Magic

Adopting St. Nick

/ Rebekahrox / 4 Comments

Fast Times at Jolly Acres

When you are going to have a movie based around a St. Nick character, it’s very very important to have a St. Nick one can feel really drawn to. I’m not sure whether I am an outlier here, but this portrayal just didn’t do it for me. He was very nice looking, but a touch too corporate looking for me. But my main problem was the smile he had plastered on his face through practically the whole thing which too often turned into a grimace, even when he was talking. I just didn’t like the vibe. He was good with the eye-twinkling though.

Our main character, Maren Pollock, played by always good-to-see Amy Groening, owns the local Hardware store in Bright Creek which she has worked in all her life, and which she inherited from her late father. Not ever much into dating, we are told, but always wanting to be a Mom, she adopted her daughter Leah when she was a baby and who is now 10 years old, I believe. Five years ago her father died, and Maren has buried herself in her work, taking all burdens cheerfully on her shoulders, and going all out helping others because that’s how she is, but also to bury her sadness. She is yet another example of a sufferer of Hallmark Heroine Syndrome, closing herself off from meaningful relationships to avoid disappointment and hurt (except for her best friend and righthand woman, Josie, and Leah, of course.) The very much sidelined character of Josie was played by Stephanie Sy, who was wasted in the role. Time for her to be promoted to head girl like Amy Groening. About 3 weeks before Christmas Leah meets Kris Patterson in the hardware store, who reminds her of her late grandfather, whom she misses very much. He is an escapee visitor from Jolly Acres, a new retirement community in town. That name. Don’t get me started. I did not find it at all suitable for a nice retirement community, and it was not even meant ironically. Leah wants to sign up for their Adopt-a-Grandparent program that is going on, and Maren and Kris are more than happy to oblige. Thus, Maren and Leah start to get involved in all the Christmas activities at Jolly Acres. They meet Reid, the man in charge of opening new locations of Jolly Acreses all over the country and the attraction between the two adults is immediate. Conveniently, Maren is on the spot when Reid loses his contractor in the middle of renovating The Great Room for the center, which was to be a main attraction for the Grand Opening and Celebration. Maren, known locally as The Handy Ma’am, who can fix anything and knows people, takes over the project, which further throws her and Leah together with Reid and Kris.

Meanwhile, Leah has gotten the idea that Kris is really Santa Claus and is taking notes on everything he says and does that supports that theory. And there is a lot. He is always making lists, has a way with reindeer, always looking at a world globe, wants to know what the weather will be on Christmas Eve, and can turn on Christmas tree lights with the wave of his hand. For most of the movie, everything goes super smoothly with the renovation, the romance, and Leah’s investigation. A little too smoothly, actually. The only cloud on the horizon is the transitory nature of Reid’s life since childhood. He has always moved from place to place and he doesn’t even have a Christmas Tree! But not for long! That is a situation not to be tolerated in a Hallmark movie where homes do not just have one tree, but usually at least 3. Just when Reid is starting to think about settling down in friendly and nice Bright Creek, things come to a head when he gets his next assignment from “corporate” which will be in Honolulu. Needless to say this puts a damper on the nicely percolating romance. And then the ceiling to the Great Room collapses and the plumbing leaks all over Maren’s beautiful renovations.

Everything is solved and wrapped up romance-wise and career-wise in typical Hallmark fashion. Except, happily once again, we forego the dumb and totally avoidable last minute misunderstanding between the sweethearts. I think Hallmark has finally gotten the message in that regard. Next on the agenda is the almost-kiss-interrupted.  As to the final determination as to whether Kris Patterson’s last name is really  Kringle, no spoilers here in that regard. You will just have to watch it. It’s not a spectacular effort but perfectly watchable, even without your full attention.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

What If Christmas

/ Rebekahrox / 2 Comments
The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: whatifchristmas-hc26_6ad256164d2d7.jpg

“I Know Things”

Saturday, we had an amnesia Christmas theme and Sunday night we have an alternate reality Christmas! Two of my favorites!  Yes, they have been done before and maybe better. This one is very similar in plot beats to Hallmark’s A Dream of Christmas starring Deloache and Walker, one of my favorite Christmas movies. This one had a lighter, less angsty tone (from what I remember of the older movie). Also, this one was about an older firmly established couple, probably in their 50s. That change also reminded me of  2021’s excellent A Kiss Before Christmas. Although it didn’t quite come up to the two earlier movies, it was an excellent start to Countdown to Christmas.  I know this weekend was not the first weekend , but since it’s not even Halloween yet, I will still call it a start.

