Movies – Life Off Headset

Hallmark Holiday Movies 2024 – Part 2

I’m sure you are thinking, “Diane, it’s February! Why would anyone want to read your Hallmark Holiday Movie recaps????”

Umm… I guess the answer is that the post has been sitting in my drafts folder for weeks, and if I don’t finish them now, I will feel even more silly finishing them in June. So yeah. But also… I just realized that I can get a Hallmark binge pass through Hoopla with my library card, which, in addition to the awesomeness of being able to watch all six seasons of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, means that I can watch an huge-normous library of Hallmark holiday movies whenever I want. Ah-mazing. So maybe another recap of Holiday movies in June wouldn’t be so out of the question. I have a feeling, though, that I’m not that blogger and this isn’t a Hallmark movie blog. So I’ll probably spare you all that.

Anyhow, onward –

A Christmas Family Tree (2021)– Using one of those genetic tests, woman finds her biological father and is immediately embraced by his family. And the cute neighbor/family friend.
My catnip: None, really. We were at a hotel and this was the Hallmark movie that was on. Oh wait, Andrew Walker was in this one. I always like him.
My take: I liked that the romance was just one part of this movie, and that the relationship between the main character and her newfound father was also pretty central.
The ridiculous: I’m always surprised when people unexpectedly show up at other people’s doorsteps un expectedly? How do they know the person’s address??
Favorite bits: Andrew Walker.

A Sugar and Spice Holiday (2020): career driven Asian daughter returns home for Christmas. She has a big presentation due yet still agrees to participate in a Christmas bake-off competition with childhood friend.
My catnip: Asian leads
My take: So I straight up watched this movie because it was apparently one of the first Christmas rom coms to feature an Asian cast. (This movie came out on Lifetime.) I guess it’s good to know that movies featuring Asian families can be just as cliched and formulaic as movies with an all Whtie cast. This movie was fine.
The ridiculous: The Christmas bake-off was pretty ridiculous. Including a subplot about bribing the children who were the contest judges.
My favorite part: the heroine’s parents run a lobster bar. I thought that was hilarious and charming. My parent ran a restaurant when I was growing up too – it was not a Chinese restaurant, but rather a run of the mill family restaurant that served prime rib and burgers and what not.

Boyfriends of Christmas Past (2021): Career driven Lauren is visited by the spirits of past boyfriends who take her on a journey of her past, leading her to reflect on why she is still single.
My catnip: The 11 year old chose this one – she was really excited to see a movie with an Asian lead. Also – I am a sucker for a Christmas Carol adaptation.
My take: I thought the concept was actually pretty great – the visits by the boyfriends were funny – but Lauren was such an awful character that I ended up not liking this movie at all. She was just so mean to everyone around her. Which I guess was the point – redemption and all that – but I think there has to be something about that character that I want to like, but there just wasn’t.
The ridiculous: Lauren breaks up with all her boyfriends around Christmas time and never thinks to take that to her therapist to unpack?
My favorite bit: I thought that the best friend, Nate, was kind of cute. Bonus points for not being white. I think it’s a little out of touch when Hallmark couples always feature one white person, so it was nice to see a mixed race couple where neither person was white.

Holiday Road (2023) – 9 strangers stranded in Portland airport on Christmas Eve decide to rent a van to get them to Colorado in time for Christmas.
My cat nip: Road Trip Movie.
My take: I thought this was a pretty fun story – there were several story lines involved and I thought they were each touchingly cliche. We watched this for Family movie night and no one hated it. High praise, I know.
The ridiculous: When they got to Colorado, the van pulled up at a house that was covered in snow and decorated for Christmas, except the trees in the front yard were deciduous trees. And they were covered with snow! Like full on leafy green trees with snow on their branches. I know these films are shot in the summer, but come on!
My favorite bit: The storyline featuring the single mom and the crusty old man was my favorite bit – touching even though I expected each plot twist. Also – the couple from Hong Kong travel with a portable karaoke machine! I was debating whether this was to go under the “ridiculous” or “favorite” bit – and honestly it’s kind of both.

Not so Royal Christmas (2023)– Royal tabloid reporter snags an interview with and elusive Count of vague European country. But the truth is the real Count has gone AWOL and the “Count” is really the landscaper. Tabloid reporter and fake Count get close, canoodle, and do all sorts of Christmas-y things in the name of journalism and philanthropy.
My catnip: Royalty, Will Kemp as the leading man.
My take: I thought this was a charming twist on the somewhat cliched story of a Prince in disguise as a commoner. In this story, the commoner is disguised as the Prince.
The ridiculous: There seems to be a lack of journalistic ethics in this movie. Also the end scored high points in my “But they can’t just do that!” meter.
My favorite bit: Will Kemp. He’s just adorable. And he sometimes wears glasses which makes him even more so.

Ladies of the 80’s: A Diva’s Christmas (2023): A group of former soap opera stars reunite to film a holiday special. And oh yeah there’s a romance between the producer and the screenwriter. But that is totally back seat to the fabulous cattiness and comraderies of the women.
My catnip: I mean it’s there in the title – Ladies of the 80s – Morgan Fairchild, Nicolette Sheridan, Linda Grey, Loni Anderson. LONI ANDERSON!!!
My take: This movie is very much a good time, though I feel like a large part of that is because it brings together an amazing group of women. If, however, you did not grow up in the 80s, a large part of the charm of this movie might be lost on you. The plot was just a pretty thin excuse for getting these ladies onstage.
The ridiculous: Is this really how a tv special is made?
My favorite bit: Watching those ladies share the screen. The quips, the banter, the DGAF. May I be that awesome when I get to be that age.

