Tricia Helfer and Eric Mabius star in the Hallmark holiday film _It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas_. When the mayors of two rival towns work together to beat their competition in an annual Christmas contest, they begin to fall for each other. Both Helfer and Mabius give strong performances, and make for likable characters. But the writing is weak; with an incredibly predictable plot and the usual rom-com tropes. However, the set designers do a good job at decorating the towns so as to make it look like an actual Christmas contest instead just the obligatory generic lights and wreaths. And while some of the comedy is pretty corny, there are other bits that are rather charming. Typical Hallmark shlock, _It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas_ is entertaining but completely forgettable.

Hallmark formula to the T, but that's not a bad thing here. Rival mayors fall in love over a friendly town competition for Christmas spirit. It checks all the boxes, can be predicted within minutes of the opening, and yet a delight. *Might* be my favorite Hallmark Christmas Movie Universe film. 8/10