Stephanie Sy

The Snow Must Go On

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Snow Business

Wow. I didn’t quite know what to make of this one (at first). Now I hate when people use this word I am about to use to describe the first 15 minutes of this movie, but it perfectly describes how this movie started out: Surreal. We open in a very dark and empty bar/theater with a man singing his heart out in true Broadway fashion with a crown of horns on his head. Yes, if you haven’t seen this, you read it right. It turns out that he is supposed to be Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer who is apparently very upset about something and who at the same time looks very menacing and demonic. The very talented Corey Cott plays Isaiah, the star of this debacle. He was a once rising star on Broadway who has been struggling in his career. The opening scene is from the one man show he also wrote, produced, and directed, apparently out of desperation. He meets with 2 of the 3 audience members who turn out to be his sister and his niece who have come to New York to get him to come back to his home town for Christmas. He shoots them a tragic look, but after he is fired from his Christmas caroling job and after failing to get even an audition to the new Cindy Santos (big name and top producer) fronted musical, he accepts. CS is played by Stephanie Sy who is always great.

Now in a whiplash inducing turn, we get more Hallmarky with small town vibes, bright lighting and decor, and Isaiah’s wholesome family. But when he gets out of the car and volunteers to pick up his niece Aurora from highschool, he is wearing a very weird “sweat suit” as he calls it, that looks just like Christmas pajamas: Snow white with candy canes and sleighs and other Christmas paraphernalia all over it. And he actually gets out of the car dressed like this and into the high school to find his niece with no hesitation or embarrassment at all. Very few would even wear this getup to Wal-Mart after midnight. I don’t know, I just didn’t understand who Isaiah was supposed to be. Desperate and sad? or Goofy? Things settle down to one of the usual Hallmark plots after he gets the suit off. Curiously not mocked or molested by cruel highschoolers, he is wrangled by his niece (who is a real go-getter) and LilyAnne, a teacher (Heather Hemmens), into directing the school Christmas musical after the former director quits to marry a lumberjack she met online. *shrug emoji* (BTW, Hallmark, Where’s that movie?) The usual struggles with the theatre kids ensue. The young actors were all very talented singers. Especially one who played Miranda, a shy girl who happens to be the daughter of the great Cindy Santos. When he finds out who her mom is, he starts to put his all into getting the musical together (hoping to impress her), including writing the second act of the unfinished play. He simply tacks on his “off-off-off” Broadway musical about the most famous reindeer of all to the school’s play about “Randolph, The Christmas Elk.” After Lilyanne helps him with a re-write (This Stinks! It makes no sense!) including taking out the ungulate’s filibuster to Congress (ala Mr. Smith Goes to Washington?), things start to develop in the romance department. He casts Miranda, Cindy Santos’ daughter, as his understudy taking the starring Randolph role for himself in hopes that when Cindy sees him she will cast him in her big Broadway show. Yes, it came across as pathetic and contemptible as it sounds. So we have another facet to Isaiah’s personality: Jerk. Despite his shameless attempt to exploit his position and power for his own ends, a funny thing happens on the way to putting on a show. He starts to love it and is good at it. As it turns out, Cindy, being very busy and important, cannot be at the school on opening night, to her daughter’s and Isaiah’s disappointment. But she offers him an audition in New York after she sees him in the dress rehearsal, and you won’t believe this, but the audition is the same day as Opening Night of the play. Will Isaiah choose the kids and his responsibilities over his one chance to revive his career? Does Broadway stardom lie again in his future or will he choose small town life as a drama teacher with LilyAnne at his side? Will shy Miranda power through her stage fright and shine as his understudy? Will her mother see the light and become the parent her daughter needs?

Believe it or not, thanks to the set design, the make-up, the costuming, and the performances of the kids, I enjoyed what we were shown of “Randolph, the Christmas Elk.” I wish we had seen more. It was a huge success and it all came to a rousing finish, including the snow machine finally producing snow, Isaiah getting the girl, seeing the error of his ways, and apologizing to all and to all a good night. 7 stars.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

A Carol for Two

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Broadway Baby

I really really liked this classic Broadway/old 1930s-ish story. There was lots of entertainment to be had including well-chosen Christmas carols and singing that was off the charts thanks mainly to the two leads. They had a very romantic vibe together throughout. Ginna Claire Mason, who has been in two previous Hallmarks, one of which was also set on Broadway,  was very talented and appealing in this one. Jordan Litz, a legit Broadway and theatre star was also a real standout in this, his first film role. He doesn’t even have a picture yet on his IMDb profile as of this writing.

