Hallmark Review: 'A Christmas Love Story'

While she may have penned and starred in a big musical on Broadway, Katherine Clark (real-life Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth) has found her true passion in teaching a Christmas youth choir. But as she prepares her students for their annual Christmas Eve fundraiser performance, she finds herself confronted with two major hurdles: the usual writer of their annual original closing song--which is always put up for sale to ensure there are funds for next year's performance--is unavailable, and one of her star vocalists comes down with the flu.

A solution to one of her problems arrives in the form of Danny Scanton (Kevin Quinn), a teenager with a beautiful voice that Katherine wants to encourage him to share. But difficulties arise in the form of Danny's widowed father Greg (Scott Wolf), who is struggling to cope with the loss of his wife and is uncertain of whether or not to encourage Danny's interest in singing. As Katherine juggles writing the choir song and warming Greg up to the idea of Danny joining the choir, she finds herself bonding with both father and son. But will a surprise revelation change everything?

Despite having a title that would suggest it's a standard Hallmark romance set at Christmas, A Christmas Love Story proves to have much more on its mind than getting its main heroine a boyfriend. Instead, much more focus is put on the complicated but sincere familial love between Greg and Danny and Katherine's passion for her new career in teaching--the latter sentiment going against the misconception that all Hallmark movies are about a woman giving up career ambitions for the sake of a relationship. The aforementioned revelation (while something some viewers are bound to see coming at a certain point) serves to add an extra dose of heartwarming to the proceedings, elevating what could've been a by-the-book holiday tale.

This elevation, however, wouldn't have been possible if not for the strong cast that brings those heartwarming feels to life. Likely drawing on her own musical passion, Kristen Chenoweth brings a believability to Katherine's dedication to her students and her having found greater fulfillment in teaching music than performing it. Chenoweth brings the same believability to Katherine's apprehension over writing the finale song--a feeling that anyone involved in the creative arts is sure to relate to. Chenoweth also shares a natural chemistry with all of her co-stars, with special mention going to her chemistry with Scott Wolf as Katherine and Greg's tentative friendship sparks a romantic interest, and her chemistry with Kevin Quinn as Katherine becomes an encouraging mentor in regards to Danny and his singing abilities--with the third act revelation allowing both Chenoweth and Quinn a chance to truly bring out the emotions in their characters through a beautiful scene they share together after the reveal.

On their own and together, Wolf and Quinn continue to bring out the emotional sides of their characters, with Wolf's stellar performance coming as quite the relief to me. With Greg opening the story apprehensive about his son pursuing music, I cringed as I imagined Greg becoming an unintentionally unsympathetic character who would sink the entire movie. But thankfully, both the film and Wolf's performance avert my expectations, with the first act showing that Greg, in spite of his reservations about Danny and the choir, is a loving father who wants nothing more than his son to be happy--with Katherine proving to be a positive influence on him. Wolf also brings understated authenticity to Greg's struggles to cope with his wife's passing, and he and Quinn share strong chemistry as a father and son trying to move on in the wake of their loss.

Some gems also emerge from A Christmas Love Story's side cast. Eric Close is memorably sweet as Greg's encouraging work friend Shane and Keith Robinson shares good chemistry with Chenoweth as her loyal co-choir director Brian. While the film occasionally suffers from pacing issues, A Christmas Love Story overall is a sweet movie that uses its stellar cast and surprisingly heartfelt subject matter to overcome what could've been a generic story. Add to that some fantastic singing courtesy of Chenoweth and Quinn, and A Christmas Love Story brings a whole lot of charm that is sure to warm the hearts of many viewers.

Score: 8 out of 10 Christmas unicorns.