Where are you Christmas (2023): Career driven Christmas cynic Addy returns home for the holiday. Christmas is annoying and inconvenient and she wishes Christmas away. The next day, she wakes up to find her wish has come true, and the world has been literally drained of colour – everyone is now black and white and no one remembers Christmas. She immediately regrets it and enlists the help of the local mechanic Hunter to help bring Christmas back.
My catnip: Michael Rady – I like him in all the Hallmark movies that I see. He’s got a “Man next door” air about him that I love.
My take: Okay, in the pantheon of whimsical, magical Christmas movies, I thought the premise of this one wasn’t terribly original, but having the non-Christmas believers be black and white and then burst into colour when the remember what Christmas was about – that was pretty beautiful and was one thing that set this movie apart. The other thing I really liked about this movie was that it was really thoughtful about the idea of “What does Christmas mean to me” and the divide between the people who believed in Christmas and those who didn’t. This movie didn’t feel like it could have happened at any other time of the year. Christmas cynics aren’t my favorite trope, but I really liked the way it was handled in this movie.
The ridiculous: Addy is in charge of marketing a Christmas Countdown app that has a Santa that tells you how close you are to Christmas. Let me tell you, this app is so annoying, I don’t know how anyone thought this a viable product.
My favorite bit: I loved all the bits when people changed from black and white to colour – it was just so well done.

Waking Up To Christmas (2023): Career driven woman electrocutes herself at the airport and wakes up to find herself living in a Christmas movie. She must
My catnip: Christmas movies about Christmas movies. I love that very meta trope.
My take: This was fine, if a little over the top and excessively Chistmas-y. I found the lead a little irritating in how adamantly anti-Christmas she was. Yes, yes, it’s all in part of the story, but it just made the end kind of not really believable.
The ridiculous: There is a character called Christophe Kringle. I mean I guess if you make a movie about living in a Christmas movie, it’s going to be pretty ridiculous. Also – when I tried to Google this movie, it came up under a different title – Just Another Christmas Movie. I have questions about that. Why would you release a movie under two names?
My favorite bit: The movie lampoons the genre perfectly with the dreamy widowed doctor with a precocious daughter, both of whom always appear out of nowhere ate the exact right moment.

Christmas on Cherry Lane (2023): Three couple celebrate Christmas on Cherry Lane.
My catnip: same sex couple – yay for inclusive story telling!
My take: Okay, I loved this movie – the way that all the storylines intersected was really neat. Spoiler alert – if you like This is Us, this movie might be right up your alley as well.
The ridiculous: The one couple is having their house renovated and when the movie starts, on Christmas eve, the kitchen is torn down to the studs. But their contractor says it will be ready for Christmas. And it is indeed finished by Christmas. What? That is definitely a contractor fairy tale right there.
My favorite bit: All those lightbulb moments when you saw how things were connected.

Checkin’ It Twice (2023) – Career Driven woman returns home to her small town for the holiday and meets hocky player who has recently joined her town’s minor league hockey team. Cute Hocky player is at a career crossroad, trying ot decide what to do with his life.
My catnip: Kim Matua whom I loved so much in 2022’s Ghosts of Christmas Always.
My take: I was pretty “meh” about this movie – everything about it seemed unoriginal.
The ridiculous: I feel like this movie was too bland to be truly ridiculous.
My favorite bit: I thought the two leads were very appealing, but other than that I was very lukewarm about this movie.

Round and Round (2023): Hannukah movie meets Groundhog Day. Rachel is stuck reliving the same day over and over again, including the meet cute with the nice Jewish boy her grandmother brings to the 7th night of Hannukah.
My catnip: I love a good Hannukah movie.
My take: I really liked this movie – probably my second favorite this year, after A Biltmore Christmas. It starts as kind of a gimmicky premise, but then as Rachel, the heroine, tries to break the cycle, there is some really thoughtful and hilarious plot twists. I also liked that this movie felt very holiday specific – this wasn’t just a cliched rom com that happened to be set during the holidays – Hannukah traditions were central to how the plot moved forward.
The ridiculous: I mean that whole wake up to the same day every day thing… but it’s the plot, so I guess I’m okay with it.
My favorite bit: Rachel’s dad is played by Rick Hoffman of the tv show Suits and he was a delight to watch. Also there’s a bit in a comic book store that is brilliant and hilarious.

So that’s a wrap on Holiday movies from 2023! I think that’s 21 movies all together. Whew. The movies this year seemed to me less diverse and more “Hallmark Formula” than last year, which was slightly disappointing. Well, we’ll see what happens next year! Only 9 more months until Hallmark movie season starts again!

Christmas Movies 2023 – Hallmark and such.

I will say, I think they are getting more inventive and less predictable with these movie posters.

A snowy weekend! What better time to recap my 2023 Hallmark Holiday movie binge. As I was out shoveling the front walk yesterday, I thought, “This is one part of winter that never makes it into the Hallmark movies- the backbreaking tedium of shoveling the front walk over and over and over again. Why do I never see anyone shoveling the front walk in a Hallmark movie?” Well probably because the movies are all filmed in July and no one can convincingly shovel snow in July in Vancouver. Also on that note – where are the piles next to door of wet boots and winter coats and hats and mittens?!?!?!

The New York Times had a really fun article (gift link) about Christmas rom coms in which their reporters analyzed 424 Hallmark and Lifetime movies to see how formulaic they really were. No surprises here. We all know the answer is “extremely formulaic.” But really, the article is full of fun tidbits – like did you know that the most popular name for a Hallmark/Lifetime female lead is Emma and male lead is Jack? If you’ve never watched a Hallmark holiday movie, just read this article and you’ll be covered. But then you wouldn’t get to see all the cozy sweaters and fake snow for yourself! Also the comments on this article are GOLD.

