You would think that the Christmas movies would get better the closer we get to Christmas. But they keep getting more and more lame. Well, onto A New Orleans Noel.

Grace (Keshia Knight Pulliam) is a traveling architect. Her new job brings her to New Orleans to redecorate the home of Loretta Brown (Patti LaBelle), the praline queen. However, she was not told that she would be sharing the job with Anthony (Brad James), Loretta’s grandson. Sparks flew for Anthony when they were in college together. Will sparks fly for Grace now?

There are so many annoying things about this movie. One: Who hires an architect to redecorate a house? Even if they were redesigning it with knocking down walls and everything, that isn’t really an architect’s job. Two: We are set in New Orleans and we only get a few flavors of the city. If we’re going to be set in New Orleans, it has to be as much of a character as the actors are. Three: When are these people working? At the end of the movie, Grace gives Loretta photographs of her new kitchen. Not drawings, not blueprints (even though she tells Anthony in the next scene that the blueprints are done), but photographs. I think we get two scenes of them working. And one of those is Grace sketching a building in a park.

I really wanted the Patti LaBelle Christmas movie to be good. And, honestly, she is the best part of it. If you want to watch it for her, go for it. Otherwise, it’s just another boring movie to pop into the bin.