The Most Colorful Time of the Year

source: The Most Colorful Time of the Year

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If you're into Hallmark movies, you know how hard it is to find a Christmas movie with a new, fresh concept. With Ryan's colorblind character experiencing the world beyond black & white for the first time, it's really a fresh take that makes you feel grateful to be able to see color, and appreciate Christmas all the more. The scenes where he sees color for the first time are sweet and memorable. The leads have acted well and the storyline is kind of endearing. I just wish they had zoomed in a bit more on the two lead characters Ryan and Michelle falling for each other, which they obviously were. Their chemistry could have been given more room to develop. Also, the other (unnecessary) supporting characters were given screen space they didn't deserve, like Michelle's ex-boyfriend Mark, who is a bit of a scary stalker overstepping boundaries, which is not in sync with her otherwise strong and successful optometrist character to allow him to do in the first place, but we're lost on the (probably meaningless) history there. Also, a small continuity issue - when she goes to pick Michelle from school but ends up having a gift-wrapping fun time at the church with Ryan after school when he tries on his glasses for the first time - kind of leaves the viewer confused if she forgot about her daughter Bailey (later clarified as Bailey being at the play rehearsal - when did that happen?) The movie has some memorable lines. Such as outside the grocery store, Ryan says, "I'm going into hibernation for the holidays. Unless I randomly bump into my soulmate, I'm perfectly fine being alone for a while." Bumps into Michelle one second later. :-D One thing that could have saved the movie from any so-called "bad" reviews is background music. There are times when the right music could have enhanced the scenes and made them even more heartwarming than they were. I think music scores really take away the boring and slow aspect of any movie, especially a nice one like this, which just goes a bit silent on some pivotal moments. I rarely cry at the end of Hallmark movies, but this one was something, especially when the girl watches Ryan put a coat around her mother's shoulder on Christmas morning. The movie could have ended there with sweet music and it would have been perfect too. Overall, a nice movie totally worth watching, even again, for some holiday cheer.

Somehow we're expected to believe that a man can get through learning a PhD and becoming a science teacher, yet is suddenly discovered to be colorblind by a woman who, of course, has all the perfect qualifications to fall in love with him. Of all the 2022 Hallmark movies thus far, I like this one the best because it isn't trying to push some sort of woke agenda, although I realize others would disagree. It's a traditional Hallmark formula with a bit of a medical twist that's a pleasant diversion for a couple of hours, and that's all I was looking for. Hopefully Hallmark will still be capable and encouraged to make such simple little stories that don't require much thought and don't exist primarily to make statements that are shoehorned, sometimes awkwardly.

This movie varies from typical lighthearted Christmas romcoms by approaching a very real and serious subject. Katrina Bowden is very believable as the concerned optometrist but Christopher Russell really sells the pain and suffering of someone who has lived his entire life with color blindness. He really evokes well the emotions that one would imagine of someone seeing colors for the first time in his life as an adult. He makes you feel along with the character what it must be like to realize what you have been missing your entire life. Just the sheer beauty of life all around us that the rest of us take for granted every day. Beyond that experience there is the obligatory miscommunication of most Hallmark movies that leads to the ultimate romantic coupling of the two main characters. In addition to everything else, I find there to be a definite charisma between the two lead actors that evokes the emotions Hallmark movies are famous for. This has immediately become one of my all time Christmas favorites from Hallmark and I hope to find it available for purchase soon.

I had been disappointed by Hallmark's Christmas movies this year. I barely watched any of them. But this movie was different. It was genuine and sweet. I liked the plot and I thought the actors did a good job. I especially enjoyed the scenes showing the colors of everything through the eyes of lead actor when he put on the glasses. His reaction to seeing colors was very touching. The lead actress is one of my favorite actors and I thought she gave a good performance as caring mother and doctor. The kids were cute. It was really a good movie and new my favorite. I will definitely watch it again if it comes on again.

