It's Great To Be "Hitched For The Holidays"

Hitched For The Holidays (2012)

TV-PG

Starring Joey Lawrence, Emily Hampshire, Marilu Henner, Serge Houde, Linda Darlow

Directed by Michael Scott

The Story:

Rob (Lawrence) promises his dying grandmother that he will bring the girl he's going to marry to see her before Christmas. Emily (Hampshire) is trying to get away from the boys that he mom is trying to set her up with over the holidays. They both turn to an online "Craigslist-Type-Service" and select each other to help get them through the holiday obligations with no strings attached.

And it's all going so well until they actually begin to fall for one another.

It's a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie that has been done before.

And I'm fairly certain it will be done again.

And again.

But that's okay, the premise works, and while not quite as great as previous takes on this story, including Lawrence's own My Fake Fiance or the underrated gem Holiday in Handcuffs, there is enough to the story and the characters to make for a pleasant 90 minutes this holiday season.

The most fun aspect is the Hanukkah vs. Catholic traditions between the two families, especially when they meet for dinner for the first time.

While this one won't likely become an annual tradition, it was enjoyable to see this year.

Final Grade: C+

Reliving Christmas Eve Over And Over On The "12 Dates Of Christmas"

12 Dates of Christmas (2011)

TV PG

Starring Amy Smart, Mark-Paul Gosselaar

Directed by James Hayman

The Story:

Kate (Smart) is trying to get back with her ex-boyfriend on Christmas Eve. She ends up standing up a blind date with Miles (Gosselaar) in the attempts to win back the ex. Fate decides that perhaps Kate needs to try again, and so she is going to relive this date with Miles until she gets it right. Will she ever enjoy her Christmas, or is she doomed to forever be stuck on Christmas Eve?

Another of the many Lifetime/Hallmark/ABC Family plethora of holiday movies that have been produced to air on television for viewers.

This little romantic comedy has quickly become one of my recent favorites.

Yes, it is just like Groundhog Day in the repetition aspect, but that's okay because Groundhog Day is a great movie and if you're going to try and replicate the formula, make sure you do a good job of it.

And they do.

Smart and Gosselaar are great leads with enough chemistry that you are rooting for them to get together by the 12th Date.

Naturally, Kate spends her time learning new things to do, learning more about herself, and learning quite a bit about her friends, loved ones, and some passing acquaintances.

Needless to say, she decides as the Christmas Eve wears on, she needs to share her gifts of discovery and make the world a better place.

Great movie, lots of fun!

Available to stream on Netflix as of his writing.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I have yet to purchase it, but I've been lucky enough that it's been streaming on Netflix for the last 2 years.

A Daughter Finds The Father She Never Knew..."Come Dance At My Wedding"

Come Dance At My Wedding (2009)

TV Movie

Starring John Schneider, Brooke Nevin, Christopher Jacot, Roma Downey

Directed by Mark Jean

The Story:

Cyd (Nevin) is a dance instructor in a small town.  She is getting married to Zach (Jacot) in 2 weeks.  She's ready to leave the small town, and do big things with her life, so she needs to sell the dance studio that her grandparents started and her late mother left to her.  When her lawyer (Downey) gives her the deed to the studio, Cyd learns that she has a father (Schneider) that she thought was dead, and she needs his signature to sell the studio.  Can she get his permission to sell, or will finding the father she never knew she had, change her entire perspective on what she really wants in life?

Thank you Hallmark Channel, for putting out TV movies that are worth the time to watch, and give a lot of great actors some screen time that they may not otherwise enjoy.

Take for example John Schneider.

As the ladies in the movie gush, he looks great.  And really, he does.  Around 50 when he filmed this, aside from a few wrinkles, he looks like he could still slide across the General Lee's hood and squeeze through the window with little problem.

That's a Dukes of Hazzard reference for any youngin's reading this review.

:)

Nevin is also a very competent actress with whom I was unfamiliar with.  She seems to be like a smarter version of Amanda Seyfried.

As for Roma Downey...I think she went to Meg Ryan's plastic surgeon, and that's too bad.  It's okay to age gracefully, it looks more natural.

The storyline overall is very sweet.  There were several forced bits of drama that had to be injected into the story just to keep it from being too good to be true.  That includes making Zack the bad guy, at least for about 5 minutes in the story.  Thankfully the story didn't involve some sneaky attempt on his part to simply be after the money of selling the studio, or behind the desire to sell off the downtown businesses.

