This movie had a lot of potential, and I think it didn't use all of it because it was trying to be something it's not. It tried to be a romance, and ultimately it did not feel very romantic to me.

First, the good things. The casting was great. Tilky Jones had the wisecracking radio-host schtick down perfectly. Haylie Duff (whom I was getting tired of, up until now) surprised me with her warmth. Eric Peterson was delightfully goofy, Tyler Jacob Moore did a good job as a nice guy who clearly only plays it safe, and Terrence Cooper was the right combination of wisecracking and just wise. I thought every single actor was in character.

The script was sharp, and it was not too sharp. Some moments genuinely touched me. The part with the room full of packing material, to look like snow - that was so corny, and yet they played it right. This movie did not cost much to make, and yet a lot of the sets had a personal touch that made them memorable. Even the photography worked pretty well.

Alas, the movie also wanted to be "French Kiss," two people with very different backgrounds who fall in love, and I wasn't feeling it. Sandra and Pepper start out having virtually nothing in common, and yet the ice melts pretty quickly between them. I confess I did not understand what they saw in each other. I think this lack of chemistry shows in the way the scene would suddenly fade out just as they were having a moment. It felt like a sign that they did not really know what to do with each other.

I think this movie needed to take more risks. Don't try to please the same crowd over and over again. Surprise us! Show us something that makes us realize it wasn't the genre we were expecting. For a movie in which two people come to care for each other but also realize how achingly different they are, watch "Princess Mononoke."

My Christmas film viewings over-time have been a very mixed bag. With some surprisingly good hits, where regardless of how predictable they are succeed in being full of charm, warmth and heart so succeeding in being light-hearted and undemanding fun. But also some quite big misses, where the characters are not likeable, everything is forced and shallow with implausibility too in some of the worst cases, the acting and writing being weak and basically with just nothing to them.

'Naughty and Nice' is in the middling category. Not a terrible film, though a few elements are executed quite badly. Also not a particularly good one, despite some things executed well. If anything, for me it was a bit of a mixed bag and not easy to rate or review, which is not always a nice thing to feel for me as someone who is trying to be more assertive and definite (still a struggle just to say). There are far worse Christmas films, and overall films, out there than 'Naughty and Nice', but also better on both counts.

There are good things. It doesn't look too cheap, with the scenery being particularly attractive. The cast is a likeable one, with Haylie Duff a beguiling lead. She and Tilky Jones, also amiable, have a nice chemistry when it becomes more settled.

It does have fun and cute moments and some nice energy.

What hurts it though is the excessive predictability, where almost everything is obvious from having seen almost everything in the plot happen many times with similar developments. While Duff and Jones are good together, the actual relationship development is implausibly rushed and the ending is also rushed and too tidy. The script too often is very overripe, the banter being sharp to begin with but got too over the top and cheesy later.

All the characters are underdeveloped and have vague decision making. Really disliked the music, which is really repetitive and canned sounding.

Concluding, neither terrible or particularly good. Middling middle of the road more like. 5/10.