The Flight Before Christmas (2015)

Run of the mill romance story, with an ending you can predict from the start, albeit it didn't always take the obvious route.The characters were all ok and likeable. The story just flagged after a while and did not have enough to more than around 45 minutes.

The Hallmark and Lifetime formula seems to be predicated on giving actors wooden lines to say, so they will say them woodenly. Of course we are told how to feel about each scene by the melodramatic music; I suppose this makes the script and the acting less important.Mayim Bialik seems a strange choice for the female romantic lead, given her homespun look, which clashes terribly with Ryan McPartlin's hard-body physique. From the beginning it seems like a serious mismatch, rendering the story rather hard to believe. It doesn't help any that neither of them are particularly good at their craft. If formulaic, improbable romance is what you are after, then this one is a veritable motherlode.But if you are looking for a well-formed film with a reasonably convincing plot, something that will not make you cringe regularly, The Flight Before Christmas is not it.

If not for my admiration of Mayim Bialik, I never would have watched this Lifetime movie but watch it I did and suffer I did. Formulaic movies don't have to be horrible but this one sure was. There may have been powdery snow in the picturesque Montana locale but it smelled like a combination of skunk and cabbage on a hot summer night. I don't blame the actors - they did a nice enough job and it actually started off well but by the time our two leads were forced off their plane due to inclement weather, the plot and dialogue skidded off the runway. It's nice to see Mayim playing someone other than Amy from Big Bang Theory and I'm sure casting her brought over BBT's huge fan base to their first ever Lifetime movie but it would have been nice if she had something meatier to work with. Watch this if you're a Mayim Bialik fan or want to see a shirtless Ryan McPartland.

Delightful romantic Christmas movie with Mayim Bialik and Ryan McPartlin making the most of a formulaic plot. The story here has Mayim's character dumped by her boyfriend right before she's supposed to move in with him, while Ryan is about to propose to his girlfriend for all the wrong reasons. Fate (in the form of a vaguely Santa-esque Brian Doyle Murray) brings the two together as they try to make it to their respective destinations for Christmas. Familiar TV movie tropes follow: winter weather grounds all flights, couple is forced to share a room, couple gets advice from older married couple that has been together for centuries, and so on. As I said, it's pretty formulaic in most respects but what makes it work so well is the chemistry and likability of the leads. Yes, that's right, Blossom and Captain Awesome actually have great chemistry. Who knew? Major points for whoever cast Mayim Bialik in the lead. She doesn't look or act like the female leads in these things usually look and act. I'm not someone who typically cries foul about diversity in TV and movies but I will admit it's nice to see a leading lady who isn't your standard size four perky WASP. Ryan, yes, is a little more of the norm for these things (though he does an exceptionally good job being more than just the 'hunky prize'). The highlight of the movie for many will be the reunion of Reginald VelJohnson and Jo Marie Payton, the loving parents from Family Matters. They play the older couple that I mentioned before and steal every scene they're in. If there's no other reason you might check this out, you should for them. Children of the '90s get their nostalgia's worth in this one, with Blossom and the Winslows representing well.If you enjoy made-for-TV Christmas movies, I see no reason you won't like this one. It's got heart and humor and (surprisingly) well-written characters. That it was made for Lifetime and not the king of Christmas movies, Hallmark, is all the more impressive. Glad to see Lifetime can make more than misandric thrillers and cheesy soaps.