Christmas Unwrapped

Ah yes, Christmas time. The one time of the year i can do my favourite hobby, and that is make Christmas candy naked. So why naked while making Christmas candy?  It is very simple, i follow the traditions of Denmark. You see, in Denmark they say that unless you are naked making Christmas candy ( only adults of course ), you never know what extra ingredients you might find. So, when i found out that this is an old Danish tradition i knew i love Denmark instantly. Well, there are other good things about Denmark as well of course, they have nudists there, good beer, and.......im sure i can think of more things, just give me a few minutes.

Christmas in general is that time of the year when we can gather family, tell everyone how much we hate each other and have fist fights, just like the good old days of Scandinavian celebrations. I have no problem with Christmas, as long as i don´t need to walk a long time in the snow. Just give me some alcohol and i love Christmas ( don´t tell my cousins anything else, or they might be pissed off ). Christmas songs, food, decorations, and of course Christmas movies, it is all part of the most wonderful time of the year. Speaking of Christmas films, i am sure that a lot of you have some favourites to choose between. I know a couple of ones that i enjoy, and especially one film from 2012 known as Silent Night from director Stevem C. Miller. This is a loose remake of the 1984 cult classic Silent Night, Deadly Night. One of the reasons why i enjoy Silent Night is because this is such a brutal horror film. How often do you see Santa Clause go around killing people with different weapons, including a flame thrower ? This film also have a wonderful cast included with legendary actor Malcolm McDowell, actress Jamie King, and of course Donal Logue ( who most of you remember from the 90´s classic Blade ). So if you want to get into the right Christmas spirit, pick up Silent Night on DVD. Since i realised that Christmas is only a couple of weeks away, i decided to do something different. Last year i reviewed a Hallmark Channel film called The Mistletoe Secret, just to do a completely different kind of film review. So, this year i decided to check what TV channel Lifetime had to offer in the new Christmas movie selection. So i just picked out one film called Christmas Unwrapped, without even seeing a trailer. Is this the film that will make this Christmas feel better, or is this a film that will make us all depressed ?

Charity Jones ( Amber Stevens West ) is a hard working reporter, who is assigned to write a story on the mysterious millionaire Erik Gallagher ( Marco Grazzini ), who gives away millions of dollars in personalized gifts every holiday season. No one really knows the background story of Erik, and Charity is determined to reveal his secrets.

Let´s be honest and say that if you hate Hallmark Channel and Lifetime movies ( for some reason ), i doubt you are going to change your mind by watching Christmas Unwrapped. You will recognize the formula of a TV movie like this, it is very friendly, and you won´t find any bad language either. And i get it, this is supposed to be seen by the whole family, so in that way it is a positive detail. Some of you might have read my review of The Mistletoe Secret from Hallmark Channel last year, and you might remember that i especially pointed out that actress Kellie Pickler did not give a good acting performance. I have some good news folks regarding the film Christmas Unwrapped, and that is that lead actress Amber Stevens West ( who i especially remember from the film 22 Jump Street ) gives a better performance in this film. I would say that she is the biggest reason why you want to see this film, because there is something charming about her personality of her character Charity Jones. I would describe Charity as a realistic woman, who works really hard to achieve her goal. Actor Marco Grazzini will definetely make women smile in this film, his character Erik Gallagher is that kind of guy who is wedding material for a lot of women. Just show your girlfriends a picture of him, and i guarantee they will be dreaming of him for months ( i meant years ). Chistmas Unwrapped have a bigger cozy feeling that The Mistletoe Secret, in the sense that the characters here feels more realistic. It is nice to see legendary actor Anthony Sherwood ( those of you that watched TV series Airwolf in the 80´s will recognize him ) here as Charity´s father. If you love this kind of Christmas films, then i am sure that Christmas Unwrapped will fit right into your taste. My biggest issue with this film is that i would have liked to see this film more fun, because it does not give us a lot of entertainment. It is a friendly Christmas film, and i enjoy actress Amber´s performance. Other than that, nothing really makes Christmas Unwrapped stand out from the typical Christmas movie. Director Bosede Williams have at least done a Lifetime movie that have some qualities to be thankful for, i only wish she would have taken more chances, considering the great cast.

Rating: DD