Erin  and Adam are a happily married couple who have recently moved back to New York City from Boston. Adam is Chief of Cardiac Surgery, and Erin is his supportive wife who had found fulfillment and purpose raising money for the Boston hospital through the annual Christmas Gala. In Boston, her pet project was to enable patients to have the cardiac surgeries they needed and who otherwise could not afford them. But in New York City, she finds she is not needed in the important role spearheading their Christmas gala. It is doing just fine under the current director of the foundation. When she is offered the job as a coat checker, it serves as quite the wake-up call. At loose ends with nothing important to do, she starts to wonder what life would be like had she not given up her promising career as a dress designer when she got married. Thanks to an expensive heart ornament and a Christmas market Santa Claus, who asks her what she wants for Christmas, her wish is granted and she wakes up the next morning alone in a strange sumptuous apartment. Obviously Erin is unfamiliar with Hallmark movies because otherwise she would have known not to make Christmas Wishes around mysterious Santa Clauses. They might have great power. She is without a loving husband but she is now a very busy and important dress designer. Humor and drama ensue, but mostly humor as she struggles to understand what is happening and eventually finding her feet in her new role. But she is lonely.  One day, hanging around Adam’s hospital, she literally bumps into him by chance. Shocked and ecstatic, she gives him a big hug, but he has no idea who she is.  Adam is bowled over figuratively as well as literally by this beautiful woman, and they start to see each other. One of the ways they bond anew is in the coffee shop where they have a lot of fun ordering custom-made coffees and cocoas from the deadpan barista. (who has the Gen-Z stare down pat, I might add). I love that they just have their boisterous fun despite her poker-faced and apathetic service-It was a nice humorous relatable touch. As the warm and kind Christmas-loving person she now is, she makes a lot of changes in the life of her cold and career-focused alternate reality self. From her new perspective as a famous VIP now involved with Adam’s hospital, she also sees how she can contribute there as Adam’s wife in her “old” life. If she can only get back there.

I was very happy to have the story about an older couple, which allowed the talented Loughlin and Cavanagh to play their ages. I admit I was a little dubious about Lori Loughlin as our heroine. It’s been awhile and she’s never exactly blown me away before, but on the other hand she’s never given a performance that got on my bad side either. I really liked her in this. She was well cast in the role both as the wife of a prominent surgeon and as an elite dress designer. Classy and refined, but warm and spontaneous enough to be likable. She and Tom made a perfect match with great chemistry.  I’ve been a fan of quirkily charming Tom Cavanagh for many years, especially lately as Brooke Shields’  love interest in the mystery series You’re Killing Me. Rosemary Dunsmore plays fashion designer Erin’s even more successful and famous rival and frenemy Margot Braymire. It always makes me happy when this busy Canadian actress pops up in shows because of her role as Katherine in Anne of Avonlea.

In changing the life of her alternate reality self for the better, Erin also effects positive change in the lives of people she meets that she knew in her old life. But will she stay where she is now with her new career and apparently also continuing a new relationship with Adam, or go back to her previous life, armed with the knowledge she gained in her “dream life”? One unexpected bit of news tips the balance. The script is low-key but well written, with quite a few humorous lines and scenes.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

The Spirit of Halloween

/ Rebekahrox / 7 Comments
The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: thespirit.jpg

A Halloween Carol

When I saw the previews for this, I thought this one had a good chance of being one I really might like. But unfortunately for me it was a case of the previews being the best part of the movie. It was a Halloween version of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, the basis of several recent Hallmark Countdown to Christmas movies. Which makes perfect sense, right? After all, the spooky ghosts of the Dickens classic fit right in with a Halloween theme. I really liked what I saw of one of the ghosts, and a scene they showed of Meghan Ory, the lead who played the Scrooge character, was funny and she was cute in it.

Meghan plays Everly, a fashion designer who specializes in wedding dresses. We first see her stalking to work being all Scrooge-y about Halloween and all of its paraphernalia. We soon find out that she was publicly humiliated at the annual Fire Station Halloween Bash many years ago, and that has permanently cast a blight on her Halloweens. Along with that, as is usual with Hallmark heroines, it has caused her to erect walls around herself and close herself off both to love and in her professional life and her other relationships. And also, as usual with these characters, the big traumatic event has something to do with a man. Hallmark heroines are traditionally very fragile flowers when it comes to romantic disappointment. One setback and the whole trajectory of their lives is down the tubes. In addition to keeping Beau (Kevin McGarry), a great guy who loves her, and a fireman to boot, firmly in the friend zone, she has also quashed the ambitions of Tracy, her talented and loyal assistant. Her refusal to avoid risk and otherwise open herself up to change is symbolized by turning down opportunities to make custom Halloween costumes during the season. Specifically, a couples costume, Avocado on Toast, designed by Tracy.

The night before Halloween, Everly is visited by the ghosts of, you know, past, present and future, to show her the error of her ways and help her turn her life around. The ghosts were the best part of the movie, particularly her dead former mentor, Anna Watkins, filling the role of Jacob Marley, and Grant, The Ghost of Christmas, I mean Halloween, Future, played by and Lochlan Quarmby. He had a lot of charisma.