Here are two of my favorites:
“My wife and I both enjoy these movies, but she has one of the most interesting aspects of it: how many coats can each actress wear given they arrived in their small town with a small carry-on bag. It’s hilarious. Usually 7 to 9 coats. Don’t get us wrong. We love the coats. It’s just hilarious to watch.” I WONDER THIS TOOOO!!!!

“Good research. One datapoint you seemed to have missed is those most popular male lead actors are exclusively Canadian. All of them. Sometimes in an effort to find the most “all American” person you can, you end up with a Canadian.” HAHAHAHAH

Before we get to the Hallmark – our non-Hallmark Holiday viewings this year:
-Spirited, which I think has now become a family “must see”. And the kids play the soundtrack on repeat for much of December.
-Noelle, our first time watching this Anna Kendrick movie about Santa’s daughter who leaves the North Pole in attempt to right some wrongs. I thought this was fun, girl power version of Elf.
-Elf. Classic which we watch every year. Though, to be honest, this was the first time I didn’t fall asleep before the end and whoa… it was so interesting to see the ending with Santa in New York and all that – I’d never seen that bit.
-The Man Who Invented Christmas – about Charles Dickens and writing A Christmas Carol. Surprisingly funny.
– It’s a Wonderful Life. Another of our must see classics.
-Meet Me in St. Louis. Ditto.
The family also watched Candy Cane Lane, the new Eddie Murphy movie, but I was at work that night. Apparently it was fine.

On to the Hallmark stuff. As I was drafting this, I realized I saw twenty movies this year, too many this year to go into one post – so this is post #1 of Hallmark movies.

Ice sculpture Christmas (2015): An aspiring chef teams up with a childhood acquaintance to enter an ice sculpture contest.
My catnip: This was recommended by Elisabeth and I love movies about super niche things like ice sculpting.
My take: This movie had the formula down pat – all the right rom com beats at all the right times. It’s definitely a product of early Hallmark movies in it’s blindingly white casting.
The ridiculous: Okay, any time there’s a movie where two people first meet as kids and then recognize each other years later is going to get an eye roll from me.
My favorite bits: The lady who plays the head chef, Chef Gloria, was pretty great, I thought.

A Timeless Christmas (2020) – 1903 business man travels forward in time to present day, is confused, causes confusion, and meets a lady who is in charge of the historical preservation of his estate.
My catnip: Time travel romance.
My take: I thought this one was fine – not the best time travel movie; the period parts looked a little… unconvincing.
The ridiculous: Well, time travel…
My favorite bit: This is a bit of a spoiler, but there’s actually a poignant part when the business man is angry at his 1903 fiancée for eventually marrying someone else, and then realizes that she found a man to love an have a family with after all and that he couldn’t begrudge her that. It was super sweet.

Mistletoe and Menorahs (2019) – Recommended to my by a Jewish friend as a pretty good Hannukah-ish movie. Christmas celebrating girl (is she Christian? Unclear…) needs to learn about Hannukah to impress her boss and get a big raise. Jewish boy needs to learn about Christmas to impress his girlfriend’s father.
My catnip: anything that expands the diversity of the Hallmark/Lifetime Holiday movie scope.
My take: This was cute. The leads were engaging – I especially liked the male lead because he wasn’t as slick and perfect as a typical Hallmark romantic lead.
The ridiculous: I don’t know, but letting the non-Jewish girl light the menorah at a company holiday party seems… well let’s just say I don’t imagine that’s really something I see happening. I could be wrong, though.
Favorite part: making latkes. It definitely made me want to try to make latkes.

Laughing All the Way (2023) – Comedy club faces closure if they can’t raise money so they decide to put on a variety show/gala. One of their employees, an aspiring comedian, gets a now-famous comedian who got his start at the club to headline.
My catnip: Let’s put on a show!
My take: Okay, this might be horrible of me because I did genuinely think this was a cute charming movie, but… the lead was played by the same actor who played the Jewish guy in Mistletoe and Menorahs, which I had just watched the day before. And I just kept thinking, “He doesn’t celebrate Christmas!!!” I feel like that was kind of an unreasonable reaction, but there you go…
The ridiculous: The big show is going to be presented on Christmas eve. Who goes to shows on Christmas eve? Also – it’s a comedy club, but the jokes aren’t funny.
My favorite bit: The chemistry between the two leads was adorable.

A Paris Christmas Waltz (2023): Lady quits her job to become an amateur ballroom dancer and goes to Paris with her Pro-dancer partner. Romance ensues.
My catnip: Ballroom dancing, stars of the musical theatre stage (Matthew Morrison of Glee, but also of The Light in the Piazza which I listened to constantly this summer on my commute), European locale
My take: This one was pretty bad, to be honest – the pacing and plotting was clunky, and the acting was pretty wooden – like you know how some actors just seem like they know they’re in a cliched cheesy rom-com? This was one of those movies. There was one moment when Matthew Morrison started singing and dancing with so much charm and heart, and I thought things would get better, but then they didn’t.
The ridiculous: I don’t know a lot about ballroom dancing, but some of her rehearsal outfits didn’t look practical.
My favorite bit: the aforementioned singing and dancing by Matthew Morrison.

