Yeah. I wasn't crazy about this one, although tears did come to my eyes near the end which is the ultimate measure of success for Movies and Mysteries, I guess. Mainly, everyone was just so goody-goody and I didn't like the romance. At first, I thought Shenae was going to remain footloose and fancy-free and instrumental in getting Matthew together with Jenny. Well, that took a turn. The guy seemed personality-free and somewhat of a non-entity. How oblivious can you be that you didn't notice the girl with the huge guitar case in the seat right in front of you? And then picking up a guitar pick and not sussing out that maybe it might be hers? And carrying it around for weeks? What did he do? Transfer it from change of clothes to change of clothes every day?

I do like Shanae Grimes, and she was fine in her part. But how do you get a letter from the father who abandoned you and not even open it? As far as I could tell she didn't even open it at the end, so we never know that story. And how is the church going to afford her services in the future since the pastor was paying her out of his pocket? I did like the choir part though and how she brought them together.

This is a terrific Christmas movie and one that I would happily watch again. The 2 leads were sweet together. I love the nuances between them - casual interest, then more curiosity and a natural progression that not all of these Hallmark movies contain. The plot itself actually seems new-ish, an accomplishment in and of itself. Truly had me wondering if there'd be a romantic interest for her at first. Bravo.

The surprise within was done well and kept me guessing almost till it was revealed. Just enough cast members to make it work and they all worked well as an ensemble. The pastor was a shining light ( as he should be) with just the right touch of sincerity and kind truth and humanity.

Chris Cormack is amazingly likeable and perfect in his role and Shenae Grimes-Beech was great as well. Could we please get rid of the wigs, tho? There were times when the hair over- powered her face to the extreme - not everyone should wear bangs. Please. A stylist issue, I know, but ... very distracting for an otherwise great watch.

Felt very "after school special".

The choir sang horribly, but the NEXT day, Christmas caroling, they were perfect ... really?!

And the famous cliche of "I like you, but you're with someone else, so I'm putting my coat on and leaving".

"Carly's" hair just looked like a jet black helmet stuck on her head. Lose the crooked bangs, please.

Character, "Alice", way too over the top, the acting was like a 2 yr old having a melt down. I literally hit fast forward when she "performed".

Story line was great, and had so much potential, but just didn't land it.

Not saying, "don't watch", give it a try if you just want some background noise.