‘Much Ado About Christmas’ Review: The Labor Of Love
‘Much Ado About Christmas’ is the first-ever original movie from GAC Family, a constituent of the Great American Channels that celebrates American culture and heritage with holiday-themed, family-friendly original movies and series and premiered on the channel on October 30.
This film is very upbeat with a modern riff on the classic work of William Shakespeare, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ in a sparkling Christmas setting.
This title is directed by Michael Damian from a script written by himself in collaboration with his wife Janeen, best known for ‘The Christmas Waltz.’
‘Much Ado About Christmas’ stars Susie Abromeit, Torrance Coombs, James Rottger, Emma Colling, Jacinta Mulcahy, and Olivier Raynal.
The story narrates the intriguing tale of a lovely young couple who instantly fall in love when they first meet. The lead lad Claud played by Coombs, is an advertising executive who works for a guy named Don, a role by Raynal together with his pal Ben embodied by Rottger. The trio is about to land a contract with a rich and powerful head of a major corporation named Leona Lloyd, a part by Mulcahy.
Lloyd is Haley’s mom. Hailey, played by Abromeit, is a down-to-earth sweetheart who is loved by the community for her acts of kindness towards her community of Winterstone. She is the only heiress to her mother’s vast estate reversing the usual narrative audiences are accustomed to as mainly for movies in this genre, the man or the boy is the one who is usually the heir.
Who she is or her mother’s social status doesn’t matter to Hailey as she prefers keeping a low profile; hence when she meets Claud for the first time, she lies to him about her second name and doesn’t disclose her family background.
However, the heart wants what the heart wants, and Hailey is madly in love with Claud, actually, both are head over heels for each other, and boundaries have no chance. Hailey heads a charity organization and is friends with Bea or Beatrice, a role by Colling, who once dated Ben, Claude’s buddy, and one must say, the parting wasn’t on a sweet note.
Anyone familiar with Shakespearean comedy can already guess what is going to happen considering the current predicament.
The conflict between the two lovers Claud and Hailey, doesn’t really come from the usual infidelity issues that drive a wedge between lovebirds but rather from Hailey’s failure to disclose to Claud about who her mother really is.
As mentioned, Hailey doesn’t want to reveal her real identity or the people related or connected to her because she simply wants to be treated like an ordinary person.
When Claud finds out the truth, though, in a very dramatic kind of way, he is extremely humiliated, and as a result, he dumps Hailey leaving the poor girl devastated.
The story starts in a very basic way, almost with zero tension as the inevitable conflict is quite predictable based on Haley’s secret, and even though there is some sort of failed cliche explanation, the way the secret is finally revealed to everyone is very clever making the ending of the movie astounding.
Many of the singing scenes, including some karaoke sessions, are excellently done.
Even though the movie is trying to base its location in London, it was apparently shot in Romania, which is a fantastic location judging from the gorgeous scenery.
If one pays close attention, though, they can easily figure out that the location is not London at all. There are tons of nitty gritties that clearly boot the film out of the England capital as its primary location.
For instance, there are the left-hand drive mini coopers, dollars being spent in Haley’s store, and some woman saying Santa instead of Father Christmas, and Ben calling some confectionary a cookie instead of a biscuit.
All these examples are allusions to the things or words used in the United States of America, which deprives the movie off the English portrayal it is trying to put across to the masses.
To enhance its authenticity, it would have been important to put all these tiny yet crucial elements and aspects into consideration to give a representation that is as close to reality as possible, making the movie more amazing.
Nevertheless, the film’s overall look is captivating the architecture enriches the visual appeal of the entire movie. The classical interior of the houses resonates with the period, and the outdoor forms a gorgeous backdrop for the film.
The snow falling, the colorful Christmas decorations, the singing all these put together bring the community’s happy feeling, making the audiences miss this season and already get in the mood for Christmas.
One would, of course, have wondered why Lloyd and Haley were based in London; however, it is lovely that the film explained why the American mother and her daughter’s home was in England.
The filmmakers hit the nail on the head with the casting in this movie. The acting is done excellently with fantastic dialogue as the gorgeous accents add some charm to the narrative, which translates to equally incredible moments.
Susie Abromeit is fantastic as Hailey, while Torrance Coombs embodied the role of Claude excellently.
Coombs is sweet and lovestruck when needed and cold and unyielding when that persona is called for. The unique chemistry between the two leads contributes to the overall cheerful vibe throughout the movie, making this feature almost perfect.
The costumes are amazing, representing the period in which the feature is set with absolute accuracy. The hair and makeup department also did an excellent job in making the characters look the part as well as the era.
With a fantastic story, well-written dialogue, breathtaking scenery, amazing talent, and excellent flow of events, ‘Much Ado About Christmas’ is the ultimate must-watch movie of the season. It is an amazing picture one can comfortably enjoy with the rest of the family as it doesn’t have obscene or embarrassing scenes or a foul language and will be worth every single minute spent on it.