When he takes her 10 years in the future she gets her final wakeup call when he shows her Beau, her childhood “friend”, playing with two little munchkins that she knows are not theirs, because she would be around 50 at this time. So would he, but he apparently found himself a much younger woman. Also her business has been taken over by her continually thwarted assistant and she is relegated to slaving away at her sewing machine all alone in her house. Lessons learned, she emerges on Halloween morning a changed woman, bent on making amends to Tracy and Beau. The Tracy situation goes well, but Beau is not as cooperative as she had hoped. She forgets the lessons learned and proceeds to hide herself under the covers instead of attending the fateful Fire Station Bash. This serves as the 15 minutes-to-go romantic setback and tension builder.

The production values of this movie were up to snuff and of course the Ghosts helping our doomed heroine change the trajectory of her life were a reliable if predictable plot device. The script was OK, though for me, the jokes didn’t land. I enjoyed Meghan Ory’s performance in the short snippets we saw in the preview. I liked her cheerfulness and energy. And she brought that animated performance to the whole role. But that became a problem for me. She maintained that high energy regardless of where she was in her journey with little nuance or modulation. Her crying scenes were unconvincing. Frankly, and I suspect this is an unpopular opinion, her exuberant performance got on my last nerve. I don’t know if it was the actress’s interpretation, or the Director’s, but it didn’t work for me. Unfortunately.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

A Knight to Remember

/ Rebekahrox / 8 Comments
The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: aknight.jpg

“When I Wished for My Heart to be Turned to Stone, I Meant It Metaphorically!”

Hallmark’s time travel romances are amongst some of the best movies that Hallmark has made.* There’s something about the fish out of water trope that practically guarantees humor. I usually can summon up a certain degree of sympathy and empathy for the time travelers while they are being taught a much needed lesson. Which of course translates into a character arc for them or for people around them whom they influence. And then there’s the overarching curiosity and concern over how such an impossible situation is going to be resolved for the happy ending. Unfortunately, with “Knight” the filmmakers’ reach exceeded its grasp. Having a movie about an 15th century English  knight being plopped down into 2026 Chicago, USA was just a little too ambitious. There were just too many difficult hurdles to overcome to make a movie believable enough for me to  suspend disbelief and engage my full interest and investment. It could have been done, but time and money are too often an obstacle with Hallmark. Although pretty good, with an often cute script, they glossed over way too many improbabilities and plot holes to list. It was cute and at least it was different. So Hallmark does get props for that. I appreciate it when they rock the boat a bit and try something new.

The story opens in 1428 with Sir Griffin of Beauford, a knight with a 21st century haircut, on the eve of his arranged marriage to Lady Beatrice. He is on a hill gazing at the stars and consulting with his dead mother who is also up there somewhere. All of a sudden the stars and planets start moving together and as they are aligning, he wishes that his heart would turn to stone until “he finds what makes it whole.” By which he means finding true love, obviously, which is apparently not Lady Beatrice. He promptly and literally turns into a stone statue. Thanks, Mom. Flash forward to a museum in Chicago where our heroine is receiving a newly discovered medieval stone statue that she is to clean and restore for an exhibition. She uncovers a message on the statue that says “I Shall Not Wake But By the Kiss.” Being a normal girl, of course she kisses the statue, and low and behold the statue comes to life. Guess who? It is our handsome and noble knight in the flesh! The usual antics ensue. She takes him back to her “chambers” where he marvels over cars (foul beasts) indoor plumbing (“indoor rain as hot or cold as one likes!”), and modern appliances, (How can there be warmth with no fire?!) The fashion choices of 21st century women and men are strangely unremarked upon. Naturally he goes walkabout when she goes back to work the next morning, and rescues a kite from a tree and catches a robber  while on a borrowed stallion, to the admiring gazes of the female audience. Emily finds him while panicking on the phone with her best friend (Methinks I have found my quarry!) and in a nod to the “Fall into Love” Hallmark theme, she introduces him to Pumpkin Spice Lattes. (It’s a kind of gourd.) All of this is complicated by Emily (of Porter) and “Griffin”, who were caught leaving the museum by the surveillance cameras, being accused of stealing the stone statue by the FBI. And the investigating agent just happens to be her very unlikable ex-husband who has caused her to be love-averse. Hello?! Conflict of Interest! Hello?! How could they possibly carry out an 800 lb. marble statue out of the building in full view of cameras? Hello?! He broke into her apartment without a warrant looking for evidence! The eyebrows of even a casual fan of police procedurals would spike at any one of these faux pas. And I am not a casual fan. Anyway, with the help of her best friend Ivy, who is an astrology fan and in on the whole thing, they discover (long story that didn’t bear thinking about too hard) that the same alignment of planets that turned him into a statue is going to repeat in 3 days. If he doesn’t want to be turned back into stone forever, his true love must admit her love before the fateful hour.

