Let's Meet Again On Christmas Eve | 2020 Christmas Movies

One of this year’s biggest Christmas movie tropes have been “former couple loses touch and gets back together.” To name a few from this year’s crop: A Godwink Christmas: Second Chance, First Love, The Christmas House, and Meet Me At Christmas. Then we get it again with Let’s Meet Again On Christmas Eve.

Corinne (Kyla Pratt) and Rob (Brooks Darnell) were college sweethearts. When Rob got an offer to go to Paris for two years to work on his photography skills, Corinne makes a deal with him. They will break up for the two years then meet again at the campus Christmas tree on Christmas Eve to see if they still have the spark of love. Seven years later, Corinne gets a job planning a Christmas wedding for a wealthy couple - Nancy (Nancy Sorel) and Sam (Paul Essiembre). Rob happens to be their wedding photographer. What will happen when the former couple has to spend two weeks on a project together?

One of the things that annoys me about these ‘lost love’ storylines is - why didn’t they just call/email/text each other? When Rob didn’t show up, why didn’t Corinne email him to see why he didn’t come? When Rob saw the picture of Corinne with her boss, Victor (Erik Athavale), why didn’t he ask her if she was seeing someone instead of assuming Victor was her boyfriend? All of this could have been cleared up with an email or a phone call or even a DM,

I’m also annoyed with Nancy’s daughter, Tracy (Sarah Luby). She looks like she’s 25 but she talks like she’s 15. Not only is she using outdated slang, she’s also talking with his weird….it’s not really an accent but spacing of words. They could have cut her character out completely with no consequence.

Oh, and they have the Christmas movie trope of planning an entire wedding at the last minute. This time they have a whole two weeks. No one does that. Venues and bakers and florists and dressmakers all need ample time to plan their part of the ceremony. Two weeks isn’t nearly enough time. At least not for something that is supposed to be extravagant.

Beyond that, the movie is fine. Pratt and Darnell have good chemistry together. They were quite believable both as a couple and as a bitter former couple. If you decide to watch Let’s Meet Again On Christmas Eve, do it for Pratt and Darnell, not for the plot.

A Little Christmas Charm | 2020 Christmas Movies

I kinda love when Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas movies have multiple names. Granted, it can make it a little difficult to research the movie but it feels like someone is trying to hide the movie from the world. A Little Christmas Charm also goes by the name The Charm Bracelet.

Holly (Ashley Greene Khoury) is a jewelry designer working at her best friend’s vintage store. When her friend, Megan (Britt Irvin), brings in a jacket for Holly to prep for the sales floor, Holly finds a charm bracelet in the pocket. Determined to find the owner, Holly pairs up with Greg (Brendan Penny), a reporter with a local paper.

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries tends to air the movies that have a mystery attached. Returning lost items, finding lost loves…those types of things. Normally, I’m into those types of movies. Christmas Charm, however, loses its focus halfway through. Instead of giving them a good mid-movie conflict, Greg just gives up because he doesn’t think they will find the owner by the deadline for his “feel good” article. Since Holly doesn’t want to search on her own (she says “it’s more fun with Greg”), the search completely stops. It isn’t until Holly has an epiphany while looking at pictures from Megan’s baby shower that the search continues. There should have been something like - Holly loses a charm (because she keeps taking them off the damn bracelet) and they have to retrace their steps then they see something they didn’t notice last time that helps them. Giving up is dumb when the writers made Holly so determined in the beginning to find the owner.

If you aren’t a super fan of one of the actors, I would recommend that you skip A Little Christmas Charm. The Christmas Ring has a similar plot. If you need to watch a Christmas mystery, watch that one instead. It’s much better.

Christmas in Evergreen: Bells are Ringing | 2020 Christmas Movies

Last year, I watched Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy. That was the third movie in Hallmark’s Christmas in Evergreen series. This year, we get the fourth movie - Christmas in Evergreen: Bells are Ringing.

