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.