A lot of prominent Hallmark actors took part in this movie. Julie Gonzalo plays Emily and as usual, she was just fine. Her real life husband, Chris McNally, had a small cameo, and the harried museum director was played by Matty Finochio (Welcome back!). Britt Irvin was great as Emily’s best friend, Ivy, who has a bit of a secondary romance with a Renfaire guy. Sir Griffin was played by James Trevena in his first foray into Hallmarkland as the lead, but I hope not his last. He was very handsome and perfectly cast as the romantic Knight. But he was also good in the role and quite endearing. He made a nice statue as well. Ivy’s brother who was also a much needed lawyer, is played by David James Lewis who is a very familiar face. He plays a good guy in this one. Even the tiny role of the apartment janitor was played by Liza Huget whose been in like over 12 other Hallmarks.

**Mild Spoilers**

After Emily and Sir Griffin are cleared of all charges thanks to Ivy’s brother, and Sir Griffin is saved from being permanently turned into stone, he is sent on a world tour. The museum made an exhibit featuring him playing Sir Griffin of Beauford and Emily will be coming along as the permanent curator. Imagine that. The whole resolution and ending had a “Well…Bye!” feel about it, leaving many unanswered questions.  Like how was Griffin going to get a passport for his world tour?

Rating: 7 out of 10.

*My 10 Favorite Time Travel Hallmarks (in very rough order)

Love Finds You

/ Rebekahrox / 18 Comments
The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: lovefindsyou.jpg

“Woo-Woo” Wooing

Although there were some good things about this movie, it was pretty much sabotaged by the premise, which was contrived and absurd. It’s like the writers had the idea for the male and female to fall in love on a delivery truck while on a quest for the owner of a mysterious package who is someone on the driver’s route.  But since they couldn’t think of a reason to get her on the truck, they decided to put fantasy and magic in there so no one would question how the plot didn’t make sense because it had fantasy and magic in it. It’s magic. It’s fantasy. It isn’t reality. So it does not have to make sense. Right? Wrong. Magic always makes sense, even in a Hallmark. Magic is the doing of a magical person like Santa Claus, or an elf, an angel, or a ghost of a loved one. Or it comes from a magical object, like a magic dreidel, or lemon drop, or comet, or baked goods (so, so many). There are probably others, but the point is, it always has a reason for being. Not in this one. All we get is a musical chord one time, a bar code scanner that is behaving mysteriously,  and some shout outs to “fate” and “destiny ” to try to explain the unexplainable.

Alex Brown (Aimee Teagarden) is a Jewelry Designer who has a knack for customizing jewelry to reflect in some way the personality and history of her clients. They or the loved one fills out a questionnaire about themselves or the giftee and she designs a piece that is exactly right.  She also has had a string of unhappy love affairs which we hear all about. Thanks to one of her best friends, she has too much wine and does a new age type ceremony that is going viral, called “Fire and Aspire.” This involves burning the artifacts left by old boyfriends (Alex conveniently has a whole box full) and saying out loud or “manifesting” the qualities she really wants in a boyfriend. The next day, she receives a purple box delivered by Jack, her regular delivery guy (Chris McNally) who is a grumpy curmudgeon who also has an unhappy romantic history. Alex has been unable to befriend him with her cutesy post-it notes and cupcakes. She does not have a romantic interest in him per se, she just wanted to be friendly and get him to unbend a little because she is the perky sunshine type. It’s the “Grumpy-Sunshine” trope. He only cares about delivering his packages in good condition and on time and has no interest in “customer service,” i.e. being friendly and pleasant. He is also one of two top runners in a contest his employer is having, the prize being enough money to pay off the remainder of his sister’s college loan.

Back to the purple package. When Alex opens it, every item in there reflects an aspect of every quality she wished for in a man during the ceremony the night before. So the other “Alex Brown” this package is meant for must be her soulmate. She and her friends confront Jack with the package that was delivered to her by mistake but won’t give it back to him because they want to find and meet the Alex Brown it was meant for. They force Jack’s hand, but when Jack scans the barcode on the label,  no address comes up. The scanner is being spooky. To make a long and annoying episode short, this is how Alex gets to wheedle herself aboard Jack’s delivery truck. Where she procedes to whine, make demands, and stick her nose in his business. There are several other Alex Browns on his route, (what are the chances?) but none of them are the right guy. Meanwhile, Jack displays by his words and actions that he  actually possesses all of the qualities she wished for in a man. Alex shows him how being more personable can win him the contest, and they fall in love. The romance wasn’t bad, but other than that, it was just one stupid thing after another.

