Wes Brown

A Biltmore Christmas

/ Rebekahrox / 10 Comments

Back to the Golden Age of Hollywood but in North Carolina

I am so relieved that this movie did not disappoint me, which is kind of a miracle. My hopes and expectations were sky-high as soon as I started to read about it almost a year ago. It stars two of my favorite Hallmark actors, who have never been paired together before: the most charismatic Kristoffer Polaha and the most talented actress, Bethany Joy Lenz. It is filmed at Biltmore which I have visited more than several times and love . The production values matched the glamour and distinction of the location. Everything was staged with imagination and attention to detail. The fashions were wonderful which I would expect from any movie starring Ms. Lenz. She is always stylish and her wardrobe always seems to be a cut above the usual you see in a Hallmark production. The whole cast was excellent. Everything was first class, and it looked like no expense was spared.

It’s a time-travel movie. Lucy Hardgrove is a screenwriter who has been hired to write a remake of a 1947 Christmas Classic, His Merry Wife!. The plot of the movie within a movie reminded me of The Bishop’s Wife, starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven. It’s a favorite. Because Lucy is kind of cynical about love, she changes the ending from a happy one to a more somber bittersweet one where the Angel figure chooses to get his wings over sacrificing them to ensure the lovers remain together. The head of the studio does not approve and he sends her to Biltmore House where the movie was originally filmed with hopes that it will inspire her to buy into the original happy ending. While touring with a group, led by Winston, the head tour guide, she comes across an hourglass which was also used in the movie. When she turns it over to start the sand she goes back in time to the 1947 movie set. When the sand runs out she is automatically returned to the present. The first time she travels back she meets the cast and gets a bit part in the movie. Most importantly, she meets the actor Jake Huston, Kristoffer Polaha, who plays The Angel Charlie in the production. It was a star-making role, but he unfortunately died on Christmas Eve, a year after the production was wrapped. Lucy learns there was an alternate ending to the movie (a sad one) that was never filmed. She feels she needs to know more and why the ending was changed to a happy one. On her second trip into the past, she accidentally breaks the hourglass, and until it can be repaired she is stuck in the past. Over the next several days, she and Jake fall in love (good) and she inadvertently changes the future (bad). Before she can get back to her life in the here and now, she has to fix things. Otherwise, disaster, as it is with time travel.

That is the bare bones of the plot, but the movie was layered and complex with interesting side stories and characters, humor, and drama. One of the characters I enjoyed the most was actually in the present. When Lucy first pops back from the past, Margaret, a very southern woman and big fan of His Merry Wife! sees her and of course, being southern, thinks she is a ghost. I can say that because I’m Southern. Lucy is forced to tell her the truth, and Margaret becomes her backup and safety net in case something goes wrong.

The movie ends with a “One Year Later” on Christmas Eve and Lucy is back at Biltmore consulting on the new remake of the classic Christmas movie. Which, based on Lucy’s experiences in the past, now ends happily like the original. Yes, it is the day Jake died 80 years ago and Lucy is saying goodbye to Jake in her heart. Of course, in a Hallmark movie Jake and Lucy cannot remain parted. How they are brought back together was pretty smart and did make sense. Mostly. Of course, there are always questions, but not ones I couldn’t deal with.

The last scene was the perfect cap for the movie. Lucy and Margaret’s tour guide, Winston, who has been the source of much history of the old classic film and Biltmore House itself, ensures that the hourglass will never see the light of day again so Jake and Lucy will never be parted by mistake. Apparently, he knew more than he was letting on a year ago. It was poignant how he did that and it was definitely an “Awwh” moment. The perfect ending.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up

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May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor

And so it continues. The sequel to Haul Out the Holly is more of the same only the ante is upped by a new family moving to Evergreen Lane. At first, the Christmas-obsessed neighborhood is worried that the new neighbors won’t fit in, and that their decor and Christmas spirit (as defined by the HOA) will not be up to snuff. That the HOA might have to go “medieval on their merriment”. Scary stuff. Christmas is serious business on Evergreen Lane. But much to their excitement and joy the new homeowners are none other than the world-famous royalty of Christmas celebration, “The Jolly Johnsons”, the reigning champions of the reality series Ho Ho House and who “set the bar for Suburban Santaology”.  It all proceeds as one might expect. At first, the Johnsons and Evergreen Lane are a mutual admiration society. That doesn’t last long. The Johnsons start to belittle Evergreen Lane’s efforts and start to take over the neighborhood celebrations with grander displays and over the top of E.L.’s over-the-top events. And it’s their way or the highway. Worst of all they ignore the rules and regulations of the HOA! It all escalates in sometimes amusing and sometimes horrifying ways until the Johnsons end up ripping up Jared’s citations and quitting the HOA!! This is exactly what some viewers wanted poor Lacey to do last year. Quite put out, she responds “This isn’t in the handbook. Why did you make me participate last year?!” Obviously reinforcements are needed and it’s Lacey’s parents, the founders of the HOA, to the rescue.

 Lacey Chabert was excellent in this. Her character, though buying in and embracing the ways of Evergreen Lane, manages not to lose her sanity (for long) and remains the voice of reason and kindness. Haul Out the Holly was a somewhat divisive movie, either loved for the broad comedy and satire or hated for the torture and bullying of Lacey Chabert until she conformed to HOA regulations. Not to mention the anti- “real meaning of Christmas” message. I thought this was funnier and less disturbing than the first one. Cute gags and running jokes abound. At the beginning of the movie, Mary Louise, who is played by Ellen Travolta, references a member of her famous real-life family, but not the one you think. And the bit about the Canadian rock group Nickelback. It was funny and clever. The whole talented cast did their job to almost perfection- I confess I still didn’t care for Wes Brown’s character, Jared, Lacey’s boyfriend and president of the HOA.