Violette’s talent has made her a big frog in a little pond in her small Idaho town and, supported by her now cancer-free father and the rest of the town, including chipping in some cash, has decided to try her luck on the Great White Way, fully expecting a smooth road ahead. If you think this sounds like one of those old Busby Berkeley musicals, you would be right. Literally right off the plane, train, or bus, she finds out that the show she was going to be in has lost all of its investors and the plug has been pulled. Luckily, she has a safety net. Her late Aunt Carol was once a big name in the theatre world and her best friend owns a kind of restaurant/talent show mash-up where she supports and promotes the budding careers of young aspiring Broadway hopefuls. Hazel takes Violette in and immediately gives her a spot singing and waitressing. The other staff aren’t pleased with this bit of nepotism as they all had to pay their dues before being given a chance to display their talents. But it isn’t long before her talent and Midwestern Nice win them all over. Particularly impressed is Alex, the most multitalented of them all.  We get to know him and his leech of a cousin and roommate, Brad, who falls for Violette at first sight. He has to be her boyfriend and gets Alex to help him impress her kind of like Cyrano de Bergerac. Meanwhile, Alex and Violette are picked to perform at Fiore’s on Christmas Eve where a big Broadway bigwig will attend and give them their big break. As they rehearse, Alex and Violette, who have everything in common, grow closer, while he is feeding Brad, who has absolutely nothing in common with her, intel to keep her interested.

 The big mystery is why she continues to tolerate Brad with handsome Alex right there bonding with her, singing with her, and tinkling the ivories for her. Also why doesn’t Alex put a stop to all the deceit? Thanks to him, Violette thinks Brad is sweet and thoughtful, and Alex, who ought to know better, thinks Brad is a “good guy” at heart. Which he is not. At all. I hated him, the little worm. He was the major strike against this generally wonderful and entertaining movie. I am not kidding. I think he was supposed to be funny but every time he came on the screen, I just wanted to slap him into next week. Unfortunately, I also wanted to slap Alex for putting up with his mess. Another strike was Violette’s relationship with her super super loving and super supportive father. He kept bugging her on the phone for tickets to her big show and she kept lying to him because of the old “I don’t want to let him and all the townspeople down” thing. They seemed too needy and dependent on each other and it gave me the creepy crawlies. It’s probably a “me thing” but father and daughter matching pajamas? Really? The last strike against this one was when Violette found out the truth about Alex and Brad a minute before they had to go on stage for their big break. Instead of sucking it up and acting like the professional “the show must go on” she aspires to be, she completely collapses in front of the Broadway impresario and the audience filled with influencers (and her father! surprise!).  This also ruins long-suffering Alex’s big chance as well. Theoretically. Luckily, they get another chance and this time they sing Alex’s own original song. It was all right for that kind of thing. The last scene is one of those old cliche (but lovable) scenes with the two in a clinch floating in front of the lights of Broadway with all of the rapturous headlines about their future triumphs whizzing by. It sounds like I didn’t like this since my last paragraph is all about what I didn’t like. But thanks to the New York vibe, the nostalgic plot, and the chemistry between the two leads, the bijous outweighed the blights.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

The Magic of Lemon Drops

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The Roads Not Taken

**Spoilers**

Seems like there has been a lot of fantasy stories on Hallmark lately and this was another one. I was a little suspicious and the title did not set me at ease. But I really enjoyed it. It was well constructed with likable characters and sharp dialogue.  Lyndsy Fonseca and Ian Harding, the female and male leads were wonderful. In fact the whole cast and the characters they played were top-notch.  When Lyndsy does a Hallmark odds are (so far) that it will probably have a fantasy element. She has been nothing but appealing and likable. Stephanie Sly as The Best Friend, and Mariam Bernstein as The Eccentric Aunt were stand-outs. Ian Harding brought a real Paul Campbell vibe to his role which is about the highest compliment I can give him.  Honestly this role could have been written for Paul Campbell, one of my and many others’ favorite Hallmark regulars. Ian Harding played the love interest in Ghosts of Christmas Always. Enough said.

Lolly works with her father at their little restaurant, The Eatery. She is tired, sad, and frustrated. Her dreams of having her own fun and elegant restaurant in New York complete with love and her own family have almost faded away. John B. Lowe plays her father who  embodies my most disliked Hallmark type: A business owner who will sacrifice everything to save the business except take advice and make the changes needed to give his business a chance to survive. Not an auspicious start. To add to Lolly’s discontent, her ex-boyfriend is back in town. He is a successful doctor because he left her and their small town to pursue his own dream. He is a happily divorced and professionally satisfied single father now, and Lolly is full of regrets over their bad break-up which was her fault. When she voices her frustrations and doubts about how she can get her life back on track to her Aunt Gert, Aunt Gert, who is a truly wonderful character, ends up giving her 4 magic lemon drops.  If she eats one before she goes to sleep, her dream that night will be one whole day living a life she yearns for. When she wakes the next morning, she will remember the “dream,” which will help her choose the best path.  She gets 3 chances. The 4th drop, if she takes it, will allow her to pick one of the 3 lives she dreamed of, and her memories going forward will only be of that one life.

