Just in Time for Christmas (2015)

During the Christmas season (and now in mid-summer), Hallmark puts on the Christmas movies where everything always turns out great in the end, and all of the people are usually very nice (oh, they might have a character with a mean streak...who reforms, of course). I actually did like this one. Corny...somewhat. But, not a bad story. And, a couple of good character actors appear: Christopher Lloyd and William Shatner.

Just in Time for Christmas tells the tale of a young psychology professor that gets offered the job of her dreams across the country and proposed to on the same Christmas Eve. What to do? What to do?A gentleman appears driving a horse carriage and suddenly she is transported three years into the future to see what her life has become.The cast is mostly unknowns except for brief amusing cameos by Christopher Lloyd & William Shatner.There are far better Christmas movies out there. Watch one of them.

Christopher Lloyd says "Maybe it's time travel". For me that was the funniest part of the movie, and maybe the only funny part.For most of the movie there are none of the warm, or nostalgic, or ah moments. I'd hope for more from a Hallmark movie, but especially if it is a Christmas Hallmark movie. Actually, except for the so-called sleigh ride, this movie could easily not be a Christmas movie.One thing I hate about movies where the protagonist suddenly has a life with a whole new history, and no memory of it, is that she is expected to know all that missing history, which of course is ridiculous. I suppose it is meant to be funny, but it doesn't work for me. This movie managed to get past most of that when she quickly gets to her grandfather who fills in most of the missing pieces. But then there has to be a scene with a recent former student who asks her to quote something from the missing past. It wasn't funny; it was painful. And it wasn't necessary.The reunion and rehashing moments with Jason and Lindsay were painful as well. Lindsay nearly destroys Jason's new life.I will admit that the possibly predictable "Stop the wedding" doesn't happen. Resolution comes in a different way, which is alternatively predictable. She should have known what getting out of the carriage would mean.So we have our happy ending and we get some of those warm moments that the rest of the movie lacked.A little BTW, don't writers of these things understand time zones. Her mother calls from Stockholm while she's at an evening party in Connecticut. That means it is wee hours in Sweden. Another BTW, don't underestimate how big a deal a professorship at Yale is. That is really the Big Show in Lindsay's world.I am sure this was a good movie. The actors were convincing. Despite the pain, or maybe because of it, I identified with the characters. I just didn't enjoy it despite the ending.

Loved this movie. The characters are sweet and charming. Truthful and loving without being sugary. Acting is excellent and as someone who loves any movie with a time travel component and Christmas movies in general, I found this to be the best of both worlds. You just can't help but love Eloise Mumford from the moment she steps on screen. Her smile and gentleness are completely captivating. Michael Stahl-David is a wonderful sweet and funny leading man, and Christopher Lloyd is the perfect companion for the journey, I also love the Back to the Future trilogy and the reference although subtle is not lost. Enjoy this feel good story about finding what is really important