I chose this as the first Hallmark Christmas movie of the season on my DVR because it sounded atypical. It did not disappoint. Of course, there's the usual Christmas schmaltz, but at least it's geographically different schmaltz. Also, as an adoptive mother I'm interested in the "What if I met my biological parent" storyline. Added bonus: the heroine is not a size 2.

It was a pleasant movie but not entirely believable. Hard to believe that the love interest had never been outside his county before. However, I do know a Louisiana gentlemen who CLAIMED that he'd never been to New Orleans until my husband's Navy reunion took place there. (At least that whole Vietnam war thing got him out of the state.) But I digress.

I did enjoy the movie, even though the plot was predictable. It won't go on my list of Hallmark Christmas movies I could watch every year ("The Christmas Card," "A Very Merry Mix-up," "Nine Lives of Christmas," and several others), but I could watch it another time or two.

This is a surprisingly sweet Hallmark family drama in which a reporter gets to know her biological father, who she thought abandoned her, under the guise of doing a story on him as his Louisiana town's newly appointed acting Père Noel. Jaicy Elliot as reporter Campbell Wallace, hoes to Louisiana for a Cajun Christmas to do a story on their new Père Noel and Cajun Christmas traditions like the lighting of bonfires. What the new Père Noel, Everett Bergeron (Bruce Campbell) doesn't know is that she is actually his daughter. Campbell gets to see what a wonderful man and loving father Everett is to his new family and his two other daughters...and she struggles with if or how to tell him that she is his eldest daughter.

The end is excellent and well worth the watch. I really like Bruce Campbell and I loved him in Burn Notice, he is a great comedian. I enjoyed seeing him as a loving father in this film...it was also fun to see Moira Kelly (she played his wife), who I haven't seen since the film Cutting Edge (which is a guilty pleasure of mine).

My one complaint is that I wish there were more actual Cajuns in this film. I appreciate their lyrical accents and missed hearing the endearing cherie (or as they say "cher"). As a big fan of Michael Doucet and BeauSoleil, I also secretly wished there was more Cajun music and traditions...like the ball of fire or boule de feu.

But having said that, this is still a recommendation from me...the endearing story kind of transcends what it lacked in Cajun authenticity.

Cute story for a Hallmark Christmas movie.

But the best part was having Bruce Campbell in it. Had Bruce Campbell not starred in this movie, this would have just been another typical Hallmark movie. But suddenly you add Bruce Campbell and it's now a Hallmark movie starring Bruce Campbell!

Bruce Campbell steals the spotlight in every scene he's in (and that's a good thing). He may have starred in a corny Christmas Hallmark movie. But he sure brought a flair to it.

Story wise, its a relatable situation to families. And sure the plots abd twists can get corny, but remember it's a Hallmark movie. And it tries to blend family connections and Christmas times together.