5 stars. Nope Background noise only.

Hallmark does a good job of coding religious-focused movies with the Dayspring label, so you can stay away if you want to. Despite knowing this, I was taken out of the story with the awkward monologue prayers and discussions of God guiding the lead characters’ love choices. It seemed like it was painted on after or the additions were simply pandering to an audience that may have rather watched such films on Great American Family where one man and one woman still leaves room for the Holy Ghost routinely.

Abby (the great Brooke D’Orsay) is a famous actor, who goes to Vermont to flee a scandal brewing in LA. I’ll pause here to say this movie is a rather similar plot line to my 2023 novel, Big Sky Lake, where a similar inciting incident brings a famous actress back home to Montana, where she too finds love and helps direct a children’s play in a small town. I’m not saying it’s similar, but you could make that argument.

Anyhoo . . . Abby meets handsome inn owner Tom (John Brotherton) with a young daughter. Yep, this happens in Big Sky Lake, too. They speak to God . . . No, that doesn’t happen in my novel, so I guess that’s where we differ the most.

This small Vermont town is jammed packed with extras in every scene. As our actors walk down main street in one scene, you would be forgiven thinking they were navigating the Miracle Mile in Chicago with the amount of people packed around them. Regardless, the town looks beautiful and not the standard stand-in Canadian town. I’m not sure where they filmed it, but it looks unique.

The movie may have the season’s record for the most interrupted kiss attempts in one scene.

Our leads attempt their first smooch, but are interrupted by a nosy inn guest, a phone call and a child, all in about 25 seconds. We never see if they give it a go after we cut away. I imagine they would have, but maybe that kiss would be one too many for Dayspring.

Cast Kudos: Isla Verot as Lucy, the young daughter. She’s just about perfect in this role and actually carries a lot of the movie on her shoulders.

Measuring Christmas Magic: Despite being a Christmas play on Christmas vacation and constant mentions of Christ, I just didn’t feel the magic. It was all a bit too sincere. Where’s the fun of the season?

Alternative Movie Titles: A star comes to Vermont; Abby, Tom and the Holy Ghost find love.