RyothChatty ridiculous rating

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Organnall Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Happy Flower I marked "contains spoilers" because there's no way not to spoil this movie in a review. In fact, you will have it all figured out in the first 5 minutes anyway, so it's really just about watching it all play out.Watch Slater from Saved by the Bell get kidnapped at gunpoint by an insane Sabrina the teenage witch and be held hostage in a secluded cabin with her clueless family that ignore his constant, desperate pleas for help. Watch as Sabrina's family fall in love with Slater within the first 3 minutes of meeting him - even though the explanation for his hysterical cries of kidnapping are due to a serious anxiety problem that, if true, would put any reasonable person on alert immediately - as they rationalize away the huge amount of evidence that their daughter's new romance isn't all that it seems.Bask in the spirit of the holidays while watching insane Sabrina's family - frisky drunken Grandma obviously included - and Slater's terrible girlfriend act out every cliché b-story from the past decade in the background of this extremely predictable "love story".If you are a fan of horrible acting, embarrassing dialogue, predictably bad writing and inappropriate sexy bondage jokes delivered by the creepiest gas station attendant this side of the Hills Have Eyes then you and your family are in for a holiday treat. I am a fan of the above and loved this movie. It was so bad that after watching, I immediately started calling my friends and family to spread the love so we could all laugh together. It was truly awful. Slater's acting is indescribably bad. I am making this movie a holiday tradition in my home.

benko916 Where to begin.... Melissa Joan Heart always surprises me, when I think it can't get any worse.... It always seems to. The premise is easy and kind of fun, girl has a bad life, wants to impress her parents blah blah, so she kidnaps Mario Lopez (don't worry no spoilers this is what it says on the TV Guide menu) so she kidnaps him and forces him to act like her Boy friend.This movie will warm your heart, melt your soul and make you feel stupid after watching it. If you want to kill some time, sit in front of the TV and have one of those mindless evening's then this movie is good for you. Kids will not like it, its a love story deep down inside, and I do not think kids would enjoy this mindless made for TV movie.Of course the acting is sub par, then again its Melissa Joan Heart and Mario Lopez, so you know what you're going to get before entering in to it. Watch this movie if you want to kill time or have a nice movie for you and that special someone to watch on Christmas, other than that if you do not expect a lot out of it, and know its pointless before sitting down to watch it, then go for it. You might actually like it. It is not the worst Made for TV movie I have ever seen, nor is it the best, its about mid level. Overall its pretty stupid, funny and entertaining all in one.In one sentence it can be expressed as cheese mixed with charm.

Robert W. This year I cooked a lot for the holidays and while I cooked, I watched holiday movies. During this process I got disgustingly hooked on ABC Family Christmas movies and this was the first one to catch my attention and gosh darn it I loved it!! Yes it is sappy but its also fun and hair-brained and ridiculous in the all the best ways and turns in a sweet and romantic story and perhaps most surprisingly and I'm not the only reviewer to say this...the acting was actually pretty good. The story is a bit ridiculous and over the top and yet the simplicity of the writing made it almost believable. It would have been a hit as a romantic comedy on the big screen with big stars so why shouldn't it be fun on the small screen, even on ABC family which I am fast becoming a fan of. As with any good Christmas film, the season plays an important part to the story of course and while there isn't any true supernatural "magic" to the story...it still feels truly magical and will make anyone smile.Those of us that grew up in the 80's and 90's can't help but smile and enjoy seeing Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina The Teenage Witch) and Mario Lopez (Slater from Saved By The Bell) in a movie together. I certainly would never consider either one of them "amazing" actors by any means and yet I sort of ate my words because both of them were fantastic. They played their roles perfectly and didn't make you feel like you've seen this romantic angle a dozen times. They were cute together and their chemistry was very good, it wasn't outstanding but it was solid. It absolutely worked for the story. Timothy Bottoms and Markie Post play Hart's parents and they are very good. They fit the cast well and don't take attention from the main stars. June Lockhart is terrific and fun as the bitter Grandma. I even think she was slightly underused and more scenes with her could have been a lot of fun and laugh out loud moments. Kyle Howard and Vanessa Lee Evigan round out the main cast as Hart's siblings. They are good but don't have a lot of scenes so they don't swing the cast any which way.Seeing the director, Ron Underwood's, resume makes me understand just why this tiny little TV movie is actually so well done. He has a wide variety of Television under his belt but really top notch Television. Then you look at his early movie work with the truly outstanding Mighty Joe Young (who doesn't cry at the end of THAT!) and the classic comedy City Slickers. He is very talented and he knows how to tell a story and he makes his characters come alive with emotion and true heart and that is exactly what this movie does. No it won't ever win any Academy Awards as I often say about movies like this...but when you're boiling something down to pure entertainment, I was purely entertained. I loved it! I was smiling all the way through, and even had tears in my eyes in the end and that to me makes a truly terrific movie. This is worthy of anyone's Christmas movie year rotation!! 8.5/10

bkoganbing Television veterans Mario Lopez (Saved By The Bell) and Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina The Teenage Witch) star in Holiday In Handcuffs which despite its title is not a Christmas bondage story. The story is about the Bohemian non-conformist daughter of an overachieving family who is so tired of getting asked why she isn't settling down that on an incredible impulse she kidnaps Mario Lopez out of a convenience store and brings him home to her rural family farm house to show off to the family the boyfriend she promised to bring home for Christmas, but who in fact had dumped her before the action of the film started.If you can wrap your mind around the concept of Melissa without Sabrina's magic kidnapping hunky Mario Lopez than you've got more imagination than I have. But a funny thing happens, from as incredibly stupid a premise as this one starts with Holiday In Handcuffs does kind of grow on you. Even Mario starts to sympathize with Melissa after meeting her family consisting of parents Markie Post and Timothy Bottoms, brother Kyle Chandler, sister Vanessa Lee Evigan and grande dame grandma June Lockhart.Of course Mario is also slightly engaged to Gabrielle Miller, but in these kind of family films things like that do have a way of resolving themselves or just going away.Holiday In Handcuffs has become a staple on the Hallmark Channel in the past two years. I suspect it will remain so for young folks in love and those in love with love who dream that a boyfriend like Mario Lopez is a pistol and restraints away.