Christmas with the Darlings | 2020 Christmas Movies

The movie is titled Christmas with the Darlings but the family’s name is actually Darlington. Did they rename the characters and forget to change the movie title? Or maybe they didn’t realize the family is Darlington and not Darling….

Jessica (Katrina Law) is the executive assistant for Charles Darlington (Steve Bacic), the CEO of the Darlington family company. With his brother Max (Carlo Marks), Charles has taken custody of his orphaned nieces (Islie Hirvonen and Madeline Hirvonen) and nephew (Anthony Bolognese). When Jessica learns that the children are to be sent to boarding school for Christmas, she offers to take care of the children at the Darlington mansion instead. Max, infamous for being irresponsible, steps up to help her.

Christmas with the Darlings is what The Christmas Aunt wanted to be. Jessica does various holiday activities with them but none of it feels cheesy or forced. Instead of making paper snowflakes, they decorate the trees outside the mansion with birdseed ornaments so the animals have something to eat. They drink a lot of hot chocolate, they work on a Christmas puzzle…it is wholesome holiday activities that all of them seem to thoroughly enjoy.

On top of that, the actors have great chemistry. Granted, the two sisters are actual sisters in real life. Beyond that, I could believe that Jessica actually wanted to spend time with the children and that she actually liked Max, even when he was being goofy. And I could feel Max’s frustration at being classified as the “irresponsible” brother when he was so much more than that.

it is still very early in the Christmas movie season but I think this may be it. This may be the best Hallmark Christmas movie this season. So, yes, go watch it. Watch it more than once if you like. Then maybe watch it again next year. I don’t think you will regret it.

Jingle Bell Bride | 2020 Christmas Movies

Christmas weddings aren’t a new thing, especially in movies. Jingle Bell Bride isn’t actually about a bride though. It’s about her wedding planner.

Jessica (Julie Gonzalo) is a wedding planner for a famous singer, Renee (Donna Benedicto), who is a bit of a Bridezilla. Two weeks before her wedding, Renee insists that Jessica find the rare jingle bell flower for her. The only place that currently has this flower is a remote town in Alaska. Can Jessica make it back to New York City before Renee’s wedding?

While Jingle Bell Bride has a very stupid premise, the movie itself isn’t that bad. I wish there was a different reason for Jessica to go to Alaska. The best parts of the movie were when Jessica was spending time with the townsfolk. Everything else felt crammed in, including the parts with her sister (Alison Araya) and niece (Pietra Castro). I think I would have liked it more if Jessica was simply visiting the town. She could still step in to help when the town’s festival ball loses their venue at the last minute but she wouldn’t be held back by her event planning boss.

They could also give the jingle bell flower more meaning. That way Matt (Ronnie Rowe) would have a reason to spend more time with Jessica. Sure, he spends time with her now but the reasons feel forced. He only spends time with her because she’s stuck staying at his family’s house since there is no hotel in town. I think I would have liked it more if Matt had a little more passion for the flowers that could have shown through.

If you have the ability to look past all of the stupid wedding planning parts in the movie (there aren’t that many really), then this is definitely worth a watch. And if you watched The Christmas Yule Blog, you’ll recognize Alison Araya as Caroline’s boss. It’s the circle of Christmas movies.

The Christmas Aunt | 2020 Christmas Movies

Seriously? Seriously?? Christmas movie plots have reached a new low.

The Christmas Aunt is about an aunt - Rebecca (Keshia Knight Pulliam) - returning home to Nashville in order to care for her niece, Maggie (Nyla Alleyne), and her nephew, Dan (Gabriel Jacob-Cross), for two weeks leading up to Christmas.

Yes, that is the entire plot. The kids aren’t orphaned or anything. Their parents just went on vacation to Africa. And their grandmother broke her leg so she’s not supposed to drive or stand for long periods of time. Yup.

Uuuugggh, this movie was so dumb. The plot was dumb, the conflict was dumb, the acting was dumb…

When I saw the title, I was hoping that this was some magical Christmas thing. Like the kids were having some sort of problem…it could even be the parents still going away on vacation…and a magical Mary Poppins type character came in and cheered everyone up. I guess making snowflakes out of paper and glitter or baking cookies could be cheerful. It would be a lot more fun if the magical auntie made the snowflakes dance in the air or the cookies decorate themselves or something.

