughter. Other reviewers have criticized her as annoying or bratty. I think she is clever but not too clever. She loves her father and wants him to be happy. I choose to believe that a child would want her father to be with an undesirable girlfriend just because he likes her. If she were older, she would see that Newbrough's character is lacking in many ways. Newbrough was in two bad films this year. At least this one is better than "A Merry Christmas Match." I'll try "Small Town Christmas" to see if she is better there.