So what were the good things about this movie I mentioned? I really liked Chris McNally in this. He made a great curmudgeon. Even when he transformed into the typical Hallmark hero (all too soon), he was still good. I thought Aimee Teagarden was kind of miscast as the perky sunshine type, but she ended up being just fine, even though her character was super irritating. The side characters were positives and the pacing was good. Despite the stupidities and the annoyances with the plot elements themselves, the dialogue and conversations were smart and had some wit. Most importantly, it did not rely on the usual Hallmark core plot elements, like saving a beloved institution or the last minute misunderstanding to hang the story on.

**Major Spoilers**

So do we ever get to the bottom of what was behind the appearance of the magical box? Yes we do! It turns out it was all a big coincidence! There really was an Alex Brown who ordered all of the items that pointed to him being the other Alex’s soulmate. And his order was mistakenly delivered to the one and only of the many other Alex Browns in the area who had just “manifested” everything the box contained. It was just that his delivery area was just annexed. Coincidence! But too bad for him,  Alex was already in love with Jack, so he ends up with Megan, Alex’s best friend. Also, Jack ends up winning the contest even though he dropped out the day before. So many unanswered “But-What-About???s”. Even though many probably don’t, I didn’t like the way Hallmark just took for granted that their viewership wouldn’t notice or care about so many nonsensical things in this movie. And this includes how Megan is going to navigate having both the love of her life and her best friend having the same name. I guess it’s better than a match between Alex Brown and Alex Brown.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

Because of Cupid

/ Rebekahrox / 2 Comments
The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: becauseofC.jpg

Stupid Eros

I was looking forward to this one because I like the lead actress, Amy Groening. And though I have not really liked most of the characters that young whippersnapper (30 years old) Evan Roderick has played (much like Tyler Hynes) he was very good in A Make or Break Christmas. This one didn’t work for me mostly because I just didn’t believe Groening and Roderick as a romantic couple. Who knows why or how one person sees a certain chemistry and another does not? It’s a mystery. The story was pretty cute, I thought, and the dialogue was good too. There was a little mystery there (Is Hal really THE Cupid in human form?) And it certainly was appropriate for Valentine’s day. It seemed a pretty fresh take on the old Hallmark standby of magical love-related consumables.

Naomi and Marcus are workmates at a wine bar. They are good friends except, as Marcus confesses to Hal (Cupid) whom he meets when he is working as a bartender at a party, he has been head over heels with “Nomes” from their first meeting. Naomi had a boyfriend at the time and Marcus, as we learn, lacks confidence that he is good enough for her. She has a degree in biochemistry and is very responsible and mature and he has never been one to buckle down or be serious about much of anything. Whenever Hallmark writes a male character with that kind of personality, Evan Roderick is always their number 1 choice. Naomi and Marcus are trying to win a contest for best Mocktail which comes with a 30,000 dollar prize which they need to hopefully buy the wine bar they work at. Lisa, the owner, is planning to sell it to a parking lot company. Wow, Lisa. You are not a villain, but that’s a classic villain move. Hal invites the pair to his tea shop to sample some rare teas they can incorporate into the mocktails. On day one of the contest, Marcus samples the drink along with 3 other couples that the pair know. The relationships of the 3 couples immediately change to being head over heels in love with each other and Marcus, although he has always been in love with “Nomes”, immediately has the courage to declare himself to her publicly. On their way back from the party Marcus tells Naomi that the syrup she used to make their winning mocktail was a love potion. Naomi does not believe in magic and attributes the elixir’s effect on the couples (and Marcus) to a scientifically based chemical reaction to the mix of ingredients in the drink. Together, they go on a mission to find an antidote to the mixture and have the three couples drink it. They believe, especially Naomi, that the pairs are making major life decisions based on love that is only temporary and not real. That’s all I’ll say about the plot, except that when the couples finally all take the antidote, they all react differently to it.

In addition to Marcus and Naomi’s story, there were theoretically plenty of other things to keep interest up. Will Marcus be able to prove himself as a mature human being? Trying to decode and put together an antidote. Wondering if it would work and what the effect would be. The 3 couples stories, at least two of whom we are really rooting for. Do we even want the antidote to work? The mocktail contest. The fate of the wine bar. Also there were a lot of literary and mythological references added to the mix. So a lot of good ingredients, but somehow for me, it kind of dragged in places. Maybe there was too much going on? And it didn’t help that Naomi never seemed that interested in Marcus as a romantic partner. Just didn’t feel the attraction there. And that’s pretty fatal to a romance.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

The Wish Swap

/ Rebekahrox / 11 Comments
The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: wishswap.jpg