Instead, we get Rebecca who can’t make up her mind whether she wants to date her childhood best friend, Drew (Jarod Joseph). One minute she’s holding hands with him and giggling at everything he says. The next minute she’s reaming him for something he did years ago. What the hell, girl? Make up your mind.

Then there’s her job. When she suddenly left Los Angeles to go take care of her family, she promised that she would work remotely. We see her working, like, twice? And she feels bad both times. They also agreed that Rebecca would fly home the day after Christmas. Then suddenly the client decides to fly to LA the day before and she’s expected to just drop everything? I know that there are tough bosses out there that don’t care about their employees’ families but this was a little much.

Don’t waste your time with The Christmas Aunt. Even the boring Christmas movies were better than this one.

A Very Charming Christmas Town | 2020 Christmas Movies

How many Christmas tropes can they fit into one movie? I think Lifetime’s A Very Charming Christmas Town is trying to hit every single trope possible.

Aubrey (Natalie Hall) is a former-songwriter-turned-blogger. She visits Danish-style town, Solvang, CA, to see if they really are the “Most Christmassy Town in the USA.” Even though she is a bit of a brat, Sawyer (Jon Prescott) takes on the challenge of showing the magic of Solvang.

OK. Let’s count off the tropes this movie crams in: A musician (check, she’s a somewhat famous songwriter), a blogger (check, she stopped writing songs to write lifestyle blog posts),a woman loving sugar (check, she practically drools at every cookie, candy, and pastry she sees), a business owner (check, this time it’s the male lead!)…I think maybe that covers all of them. Poor Aubrey really does feel like a checklist of characteristics instead of an actual person.

In case you didn’t know, Solvang is a real town in southern California. Usually these Christmas movies center around a fake town with a wintery/Christmas-sounding name. While I’m not positive the movie was actually filmed in Solvang, there were some nods to the town. At least that gave it a little dose of reality.

Uuugghh…I don’t know what to say about AVCCT. The characters were terrible cardboard cutouts (with the exception of Laurel played by Kelley Jakle), the plot sucked, the conflict was unbelievable, even the resolution was dull. The only good parts were Kelley Jakle’s singing and the town itself. So I guess do a slow fast forward (not the super speedy one!) so you can see the town and stop about ten minutes from the end so you can hear Jakle’s one song. That’s the best this movie will get.

A Nashville Christmas Carol | 2020 Christmas Movies

It’s A Christmas Carol but in Nashville! Different, right?

Vivian (Jessy Schram) is a television producer/director that rarely takes time off. She’s too busy planning a Christmas special when she is interrupted by the ghost of her dead mentor, Marilyn (Wynonna Judd). Marilyn sends the Christmas spirits Vivian’s way in order to get her life back on track.

I’m generally not a big fan of country music. But I do like good music. Sara Evans as Belinda and RaeLynn as Alexis knock it out of the park. I could see myself watching the Christmas special with them. Especially when they were singing together. The rest of the show….

We’re all familiar with A Christmas Carol - the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future visit Scrooge to show him his terrible ways. A Nashville Christmas Carol spends a little too much time with the spirit of Christmas past, who goes by Pat (Kix Brooks), and completely abandons the spirit of Christmas-yet-to-come. That was a little disappointing. I wanted to see hints of Vivian getting together with love interest/former best friend Gavin (Wes Brown). Instead, we get a “The future is what you make it” type of speech from Marilyn.

I think maybe the worst part was that Vivian’s past was not all that exciting. We hear that Vivian and her sister, Georgia (Sarah Borne), grew up without their mother but we don’t know why their mother is gone. They just say “she left.” A lot of the Christmas Past time was spent at a Christmas party where Gavin got the job of his dreams but Vivian thought he kicked her to the curb. Of course, Vivian was wrong and….blah blah blah. Once again, these are conflicts that could have been resolved if someone opened their mouth and said something. It doesn’t make a good conflict.

Honestly? You should skip A Nashville Christmas Carol. There are better versions of Dickens’ book that are actually worth your time. The Muppets Christmas Carol is the absolute best. Watch that one instead.

