'Countdown to Christmas' movie review: 'Christmas Waltz'
After an engagement heartbreak, a lawyer rediscovers her love for dance in the romance 'Christmas Waltz' (premiering Nov. 28 as part of the Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas).
In short: After Avery (Lacey Chabert) is dumped by her fiancé a month before her Christmas wedding, she decides to keep her scheduled ballroom lessons with instructor Roman (Will Kemp) intended for her wedding dance.
In terms of casting, Chabert and Kemp are perfectly cast as the lawyer turned dancer and the dashing dance instructor. An impromptu dance sequence in the streets of New York is a tough act to pull off - but 'Waltz' gets away with it because Chabert and Kemp are infectiously charming. Chabert radiates the sharpness of a type-a personality who has worked and worked for her position at her law office: she has a plan for her life and her life is supposed to follow a very specific track. Contrarily, Roman seems perfectly in his element in the dance studio - it's hard to imagine him in any other job.
Writer-director Michael Damian crafts dance sequences that are the heart and soul of 'Waltz.' The dances are playful, romantic and even heartbreaking. This is no small feat because Avery and Roman are simply going through the basics of the waltz, yet their intimacy shines through their each dance. These two take the fundamentals of ballroom dancing and elevate it to dazzling romance. It's actually incredibly impressive that 'Waltz' can essentially put the same two characters in very similar dance routines - and tap into a wide range of emotions, tracking Avery and Roman's relationship.
At one point, Avery recalls that she rather liked taking dance lessons as a child - but her parents didn't find the lessons prudent, implying that dancing would have distracted Avery from her academics. This nods to a "passion versus practicality" undercurrent to Avery's life, however, 'Waltz' doesn't justify schism in Avery's life. Avery's boss says she has been "distracted" - but there's simply no evidence in the movie (to that point). If this is supposed to be Avery's internal conflict, then 'Waltz' should have widened the gap between ballroom dancing and her career or Avery's love of dance
But alas, 'Waltz' is a movie with almost no conflict or stakes. Avery's ex-fiancé David is the closest thing 'Waltz' has to a story impediment - but his entire character feels more like a walking/talking plot point rather than a fleshed-out character. Every story needs some sort of conflict, be it internal or external. 'Waltz' attempts the external conflict of David, but it doesn't work because he's barely in the film - so there's never a sense that Avery is ever truly pulled in two different directions (ie, David vs. Roman).
Without an external conflict, then 'Waltz' should have given Avery an internal conflict of some sort - perhaps her rigid chosen life course versus a more artistic life course. Again, the script lazily just declares that Avery is "distracted" at work, which then leads to some silly "oh boy, I was distracted now I have to focus" little scene - but 'Waltz' doesn't lay the foundation for weak plot contrivance. All that's left is Avery's unexpected feelings for Roman in the wake of her break-up with David. It's the not strongest story driver ever - but it manages to keep 'Waltz' from moving from step to step.
Final verdict: 'Waltz' doesn't have much in the way of conflict to drive the film, but the story shines is infused with a pure, contagious joy in dancing.
Score: 3 French hens (out of 5)
'Christmas Waltz' premieres Nov. 28 on The Hallmark Channel. The movie is rated TV-G and has a running time of 90 minutes.