This movie features an amazing performance by Katrina Bowden, whom I remember from the classic TV show 30 Rock. Here she actually gets to play a real person, with emotions and feelings. And she's still incredibly beautiful. The male lead, Christopher Russell, has starred on countless Hallmark movies and always does a great job. In fact, he played the brother in the great miniseries Reacher. Halfway through the movie the previously color blind character receives a pair of glasses that enable him to finally see colors. The scene is very moving. As a person who is afflicted with partial colorblindness, I wish that such a thing really existed. But one can dream. BTW, the 600 minimum characters rule here is bull.

This is one of the most driest Christmas movies I have ever seen. I get the storyline but the entire film is so lackluster, and feels forced. I have nothing against the characters but it feels like they're trying too hard to make the entire film convincing, let alone the storyline. It's a film you'll watch one time and forget about it because it's just not solid enough, even with a few cute elements. Those elements feel forced, too. Christmas movies, generally speaking, is meant to give you the holiday feels, I get that, but it's also cheesy and unrealistic. It forces us to believe that everyone is giving, helpful, more specifically, around Christmas time, and that there is always some handsome prince out there waiting to sprinkle his magic by accident to someone unsuspecting, and fall in love. Total cliché for sure. Anyway, circling back, this film is a solid 5/10 for me. It's nice but only for one night.

This was a cute storyline with a real-world problem health problem that affects how someone views the world and Christmas. The plotline does sound silly, the actors are so genuine and sweet and the plot works. I enjoyed seeing Christopher Russell in a different type of role for him, but I love him in nature-related movies more. Katrina Bowden is endearing and radiant. I am so happy that she is here at Hallmark Channel bringing us viewers joy in her movies. The Most Colorful Time of the Year Summary Michelle is an optometrist that fights for her daughter's teacher, Ryan, to acknowledge that he is colorblind and go through a clinic trial for state-of-the-art glasses that will allow him to see colors. Ryan is ashamed that he cannot see colors and is angry at the world and Christmas as he cannot view both the way that others can. Ultimately, Michelle's daughter delivers Ryan the trial's glasses allowing him to see in color. Ryan can finally see the world in color as opposed to black-and-white. As a result, Ryan's heart and Christmas spirit grows, allowing him to let love, with the color, into his life. "It's like I've been living my whole life in the shadows and suddenly, someone came along and flicked on a light. Just like that, I'm seeing the extraordinary beauty of the world for the first time." -Ryan. MeetCute Michelle is an Optometrist providing eye exams for Ryan's 4th grade class when she asks the teacher, Ryan, to participate in an exam. Michelle suspects that Ryan is colorblind. Later, the students are decorating gingerbread houses and Michelle tests his eyesight by asking him to pass her different colored candies. Ryan gets red and green right, but does not get yellow and blue correct. Instead, he gives her purple and pink and Michelle then knows that he is colorblind. Christmas Festivities Christmas Tree in Classroom Gingerbread House Decorating Wrapping Christmas Presents Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony Ornament Decorating Elementary School Christmas Concert Christmas Morning Opening Gifts. Ending Kiss Ryan surprises Michelle with a heart bouquet of roses at her Optometrist office and brings her a rose, telling her he is 'smitten' by her and he would like to go on a date with her. Ryan and Michelle finish decorating Ryan's Christmas Tree and then kiss under the mistletoe. Christmas Morning, Ryan opens Christmas Presents and drinks hot cocoa with Michelle and her daughter, Bailey.

The good: recognition for a hidden disability. The bad: too many moments of awkward dialog, a cringy, stalker-like ex-boyfriend character, and too many unrealistic moments that detract from the overall message, especially with the aforementioned ex-boyfriend. Also, I wish Hallmark would really vet scripts to make sure they accurately portray professions. Schools never have a database of teachers' personal cell phone numbers for parent use, and teachers would never just up and leave in the middle of the school day on a whim. The formulaic conflict in the last half hour was unnecessary and unrealistic.