Hair and Holly

Last night’s (07/25/2026) Christmas in July premiere, the last of them for this year, thankfully, did not disappoint. It met my expectations, set up by the 3 preceding offerings in the series, as basic and only minimally entertaining at best. And it was not so bad as to be deliciously awful. Even the presence of Jen Lilley, my least favorite Hallmark actress, could not push it that low. Like the others, this is one that could not quite cut the fruitcake as a bona fide Hallmark premiere as an original new movie. Like the first in the series, Christmas Under Construction, this is a movie that Hallmark purchased from Hulu and is still being aired there. The other two C in J movies were ones that were wrapped up and sitting on the shelf for two years until Hallmark rescued them and put them on the air.

Ryan (Nick Bateman), a successful financier, returns to his hometown to sell his beloved deceased Grandmother’s (Nan’s) house. He becomes reacquainted with his former high-school crush, Grace (Jen Lilley), an interior decorator. Yes, it was just basic. Plot-wise it was as routine as Snowbound for The Holidays without the talents and appeal of Vanessa Lengies or real snow.  The Christmas decorations were scene stealing and a little tacky but not as over-the-top as Christmas Under Construction. The decorations in that one were so bad they actually constituted a highlight. This one featured a real estate guy that wanted to tear down “Nan’s” home, but he was not evil or powerful enough like in O Little Christmas Market, to be a focus of hissing and booing. This guy is kind of pitiful and ineffectual. When he was trying to get Ryan to sign on the dotted line, he turns around and disrespects and insults him to our heroine while he is standing right there. Yeah, that’ll work. We find out later that our hero (shocker!) didn’t sell to this bozo, but we are deprived of the pleasure of seeing the poor sap getting his comeuppance or even a telling off. (followed by the standard Hallmark change of heart/first step to redemption, of course)

Most of the negativity towards this movie in its first incarnation on Hulu seems to be focused on Nick Bateman’s hair style and whether the eponymous plant is actually mistletoe. Nick Bateman is very handsome and likable in this movie and he has always combed his hair that way, so I am not going to jump on that train. As for whether the plant that Jen Lilley’s best friend is randomly attaching to the ceilings of the town in hopes that Ryan and Grace will kiss, is really mistletoe, I think that the jury is out. It is certainly not holly, as some critics claim. In some scenes it does look like mistletoe, and really, why would they risk not using mistletoe in a movie that mistletoe is such an integral part of the plot? Can you imagine? “The Mistletoe” is played by…”Holly” ? I think it is mistletoe in most scenes albeit probably plastic. As for my main prejudice against this movie, the lead actress, she was a non-issue. Her character was neither despicable nor TSTL* and her portrayal was just fine. Although she and her best friend acted like giddy high-schoolers rather than mature adults, that is just par for the course. Her hair was firmly under control in this one. She still talks too fast and I needed the closed captions when she put more than two sentences together. To end on a positive note, I did like Lisa Michelle Cornelius as “Mayor Sami”.

*Too Stupid to Live