A Rose for Christmas (2017)

Directed by: Kevin Fair | 85 minutes | drama, romance | Actors: Marc Bendavid, Rachel Boston, Venus Terzo, Willa Milner, Karen Holness, Austin Obiajunwa, Nels Lennarson, Graham Croft, Mark Steines, Diane Verhiel, Michael Kopsa, Daryl Shuttleworth, Ramon Terrell

Which country do you think of when you mention flower parades? Fixed to the Netherlands or Belgium, but did you know that such a festive procession has been taking place in America for more than one hundred and twenty years? In Pasadena, California, each New Year’s Day is celebrated with a grand parade of floats, the Rose Parade. Hundreds of thousands of visitors see the artful flower carriages and the parade is even broadcast on TV. Hallmark Channel thought this was a nice occasion for a romantic Christmas movie, ‘A Rose for Christmas’.

The main character’s family, Andrea “Andy,” an artistic single in his thirties, has generations of experience building floats for the Rose Parade in Pasadena. With her father, who still owns the company, having to take it easy due to his health, Andy is forced to take charge of building this year’s car. But what she has not taken into account is the arrival of Cliff, an arrogant businessman, who comes to keep an eye on things on behalf of the sponsoring company. The two immediately clash – their characters couldn’t be more opposite than depicted here. Andy is artsy, spontaneous and easy going, Cliff is businesslike, efficient and straightforward. However, opinions are still divided on who is the most stubborn. Unfortunately, the two are doomed to each other, because both sides have one common goal: to meet the deadline of the Rose Parade.

No one who goes to see ‘A Rose for Christmas’ will expect a surprising story, great acting or spectacular dialogue. But for a well-thought-out concept like this, this Hallmark Channel production comes out pretty well. The characters are sympathetic enough to empathize with them, the whole atmosphere around the Rose Parade is well hit and there are nice secondary characters with not too clichéd character traits. Andy and Cliff are actually more fun when they’re bickering, but they’re also a good match as a romantic couple. Because the film takes place in the days before and after Christmas, the Christmas mood is present throughout the film. Quite a nice film in the genre, but if you don’t like sugary Bouquet series-like romantic films, don’t bother.