A Biltmore Christmas (2023) – aspiring screenwriter is tasked with re-writing a classic 1950s holiday movie. While doing research she is transported back in time to the filming of the original film and encounters one of the film’s stars.
My catnip: time travel, period piece, Star Trek alumni (Jonathan Frakes from The Next Generation!!!!)
My take: I LOOOOVED this movie. I think this is right up there with last year’s Ghost of Christmas Always as my favorite Hallmark movie. Okay, where to begin – time travel movies always have that nice note of impossible yearning, which I love, the settings and costume were beautiful, the leads had so much chemistry, and the plotting and pacing were so well done. And I so very much want to see the real version of “His Merry Wife”, the film that is getting remade.
The ridiculous: Well, again, it’s a time travel movie, so there’s that. Also – I always think with these movies when a person from the past ends up in present day – “How is he going to get a social security number?”
My favorite bit: The opening, which is played as a trailer for His Merry wife. And of course the end. I might have gone a little misty-eyed at the end.

Christmas in Notting Hill (2023) – American woman goes to England to visit her sister and meets soccer super star who is in the midst of a career crisis. Well, the American is also in the midst of a career crisis too.
My cat nip: foreign local, men with accents, stars of 1990s television (Sarah Ramos from Parenthood – does anyone remember what a lovely show that was?)
My take: This was fine, but there was no real conflict in the relationship. The American and the English soccer star liked each other from the beginning and there was nothing really standing in the way of them, so there was a real lack of tension in this movie. On the other hand, if you’re looking for all the standard cozy Hallmark Christmas tropes, this movie has them in spades. I would say this is a great movie for having on in the background to infuse the air with Christmas spirit.
The ridiculous: Soccer star’s mom makes a living selling swag with her son’s face on it. Seems a little unethical?
My favorite bits: okay, to be honest, I watched this really late at night and might have fallen asleep through parts of it. The two leads are charming, though.

Holiday Hotline (2023) – After a career crisis, British chef goes to Chicago for a break and ends up working at a holiday turkey hotline. She fields a call from a single dad trying to recreate his late wife’s Christmas turkey for his daughter. Simultaneously, she keeps running into a friend of her neighbor and sparks fly. Guess what? It’s not really a spoiler to say that the single dad and the neighbor’s friend are the same guy!
My cat nip: Single fathers, cute British accents, pseudo- Shop Around the Corner vibes, niche activity (Holiday cooking hotlines!)
My take: I thought this one was really cute, maybe my second favorite holiday movie this past year. I’ve always loved listening to the radio program Turkey Confidential and it makes a great premise for a meet cute rom com. I liked the way the story unfolded, predictably, but also with some nuance.
The ridiculous: Okay, some of the questions that callers called in with about their turkeys were hilarious and I hope no one ever asked in real life.
My favorite bits: The way that the movie handled the “hotline” scenes were, I thought, really well done. It wasn’t just a split screen effect – it was something cozier and quite skillful.

Christmas Island (2023) -Career driven private pilot is forced to land her clients – Los Angeles based toy manufacturers and their kids – at small Nova Scotia Island when she hits severe weather. She verbally spars with the air traffic controller, but then gets to know him in real life when she and her clients are stranded for several days.
My Catnip: A Hallmark movie set in Canada! Also Andrew Walker is one of my favorite Hallmark actors – I’ll watch any holiday movie he’s in. Also Rachel Skarsten, who plays the pilot was in The Royal Nanny last year, and I liked her too.
My take: The Nova Scotia location was kind of refreshing in a Hallmark movie, and I liked the storylines of how the various members of the family find their way to something fulfilling.
The ridiculous: No one seemed terribly Canadian in this movie. I can’t quite put my finger on what made me say this, since I’m sure there were a lot of Canadians in the movie. (Both the leads are Canadian.) But there was nary a ketchup chip in sight!
My favorite bit: The part with the Christmas Eve tribute to loved ones that had been lost, featuring a Christmas tree made from lobster traps. I might have shed a tear.

Mystic Christmas (2023) – Globe-trotting animal behavioral specialist goes to work for her best friend at her marine animal rehab center in Mystic, CT. She reunites with a one night stand/best friend’s brother, a homebody if there ever was one.
My catnip: Stars of musical theatre (Patti Murin, who plays the best friend, starred in Frozen the Musical.)
My take: This movie was pretty enjoyable, though low on external conflict, having, instead a lot of existential soul searching while enjoying Christmas settings. I liked that there were several different minor plotlines, to help keep things moving along. And the seals were pretty cute.
The ridiculous: What is it in the world of Hallmark that people have big exciting job offers that always start the day after Christmas? I get that not everyone runs on the same calendar as I do, but… it seems a little unbelievably inconvenient.
My favorite bit: There is one scene in which Patti Murin wears the most amazingly snuggly sweater. I loved that sweater. Also there is a book flood in the movie. Seems very hip and trendy, but it was fun to see a series of scenes where they go to the book store, buy books and then sit around and read. I don’t know what it was about the sound design, but the sound of those pages turning was just so perfectly cozy. Weird thing to love?

Well, that’s half the Hallmark/Lifetime movies I watched during 2023 holiday season! I’ll be back with a recap of the rest of them next week!

I know we’re over halfway though January, but did you enjoy any Hallmark rom coms this year?

Holiday/ Christmas Movies 2022 – Part 2

Christmas was a month ago, but never too late to finish up the rundown of the Christmas movies I watched in 2022. And there were a lot of them…

Last Christmas – Okay, this sounds like it’s a Hallmark movie, but it isn’t a Hallmark movie. Emilia Clarke plays Kate, a down on her luck aspiring actor who works as an elf in a London Christmas store. She couch surfs, insults her friends, is vile to her mother and family, and basically is kind of an awful person, but awful in an adorable-there-must-be-more-to-the-story kind of way. When life seems like it couldn’t get any worse, Tom (played by the super dreamy Harry Golding) comes into her life and charms her into becoming a better person by showing her how to enjoy life. There is also Emma Thompson who plays Kate’s mother, doing hilarious and touching Emma Thompson things. This movie ripped my heart out. I loved it so much. Big feelings, big reveal (which you could probably figure out by just watching the trailer), and absolutely has its heart on its sleeve. I would watch it every year, but I don’t want to cry so much at Christmas.