If Wishes were Chickens

Emily Tennant, fresh from her role as an adversarial sister in a Countdown to Christmas movie, is back in the saddle as the main girl In The Wish Swap. She is paired with Jake Foy, who has worked in Hallmark movies before, but not in quite awhile. I really liked him and would like to see him cast in more lead roles. And ones that require flannel. Casey is an executive recruiter for a large company and her fatal flaw is that she carries self sufficiency too far. She wants to do everything herself and won’t ask for help when she could use it. Henry manages a large farm and doesn’t really have a fatal flaw, except he is kind of reserved, likes to stay in the background, and won’t “put himself out there” as they say. They first meet at a restaurant where they are meeting friends (Casey) and family (Henry) to celebrate their birthdays. The two parties are seated next to each other and the sparks fly immediately. When Casey’s friends bring out a birthday cake, Casey offers to share it with Henry’s party. Casey is very open and outgoing, the opposite of Henry. They make their birthday wishes and blow out the candles together. And that’s where the title of this movie comes in. Somehow (we are never told why or how) their wishes come true, but Casey gets Henry’s wish of owning his own farm, and Henry gets Casey’s wish of being on “Dancing Your Heart Out,” a reality show like Dancing with the Stars but with ordinary people.

Casey figures out what happened right away, doesn’t even freak out like any normal person would, but finds Henry and explains what happened. He doesn’t freak out either. She makes a deal with him. If she can be his partner on the national dance contest, she will let him run her farm for a whole year part time as a second job so he can save up enough money to buy his own place. Being on a nationwide dance show is Henry’s worse nightmare, but he agrees. What she doesn’t tell him is that her birthday wish is actually three wishes. What could be worse for a reserved somewhat shy person like Henry than being on a nationwide dance show? How about doing a stand up comedy routine in front of a club full of people? In order to get Henry to agree to be her partner in comedy she ups the ante by promising Henry part ownership of her farm. That is his dream and he cannot refuse. Casey’s third wish is a secret.

This was a cute movie with a better than average script. The banter between the various characters was amusing and everyone was likable. Nary a bad guy in the bunch which can be refreshing. What with Henry being forced out of his comfort zone with the dancing and having to do a comedy routine (which wasn’t half bad) with Casey, there was plenty of opportunity for situational comedy as well as romance. And of course the same goes for city girl Casey’s struggles working with Henry doing the usual Farm duties on the most darling little farm ever.

Henry’s sister Charlotte (Molly Saunders-possible Hallmark lead in training?) who helped out on the farm added value and a nice way with a line. Along with her wannabe boyfriend she provided the secondary romance. The last minute conflict was on the lame side, but in order for the couple to have their happy ending,  they had to prove they had learned their life lessons once and for all as well as seal the deal on their love story. But do they win the dance contest? I thought the writers had left a loose end, but the very last scene provides the answer.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

The Santa Class

/ Rebekahrox / Leave a comment
The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: santaclass.jpg

Campy Christmas Camp

Kimberly Sustad plays Kate North who has inherited North Star Academy, a school for Santas from her recently retired father. “What is a Santa School?” you may well ask. Well, it’s just what it sounds like. It’s for the training of those aspiring to be “picture perfect” Santa Clauses in order nab the most prestigious Santa jobs at the best malls, department stores, and parades. After her father retired, most of her clients have left for the competition (more on that later) and she, already only reluctantly trying to run this school, is left with 6 trainees which on the surface could only be described as pretty hopeless. We have a Jewish hippie Santa, a very intense  woman Santa with a chip on her shoulder (for some  reason), A Santa who speaks through a hand puppet-excuse me- “figure” aka “ “a talking piece of felt,” an elderly cool black Santa who wants to prove himself to his grandkids, a young skinny Santa who is only there to research his doctoral thesis on Santa Mythology, and an actor named “Paul Campbell”, up for a part in a Christmas Movie and played by my and many others’ favorite Hallmark actor, Paul Campbell.

Things are not going well. To add to her woes, we have the aforementioned competition, the Saint Nicholas School, “America’s Top Santa School,” which has been has been sucking the life out of North Star Academy for years. Back in 2013, North Star Academy’s business manager Blaise left to set up his own school, because Kate’s father, a legend in the business, was too focused on turning out wonderful Santas and not making as much profit as he could. Blaise has built a very profitable corporate-backed school and is now about to branch out into training Cupids, Leprechauns, and Easter Bunnies. Kate is on the verge of selling out to the owner of many malls who has offered to buy the school. He is actually nice and not a bad guy. Kate’s love interest is a hot shot Santa trainer (voted the best in America), played by Hallmark mainstay Ben Ayers, who was recently fired from St. Nicholas by Blaise because his high salary was eating into the board members’ Christmas bonuses. Kate and Dan went on a date once but Kate dumped him when she found out he worked for money-grubbing Blaise. Now fired Dan comes to Kate begging her for a job, and she agrees to take him on as her Santa trainer for the current session. Ben and Kimberley’s chemistry was excellent. She is such a presence that she needs a strong actor as a partner, and they both shine in these goofball roles.

