Catch a Christmas Star is an average Christmas TV Movie about a music star who meets her high school sweetheart years later. It's a typically cheesy and predictable tale. Shannon Elizabeth isn't convincing as the music star Nikki and the lead male Steve Byers whilst suitably good looking is too wooden. To make matters worse there is little chemistry between them both which makes the story even less unlikely than it already is. To be fair there are a few funny moments and these are all provided by the singers assistant Carmine played by Christopher Jacot. He is easily the star of this film. One plus was that unlike many of these type of movies, the kids in the film ( played by Julia Lalonde and Kyle Harrison Brietkopf are actually quite good and aren't either sickly sweet or just plain annoying. There is nothing special about this film but it will have it's market and is moderately entertaining.

It seemed a little out of character. Shannon Elizabeth, having played in several sultry roles and in a few other movies where clothes came off,was cited as the lead star in a Hallmark movie, a network that thrives on cutesy and family oriented entertainment. The movie is rated G. Why would the casting director be interested in Shannon Elizabeth? While this question is never really answered, her having been cast in the lead provided at least two opportunities for cross-referencing Elizabeth's other appearances, particularly in her brief appearance in Love Actually. Shortly past the middle of the movie, Elizabeth's assistant, Carmine, tries to advise her about how to express her feelings to the male lead character Chris Marshall. He asks her if she had ever seen the movie "Love Actually," likely a deliberate reference to a movie she has not only seen, but had played in. But what has to be deliberate is that the character name of the love of her life, Chris Marshall, is phonetically identical to the name of the actor who played Elizabeth's boyfriend in Love Actually, Kris Marshall.

These days so many movies are filled with sex, foul language, and revenge filled plots. It is refreshing to see a movie directed toward family values.Main characters, Shannon Elizabeth's and Steve Byers' on set chemistry was good and realistic. They give viewers a small glimpse into the downside of being famous.Byers' on screen children played by Julia Lalonde and Kyle Harrison Breitkopf were good little actors in their portrayal of today's youth. Many children are wise beyond their years and flip lip.All and all, I enjoyed it! The only negative parts were, of course, the record producer's acting, which was "really bad" and the ending. It included Byers' going out on stage professing his love, little unrealistic. At a real concert, he would have never made it passed security. The writers should have improved on that scene.Also, I loved the assistant. His facial expressions and comedic antics were to die for!

Romantic made-for-TV Christmas movies are a specialty niche that has plenty of fans. I am a man, and both my wife and I enjoy a well-made sentimental Christmas movie; we both often start blubbering when the lead romantic couple finally overcome their obstacles and get together. As of 2013, when A Christmas Star is being "released" on TV, we feel there has been a recent upswing in the quality of Hallmark Christmas movies - better acting, better dialog and better cinematography.Unfortunately, this recent upswing in production values somehow by-passed A Christmas Star. The biggest flaw in this film is its unrealistic plot twists and dialog. It's plot is built on music studio executives behaving like Mafia heavies because their recording star has done something very innocent and ordinary. And, there is a 10-year old daughter who is supernaturally wise and talks eloquently to her Dad as if he is a child and she is the adult. Even the climactic scene, which involves a Christmas Eve concert, progresses along an increasingly illogical and impossible course. In addition,the characters played by Shannon Elizabeth and Steve Byers, seem to have very little romantic chemistry. The combination of dialog and acting performances is such that many of the key actions taken by the main characters seem illogical and unrealistic. If you are an incurable romantic and huge fan of the made-for-TV romantic Christmas movie genre,then you might well enjoy A Christmas Star despite its many problems. But I found that my eyes were rolling frequently and that they never teared up. So, I suggest you might pass on A Christmas Star. There are plenty of better romantic Christmas films this holiday season.