Hallmark regulars Sam Page and Lacey Chabert play a businessman visiting Rome and and a tour guide living in Rome respectively. Watching them walk through Rome is reason enough to pick this one over some other Christmas movies. But it looks like they filmed in warmer weather than Christmas time. She is a bit over chatty in her usual way. Things get a bit boring with setting up her tour business and his business deal. Not a must watch but the travelogue is more convincing than the romance. At least moving to Rome isn't as bad as the usual give up everything for a small town.
Christmas in Rome
2019
Action / Drama / Romance
Christmas in Rome
2019
Action / Drama / Romance
Plot summary
American Angela de Luca is a tour guide in Rome, it a job she loves in showing visitors what she finds special about the city that can't be found in standard guide books. Her exuberance does end up getting her into trouble as, a few days before Christmas, she is fired by her boss Tomasso Toffino for not sticking to the "tourist hot spots" protocol one too many times. It is when she is nursing her wounds about the job in not knowing what to do that she literally runs into Oliver Martin, who works for the New York based acquisitions firm Fiske and Drummond, he in Rome on business to acquire famed high end Italian ceramics company Forlinghetti for Fiske and Drummond. Oliver is all work and no play, he especially seeing the Christmas season as an opportune time to do business as no one else wants to work and thus will rush into deals. He expects to meet with Luigi Forlinghetti, seal the deal and leave Rome without experiencing any of it. A promotion to vice-president of the company rests on the deal happening. Angela knows that Oliver's approach in focusing solely on the financials will not impress an old world person like Forlinghetti, for who doing things the traditional Italian way will be just as if not more important as the money. Not knowing anything about Italian mores, Oliver decides to hire Angela to be his cultural tour guide in navigating the process with Forlinghetti for his planned four day stay. In appreciation, Oliver, in turn, agrees to help her put together a business plan for her own tour company offering specialized, seasonal tours, like one specifically for Christmas, the plan to present to potential investors. In Angela opening Oliver's eyes to the joys that Rome has to offer, especially during the Christmas season, the two start to fall for each other. Whether there is a future for them may depend on both their business futures and if they can bring their two very different and geographically distant lives together.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 796.69 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
Nice on location filming
Reviewed by
The first 2019 Hallmark Christmas movie that works for us
This has been a very drab year for these movies. I believe they're doing so many every year now that it's impossible to get new and interesting stories, and the performances they're getting from the actors have been fairly drab -- possibly rushing production to the point that the actors don't have time to get into their roles.
And even though we like this film, it's still pulling from the same list of plug-in cliches: girl fired just before Christmas, fixated businessman who needs to learn slow down and smell the roses, corporate acquisition needing to understand the family business to be acquired.
Despite the plot cliches, the people behind this film get bonus points for deciding to spend the bucks to film on location in Rome. Some of the great sites of the city serve as the backdrop for many scenes, and every scene has atmosphere in the location. It was a good idea done well. And too many of these movies are a "good idea bungled".
Next, the leads connect. Another mistake many of these movies make is not actually putting the leads on screen together enough, so their developing relationship gets hard to buy. Here, the leads share virtually all of the screen time, allowing a believable chemistry to develop.
Finally, FRANCO NERO! Great decision to add this wonderful actor into the mix. I've been a fan since Camelot -- yes, THAT long. LOL At 77 during filming, he could pass for 60. He still looks great. He isn't given much of a challenge in his role -- mostly turning a quizzical eye on the American businessman fumbling with the "ways of Rome", but it's still great to see him. -- and looking at his IMBD page, he's still very much in demand. I don't think I've ever seen a page with so many upcoming roles!
This is one we'll want to watch again in coming years -- the first time I've been able to say that about the 2019 crop of films.
Reviewed by
Beautiful, if not entirely believable!
This movie was beautifully filmed and well acted, and I loved seeing Roman sights and learning a little about the culture. I only had two problems with this movie; one small (Angela hoofing it around Rome all day on those heels) and one big (Oliver's deep and abiding focus on only business and profits sure did change quickly, with zero growing pains). That being said, this movie did a pretty good job at making me think such a transformation may be possible with the right person and experiences. Well done!