Santa Camp – This documentary is about a camp in New Hampshire that trains Santas, and addresses the question of “Who gets to be Santa?” Clearly Santa has historically had some diversity issues, and Santa Camp decides to tackle those head on by admitting a Black Santa, a Santa in a wheelchair, and a transgender Santa. It’s an interesting and moving look into an American subculture but also into why representation is important.

Hip Hop Nutcracker – This was an adaptation of a stage show, filmed for Disney+. It was fun to hear Tchaikovsky’s score being tweeked and re-imagined, and seeing the variety of dance styles, but ultimately, as I usually find with filmed adaptation of stage productions, I just wanted to see it onstage. I felt like all the fancy camera work detracted from the dancing and I couldn’t really get a sense of what the bodies were doing. It was short, at least.

We also watched It’s A Wonderful Life and Meet Me in St. Louis, but those are such classics that I don’t know that I have anything to say about them. Plus, I slept through Meet Me In St. Louis, so I really don’t have much to say about that one.

On to the Hallmark stuff. And again, these aren’t all strictly Hallmark movies.

The First Noelle – Noelle’s ex-boyfriend comes back to town for Christmas, bringing his new girlfriend with him. She also happens to be named Noelle. Plus she’s super nice.
My Catnip: BIPOC leads – (this movie was on BET), best friends to lovers (I prefer when the leads don’t spend too much time getting on each other’s nerves)
The ridiculous: Like most Hallmark movies, I wonder “Is this really how [insert industry] works?” In this case, it was publishing.
My favorite parts: Spoiler Alert – I really liked how Noelle didn’t end up with the guy at the end. There was a hint of a romance to start, but not a big happy ever after ending. Well, not a romance based happy ever after. I know the point of these holiday movies is romance, but I actually thought the personal journey Noelle goes on in this movie made for a really great story arc.

Three Wise Men and a Baby– Three brothers end up having to take care of an abandoned baby just before the holidays.
My Catnip: Cute brothers, babies, Cute Men with babies
The ridiculous: I know that this is a Hallmark movie, but the attempts at romantic matchmaking for each of the brothers just felt… superfluous. Who needs romance when you have three clueless men trying to put together a baby swing? Also – one of the brothers is a pet psychologist. Is that really a thing? (Well, I did have a cat once that was on Prozac, so maybe?) Also – it’s always really distracting to me when supposedly newborn babies look like they weigh at least fifteen pounds.
My favorite part: Watching the brother’s struggle with a baby. That zombie “It won’t stop crying” look on their faces… I’ve been there. This movie was actually a lot of run. Would watch again.

Jingle Bell Bride – A Wedding Planner to the stars flies all the way to Alaska in search of a specific flower for her client, only to get stuck there in the company of the very handsome nephew of the lady who grows the flowers.
My Catnip: Interracial relationships. Alaska. Cute kids. Only there wasn’t cute kids – I had read the blurb wrong.
The ridiculous: Do people really wander around outside in Alaska in December wearing just a sweater? I swear no one in this movie looked even remotely chilly.
My favorite part: This movie was pretty… just okay. It wasn’t terrible, there wasn’t any stand out moments. Kind of the apex of average in the genre. To be honest, I wanted to watch it because there were so few movies that featured a BIPOC male in the lead opposite a white female and this was one of the few movies I found which was the case. It’s always a BIPOC female and a white male, for whatever colonialist casting subtextual reason. (Am I reading too much into that? Maybe? Probably not.)

Something from Tiffany’s – A mix up leads to Rachel’s boyfriend giving her an engagement ring that was actually meant for Ethan’s girlfriend.
My Catnip – interracial romances, baking
The Ridiculous: The bad boyfriend. Is really bad. Like appallingly, “why are you still with him” bad.
My Favorite Part: Rachel is a baker. There is some serious bread porn in this movie. I want all the carbs. Also – I thought it kind of great that the heroine is also Jewish, so it’s a Christmas move, but not really. Also Zoey Deutch who plays Rachel is adorable in this movie. I didn’t realize until afterwards that she is the daughter of Leah Thompson (of Back to the Future). And now that I know that, I can’t unsee it.

The Ghost of Christmas Always: The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future are sent to haunt a grocery chain executive with a heart of gold, a man whom the Ghost of Christmas Present (Katherine) just might have a connection to and with.
My catnip: Christmas Carol spin off, period movies, really nice, decent guys.
The ridiculous: I guess being visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future is always going to be a little ridiculous. But that was the whole premise of the movie.
My favorite part: One of my favorite bits is when Katherine who is from the 1940s is supposed to step into the present and she magically changes from her period looking wool coat and beret into … another wool coat and beret. It was just kind of funny to me how timeless a wool coat and beret is. Her hair did go from period curls to a blunt bob, though, in case we couldn’t figure out that she was supposed to pass for a lady of the 21st century. I liked this movie a whole lot – it’s probably one of my favorites this year. The chemistry between the two leads was great and the movie was so full of whimsy and humor and made me laugh out loud. I thought it a better take on the Christmas Carol trope than Spirited.

Noel Next Door – Single mom and waitress Noel starts exchanging angry notes with her neighbor whom she feels is terrorizing her kid, at the same time, she strikes up a relationship with divorced composer Jeremy, a customer at her diner. Guess what? They’re the same man!
My catnip: grumpy men, single moms
The ridiculous: People! stop leaving passive aggressive notes for your neighbor and just go meet them! Movie over.
My Favorite Part: It’s always fun to see the classical music world portrayed on screen, even if it is wildly different from real life. Also, there was sweet chemistry between Noel and Jeremy.

