Hockey, Hot Chocolate, and Horses
Going by the previews and the promotional poster, I thought this was going to be a funny lighthearted one. It did have its moments, but, Whew! It got very fraught in places and near the end, it got positively weepy. Twice. And a half. This did not follow the usual conventions of a typical Hallmark Christmas movie, that’s for sure. Back in the old days, it would have premiered on Hallmark Murders and Mysteries or whatever it was called. And it wasn’t very Christmassy either, which I was perfectly fine with, actually.
Two sisters, Heidi (Brooke D’Orsay) and Sophie (Ali Liebert) are called away from their jobs with the news that their 65-year-old widowed father (James Denton) fainted and is in the hospital. Heidi is a lifelong hockey fan working as a reporter with a minor league hockey team. Her dream is to do their play by play in the anchor booth. The current anchor is going to be announcing his retirement and naming his successor at the annual Christmas Party. She is the most qualified person for the job and has made many sacrifices and worked hard for the promotion all of her professional life. Sophie has given up her corporate job and is an aspiring stand-up comedian who now waitresses on the side. Even before the two women arrive at the hospital, it is obvious that they have been estranged for some unstated reason. Frankly, I blamed Heidi, as Sophie seemed much nicer and more conciliatory. All three are still grieving the loss of their Christmas loving mother who passed away 4 years ago. When Sophie goes to the family home to check things out, it is more obvious than ever that “Daddio” has not been taking care of himself and has isolated himself from life and social engagement. She finds a final message on a flash drive from her mother asking for her daughters’ promise to help him find love again, after her death. (from cancer, as we see.) The sisters set their differences aside to get their Dad, Ed, out of the house into the dating scene. Since Ed has let himself go, a make-over is called for, and this is the more lighthearted part. He is making the attempt to work on himself inside as well as outside. Although a professional therapist is not for him, the hospital does have a program for people who just need someone to talk to, so he starts meeting up with Janice, a nice attractive volunteer who has gone through the death of a spouse like he has. Romance is brewing for Sophie, as well as her father. While at the hospital she made a connection with a nice and supportive male nurse, and Ed, thanks to his friendship and talks with Janice, and the help and advice of his daughters, has got himself a date with the lovely Lillian, played by lovely Laura Soltis. Meanwhile, Heidi is dealing with career worries. She starts to suspect that she might not get the promotion she has more than earned due to sex discrimination and the good old boy network. The big company Christmas party and the big announcement is set for the same night Sophie is planning for her big break at the Comedy Club, which is also the same night as the first date their Dad has had in 45+ years. It didn’t take a movie lover wise in the ways of Hallmark to know that everything was going to be coming to a head all at once in a not so perfect storm.
It’s no spoiler to assure anyone reading this review that by the “One Year later” epilogue, Heidi is on the career path of her dreams, Sophie is still a comedian and has found love with her nurse, and the sisters have set aside their differences after a big drama, and are now the best of friends. Ed has let love into his life again after a therapy session with a stable of horses which kind of came out of nowhere. This movie was kind of all over the place, but it did have some unexpected aspects which I liked. For one thing, we did not have 3 love stories for the 3 main leads. I liked how Heidi reacted to the Christmas Party reveal, and I also liked Sophie’s nurse, who was just a regular guy and a real peach. One thing I’ve noticed this year is that though Hot Chocolate has always had a prominent place in Hallmark Christmas movies, it has really overtaken wine as the cozy drink of choice.