'Countdown to Christmas' movie review: 'Christmas by Starlight'

Two of Hallmark's brightest stars put on a class on chemistry and romance with 'Christmas by Starlight' (premiering Nov. 26 as part of the Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas).

In short: When her family's beloved café is slated for demolition, Annie (Kimberley Sustad) makes an agreement with carefree developer William (Paul Campbell) to save her family's eatery.

Annie and William are a wonderful pairing of contrasting characters who on the surface shouldn't like each other in the least, yet they click so effortlessly. Annie moves through the movie with a sense of urgency - because the fate of her parent's business hangs in the balance. While she remains focused on keeping the café open, William spends blithefully casual days playing squash and dining at French restaurants. He's a bit-out-of-touch while she prefers food truck fare to fine dining. Sustad and Campbell's fingerprints are all over this script - as the pair came up with the heartfelt story and crafted this romantic script.

Plenty of Hallmark movies fall under the 'save the business' or 'plan a party' umbrella - but 'Starlight' mixes the two tropes without overshadowing Annie and William. It would have been so easy for either the Christmas party or business developer tropes to overwhelm the story, but the script peppers just enough of the plot-driving elements to keep lively and keeping the focus on Annie and William.

Even though 'Starlight' is set in one of the biggest cities in the country, the movie has a small-town quality. Amid the hustle and bustle of Chicago, the characters and the café feels like a tightly-knit community. 'Starlight' absolutely places the café as the heart of the story - a place Annie's friends and family love and an essential location at the story's center.

The best decision is giving William and Annie some agency while their relationship blossoms. It's obvious that William is slowly falling for Annie - and 'Starlight' gradually moves from William just noticing her to really watching her. Lazier Hallmark movies just trap their protagonists together until they're eventually worn down and fall in love. But in gently revealing their feelings for each other - relatively early in the movie too - 'Starlight' allows them to choose to spend their time together rather than be forced into spending time together. The distinction is important - because love is a choice, not some eventuality.

If there's one weakness with 'Starlight,' it's in how the script completely glosses over a super important detail. The movie completely hinges on William's promise to Annie - he agrees to save her parent's business if she agrees to work for him for a week. Once she agrees to William's proposal, the story moves along like this is a done deal. The problem is: 'Starlight' doesn't make clear how William will hold up his end of the bargain. So this critical plot point ... is largely forgotten ... until it isn't.

Frankly, all-but-forgetting how or if William could save the café could have been a deathblow - but 'Starlight' course corrects like few, if any, Hallmark Channel movies have ever done before. The film's last scenes are, without hyperbole, pure holiday magic and romance. The script ties together the story and the romance in one, perfect and lovely bow. It's actually incredible how perfectly 'Starlight' sticks the landing.

Final verdict: Campbell and Sustad dazzle and shine in this holiday romance.

Score: 4.5 calling birds (out of 5)

'Christmas by Starlight' is rated TV-G and has a running time of 90 minutes. The movie premieres on The Hallmark Channel on Nov. 26.