Movie Monday – Holiday Style #3
It’s over. The holidays.
The tree is down. The lights turned off. The village packed. The decorations put away.
The music is no longer playing and the movies have turned to non-holiday romance. The following list are the final holiday movies I watched from Christmas to New Year’s. Overall, I LOVED them. The majority of them. Some, I’ve really disliked. But overall, I can’t wait until the holiday movies start all over again in 11 months…
A Christmas Mystery – High strung, overly dramatic newspaper reporter is looking for someone who sent her mother Christmas cards every year. She’s baffled that they weren’t signed with anything more than a printed heart and hires a PI, thinking her mother had a boyfriend who would want to know she’s passed away. Enter former Marine PI who… I’m thinking this one might be a DNFW… Did not finish watching. This is the 3rd movie on ION Television that I’ve watched this year. They need some help with casting. Some help with dialog. Some help period. It’s awful, really.
The Flight Before Christmas – Cute little movie. Girl is dumped right before Christmas and decides to take a flight at the last minute across country to visit her family. She meets up with a man who has been trying to make a long distance relationship work for 5 years. Mishaps. A meddling ‘Santa’. The Winslows from Family Matters. This little movie was fun.
The Spirit of Christmas – Paranormal. Ghost comes back for 12 days before Christmas every year. A lawyer is visiting his manor to sell it for the family trust. He trues to get rid of her. She doesn’t budge. While turning him and her around on Christmas spirit, the set to solving his murder from 95 years before and freeing him to move on. It was sweet and romantic.
Dear Santa – Rich, do nothing but shop girl intercepts a little girl’s letter to Santa asking for a new mom. She soon finds out that her parents are going to cut her off if she doesn’t find something to do or finds a man. Rich girl decides to follow the father and little girl around, then infiltrates their lives. She’s sweet enough, starts working in the father’s late wife’s soup kitchen, which comes complete with a gay too much lip gloss chef who’s too scared to strike out on his own. Rich girls shops in her closet for items to give to the homeless and shops in her pantry for spices and ingredients to give to the soup kitchen (Walmart brand, at that. Girl has never been in Walmart. Girl can’t cook either. But has a pantry full of spices and herbs.) in the end she gets the dad and daughter and supposedly changes. But the premise is a little… I don’t know. Bugs me.
Christmas Melody – My first issue with this movie was Mariah Carey. Why did they seem to show her in golden, angelic light every time she was on screen? Her character was bitchy and every movie has to have one of those, even Hallmark Christmas movies. My second issue was the final school festival song. Why do these movies have to out dramatize everything. It’s a small town elementary school production. It was to raise money, but it would’ve cost more money to put on than they’d ever make. I’d love a little reality check. I can suspend belief, but only to a certain point. The romance between single mom and music teacher was sweet. Oh and Folgers once again played a huge sponsoring role in this little film. Like right in your face huge. Subtle would work, too.
Christmas Belle – Dramatic much? Dear heavens… Grumpy man (beast). Too sweet girl (belle). Complete with a dog named Beast. She’s sent to settle an estate’s library. Lots of footage of the ‘beast’ running shirtless around the estate. A vineyard. A Christmas tree grove. ‘She’s gone back to the house.’ ‘I’m going back to the house.’ And a crazy ass overly dramatic proposal. Just… Wow.
The Twelfth Day Of Christmas – Secret Santa for all the right reasons. A really lovely, heartwarming movie… Aside, again from the obvious Folgers product placement, to the way Christmas threw up all over the girl’s house.
A Family For Christmas – Woman leaves to start a career. She was supposed to be gone 6 months. That’s where the movie starts out. Then skips to 10 years down the road. She’s still single and can’t see beyond her career. Her ex friends her on social media and memories pull her back in her mind. A Christmas wish later, she wakes up in an alternate life where she’s got a family and is married to said ex. She’s a full time mom, a wife, fully involved every minute of every day with her kids and family. Over several days, she learns that she really wants the ex and the family, but she also wants the career, just a modified version of the one she had. It was cute, but not one of my favorites.
I may give my thoughts on the Hallmark Winterfest movies, if I have time. I am looking forward to watching them. I never have before. But romance, even vanilla feel-good romance, makes me smile and fills me with hope.
I learned that I like a little reality in my holiday movies. I also learned I will NOT watch ION Television movies again. They were awful. I really like royal holiday movies. I’m not all that in love with Candace Cameron-Bure, but think Lacey Chabert is adorable.
Until next time… Have a wonderful January!
~lissa
