A Star For Christmas

Like all made for TV movies, this offering from UPtv is 90 minutes long, but it feels like 4 hours. Typical story of a big time movie star and his common girl love interest. She's got an ex-boyfriend, he's got an ex-girlfriend, blah blah blah. It's nothing we haven't seen before, and not only is there not much having to do with Christmas, taking place in a warm climate area, it doesn't even look seasonal. On the positive side, there's a number of solid supporting performances: Travis Van Winkle, who did a good job as the lead and kindly father figure in Christmas Getaway is evidently skilled at playing douchenozzle antagonists as well. Karissa Vacker elevates the proceedings as the flaky, new age spouting best friend, and Brooke Burns is sparkling as the male lead's ex, who would be a villain if she wasn't so charmingly sweet to everyone. But they can't overcome the amateurish direction, clichéd story, endless stream of irritating pop songs, and the almost nonexistent Christmas factor. Making things worst is lead actress Briana Evigan (who'd later go on to lead Hallmark's Once Upon A Holiday), who handles her character's insecurity by sadly brooding around all the time. Her character's thrusted into some unenviable situations, but that doesn't mean she has to be so god damn depressing to watch. The egregious presence of her doofus, loser brother puts the final nail in this coffin. I feel bad for Burns, Van Winkle, and especially Vacker, but I'll never get that 90 minutes of my life back, so it's an MSG Middle Finger for this one.