CHRISTMAS WITH A VIEW

Name: CHRISTMAS WITH A VIEW
Item: CHRISTMAS WITH A VIEW
Author: Review

"Unlikeable Heroine"

Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

CHRISTMAS WITH A VIEW is a romantic drama on UPtv. Clara manages a restaurant called The Summit, where she falls for a famous chef, Shane. Her dream is to become a restaurant owner. Complications regarding her beloved chef and Clara’s suspicious boss threaten to jeopardize her dream and her love for Shane. Can Clara and Shane’s relationship survive the wind and waves of working at The Summit?

CHRISTMAS WITH A VIEW is a typical Christmas romance with some decent acting but is short on plot and ultimately forgettable. Though the cinematography of winter scenery is nice, there’s nothing much original or even compelling here. Also, there are too many abrupt transitions between scenes. Finally, the heroine is often self-absorbed, yet this is never

recognized. CHRISTMAS WITH A VIEW has a mixed worldview. There are some light Christian, moral elements, such as a mealtime prayer and trying to right a wrong. However, this positive content pales in comparison to the movie’s Romantic, feminist themes. CHRISTMAS WITH A VIEW also has some light abuses of alcohol and passionate kissing. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for teenagers.

Content:

(Pa, C, B, RoRo, Fe, S, N, AA, M)

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Mixed pagan worldview with light Christian, moral elements (including a family prays before a meal ending with, “in the Lord’s name, Amen” and woman tries to right a wrong where a man has deceived her about a business proposal), marred by some Romantic, feminist themes in the movie

Foul Language:

Three bleeped out curses on a television game show

Violence:

No violence

Sex:

No implied or depicted bedroom scenes, but a man on a game show lifts up his shirt exposing his midriff somewhat seductively, and a few passionate kisses between a man and a woman

Nudity:

Some brief upper male nudity on a game show and during a date

Alcohol Use:

Social drinking, a lady asks a bartender for drinks commenting that “Christmas can be a hard time,” a woman drinks too much to drive, but she isn’t drunk, and a lady drinks too much, but not to the point of getting drunk, but she has a headache from it in the morning

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

A man calls microwaving a steak “blasphemy,” lady steals some paperwork from her boss’ office, and a man is deceitful, but he is found out.

More Detail:

CHRISTMAS WITH A VIEW is an UPtv romantic drama about Clara, who manages a restaurant, and falls in love with the chef, Shane, but complications threaten to jeopardize her dream of owning her own restaurant and her obvious love for Shane. The plot and cinematography in CHRISTMAS WITH A VIEW are quaint, but largely forgettable with light Christian, moral elements mixed with Romantic, feminist ideals and two light abuses of alcohol.

Clara manages a restaurant, The Summit, where she falls for a famous chef, Shane. Her dream is to become a restaurant owner. Having tried to fulfill this in the recent past with mixed results, she finds it difficult to foresee her next step. When it becomes clear to both Clara and Shane that they have feelings for each other, his celebrity status and her gun-shy state of mind clash. So, it seems that a budding romance is on the rocks. Further complications regarding her beloved chef and Clara’s suspicious boss threaten to jeopardize her dream and her obvious love for Shane.

Can Clara and Shane’s relationship survive the wind and waves of working at The Summit?

CHRISTMAS WITH A VIEW is a typical Christmas romance with some decent acting, but it falls short on plot and ultimately forgettable. This is largely due to the fact that there is nothing remotely original, or even compelling here. The cinematography of winter scenery is nice and there are many scenes of handsome looking young people in love, but none of this distinguishes the movie in any discernible way. Add to this the negative elements of some very abrupt transitions between scenes and a heroine who is often so self-absorbed that one asks why the hero is interested in her. For example, Shane suggests to Clara that her boss may not have her

best interest at heart, and she gets angry at him. She never apologizes. Clara is not wholly unlikeable, but there is a lack of depth in her character. Beyond this, there is no concept that Christmas is about anything more than young romantic love. Finally, the conflict is resolved not by the heroine and hero growing to overcome their inadequacies, but rather by the heroine getting what she wants, which apparently equals a very merry Christmas.

CHRISTMAS WITH A VIEW has a light moral, Romantic worldview. Some characters display nominal Christian behavior such as when a family prays before a meal ending with, “in the Lord’s name, Amen.” In a light biblical moral moment, a woman tries to right a wrong where a man has deceived her about a business proposal. However, this pales in comparison to the strong Romantic and feminist themes in the movie. A man repeats many times that his wife is “the boss” and that “she’ll make the final call,” clearly not reflecting a biblical understanding of marriage. The female lead also gets hot and bothered by anyone who slightly questions her perceptions. In most cases this reactionary approach is couched in the language of “I can take care of myself.” This gives a feminist vibe to a main character. She never apologizes to her love interest for this, and he is more than gracious regarding the lesser mistakes he makes in the development of their relationship. Finally, a selfish motive (to own one’s own restaurant) drives this same character throughout the movie, and it is the achievement of this goal rather than personal growth which ensures the movie’s “happy ever after.” CHRISTMAS WITH A VIEW also has some light abuses of alcohol and passionate kissing. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children and teenagers.