While Michelle (Holly Robinson Peete) is getting ready for her wedding, Hannah (Rukiya Bernard) takes over getting the new Evergreen Christmas museum ready to open. Meanwhile, Hannah’s boyfriend, Elliot (Antonio Cayonne), is planning to open a Boston flagship store for his tinker shop.

Like A Christmas Tree Grows in Colorado, Bells are Ringing also features a main cast filled with people of color. The cast is also filled with people from the previous Evergreen movies. From what I can tell, there are only three new characters. (Well, the writers did mess up some of the names of the old characters. You would think they would re-watch the old movies so they could remember what they did. I didn’t count those as new characters.) I am glad that the twin sisters got more action this time around. They are adorable!

Despite liking the characters and the interactions between them, Bells are Ringing was lacking consistency. There was a great idea hidden in the plot but the story kept getting sidetracked. Sometimes it was by snowball fights and candy canes in hot chocolate, sometimes it was a conflict that only got resolved with an “oh well!” For example, Michelle’s fiancé is stuck in Maine due to a snowstorm and won’t make it to Evergreen (in Vermont) for the wedding. Most movies would have Michelle melt down. Instead, she just shrugs it off saying that she can stop planning now and they’ll just get married in July. She doesn’t cry, she doesn’t try on the dress one last time before giving in…it seems like she never actually planned the wedding. We don’t see any signs of a wedding - no invitations, no dresses, no flowers. It was weird.

Is this movie worth watching? I would say it is. It’s not a great movie but it does have some cute moments. The Cooper twins (Jacqueline Robbins and Joyce Robbins) are my favorite part. They are almost like the town Christmas elves. I think the movie is worth watching just for them.

Too Close For Christmas | 2020 Christmas Movies

THIS MOVIE MAKES NO SENSE. I swear Lifetime has just given up on Christmas movies. They put them out because they “have” to but they don’t want to.

Hayley (Jessica Lowndes) is spending Christmas with her sister, Amy (Vanessa Sears), and Amy’s in-laws. Unfortunately, Haley blames Amy’s brother-in-law, Paul (Chad Michael Murray), for the breakup of her last relationship. When Amy’s mother-in-law, Judy (Seana McKenna), falls ill and Paul’s Christmas trip falls through, it’s up to Amy and Paul to fulfill Judy’s wishes for the perfect Christmas.

I am so annoyed by Too Close For Christmas. I have no idea what Hayley does for a living. It seems like she plans something. Parties? Events? I’m not sure. I just know she constantly calls her boss to bug her about a possible promotion. There’s a running gag about Hayley not getting good phone reception at the Barnett house.

Then there’s this wanna-be-tension between Hayley and Paul. Apparently, at Amy and Tim’s wedding, Paul made a comment about Hayley’s then-boyfriend moving back to London without her AND IT HAPPENED. (Big gasp here?) So now Hayley blames Paul for it? It doesn’t seem like it was his fault. He may have been rude (they don’t actually show the interaction; Hayley just talks about it) but he didn’t make the guy decide to move across the ocean without his girlfriend. The movie tries very hard to make this the conflict between the two characters. IT IS DUMB.

Everything else feels so forced. There’s a charity gala that has to be planned and it ends up being left to Hayley and Paul. For some reason, Hayley decides to have a local barbecue place cater the event. Sure, ribs might be tasty but I’m not sure who wants to eat them at a gala, where they are wearing fancy clothes with perfect hair and makeup. I get that they wanted to come off as ‘down to earth’ and ‘relatable.’ But ribs are a messy food. Not something you eat at a fancy party.

I don’t like this movie at all. It has a 6/10 rating on imdb so I guess someone out there likes it. However, I can’t - in good conscience - recommend it. If you want to watch Too Close For Christmas, do it at your own peril.

The Christmas Listing | 2020 Christmas Movies

I guess now we have to add real estate agent to the list of Christmas movie jobs. There are more realtors in this movie than ‘regular’ people. Was RE/MAX a sponsor?