Can we just say that  this movie is not thoroughly grounded in reality?  And this is not solely due to the fantasy element which is introduced when, driving back to Kate’s school,  they almost run over an old fat man in a red suit who is stumbling down  the middle of the road. It’s the real Santa Claus! But he has hit his head somehow and has amnesia. Kate and Dan know he is the real one because they both see his sleigh with his 8 reindeer flying away back home. They decide to take him back to her school to take care of him and help him regain his memory of who he is before it’s too late for all of the little boys and girls of the world to get their presents.

We are asked to just ignore a lot of questionable or nonsensical plot elements. The main thing is that the action is set during Christmas season right on up to Christmas Day. Shouldn’t Santas be trained during the summer or early autumn? There they are at Santa school when they should be already fully trained and working at being Santa Clauses. Even though the ending is happy and full of hope, we are not sure why. Nothing is really resolved. Yes, our team won the “Christmas Cup” from their rival, but it really doesn’t solve any of their problems. The money-rich corporate backed competition is still there, even though bad Blaise’s heart grew a few sizes thanks to a special gift from Santa Claus. I wasn’t convinced Kate still didn’t feel trapped running the school. Is Dan really worthy of her? And other stuff.

But it was fine! The presence and performance of Kimberly Sustad and the rest of the cast of characters more than made up for any gaps in logic. The whole plot line was kind of brave and really outside the usual box. It just barreled along and just kind of dared the viewer to question what was going on with the details. It was really funny with lots of jokes (some inside jokes for Hallmark fans), snappy dialogue, snarky banter, and interesting well acted characters. Trevor Lerner was perfect as Santa Claus, whose magic keeps popping out as needed. The romance between Kate’s academic sister Bailey (Doctor of European Folklore) and the the doctoral candidate Santa was cute. As a parting gift, Santa gives Kate a beacon in the form of a magic whistle which she is to use if she ever needs Santa’s help again. So that solves everything. We don’t have to worry or question that the future success of Kate’s business or her love life will be anything but but guaranteed. And I feel like there was hint of a sequel on the horizon. So maybe the loose ends will be tied up eventually.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Naughty or Nice

/ Rebekahrox / 1 Comment
The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: naughty.jpg

Or is it Nice or Naughty?

**Spoilers**

In 2023 and so far in 2024, I have neglected the Lifetime Christmas movies in favor of Hallmark. Perhaps I forgot that Lifetime’s “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” has produced  some of my favorite movies, often with Hallmark stars. Case in point is A Snowed Inn Christmas starring Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker. I had never even seen this ancient 2011 movie, Naughty or Nice, until just a couple of days ago, and it was just excellent. Well, it turns out that it was a Hallmark production after all but I could have sworn I found it on Lifetime-On-Demand. Dang. I guess not. More research is needed. Why is this gem not on Hallmarks regular rotation? But anyway, I will still be re-visiting the Lifetime channel this year for sure.

Unhappily named Krissy Kringle who, just as unhappily, lives on Christmas decoration-obsessed Candy Cane Lane (“They changed the name after I moved here!”), often gets mail addressed to Santa Claus. She has a very nice boyfriend but is having a very bad day. She has had to take a job as a Christmas Elf because she shockingly got fired from her important marketing job. Krissy is already somewhat of a Grinch and this temporary job has not helped. The only bright spot to her new circumstances is her new friendship with an equally cynical co-elf named Marco, a co-hater of their petty tyrant of a boss.  When she gets home from work and starts going through all the mail (throwing the Kris Kringle letters in the trash) she comes across a large fancy book titled Naughty or Nice. She soon finds out that when she says someone’s name out loud in front of the book, it opens and turns to their personal naughty page. She starts using the book to find out the guilty secrets of those who have crossed her in order to put things right exact revenge. She starts with her and Marco’s current boss who has been stealing the petty cash meant to buy the elves their daily lunch. She blackmails him into decorating her barren yard with all of the extra department store Christmas bling to get the neighbors, particularly one called Debbie, off her back.  Then she finds out she was fired due to the skullduggery of her office mate she thought was her friend, and that her neighbor, mean and snooty Debbie, has been stealing everyone else on Candy Cane Lane’s decorations to ensure she wins first prize in the annual contest. Finally, when her nice boyfriend, Lance, breaks still another date to work late, Marco talks her into checking him out in the Naughty or Nice book. What she finds out causes her to break up with him in a rage humiliating him in front of his boss and work colleagues. It was quite horrifying. Krissy has gotten her revenge, but now she is miserable.

Her conscience getting to her, she talks things over with her mother and father (Meredith Baxter-Birney and Michael Gross!). Her mother reminds her that there is always two sides to any coin and encourages her to talk to Lance and get his side of the story because she knows him to be an honorable guy who really loves Krissy. Inspired by her mother’s words she goes home and turns the book upside down which reveals the Nice but Naughty side. Nice twist, that I probably should have seen coming.  Now she learns that several of the people whose shameful secrets she exposed and humiliated are really good hearted people who have done tons of nice things but who got off track a little. This includes neighbor Debbie and Lance, her boyfriend. But is it too late to make things right? Debbie has been run out of the neighborhood by a Christmas Lynch Mob (“Kill the Beast!”), and her boyfriend won’t speak to her.