A Hollywood Christmas. A director who specializes in making Christmas rom coms finds the studio has sent a studio executive to her set to trim the budget.
My catnip: behind the scenes of movie making, Asian leads
The Ridiculous: The guy who shows up to play Santa says, “I had to park my reindeer.” Also, after having their budget cut and not being able to hire any musicians for the big final scene, a bunch of the crew members happen to play instruments and are roped into playing for the final scene. That would never ever happen, given union rules and what have you.
My favorite part: The behind the scenes, ultra-meta effect of watching a Christmas movie being filmed as the back drop for a Christmas movie. Like who knew all those cozy sweaters were just dickies worn underneath winter coats?!?And the bit where the director says, “We don’t need sound for this scene, it’s just for the montage.” And then there follows… a montage of said director pining as she continues filming her movie. This movie was pretty fun, actually.

Santa Bootcamp: Party Planner needing to find the perfect Santa for a high profile gig, goes to Santa Camp to poach the best talent.
My catnip: Stars of yesteryear (Rita Moreno)
The Ridiculous: Typical Rom Com movie time line where a bunch of people are convinced to put up a huge gala/Christmas party with practically no notice. Also… (spoiler alert) there is a flying car in the last scene. Also there was very little chemistry between the leads here.
My Favorite Part: I liked how the lead’s mother was deaf and signing was a pretty casual part of the story. But otherwise, I thought this movie was pretty flat and heavy handed at the same time. To be fair, heavy handed-ness is pretty much par for the course, but this one was moreso than most.

Lights, Camera, Christmas! When a movie shooting in her small town loses it’s costume designer, Kerry a boutique owner with dashed fashion aspirations, is tapped to fill in.
My Catnip: movies about movie making, fashion
The Ridiculous: Do people just randomly hire a boutique owner to costume a film? With no experience? And was there really no one else available for the gig? One thing about the entertainment industry, I know, is that there is always someone available. You just have to pay them enough.
My Favorite Bit: I always like “behind the scenes” type movies. I thought the Movie they were shooting “My Favorite Santa” was just the right blend of ridiculous and plausible. And there were not one, but two budding romances to follow in this movie – I actually liked the secondary “second chance” romance between the producer and the director better than the main one – the main couple had some nice chemistry, but not a lot of emotional investment.

Well, that’s it for the Christmas movie recaps. (Not that I’ve stopped watching them… I sneak a few in throughout the year.) Until next Thanksgiving, then…

Holiday Movie 2022 Recap #1

Halfway through the month so I thought I’d run down the Holiday Movies we/I’ve watched so far. Spoilers ahead.

First off, the Non-Hallmark stuff:
Spirited – Musical on AppleTV with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds. The Ghosts of Christmas (a la Christmas Carol) try to redeem one person in our modern world. There are big musical numbers, tuneful yet forgettable songs, lots of funny bits and lots of heartfelt bits. I liked it mostly for a) Octavia Spencer being all sorts of charming and sassy while singing, b) Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynold’s great chemistry, c) the dance numbers, d) the clever wit. I did not like the plot detail of one child cyber-bulling another. I had a good time watching this movie, but I’d be very reluctant to watch it again.

Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special – We picked this because it was short and we could fit it in after the ten year old’s Friday night basketball practice. I thought this had all the good holiday warm fuzzy ingredients: Aliens trying to understand this “Christmas” thing, human re-discovering the spirit of the season, family, a dash of action, a big dash of quirky humor and so many Christmas lights. If you’re looking for a 45 minute holiday pick me up, this would definitely fill that.

Arthur Christmas: Animated film from 2011 about Santa’s sons – one of whom, Steve, has optimized the gift delivery process to such a high tech degree so that everything happens as stealthily and efficiently as possible, and another son, Arthur, who answers the letters and has to save the day when one lone present gets left behind. Even though this movie came out eleven years ago, I’d never heard of it. It was on every single “Family Christmas Movie” list that I googled, so I figured there was something to it. I thought this movie was wonderful – it’s funny and smart but also has some really heartfelt moments. We laughed so so hard. I also loved the “peek behind the scenes of Santa’s workshop” aspect of it. And the cast – James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Hugh Laurie, and Bill Nighy as Grandpa Claus and Laura Linney as Santa’s computer-was perfect.

AND… the Christmas Rom Coms…I have to acknowledge that the rest of the family does not want to watch as many Hallmark Holiday movies as I do. Well, maybe the ten year old. But she loves watching anything on tv.

(Note – I say “Hallmark”, but really I use that term, probably incorrectly, as a genre rather than a network specific descriptor. I really mean any of those hundreds of cute, fluffy, predictable romantic movies about the holidays that come out this time of year, be it on the Hallmark Channel, or Lifetime, or Hulu, or HBOMax… whatever channel or platform.)

So while we have watched a couple as a family hunkered on a couch, I have also watched a few on my own as I clean the kitchen at night. It does not (should not) take 90 minutes to clean the kitchen. But sometimes, in December, it does.

Anyhow, here is what I’ve watched so far, and my thoughts and feelings (Definitely more spoilers ahead!):

Inventing the Christmas Prince – Rocket scientist widow convinces her grumpy boss to pretend to be The Christmas Prince for her daughter.
My rom com cat nip: Widows, Grumpy uptight men, diverse leads, stars of the 90s (Tamara Mowry-Housley from Sister, Sister)
My Take: This movie was cute, though the whole idea of a “Christmas Prince” who grants twenty-four wishes every Christmas season was a little much – I mean if you are going to make up a Christmas legend for your kid, that one seems kind of excessive. Like maybe one or two wishes. But 24 is just setting yourself up for failure.
The ridiculous: Do rocket scientists really work in cubicles?
Favorite bit: The pocket protectors for the rocket scientists, and cozy sweaters for everyone else. Actually the cozy sweaters are one of my favorite things in these movies. Seriously, right next to Santa’s toy shop is a knitting shop where elves spend all their time knitting the coziest chunky sweaters for the Holiday movie season. I want them all.

