The Nine Lives of Christmas (2014)

This was a cute Christmas romance, better than a lot I have seen. Brandon Routh takes the lead here as a confirmed bachelor/firefighter and does a great job -definitely one of the reasons to take the time to watch this.The story is based on a book by Sheila Roberts and follows "Zachary" as he adopts a stray cat, which leads a pretty veterinary student to enter his life and alter his feelings about remaining single. In the book version the cat has a voice and is the star of the story bringing Zach and Merilee together and providing much comedy along the way. I wish they'd included this aspect in the movie, a missed opportunity.There is a cheese here, with Routh posing for a calendar and some terrible (silly) banter with a couple of fellow firefighters in the house. I did enjoy Gregory Harrison as the chief. The romance is fine and unfolds as expected, with a nice feel good ending.This was filmed in Langley B.C (Canada)as somewhere USA and is another one of those Christmas movies shot early or late summer with lots of green grass, sunshiny bright days and leaves on the trees. -Just a personal gripe

Has all the obvious cliché bits of a Christmas romance movie but it's not bad. The main character is really natural and endearing to make it pleasant to watch, although the guy is a mannequin with a weird personality. There's a lot of parts where both characters exposition dump or explain their inner thoughts by talking to cats in full sentences, but it's just cringy enough to be funny.The best part though is the band of super wholesome fire fighters who give each other relationship advice and really love cats. This guy couldn't have a more supportive workplace. We should all learn from this wise fire chief.

The movie is decent for what it is. What it's not is a Christmas movie. It's another of Hallmark's made for TV romantic comedies shoehorned into Christmas. Hallmark has a lot of these. They take place at Christmas, or there's some kind of Christmas party some time in the movie. But otherwise it's bereft of Christmas.This is one of Hallmark's cut rate Christmas specials.As a Christmas movie this is 0 star. It has nothing to do with Christmas.As a romantic comedy it's 4 stars - below average with uninteresting characters in uninteresting relationships.That averages to 2 stars.Have a merry cut rate Christmas And in case you didn't hear Oh by golly have a jolly cut rate Christmas This year

He's a hunky fireman -- Brandon Routh, who recently played Superman -- who's going to be the cover on the calendar, with a girlfriend who's a model. Kimberly Sustad's holding down a full-time job in a pet store and studying to be a veterinarian -- she keeps falling asleep in class, only to give the complete answers in her sleep. It's obvious to even the most casual viewer what's going to happen.However, that's rarely a problem in a romantic comedy. It's always apparent from the beginning that the two leads are going to wind up together. What can be interesting is the way they get there. Here the connection is a ginger tabby that he rescues. Thereafter circumstances keep throwing them together, as do their friends, with all the subtlety of jackhammers -- the leads never notice.The movie is chock full of extraneous characters who show up for a scene or two to motivate the action and then vanish -- presumably they are fitted in better in the book this is based on. The Christmas aspect of the movie is incidental.However the leads perform their roles with a great deal of anxious charm, and the cat they got for the ginger tabby is a charming clown. More than good enough.