The first life she wants to experience is her professional and creative dream of her own restaurant in NYC. When she wakes up the next morning she reflects on the fact that despite having her Michelin-starred fantasy restaurant, her life was still full of creative frustration and financial troubles. She still had no love life, and in addition she was on the outs with her sister and her father. She is more confused and frustrated than ever, so the next night she wishes her wise and loving mother was still alive to support and advise her. That happens and it is wonderful but it also comes with unlooked for and unwelcome consequences. The last lemon drop is to peek into what her life would be like if she and Rory had not broken up, but are happily married with their own family. And it was lovely. But….

In between the nightly dreams of the alternate lives, We spend the days with Lolly as she starts a little side-hustle business of gourmet frozen fruit and herb pops (‘Lolly-Pops”) which gets off to a promising start. She mends her relationship with Rory and starts to see her Aunt Gert, her sister, her father, and even her late mother with new eyes. All these multi-layered stories weaving in and out of each other and each playing out in logical conflicting consequences yet with recurring themes in common could have been a hot mess. Just like that sentence. But it was done seamlessly. And I was not confused.  I was impressed with the detail incorporated into each dream life and its setting along with her “real” life interspersed in the daytime. Everything kept moving forward at a perfect pace and was tied together beautifully to the littlest detail. They even managed to incorporate a cute dog.

There was drama and surprises. Lessons are learned. And they are good ones. Life is a series of trade-offs both sweet and sour. Find your joy and happiness in what you chose. Best of all, the romance was compelling, fully developed, and mature without the usual silly Hallmark tropes. Gosh, I think I’ll have to give this one an almost 10.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.

The Santa Summit

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Finding Waldo was Easy Compared to This

I didn’t think I’d like this one when I saw the previews. It seemed self-consciously goofy and manic. And the idea of a romance movie where the couple spends the whole time apart looking for each other just does not float my boat. Boy was I wrong. Thanks to the funny script, out-of-the-box plot, and the lovable cast, this one was a winner.

The story centers around our main girl, Jordin, and main guy, Liam, played by Hunter King and Ben Hollingsworth, trying to find each other during a big day-long Christmas party/celebration called “The Santa Summit.” Everyone dresses as some version of Santa Claus and goes from fun activity to fun activity throughout the whole day. The two strangers, dressed as Santa clauses meet and during a 5-minute conversation form a real connection. Unfortunately, they are parted before they can get each other’s names and details and end up searching for each other in a sea of other Santas, finding clues along the way, for the whole movie. What makes the search so enjoyable and entertaining is Jordin’s two friends who go with her to the Summit and the people they meet throughout the day. Although Jordin and Liam do not meet up again until the end, there are encounters between Liam, his brother, and the two friends, Ava and Stella, and other miscellaneous coincidences and near misses that contribute to the final happy ending. Ava is a nerdy Lord of the Rings quoting math teacher, and Stella is a grumpy Grinch of a former music teacher. Along with Jordin, each finds love and learns some valuable lessons along the way.

This, like two other Christmas movies this year was very high energy with quick amusing throwaway lines, running jokes, and clever banter. It was tightly knit and every scene seemed to contribute to the plot or the character arcs of our likable ensemble cast. At least I can’t remember any needless silly montages or boring tentpole scenes that serve no purpose other than to stretch the movie out to its required 88 minutes.  The friendship of the 3 women was front and center, as well as the relationship between Liam and his brother. But the charming sweet romances were not relegated to the back burner in this one. Shy Ava (the always-welcome and talented Amy Groening) has been secretly in love with a fellow nerdy teacher for a couple of years and finally finds the courage during the Santa Summit to confess her love to him. Of course, it turns out he has always felt the same way about her. Stella’s grumpiness is a wall she has put up to protect herself from more disappointment since she hasn’t been able to teach music anymore because of budget cuts. She meets the mysterious stranger Freddy who challenges her to embrace music once again. Stephanie Sy who plays Stella was the star of the show in my opinion. Her sour disgusted tone of voice and facial expressions throughout the day are priceless. And when she finally gets up on stage in public and busts out with one of the most joyful versions of “Jingle Bells” you can imagine, it was the highlight of the movie.

It all came together beautifully at the end with the help of a lovingly constructed Gingerbread House, a silent disco, a hapless mascot dressed as a Christmas Tree, and a Reindeer bicycle taxi driver who never gets paid, but who gives our heroine a stern lecture near the end that provides a wake-up call and restores her hope and joy. When I saw Jeff Beesley was the director of this gem, I wasn’t surprised. The attention to detail was impressive as always. And was that Niall Matter in an uncredited cameo at the end?

Rating: 9 out of 10.