This movie was just delightful thanks to the comic performance of Hilarie Burton Morgan and the many clever lines, that were probably quite original for 2011, and funny situations. At one point Krissy complains to her father, “He cheated on me with a girl that stabbed me in the back, got me fired, and took my job!” Dad rightly mumbles that she sounds like a Country-Western song. There were a lot of laughs but then it turns around and touches your heart and delivers a powerful for-Hallmark-lesson that good people can sometimes do bad things. No one is perfect. Do not be so quick to judge but be quick to forgive.

Krissy even gets her old job back, thanks to Lance and an important assist from the newly redeemed Debbie. The movie predictably concludes with the appearance of the owner of the book. The Hallmark-Perfect ending!

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Debbie Macomber’s Joyful Mrs. Miracle

/ Rebekahrox / 2 Comments

But She’s Not

The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: joyful-1341035847-e1732903794402.jpg

Angel in disguise, Mrs. Miracle descends to earth again to fix the lives of us humans. This year played by Rachel Boston, she takes on the persona of a real estate appraiser who enters the lives of three estranged siblings mourning the death of their grandmother, the chairman of the board of a large real estate firm. Her mansion is full of valuable antiques that  “Ann Merkle” is there to appraise and get on the market. Not a “Mrs.” in the movie. Each of the two brothers and one sister want to take over the chairmanship of the company. Charlotte is a single mother of a little boy who has some anxiety and perhaps other issues. She is a former lawyer who is recovering from a bad marriage and wants to prove herself. One of the brothers flies in from London where he is a financier and almost engaged to a nice woman. The youngest brother is a ne’er do well who is indebted to a threatening character, possibly mob-related, who is going to remove his fingers and other things unless he is paid. He wants the chairmanship for the money. They are at odds with each other due to an unfortunate business debacle mostly the fault of the youngest brother. Thanks to the magic, machinations and truisms of not-Mrs. Miracle they re-discover their love for each other and the importance of family just in time for Christmas. Meanwhile, Charlotte successfully navigates a second chance romance with the former stablehand, now estate manager. And the right person is chosen for the chairmanship.

Rachel Boston represents a new take on Debbie Macomber’s Mrs. Miracle character. The series is based on her books. The first Mrs Miracle (Mrs. Miracle and Call Me Mrs. Miracle-both terrific) was perfectly played by Doris Roberts who embodied the role for two years until she died. A decade later, (in A Mrs. Miracle Christmas ) the role was taken up by Caroline Rhea who was, in my view, just as great. Her movie added a new character, Mercy, who was a treat as Mrs. Miracle’s daughter, who, in a heart tugging touch, was also an angel. In between, there was a movie called Mr. Miracle, which didn’t work for me. This year, Mrs. Miracle, in a totally unneeded refresh, is a much younger woman. See above poster.

Rachel Boston embraces the role and her typical Rachel Boston (over the top cheerful, energetic, and animated) take on the character could have worked. But she was too overwhelming. She sucked all the air out of room. And this was partially the fault of the script. This Ms. Miracle was much too bossy and too intrusive into the business of the family she was sent to guide. Unlike the previous Mrs. Miracles, she comes across as a real busybody. Always hovering around night and day so very handy with her wise observations, unasked for (but good!, it must be admitted) advice, a sympathetic ear, and direct orders. She can not be ignored or avoided. They do ignore her magical purse however, never questioning how she can pull out crisp legal papers and folders, large toy horses, bunches of huge carrots, etc. like Mary Poppins and her carpet bag. Her references to dancing with Ted Williams, how they baked cookies in the 1890s and other references to her immortality earn a few quizzical looks, but are never challenged. They didn’t even google her. Ms. Boston’s performance and the script was totally lacking in subtlety, mystery, or the dawning sense of wonder of the other Mrs. Miracles. I think what happened was that Hallmark decided to go with a younger more energetic character, decided on Rachel Boston, and wrote the script with her in mind. It’s not the first time RB has played an angel. I don’t really blame the actress, but the casting, script and the direction. They would have done better to cast one of the many talented older actors to carry on the role. Wouldn’t Jane Eastwood, Teryl Rothery, or Barbara Niven have been great? Among many many others. Hallmark has motherly and grandmotherly actresses coming out the ying yang. For that matter, why didn’t they just recast Caroline Rhea? If they wanted a younger vibe, they could have expanded her young daughter Mercy’s role, perhaps laying the groundwork for a spin-off series. I’m ok with Hallmark going younger in their choice of actresses for many of their movies, but in this case, it just didn’t work as well as it could have. The movie as a whole was just OK, but to be fair, Rachel Boston did have her moments.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.