The Christmas Yule Blog | 2020 Christmas Movies

Ah, blogging. A lot of Christmas movies are about bloggers nowadays. I mean, didn’t you know that bloggers are living this amazing life traveling all around the world? Oh, right. They’re not.

Caroline (Sara Canning) is a travel blogger/vlogger/writer. Her editor sends her to Carte De Amor in New Mexico to do a 12 Days of Christmas blog….and to find her Christmas spirit again.

First off, I don’t really understand what Caroline’s job is supposed to be. In the beginning of the movie, there’s an office and a staff and they are acting like it’s a magazine. But then Caroline and her boss, Camilla (Alison Araya), keep referring to her piece as a blog. But then she’s actually posting vlogs and pictures to the website? A magazine writer is fine. A blogger is fine. A vlogger is fine. Just pick one. And if she’s going to be a vlogger, make her videos interesting. She would be better at her job.

Next, there’s a whole section in the movie based on the fact that Caroline doesn’t have clothes with her? Again, she’s a travel writer. She knew she was going to New Mexico. Why didn’t she research what the weather would be so she could pack appropriately? Is it normal for a travel writer (who I can almost guarantee is not super rich) to have to buy new clothes whenever she gets somewhere? Do better, Lifetime.

Other than that, The Christmas Yule Blog is starting to head in the right direction. They show a variety of interesting traditions celebrated by the people of color in the town. Instead of an ugly Christmas sweater contest, there is an ugly Christmas poncho contest. (Not my favorite example, to be honest.) The town is lit up by luminarias, which are actually gorgeous on screen. And there are a few Mexican food references thrown in. I would have loved to have a more….New Mexican feel to it though. It seemed to be missing that…thing…to make it a traditional Mexican Christmas.

Would I recommend it? It’s not a terrible movie, by far, but it’s also not very interesting. Even the Christmas romance in boring. Does Oscar (Zak Santiago) only speak in monotone? B.O.R.I.N.G. If you’re really interested in seeing the pseudo-Mexican traditions, I would say to give it a watch. Just be warned that you might fall asleep in the middle.

Christmas Tree Lane | 2020 Christmas Movies

Music, nostalgia, and Christmas. What more could a Christmas movie want? Oh, right, romance.

Alicia Witt plays Meg, the daughter of a family-owned music store on Christmas Tree Lane. Sadly, all of the stores on the lane are being pushed out to make room for office buildings. Meg brings all of the merchants together to try to save their stores.

Christmas Tree Lane is a little odd for a Hallmark Christmas movie. (I think they are sticking all of their unusual movies over on the Movies & Mysteries channel.) You could literally remove Nate (Andrew Walker), the love interest, and there would be very little impact on the story. I found it quite refreshing. It was nice that the movie focused on the history of the lane and the merchants trying to save their livelihoods.

I also liked that the movie featured musicians that still enjoy what they do. Meg had a little difficulty with her songwriting but I think it was more of a writer’s block type of thing than a losing passion for it thing. She still loved teaching music and convincing her student, Kari (Malaika Guttoh), to perform at the Christmas Eve concert. Meg even performed a song she wrote!

This was such a sweet movie. I would have liked to have a little more nostalgia in it…maybe a few scenes showing what the area was like 100 years ago instead of just talking about it…but not having that doesn’t ruin anything. And Alicia Witt is such a great actress, I think I would recommend any of her work. In short, this is definitely worth watching.

Christmas Unwrapped | 2020 Christmas Movies

There are Christmas movies that are about romance during the holiday season. Then there are movies that are about Christmas spirit that happen to have romance in them. Lifetime’s Christmas Unwrapped is the latter.

Erik Gallagher (Marco Grazzini) runs a charity that gives away millions of dollars in presents every year. Charity (Amber Stevens West) is a reporter assigned to write an article about Erik, specifically where he gets the money to support the annual event.

Christmas Unwrapped is a little like a dollar store Elf. Where Elf’s Buddy was a human raised by Santa and his elves, Unwrapped’s Erik was a foster child tasked by Kris Kringle to help distribute cheer (and gifts) at Christmas. Of course, you have the unbelieving humans (Elf has Jovie, Unwrapped has Charity) that not only end up believing in Santa at the end - they also fall in love with their male counterpart.