A Big Fat Family Christmas– Newspaper photographer Liv is teamed up with new reporter Henry to cover the Chang family’s annual holiday party. Twist is, the Chang family is her family and she is trying to keep it under wraps.
My rom com cat nip: Asian leads, stars of the 90s (Tia Carrere of Wayne’s World)
My Take: Plot-wise I thought this movie was a little silly. I don’t love screwball “quick hide so people won’t see me” type plots. But the leads were both really cute and charming and I liked how the movie addressed the main character’s feelings about growing up as a minority. Another thing I thought interesting about this movie is that they had all sorts of Asian people in the movie and then felt the need to explain it. Like Tia Carrere is Filipino-American, and her character is married to Yee Jee Tso who is Chinese – and there is a specific line where one character makes reference specifically to the fact that the Tia Carrere character is Filipino. They also go out of their way to explain the background of the main lead, who had a South African accent. So I really appreciate that they didn’t cast a bunch of Asian actors in this movie and pretend they were all Chinese, even if it was a little heavy handed at times.
The Ridiculous: I spent a lot of the moving thinking that Yee Jee Tso looked way to young to be playing the father figure, then chalked it up to good skin. But then I googled him and he is only two years older than I am.
Favorite bit – the scene where the Chang family sits around an wraps dumplings. This feels so nostalgic to me, even though I’ve only done it maybe once.

The Royal Nanny – MI5 agent Claire goes undercover as a nanny with the royal family, winning over prankster children and Prince with the heart of gold.
My rom com catnip: Nannies, Prince, British accents.
My Take: The romance component in this one was surprisingly understated to the point of non-existent. The main plot point of this movie revolves around a threat to the king, hence the agent going under cover, and trying to unravel the source of the threats. Also – the main character looks a lot like one of my friends and I spent a lot of the movie just staring at her. I was overall pretty “meh” about this one – there wasn’t a lot of chemistry between the leads and the Royal Family just seemed like any other suburban family with work/life balance problems, only they had body guards and chauffeurs. I wanted something a little more fantasy/magical.
The Ridiculous: The prince falling in love with Claire pretty much based on a single game of charades. Like I said, the romance component of this movie wasn’t great. Also Claire taking down the villain with nothing but an umbrella was pretty silly.
Favorite bit: Greta Sacchi as the lady who runs a Nanny school and who trains Claire. I thought her bits were all very clever and entertaining.

A Christmas Spark – Widowed grandmother goes to visit her daughter in Vermont and gets roped into directing the small town holiday play starring the town’s handsome bachelor.
My rom com catnip: Widows, putting on a show, mature people in love, stars of the 90s, diverse couples
My take: I will admit the number one reason I wanted to watch this was because it stars Jane Seymour and Joe Lando. And lest you think the Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman smoldering couple-ness was a fluke, it was/is not. Their chemistry is so off the chart amazing and their banter is adorable. I have to admit I loved this one. I mean how often do people in their 60s/70s get to star in a holiday rom com. Also – Jane Seymour is ageless and Joe Lando wears striped tights.
The ridiculous: Having a final dress rehearsal where the final monologue isn’t written and then improvising it on the spot on opening night.
Favorite bit: Any scene that involved Jane Seymour and Joe Lando bantering and making eyes at each other.

Steppin’ into the Holidays: Out of work former dance show host Billy returns home for the Holidays and helps dance teacher Rae put on her Holiday Dance show.
My rom com cat nip: Stars of the 90s (Mario Lopez of Saved by the Bell), putting on a show, dance numbers, multicultural family
My Take: This movie was a little meh, mostly because there wasn’t a whole lot of chemistry between the leads. Regardless, I really liked the other characters – Billy’s family, especially his sister, is a lot of fun. For that matter, so is Rae’s sister. Hmmm … this seems to be a movie where the sisters are more interesting than the leads.
The Ridiculous: The duet Billy and Rae dance through the strangely deserted streets of town and the very obvious added stick poking out of the street lamp pole so Billy can grab the stick to swing around the street lamp a la Gene Kelly in Singin’ in the Rain. Gene Kelly did not need a support stick.
Favorite bit: The Christmas show montage. The original dance show evolves to a show featuring talents of the residents in their small town, a decision inspired by the singing firefighter who helped to fix up the barn where they have their show. There’s even a ventriloquist. It’s kind of hilarious and silly.

The Holiday Sitter: City workaholic bachelor Sam agrees to help his sister out by watching her two kids in the suburbs when the baby their adopting is born early. Out of his depths, Sam enlists his sister’s neighbor Jason to help him out. They like each other.
My rom com cat nip: gay romance, nannies (well, actually a sitter), babies
My Take: I thought this movie was really cute and charming. The Chemistry between Sam and Jason was great – I love soulful stares from across the room and there was a good amount of that. Jason was a little too good to be true, but that didn’t bother me because Sam was such a hot mess. I have to say, as I was googling movie reviews to narrow down what to watch, I came across a few sites that refused to review this movie, calling it “not family friendly” and also taking issue with other movies that have gay couples as supporting characters. It’s so disappointing. I want to be fair minded about this all and respect people’s beliefs, but it’s hard. I mean I’m also watching the World cup in Qatar, so maybe I’m not taking a strong enough stance?
The Ridiculous: Sam’s sister and her husband drive three hours to get the baby they are adopting, and bring home the newborn the day after it is born. Through a snowstorm in Buffalo. I know everyone wants to be home for Christmas, but oof….
Favorite bit: Jason’s dimples. It’s so shallow, but there you go. Also – Jason, the perfect Uncle, makes some amazing looking pancakes shaped like Christmas trees.

