Last Christmas, I was disappointed that I saw half of Christmas in Notting Hill on the Hallmark Channel but could never manage to find it in a schedule so that I could watch the rest of it. And then it disappeared for a whole year, until it showed up recently on Netflix. I’ll never understand how all this works…
Anyhow, this is a pretty typical Hallmark movie — 30something special ed teacher from Indiana visits her younger sister, who is working in London. Baby sister, whom she practically raised, is serious about a Brit, whose half-brother is the local football star. Teacher and footballer meet accidentally via spilled coffee before they are formally introduced to each other as possible future family members. Of course, they fall in love in a very wholesome and family-focused manner. And big plus, it all takes place in Notting Hill.
The first half of the film is fairly entertaining as it lines up all the character’s stories. We find out that footballer Graham (William Moseley) is dealing with a possible career-ending knee injury and apparently has made no future plans. This makes him perfect for Georgia (Sarah Ramos), who is also at a crossroads, has never left Indiana before and is considering traveling the world by teaching special ed classes. We also learn about the many little customs of long-time Notting Hill residents; it’s all quite charming.
The second half of the film, by contrast, doesn’t have anything for its characters to do and the story becomes quite meaningless while waiting for Georgia and Graham to find some reason to fall in love.
The soccer
Most of the football “action” consists of Graham trying to keep Georgia from finding out that he’s a big name footballer. There’s a little bit of game play in the beginning. Georgia is a former player herself and Graham takes her onto the stadium pitch. Graham does a scary looking knee slide at the end of the film.
In Conclusion
As I said, it’s a fairly typical Hallmark film except that the main actors are actually the ages of their characters. I found that refreshing, because usually Hallmark actors play a character 10-20 years younger than themselves. Maybe the change is because Director Ali Liebert is almost the same age as the actors she is directing.
I was also surprised to find out that William Moseley, who seems a bit wooden here, played eldest brother Peter in The Chronicles of Narnia, a movie I quite like. I guess he just needed a sword instead of a soccer ball.
I think the only reason I even found out about this film last year is because Georgia makes a reference to the Ted Lasso series, and that got it written up somewhere. Maybe if I mention Ted Lasso enough, my website will get more exposure as well?
Christmas in Notting Hill is pretty harmless. If you’re looking for something to take your mind off the horrid return of Agent Orange, this might be the pablum for you.
6 Soccer Movie Mom Rating = 6
Resources:
- Released: 2023-11-25 (Hallmark channel)
- I watched this on the Hallmark Channel and Netflix
- 1 hr 24 mins
- IMDB
- Director: Ali Liebert
- Stars: Sarah Ramos , William Moseley
- Watch the Trailer
- Hallmark Website
