Movie #2031 ........................."An Unexpected Christmas" (Hallmark)

 Movie #2031 "An Unexpected Christmas" (Hallmark) --- there have been a lot of stories with the guy (or girl) posing as a boyfriend or girlfriend and we know how that ends, but this was a bit different --- yeah, the premise is a bit silly that they have to pretend they haven't broken up and yet haven't seen each other in several months - you'd think the rest of the family would have picked up on that, but the guy is really quiet (almost too quiet in the high point when the audience is yelling, "Tell her how you feel---geez!  what are you waiting for?"  Probably he's waiting for the  the last couple of minutes) and she's so bubbly and amiable and the family loves her --- perhaps prefers her over their son......  so it's kind of different from the usual fare on this topic!  the reason she puts up with it is on a promise that he will provide the entertainment for the event she is planning --- once again, not the best of ideas, but what's winning here is the two leads and their watchability and also, it's the Christmas season and the couple is worried about ruining the family's holiday.  --- One other redeemable quality is  there's something about both of them that is entertaining to watch.  For that reason, I'd give this a 4, even though the premise is hard to believe.  At least, the characters and their reasons for breaking up and then coming back together are believable.

"AN UNEXPECTED CHRISTMAS"    Hallmark  2021          1 hour and 23 mins

Jamie (Hynes) hasn't told his family that he and his now ex-girlfriend Emily (Lenz) broke up.  After an inopportune run-in with Emily at the train station in his hometown, Jamie convinces her to pretend they're still a couple to avoid ruining Christmas for his family.  Jamie and his family engage in a week-long ruse of engaging in his family's holiday activities together .  While they're stuck in his family's home together, the pair discovers their relationship might still have some potential, resulting in a very unexpected Christmas. 

Director:  Michael Robinson

Writers:  Paul Campbell, Gregory McGoon (story by)

Stars:  Tyler Hynes, Bethany Jody Lenz, Alison Wandzura