No complaints on this end, an enjoyable movie to sit through.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No rush to own it, but if it was playing on tv, a great background film during game/craft/sewing night.

"When Calls The Heart" Is One Unwieldly Movie Title For A Friday Review

When Calls the Heart (2013)

Hallmark Channel Movie

Starring: Maggie Grace, Stephen Amell, Daniel Sharman, Poppy Drayton

Directed by Michael Landon Jr.

The Story:

It's turn of the century Canada, and Elizabeth (Drayton) is going to accept a position as a teacher, much like her Aunt (Grace) did years earlier.  When she discovers her aunt's journal, she learns of a potential love (Amell) and it sets off questions in her head and heart of whether or not she is ready to leave her family behind and head out into the wild.

Based on author Janette Oke's bestseller, Landon brings his father's touch to the small screen for a Hallmark Channel movie of the week.

Except, unlike his father's Little House on the Prairie series, this tale is only half interesting.

Or more precise, there is apparently so little story to each, the need to mash the Aunt's journal with Elizabeth's own are the driving ingredients to this story.

The acting is fine, and the period piece looks great.

It's just, there isn't a whole lot to the story.

Most unsatisfying, the movie simply ends.

After 90 minutes of partial investment of these characters, you have an idea of how the movie should end, but it doesn't.

It just stops.

: /

Ah well...

With a little further digging, it appears that this was to set up a tv series.

Fair enough.  Sneaky...

Final Grade: C-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Not when I have the whole Little House on the Prairie series already available at a moment's notice.

The Twelve Reviews of Christmas...Day Seven: "The Christmas Card"

I seriously want to live in this town...

The Story:

Sgt. Cody Cullen (John Newton) is serving a tour in Afghanistan.  For the holidays, he receives a random Christmas Card written by Faith Spelman (Alice Evans) who gives him some words of encouragement and invites him to come visit the family if he ever happens to be in Nevada City, California.  When one of Sgt. Cullen's men is killed in a mortar attack, he takes leave to go console the girlfriend, and then winds up in Nevada City.  He meets Faith, and in a nice twist of luck, saves her father (Edward Asner) from getting hit by a car.  Cody is invited to stick around for a bit, exchanging some work at the mill for a place to stay.  He agrees, and all is going swimmingly until Paul (Ben Weber), Faith's fiancé shows up...

Let's hear it for Hallmark!

Not to be outdone in the holiday department, Hallmark made this film in 2006.

Sadly, AT&T does not carry the Hallmark channel so I can't tell you if this film is playing this holiday season or not.

It should be, and if it is, I recommend a viewing.

It's sweet and charming.  A bit of drama with a helping of humor.

Yes, a lot like real life.

Faith's parents are hilarious in their obvious affection for Cody over Paul.  But as all good parents, they mostly want their child to be happy, so they will bite their tongue.

Mostly.

:)
Aside from Asner and Peter Jason, a great character actor, most everyone in the cast was a relative unknown to me.

But if the story is good, and the acting passable, it's hard not to want to watch a good Christmas movie.

That's what we have here.

Count me as  a big fan.

Probably my favorite of these sentimental dramatic romantic films that take place around the holidays.



Final Grade: B+/A-...

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: At least once, every year.  I do own this one, and I'm glad to have it!

The Twelve Reviews of Christmas...Day Five: "A Holiday For Love"

You can go home again...

The Story:

Jacob (Tim Matheson) is sent by his company to his hometown of Athens, Nebraska, to determine who to lay off and who to keep at the local tractor factory.  He arrives in the town pretending to need to make a larger order of tractors, and runs into Emma (Melissa Gilbert) and her daughter, Noelle (Michelle Trachtenberg) who take him in.  Emma just so happens to work at the factory, and is dating the local sheriff (Travis Tritt).  Naturally the two become interested in one another, but when Emma learns why Jacob is really there, will their budding romance survive... and will the small town that relies on the factory?

From 1996, I'm not sure if this was a Hallmark movie or a Lifetime movie, but I caught it sometime between one of those channels.

And I liked it.  A lot.

There is romance.  There is drama.  Plus a touch of humor throughout the film to keep things light.