Maybe I just knew what to expect with this one. Instead of a whole neighborhood (including her absent parents) ganging up on one nice girl, the neighborhood ended up being divided into two more or less equal factions battling it out for Christmas supremacy. The neighborhood comes together in the end thanks to Lacey. But although the true meaning of Christmas is given lip service, I just didn’t buy it. It was still all about the tinsel, lights, and gingerbread houses. If there is a third one in this series (and why wouldn’t there be?) it would be interesting to see what would happen if a Jewish or Muslim family moved in. Or better yet, a true Christian family who celebrates the original source of the season by looking inward instead of outward unless it is to help others in need. I know. That’s just crazy talk.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

Haul out the Holly

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Haul this one Out the Door

**Spoilers**

This was so messed up. I think it was supposed to be a  fun comedic look at recapturing one’s love for Christmas decorations after a childhood of one’s parents prioritizing the trappings of Christmas over their own child’s simpler needs and desires. The movie opens with the parents of a little girl leaving the house on Christmas morning to attend some kind of Neighborhood Christmas Carnival. The little girl begs her mom and Dad to let her open just one present before they leave. They impatiently agree but give her the present she has to open. It’s a camera so she can assist in the neighborhood project by taking pictures for the record. All the little girl wants is to open presents under the tree on Christmas morning as a family. The only thing her Mom and Dad want is to make sure the neighborhood carnival runs smoothly.

We meet the adult Lacey Chabert who after years of understandably avoiding Christmas with her mom and dad finds herself at loose ends this year due to a breakup. She decides to go home for Christmas. Her parents are happy and encouraging, but as she arrives at the front door, to her shock, her parents leave for Florida! Left alone at Christmas, she promises to take care of the house and put up the decorations for the neighborhood extravaganza as her Christmas present to them. This is the first example of a long line of Lacey getting taken advantage of and run roughshod over. As soon as her parents leave, she is visited by her old friend, Wes Brown, who is now president of the HOA. He informs her that she is being given a citation for inadequate Christmas decorations. And so it begins. The rest of the movie is about Lacey just wanting to have a relaxing peaceful Christmas but being hounded by the neighborhood to participate in decorating her house to specification and pitching in with all of the organized “fun”. Front and center among all of the obnoxious neighbors is the petty dictator of the HOA, who is absolutely serious when he measures her Nutcracker lawn ornament to ensure it meets the height requirement. Sadly, he is the love interest.

Lacey is way too people-pleasing for her own good and although at one juncture she points out that she doesn’t “have to” obey the covenants, she does, presumably to protect her manipulating deceitful parents. By the end, in what can only be the Stockholm Syndrome effect, she has bought into it all and the message is clear. The trappings of Christmas are more important than family, love, peace on earth, and goodwill toward men. It turns out that this fustercluck was all a ruse on the part of her parents to get her used to living in their house and complying with the HOA covenants as they are gifting the house to her. And also to fix her up with Wes Brown. Hopefully, he will put away his ever-present citation book before they settle down to marital bliss in the bedroom.

Even cameo appearances by Kristoffer Polaha and Eric Mabius can’t save this one. And neither can Stephen Tobolowsky who played Ned in Groundhog Day, playing a neighbor named Ned. And neither can Lacey, settling down to watch a Brennan Elliot Christmas movie professing “Oh I love him!” Cute inside joke for Hallmarkies. I did laugh. If you want to see the beloved Lacey Chabert, who plays a nice woman too tolerant and compliant for her own good, bossed around, manipulated, threatened, and bullied for almost an hour and a half in service of an anti-Christmas message, this is the one for you.

Rating: 4 out of 10.

Wedding at Graceland

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Cute Kellie and the Most Annoying Hallmark Mother Ever

No doubt we will see a lot of grouchyfaces bashing Kellie Pickler’s acting skills just like we did with her first foray into Hallmark land, the hugely popular Christmas at Graceland. Well, I thought she was adorable in this one and the chemistry between her and Wes Brown was solid. She was cute, perky, cheerful, and authentic. She certainly has a lot more spark than most of the cookie-cutter Hallmark actresses. In this one, the couple have to deal with her cold sulky father and his overbearing steamroller of a mother who will stop at nothing to hijack the wedding. The plot is tension filled while we wait in vain for Kellie and Wes to put the parents in their place. This doesn’t happen, but they do realize the error of their ways eventually and all ends with a perfect wedding at Graceland. The lack of a huge telling off and catharsis knocks this down a bit, but all in all, this was better than the first one.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

June 4, 2019

Christmas at Graceland

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Can Anyone really “spoil” a Hallmark Christmas Movie?

Ok, so Kelly Pickler may not be the best actress in the world, but I found her very appealing in this role. For some reason her authentic southern accent really captured me. I wish these Hallmark make-up artists would realize that their victims, oops, clients, are not contestants in a beauty pageant. I prefer the natural girl-next-door look, not the look of someone that is trying to sell cosmetics behind a counter in a department store. Geez, tone it down. It’s like they are trying to hide something. She seems like a very nice person, and that came across in her role. Wes Brown is one of my favorite Hallmark heroes, so this is another factor that boosted my rating. I also liked the little girl. All three are very talented singers. Of course, the plot was pretty standard stuff. No surprises there. And I wish that we would have had some closure with her boss as it was his fault the business deal fell through, and I hate that she got the blame for it. This was directed by Eric Close, best known as an actor. I like to see familiar faces branching out. **6 out of 10 stars**

Rating: 6 out of 10.

November 18, 2018