The Christmas Club

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Christmas Magic

This production was blessed by the good acting on the part of Cameron Mathison and Elizabeth Mitchell. They made a good match, and the story was very romantic. A slow development of their relationship with more than a hint of magic provided by the wonderful Gabrielle Rose. Two strangers, both missing true romantic love in their lives, team up to help a little old lady who lost her Christmas Club money. They give her $40.00, and from then on, magic follows them, and brings them together. It was something a little different from the typical cookie-cutter offerings from Hallmark. It had some very imaginative and heartwarming plot points. Elizabeth was a little over-sensitive in parts; a little too fragile, but I guess that was her character. They did not drag the misunderstandings out too long. Probably not a re-watch, but I enjoyed it.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

November 22, 2020

On the 12th Date of Christmas

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Well Done! A Cut Above.

At first, our heroine, played by Audrey Hepburn lookalike, Mallory Jensen, got on my nerves with her lack of gumption, and too-sweet personality. At first I thought she was miscast as a girl with a mousy personality when she was so gorgeous. I guess she was, really, but the actress did somewhat overcome it with a nice performance. Then, to make it worse, Tyler Hynes, a favorite of mind, also got on my nerves. He was closed off, anti-social, and not a team-player. Even though he wanted a promotion to a position that necessitates the opposite of those personality traits! Oblivious. He, on the other hand, was cast perfectly, as he usually brings a gruff edge to his roles.

I stuck with it though and I’m glad I did. As Aiden and Jennifer started to work through their differences, and he learned to work with her, appreciating her talent, their opposite personalities added to their chemistry. Quite early on, Jennifer started to be more assertive, so it did not descend into never-ending frustration for me.

This was well written with an interesting sub-plot of Aiden’s family home needing repairs he couldn’t afford, and a very clever scavenger hunt through Chicago that the two were working on together. Definitely well above average.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

November 8, 2020

Sweet Autumn

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No Cliché Left Untouched

Soooooooooooo Boring. I’ll have to disagree with most of the reviewers on IMDb and other sites. I usually like Nikki Deloach and Andrew Walker. But Nikki had a weird hairdo and no opportunity to shine because of the dull script and Andrew was just meh in this one for the same reason. It all centers on the over-used-to-death plot of the successful woman’s having to return to her small town to run a business she inherited but has to share with a handsome man who she conflicts with. Lord, I almost fell asleep typing that. Throw in the obligatory festival and a frolic and there you have it. This one, however, is made worse by the dead aunt from whom she inherited the candy store (SWEET Autumn, get it?) reaching back from the grave by leaving cloying and hackneyed words of advice for the couple in order to bring them together. This was a lazy effort and unworthy of the talent.

Rating: 4 out of 10.

October 23, 2020

Christmas at the Plaza

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The Lead Actress and Her Character are Lame in what is Otherwise a Top-Notch Hallmark

This one had a great setting (The Plaza in New York) and an interesting premise to hang the romance on. Jessica is at the iconic hotel to put together a history of “Christmas at the Plaza” and finds a theme in the fact that the Christmas tree every year at the Plaza has a different custom-made tree topper. She is missing a year, mysteriously, and her quest is to solve the mystery, and hopefully produce the long-lost topper. The love interest, the wonderful Ryan Paevey is this year’s hotel decorator. This also featured a last-minute secondary romance, which was touching. As a secondary character, Julia Duffy is a joy. We need to see more of her. She added humor and quirkiness to her lines, that a lesser actress would have done little to nothing with.

The one weak link was Elizabeth Henstridge, whose delivery was very blah, and gave the impression of low-energy and coldness. It wasn’t helped by her character’s tolerance of her boyfriend who was rude and thoughtless and obtuse. Even when the charismatic and attractive Ryan (can you tell I’m a fan?) shows interest in her, she just can’t be bothered to break up her two-year relationship until her hand is forced. And the laziness extended to the workplace. The character’s first reaction, when faced with the challenge of having to actually figure out her presentation on her own without it being handed to her on a silver platter, was to quit. Maybe another actress could have made her relatable and likable but Miss Henstridge, though very pretty, is not much of an actress. At All.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

November 28, 2019

One Winter Proposal

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As Cute as a Button!

I don’t remember too much about the first one in this little (eventually, I’m sure) trilogy, but I see I gave it a 5 out of 10. So this one must be a lot better. I am not usually a Taylor Cole fan, but she was perfectly pleasant in this one. Her relationship with her boyfriend was free of stupid misunderstandings and silly juvenile behavior. I liked their sub-plots of her new mystery book and his fledgling snowboard company.

But, hold the phone, the star of this show was Rukiya Bernard as Megan, her best friend! What a cutie! She was so charming and charismatic I couldn’t take my eyes off her! Not a false note in her acting. And Dewshane Williams as her love interest was a worthy match. I liked the chemistry between the 2 couples with each other and the other two in the foursome. I will certainly tune in to the inevitable One Winter Wedding.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

February 5, 2019