Sadly, Unwrapped isn’t as fun as Elf. The pacing is a little slow at times and the big conflict in the third act could have easily been avoided if Charity just told Erik what was going on instead of letting him find out…and assume the worst…on his own. There’s also a secondary love story between Charity’s friend, Tisha (Cherion Drakes), and Erik’s friend, Aaron (Morgan Kelly), that doesn’t ever get resolved. We get some longing glances between them and that’s it. It would have been nice to see the two of them at some of the Christmas events kindling their own romance.

But just because the movie isn’t as good as Elf doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve a watch. The acting is decent, the plot is OK, even the expected twist was pulled off fairly well. Give it a go and let me know what you think about it. I’d like to hear if you liked this one as well.

Chateau Christmas | 2020 Christmas Movies

We all know that Hallmark movies tend to have characters with the same jobs. Baker, event planner, video game designer has popped up more frequently…but this year, musician seems to have taken hold. Chateau Christmas is the second movie this season to focus on a professional musician. I wonder how many more will show up.

Margot Hammond (Merritt Patterson) is a world famous pianist. When the venue for her Christmas performance is closed for safety issues, Margot decides to spend the holidays with her family at Chateau Neuhaus. It just so happens that a former college friend, Adam (Jesse Hutch), has convinced Margot’s ex-boyfriend, Jackson (Luke Macfarlane), to step in on the planning of the Chateau’s annual Christmas concert. With nine days to go before the performance, can Jackson and Margot put together the perfect Christmas concert for the Chateau?

If we’re going to be adding musician to the Christmas movie jobs, it’s going to have to be specifically musicians who have lost the passion for their instrument. In Chateau, Margot is upset because she’s gotten some bad reviews from one writer. While I understand that bad reviews can be harsh and difficult to take, it’s the opinion of one person. Margot is literally selling out concert venues around the world. But I get it. It’s sucks to hear that other people think you aren’t good at something.

My main problem with Chateau is that it’s kinda boring. Margot and Jackson are tasked to put together this concert but we never really feel like it’s difficult. They spend a lot of their time either trying to get three of the four members of a famous quartet back together to perform (unfortunately, the fourth member had passed away) or they are just hanging out with Margot’s family. There’s shopping, decorating trees, snowball fights….I thought they said it was impossible to plan this concert in nine days. It kinda seems like nine days was too much time for them.

I can’t say that I recommend watching this one. Christmas in Vienna was a better movie about a musician and On The 12th Date of Christmas was a better event planning movie. Save your time and watch one of those instead.

Holly & Ivy | 2020 Christmas Movies

Well, we finally did it. We got to a Hallmark Christmas movie that made me tear up. I’m not a big crier at movies but this one really did it to me.

Melody (Janel Parrish) is an underemployed librarian who just purchased a fixer-upper in a new town. As she’s moving in, she meets her neighbor, Nina (Marisol Nichols), and Nina’s two daughters, Holly (Sadie Coleman) and Ivy (Piper Rubio). She also meets local contractor Adam (Jeremy Jordan). After Melody and Nina become fast friends, they find out that Nina’s cancer has returned. Melody quickly offers to take in Nina’s children if anything happens to her. In order for the guardianship to be finalized, Melody has to bring her house up to code….with some help from Adam, of course.

This. This is everything I want in a non-musical Christmas movie. Adam and Melody’s romance progresses like a normal human romance would. It’s not a ‘fall in love and get engaged in a week’ type of things. Melody and Nina have a wonderful supportive friendship. The community comes together to make the right things happen so the girls don’t go into foster care. And the big conflict? It’s whether Adam and Melody should (separately) put their dreams on hold in order to take jobs that they don’t love but will set them up to make their dreams happen in the future. Normal human conflicts.

The acting? I mean, the casting director deserves a raise for this. All three of the leads have been working forever and in substantial roles. Janel Parrish was in Pretty Little Liars, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Heroes. Marisol Nichols was in 24, Riverdale, and Cold Case. Jeremy Jordan was in Supergirl, Smash, and on Broadway in Newsies. We rarely see this much talent in one Hallmark movie. And the chemistry between all of them was beautiful. Unlike most cable Christmas movies, these actors looked like they actually enjoyed being in each other’s company.

Holly & Ivy will be the second movie this season that you really should watch. Just make sure you have a box of tissues nearby. You just might need a few of them at the end.