A Kiss Before Christmas

Directed by Jeff Beesley, A Kiss Before Christmas follows a busy businessman (James Denton’s Ethan Holt) as he wonders how his life would be different if he hadn’t met his wife (Teri Hatcher’s Joyce) in a stuck elevator – with complications ensuing after Ethan’s existence is changed accordingly by no less than Santa Claus (John B. Lowe). Filmmaker Beesley, armed with a script by Mark Amato and Tracy Andreen, delivers a periodically watchable yet hopelessly generic Christmas romcom that contains few (if any) wholeheartedly compelling attributes, as the picture suffers from a seriously (and often distractingly) bland feel that’s reflected in everything from its flat visuals to the on-the-nose dialogue to the one-dimensional characters – with the latter especially disappointing given that both Denton and Hatcher turn in agreeable, charismatic work (which is ultimately heightened by their obvious chemistry with one another). The arms-length atmosphere is perpetuated by a dull narrative that’s focused mostly on Ethan’s impossibly tiresome efforts at saving a local community center, and although the movie picks up in a final half hour focused on Ethan and Joyce’s appealing relationship, A Kiss Before Christmas has long-since cemented its place as a distressingly run-of-the-mill endeavor that squanders its actors’ performances and workable premise.

** out of ****