Julia (Lexi Giovagnoli) and Chad (Travis Burns) are competing realtors. When the owners of a nearby inn announce that they are getting ready to sell their business, Julia and Chad stay at the inn to compete for the listing.

Does this really happen? When a business decides to sell their real estate, do they hold a competition of sorts in order to pick a realtor? I thought you just picked a realtor. If you don’t like the one you picked, you fire them and hire another. This “come stay with us so we can get to know you” thing is weird.

Let’s assume that the scenario is a really real thing. At no point do Julia and Chad have any sort of romantic energy. There’s a few moments where they go from hating each other’s guts to something edging on friendship but I never got the feeling that they were “Meant To Be” or anything. So when they kissed at the end…it was kinda gross.

Sorry, Lifetime, but I can’t recommend The Christmas Listing to anyone. I will never get back the time I wasted watching it.

If I Only Had Christmas | 2020 Christmas Movies

Let me get this right, Hallmark. You took The Wizard of Oz and made it a Christmas romance movie? And everyone was OK with that?

Darcy Gale (Candace Cameron Bure) is a Kansas City publicist. In order to sign on an important client, she volunteers to work pro bono for the company’s charity in the northeast. With her help Vice President Glenn Goodman (Warren Christie) and his team find what they are missing to make their donation drive a success.

I wish I was joking when I said this movie is The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy, I mean DARCY, has a dog named Bobo that she, unfortunately, doesn’t take with her. At the charity, she works with three employees - Jackie (Jordana Largy), Bridget (Lucia Walters), and Riley (Robert Markus) - who are the Scarecrow, Tin Man (well, Tin Woman), and Cowardly Lion. Glenn isn’t really named Glenn. (Spoiler: He’s the Wizard.) There is even a scene where Darcy is gifted a pair of sparkly red heels.

It’s difficult to talk about whether this is a good movie. I mean, the acting is fine, if not a little over the top for the side characters. The plot…it’s literally The Wizard of Oz so you can’t really go wrong there. It’s a tried and true classic. But it is a weird pairing.

I suppose you could give it a try yourself. There isn’t anything particularly bad about it. And, hey, Alison Araya is in this too. That makes THREE Christmas movies she was in this year!

People Presents: Once Upon A Main Street | 2020 Christmas Movies

I am very confused by this movie’s title. Is People Presents a series of movies? Is it just produced by People Magazine? What does it mean and why is it there?

Amelia (Vanessa Lachey) wants to open a year-round Christmas store. Vic (Ryan McPartlin) wants to open a chocolate bakery. The two have bid on the same storefront in town. It’s up to Elder Dubois (Patrick Duffy) to decide who gets to buy the building.

Both Lachey and McPartlin are charismatic actors. Unlike most leading actors in Christmas movies, these two have the ability to bring something extra to their characters that makes them feel like real people. Granted, they don’t always pick the best scripts but they are usually the best part of the movie, even when they have to say stupid things.

Surprisingly, the script for Once Upon A Main Street wasn’t terrible. There were a few slow parts but a lot of it felt a bit like a buddy comedy instead of a romantic Christmas movie. I almost didn’t want them to get together as a couple. But, despite Billy’s (Scott Takeda) best attempts, Amelia and Vic were bound to get True Love’s Kiss eventually.

Down to the question everyone wants to know - is Main Street worth watching? Sure. The rewatchablity factor on it is low but it is kinda cute. Now if only they would give us the recipe for Nana’s New York Cheesecake…

USS Christmas | 2020 Christmas Movies

A very long time ago, I lived in Wilmington, North Carolina. Parts of USS Christmas were filmed there. It’s very weird to watch a Christmas movie and recognize locations.

While on a Christmas Tiger Cruise, newspaper reporter Maddie (Jen Lilley) comes upon a love story from the ship’s very first Tiger Cruise. Lt. Billy Jenkins (Trevor Donovan) helps her to track down the couple.