A Jolly Good Christmas – David, an American working in London, hires Anji to help him find a Christmas present for his girlfriend.
My rom com cat nip: London, Asian leading lady, interracial romance, British accents
My Take: I thought this one was pretty good, though movies where the leads fall in love whole-heartedly over 24 hours always strain credulity for me. I always think, “Wait… maybe you want to go on a second date or something first?” Of course I’ve never been one to kiss someone on the first date, so… I also liked that this movie was as much about David as it was about Anji. Sometimes these rom com movies tend to be about the heroine’s journey and the man (typically it’s a man) is this perfect cloud that she has to learn to be worthy of.
The Ridiculous: see above. Whirlwind romances are not my thing. Also – I know costume choices are a great way to show character development, but the guy who appears at work in the first scene in a three piece suit, and then in the last scene in a velvet blazer worn over a black t-shirt. I don’t know that I buy that wardrobe development.
Favorite bit: It might be sappy, but Anji’s speech at the climax of the movie where she says, something to the effect of “As a professional shopper I used to think everyone wanted a unique gift, but I’ve learned that everyone wants the same thing… to be loved.” Christmas with a bow right there.

Whew. That’s a lot for half a month. More to come, though, I’m sure.

Christmas Movie List 2022

We have a tradition in December of spending many evenings (and some lazy afternoons) watching Christmas movies. A couple weeks ago, we sat down and brainstormed all our favorite and “wanna watch” Christmas movies. Here’s what is on my list:

(Oh also – I would call this list very aspirational. It’s more like the menu so we remember what’s out there.)

Classic Films. As in TMC old.
– Meet Me in St. Louis
– It’s a Wonderful Life
– White Christmas
– Charlie Brown Christmas
– A Christmas Carol (pick a version.)

Classic Films. As in from our younger days.
– Elf
– Home Alone
– Polar Express
– Muppet Christmas Carol

Movies the Husband says aren’t Christmas Movies, but which I disagree
– Little Women (I like the 1996 version, but the 2019 one was very good too.)
– While You Were Sleeping
– The Holiday
-Bridget Jone’s Diary.
okay, maybe this category is mostly Christmas as an excuse to watch rom-coms.

The More Recent Stuff That We Loved
– 8 Bit Christmas (we watched this last year and we like it even better than the original Christmas Story)
– Spirited (We actually just watched this last weekend)
– Frozen (We saw this at the symphony already this year already so maybe not for home viewing this year)
– The Little Prince (Rachel Portman’s opera version. I worked on this opera twice and it’s one of my favorite operas. Here’s an excerpt from a music video that was made of the opera. Fun fact – we have a version of the rose costume in the video. The Opera where I work every so often has a costume sale where they get sell costumes they won’t use anymore, and they had an extra rose costume, so I bought it for my oldest kid.)
– Any Hallmark Christmas movie. I like ones where the hero and heroine like each other from the beginning so we don’t waste too much time being enemies and can just get to the romantic bits and holiday fun parts.

Not Child Friendly (aka, watch when kids are in bed)
-Die Hard
-Love Actually
-National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (I haven’t seen this, but the Husband assures me the kids aren’t ready for this yet.)
-Joyeaux Noel (Not child friendly because it isn’t in English. It’s about a Christmas Day truce during WWI. I worked on a great opera based on this movie.)
-Twas the Fight Before Christmas (Documentary about a man whose Christmas light display gets out of hand…)

Films we haven’t seen yet, but which are on all the Christmas Movie Lists
– The Santa Clause
– The Shop around the Corner/ You’ve Got Mail (I love the musical She Loves Me which has the same story)
– Nightmare before Christmas (Yes… I really have yet to see this movie)
– The Man Who Invented Christmas (Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens!)
– Gremlins (I haven’t seen this, but the Husband has)
– The Preacher’s Wife/ The Bishop’s Wife
– Bad Santa (this might be a “after the kids are in bed” one)
– Noelle (Looks cute – Anna Kendrick as Santa’s daughter, itching for a chance to prove herself)
-Last Christmas (Henry Golding! Enough said.)
-Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (It’s billed as a musical fantasy. I’m all about musical Christmas movies.)
-Arthur Christmas (Animated movie – looks really cute.)
-Christmas in Connecticut (1945 Barbara Stanwyck movie.)

2022 Movies that Look Fun!
-Hip Hop Nutcracker
-The Royal Nanny (Hallmark – Royal and Nanny usually piques my interest.)
-Christmas With You (Freddie Prinze Jr is now playing the hot dad. Of course.)
– Santa Camp (Documentary)
– Christmas at the Golden Dragon and A Big Fat Family Christmas (Christmas movies centered on stories of Asian families/characters. Wow. Yay for representation. My brother once made a comment about how Crazy Rich Asians was a very mediocre move (he’s wrong), but I said to him, “I feel like Asian people deserve to be in bad cliched rom coms as much as white people do.” Wish fulfilled.)
– A Christmas Spark (OMG!!!! Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman reunion – this one features Jane Seymour and Joe Lando as a widow ans the town’s hottest dad. Must watch!!!!)
-Violent Night (Santa as a bad ass crime fighting hero. This one actually looks a bit violent for me, but I looooove the premise.)

What else should I put on my list????