Pass the Advil, Please.

Ohhhh my head!  This one made my brain hurt.  I love ensembles, and movies with multiple stories that tie together in some way are favorites of mine, so I was really looking forward to this one. It did not get off to an auspicious start. We are introduced to 3 different sets of people and their stories. Right off the bat, I hated either the people or what was happening with them. The first featured Erin Cahill and John Brotherton as Lizzie and John, a happy couple expecting their first baby. These two are not my favorite actors, although it may be because of the parts in which I have seen them in the past more than anything personal against their talent. Actually, I was kind of looking forward to having this one change my attitude towards them as Ms. Cahill is a Hallmark mainstay, and John Brotherton looks to become one. And they were fine in this. The two are looking forward to enjoying a quiet Christmas together nesting in their brand-new house and waiting for their baby, when Hell descends upon them in the form of her mother and father. They barge in uninvited and unwelcome announcing they are intruding staying for the holidays. And they have the gall to have invited more members of the family to overflow our couple’s modest little home. And the gall continues. The mother and father start insulting their housekeeping (they haven’t even unpacked the moving boxes yet), implying they are incompetent at everything, and needling John about his job, which is owning a struggling gas station/body shop, unlike Lizzie’s brothers who make a lot of money as professionals. The father even reminds them that he had to help them buy their house. So strike one. I was filled with rage.

In the second story, we meet Regina (a radiant Catherine Bell), who is expecting her two adult children for Christmas Eve dinner. She plans to tell them that she is engaged to be married to her boyfriend Nelson (James Denton), selling their childhood home, retiring, and moving to Florida. The kids do not take it well. At All. They worshipped their late father and love their old home. In fact, they (especially the son) act like petulant brats about it. The son informs his mother that he does not approve of her plans. Regina responds that it is none of his business, they are her and Nelson’s decisions, and he can get on board or….Not. Yay for Regina. Loved it. The son storms out in a self-pitying huff and takes off for a friend’s house. Strike two. So far, all I am getting out of this movie is rage and disgust.

In the third story, we meet Zian and Michael, a gay couple who are hosting a Christmas Eve dinner party for 12 guests, are waiting to be approved as foster parents, and whose kitchen, where Michael, a chef, is cooking the fancy dinner, is still not finished and a wreck. The contractor who is doing the remodel does not inspire confidence (“How badly do you need your oven?”) and is too busy chatting and doing anything else except working on the cabinets, appliances, and countertops. The turkey has to be in by 5pm and it is not looking good. In the midst of the chaos, the couple learns that they have been approved for their first foster child and the little girl will be arriving that very evening. Strike 3. I was angry at the contractor and full of tension over the turkey deadline and the nice couple having to redecorate the little girl’s room, buy her some presents, and prepare for a 15-person dinner party in a matter of hours. And Jonathan Bennett, who plays Michael, gets on my last nerve sometimes.

In fact, these 3 stories take place in the same house, but approximately 25 years apart, in 1973, 1999, and 2023. We learn this about 20 minutes in, in a blink and you might miss them fade-in/fade-out pictures of the house through the years. I knew something of the sort was going on, but I didn’t fully grasp all of the implications until way over halfway through the movie. For some reason, I thought we were only looking at 1973 and 50 years later, and was very confused.  I didn’t get right away that they were all in the same house, but around 25 years apart. Were they members of the same family? Yes? No? Are their ages right though? No. Is this like This is Us? Not Really, but Kinda. I knew that the 3 couples were somehow connected but trying to figure it all out took second place to my anger and disgust with Lizzie’s parents, Regina’s son, and the contractor for the gay couple.

There were some things that I kept seeing that were in all 3 stories besides the house. A helpful neighbor, Daisy, a car, which sometimes looked brand new, and sometimes looked like a beater, and a Christmas ornament. In the end, all of the stories were resolved satisfactorily (if a little too patly) and tears even came to my eyes…even though I wasn’t quite sure why! I understood most of the connections but there were still so many loose ends and links between the 3 families I didn’t comprehend that I had to go through and replay the movie a second time. Thank heavens for fast forward. I’m the type of person that has to understand and fully grasp what is going on. I can’t stand aspects of a story slipping through my fingers. After the second go-round and with the help of Twitter (Ok, Ok, “X”) and Reddit things were clarified considerably. And I also learned that I was not the only one who was tearing their hair out. Once I got all the ins and outs of the timeline and between the characters, I have to say that this was, indeed, a very clever, well-plotted, and touching story with a great message. I even cried a little at the end again, and this time I knew why. But though I loved the ambitiousness, points off for being so worrisome and confusing. That is something I don’t need in a Hallmark movie. More clarity early on would not have been hard to provide. Call me. And we never find out who Linda and Emily are. Do we?