The term “Tiger Cruise” is heavily used in USS Christmas. Apparently, it is a period of time when family and friends can join their deployed sailors on their ship to experience the daily operations. While I love the concept (and yes, it is a real thing), it doesn’t have a lot to do with the movie. Sure, Maddie finds out about Sam (Hardy Rawls) and Dorothy (Ginny MacColl) while on the Tiger Cruise and the ship coincidentally takes them to New York, where they find more information about the couple…but that is it. We don’t even really see any of the named military characters actually working.

So far this season, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries has brought us pretty good movies. Unfortunately, this is not one of those. Everything about it is terrible. The actors have zero chemistry, the plot is boring, the conflicts are non-existent. It’s a complete waste of time. You would be better off untangling Christmas lights all night instead.

Christmas Waltz | 2020 Christmas Movies

At least this movie about dancing has actual dancers in it! This may be a Christmas movie first!

Avery (Lacey Chabert) is planning a Christmas wedding with her fiancé, David (Jeremy Guilbaut). After choosing the cake and scheduling ballroom dancing lessons, the couple cancels her wedding. Dance instructor Roman (Will Kemp) convinces Avery to keep the dancing lessons for herself.

Usually in Hallmark movies, they cast actors who can’t actually do the thing the character excels at. This time around, the cast dancers in the dancing roles. (Avery isn’t supposed to be able to dance well, which is why Chabert gets a pass here.) Kemp trained at the Royal Ballet School. JT Church (AKA John Talan Church), who plays the son of Roman’s head dance teacher, was the professional dancer paired with skateboarder Sky Brown in Dancing with the Stars: Juniors. (Spoiler: JT and Skye won!) As a dancer and a dance mom, it’s nice to see professional dancers cast as professional dancers. It’s annoying when you can’t see the people actually dance.

Another “new” thing in Christmas Waltz is that Lacey Chabert isn’t all that annoying! Her Christmas characters are usually whiny or annoying. Sure, her character spends a bit of time being sad but she also broke off an engagement 24 days before the wedding. She’s allowed to be sad about that. I hope that she’ll continue to get good roles in the future.

With all that said, if you don’t like dancing, don’t watch this movie. There is very little going on beyond the dance lessons. There’s talk about Roman opening a second dance studio but we don’t get to see that happen. I don’t think Avery and Roman even kiss, despite the fact that they are definitely set up as the romantic couple. They perform the Big Dance then roll credits. While I find that acceptable, people looking for the typical Hallmark romantic Christmas story might not like that. However, if you enjoy watching people dance, you might like this. They aren’t amazing dance moves but some of them are pretty. (To be honest, Church is the breakout performer here. He needs a lead role in something.)

Five Star Christmas | 2020 Christmas Movies

Can a movie be a comedy of errors if it isn’t funny?

When Lucy (Bethany Joy Lenz) returns home for Christmas, she finds that her father has turned her childhood house into a bed & breakfast. Once the news is broken to the rest of the family, they find out that the inn isn’t doing very well. The gang decides that they need to attract travel blogger Bea Turner to their B&B in order to get a five star review and gain more customers.

I don’t want to give away the twist, in case anyone wants to watch this…but it will make it difficult to talk about. After all, the plot of the movie revolves around mistaken identities and characters lying about who they really are. Lucy makes her family lie about who they are, while making assumptions about the actual customers staying with them. It’s a bit of a mess.

To be honest, the best part of the whole movie is that Lucy’s younger sister, Amber (Grace Beedie), gets to use her alternate persona to discover what she would like to do with her life. Lucy’s older brother, Will (Blair Penner), and his wife, Suzanne (Barbara Patrick), have a major life change that is pretty much overlooked. I think they put in way too many characters. None of them get quite enough screen time to make them real.

Can I recommend Five Star Christmas? I don’t think so. The movie wants to be an ensemble piece but it just isn’t there. Hallmark should stick to focusing on the romantic couple rather than everyone around them.