A Taste Of Christmas - 2020 - 4/10
AKA - Christmas Romance Al Dente
City girl Natalie does event planning, pet-sitting, gift buying, home delivery, etc ….
A veritable Jaclyn of all trades.
When her aunt, opening a small town restaurant, gets stuck in snow covered Roma, Natalie rushes to the tiny town where, go figure, the hunky Italian chef has arrived.
Christmas, cooking and romance. Keen eyed viewers might smell a formula.
I think … however … what happened was, the writer died.
The producer had already hired actors, bought skillets and aprons, and decided to wing it.
He finished the script with assistance from Ruff. Man’s nest friend.
“Listen, Ruff, they burn food, right?” – “Which sets off the smoke detector, boss!”
“Good job! Kitchen sink springs a leak.” – “And leaks explode everywhere!”
“Great, Ruff! Cinema connoisseurs will recognize an homage to “A Plumbing We Will Go.”
“The peoples should be opposite, right boss? They don’t like how the other smells.”
“In humans, opposites attract. That’s why we get divorced or kill each other.”
“How about puppies, boss?” – “We call ours kids. We find some teens so cute you could choke.”
Missing anything? Well, when the foxy Italian female sings, her voice is pure Nashville.
Nia Vardalos, featured heavily in ad slicks, is barely here.
Midway, I paused and advised Zelda this would not become a holiday repeat.
She tried to reply, through laughter, tears running down her face.
“This is one of the worst films I’ve seen in my life.”