It's also the struggle for a man to return to his hometown where he lost a lot of his childhood, including his father who walked out on the family when Jacob was very young.

However, Christmas is a season of miracles, and maybe...

Just maybe...

With the help of the townspeople...

Jacob is going to come up with a plan that works for the company AND the town.

He'll save the day.  Get the girl.  Live happily ever after.

I'm good with that!

It is available on the ABC Family website: http://abcfamily.go.com/movies
If you don't already own it or haven't seen it in some time.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  Every year around the holidays, and yes, I enjoyed it so much I did track down a DVD of it and it's mine, all mine!

The Twelve Reviews of Christmas...Day Three: "Angels Sing"

Life is what you make of it.

The Story:

Michael (Harry Connick Jr.) hates Christmas.  His wife (Connie Britton) and son (Chandler Canterbury) don't share his disdain, but deal with it.  When he was little, Michael's brother died in an accident trying to save Michael.  He blames himself, and has hated Christmas ever since.  His father (Kris Kristofferson) always told him it wasn't his fault, but Michael never believed him.

When Michael stumbles across a house being sold by Nick (Willie Nelson), the two strike up a deal that seems entirely too good to be true.  All that Michael has to do, is keep up the standards that the neighborhood lives up to.  When it turns out that his house is the key centerpiece in an annual holiday lights that people travel the globe to see, it seems that the Grinch is going to steal everyone's Christmas.

Ah, but fate has one more cruel trick up her sleeve that will maybe, finally, open Michael's eyes to the real reason behind Christmas celebrations, and why he has to accept that sometimes, accidents happen.

Wow.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this film.  I'd never heard of it before, and to my knowledge this is the first year it's been released.  Not on Lifetime, ABC Family or the Hallmark Channel.

Saw it was coming out on Netflix last week, put it at the top of the queue, and well, now here we are.

:)

Needless to say, yes, a movie that has Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Harry Connick Jr. (and Lyle Lovett... among others...) in it:

There will be singing.

But, it is not a musical if that's what you're worried about.

The singing comes naturally, most often in the form of caroling by friends or family.

The message about accidents is a powerful one, and one that Michael doesn't realize until it's far too late.

He felt that he was always to blame for his brother's death but never once did he consider who shouldered a greater burden than he ever could.

My advice?

Bring a tissue to this one, you might find it will sneak up on you and you're going to need one.

Plus, I really want the snowman decoration in the film!!

Final Grade: Solid B  Could possibly push it even higher.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  It's a deceptive crowd-pleaser with a bit of a sad overtone, but ultimately uplifting message.  I'm a fan, and I think I'll make sure it's in the library by this time next year.

Black Friday Is The Perfect Day To Announce A "Holiday Engagement"

Haven't I seen this before?

The Story:

Hillary (Bonnie Somerville) longs for the approval of her parents (Shelly Long and Sam McMurray).  Now she is engaged to Jason (Chris McKenna), a successful lawyer and they are planning to head to her family for the long Thanksgiving weekend.  But when Jason gets a promotion that would require him to move, Hillary is less than thrilled, so Jason opts for career over love.  Now desperate, Hillary puts an ad on a dating site for  someone to pretend to be her boyfriend for the weekend.  Enter David (Jordan Bridges) a struggling actor who just might fit the bill.

My Fake Fiance.
Holiday in Handcuffs.
Holiday Engagement.

Welcome to the wonderful world of mistaken identity romantic comedies!  This one was offered up by the Hallmark Channel back in 2011.

To ring in the holiday season, let's start with Thanksgiving, which is different than Christmas, and provides a nice bookend to holiday viewing.

I'm always a fan of starting early, which is why you've seen reviews for holiday themed movies/specials appear sporadically throughout the year.   And I'm not done yet!

: )

It's nice to see that Shelley Long is still acting, I haven't seen her in ages.

The rest of the cast are mostly newcomers, at least for me, but everyone does a fine job playing their roles.

It's a very comfortable film, you feel like you've seen it before even on the first viewing, and it just becomes more ingrained on you with repeated viewings.

It's like enjoying a cup of cocoa on a chilly day. 

It never really gets old.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing, whenever you are ready to kick off your holiday viewing celebration!

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I won't be rushing out to buy it, but I could see giving it a whirl to kick off the holidays in future holiday seasons.