It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Those who rated low maybe are expecting award-winning performances. I personally think that this is as good Hallmark gets. Maybe there were a few things I didn't agree with but compared to the messes that there were this year, those where just details.I was such a fan of the first movie and luckily this one didn't disappointed me. I even understood the family's point of view of the conflict.Miranda and Ian were even cuter than in the first movie, the chemistry was so much better. And it was kind of predictable from the first moment but it was such a good movie i'm letting that go.Hallmark does a really good job at making me love Christmas. It really makes me want to sit next to the fire and read while drinking hot chocolate. Cliché, I know.

The usual cast of characters, eh?: Hallmark Heroine™ (HH): Miranda, played by Hallmark regular Erin Krakow. More (or less) on her later.Hallmark Good Boyfriend (HGBF): Ian, who is also the Guy Perpetually in Need of a Shave (GPNS). Hallmark Bad Boyfriend (HBBF): Josh, Miranda's ex.Erin Krakow is well cast, she's an attractive woman that regular Hallmark viewers see in her series When Calls the Heart. For some reason, for this installment she has cut off most of her hair and what remains is straight and flat. I may need a new character acronym for when this happens- Hallmark Bad Hair Heroine (HBHH)? Maybe 4H: Hallmark Heinous Hair Heroine (HHHH).This is a predictable sequel to last year's Finding Father Christmas. A plot gap here is why would they wait for a whole year?The HH runs into the HBBF at the airport and feels compelled to tell him she's the daughter of a famous actor. Why? You haven't seen him in like 2 years. No surprise, he turns up in the small Vermont town where she is visiting the HGBF. A misunderstanding ensues when the HGBF/GPNS sees her hug the HBBF. This misunderstanding is resolved early on.As the title would imply, much of the sub-plot involves her father the famous actor. A reporter is in town doing a story aboot her dad and the 30th anniversary of a theater.A couple of funny scenes involved the HGBF/GPNS trying to propose/proposing to the HH. His dad asked the question I'm sure many viewers were wondering- What took you so long? Another funny thing at the engagement announcement was everyone else in winter clothing and the HH wearing a summer dress.The HH is getting mystery texts aboot her father. She laments to the HGBF/GPNS aboot telling the HBBF aboot her dad. She's then grilled aboot her dad's family by the reporter.A Mystery Dude (MD) turns up and feels compelled to stop his car and look at the sign for the town in Vermont. He must be a slow reader since most people can read it while driving by. He of course turns up at the local inn. It turns out he is a writer doing a story on the dad and had overheard her spill to the HBBF at the airport. The HH has a heart to heart with MD to talk him out of doing the story but doesn't change his mind.The HH then decides to bail and the HGBF/GPNS can't convince her to stay. She has a pep talk with her dad's widow and things are set straight. MD is sent packing. A Hallmark Happy Ending is had when the HH and HGBF/GPNS end up together (again) and will stay in town in the house the HGBF/GPNS had been repairing, but they decide to wait another year to get married?

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 Christmas MOVIES.BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I AM HONEST! I REVIEW Christmas MOVIES AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN!In this follow up film to "Finding Father Christmas" It's Christmas time and Miranda (Krakow) leaves Seattle with a suitcase full of presents to join her long- lost family in Carlton Heath. Hoping She will experience the joyful traditions she missed as a child. Last Christmas, Miranda fell in love with Ian (Matter), a local man who helped her as she searched for her father, James Whitcomb, a famous theater actor she believed had a connection to the town. At his widow Margaret's (Malick) request, Miranda agrees to keep it a secret to protect the family from scandal. This Christmas, she fears the warm welcome she received from the Whitcomb family will soon turn cold when Miranda receives an anonymous text from someone who threatens to expose her identity.Well what was great about the original film was a mystery of Miranda's father. there was also Miranda falling in love. In this sequel we only have a very thin plot and it just retreads what was done before. I still admire the cast. It is just needed a little more story to cover.

What a great story. Great cast. Great casting. Great acting. I'm usually disappointed with sequels. This was as good as the original. Great writing. Watch both together to see how well the first movie blends into the last movie. Thank you Penny for getting this started. You will ALWAYS enjoy a Perry/Lind casted movie. The director hit all the mushy parts perfect and how Erin managed to get the veins in her head to pop out with such emotion is a sign of a great actress.I certainly DO NOT work in production and have never been on a movie set- although my son is an actor. I stay out of his business AND he has never worked for Hallmark. Wish he would. I simply enjoy it when Penny Perry casts ANY movie. I am never disappointed with the results. My God look at her success! Ya want a review - here it is. You want a synopsis - try elsewhere. I know how hard it is to write and develop depth in characters. Here the writers did just that and Perry/Lind matched the actors to characters. Is that so hard to comprehend? They SHOULD be praised.