Holiday TV Movies & (Non-Rankin Bass) Holiday Specials - General Discussion

[In2You]

2 hours ago, twoods said:

I haven't gotten through Firehouse Christmas, but from I've watched I like enough. It's refreshing that the female lead is the firefighter, and her and her boyfriend are pretty good at communicating with eachother. What I could have done without is the over the top evilness of the ex wife and her dad. They are obnoxious and unwatchable. 

I watched it and liked it in spite of some flaws. I disagree about the communication between the leading lady and the boyfriend. Watch the rest of it and your opinion may change on that part because he was terrible when it came to communicating regarding his ex wife. As for the ex father-in-law he was too over the top nasty for most of the movie so the attempt to redeem him at the end fell flat for me.

[Mountainair]

So, I splurged and updated my regular 40inch flat screen tv to a 60 inch ultra high def tv as an early Christmas present to myself. Since the upgrade it seems I can not sit through a Halmark movie. Maybe my movie standards are becoming higher but I can stomach them on my other TVs. I think ultra HD may take some getting used to. It makes everything seem like I'm watching Live tv or a live stage show if that makes sense. It really highlights the poor quality of these movies. Live tv (like watching football or a reality show) doesn't have the same impact. 

Thanks for the heads up about ABC family airing the older movies in the middle of the night. I set my DVR to record a few.

I usually don't mind Alicia Witt but her latest movie was awful! The story was ok but her acting was atrocious. I thought I missed some information in the first five minutes explaining why she would act so over the top. Her voice grated and she seemed to do everything extremely over exaggerated. 

Edited December 5, 2016 by Mountainair

[Court]

What I Did For Love:  This is an older one but new to me. Predictable but slightly different! The people in the small country town were a-holes to the boyfriend. The aunt was weirdly obsessed with the ex-boyfriend. Of course, they still ended up in the small town. But I appreciated that the city guy wasn't painted as some horrible person. 

[KaveDweller]

20 hours ago, BitterApple said:

The original host of the morning show decided to retire, and gave both open slots to Dean and Melissa Joan's characters. I thought it was a cute movie overall.

Thanks. That's pretty much what we expected, but it's good to know for sure.

Did anyone watch A Dream of Christmas? I thought it was cute, but less dramatic than you usually see in the "glimpse of another life" stories. Typically the main character needs to learn some lesson, but here she just said she didn't want to be married out of frustration, and never meant it.

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, KaveDweller said:

Did anyone watch A Dream of Christmas? I thought it was cute, but less dramatic than you usually see in the "glimpse of another life" stories. Typically the main character needs to learn some lesson, but here she just said she didn't want to be married out of frustration, and never meant it.

It was put together well for what it was.  The leads were good, although Andrew Walker was missing for too much of the movie.  But it was still pretty offensive.  She made a wish she didn't really mean but I hated the message that "single" her was allowed to both be more successful professionally but also turned into some kind of feared monster.  I mean we didn't see her that way but clearly her staff were reacting to her as if she were. And then at the end she gives it all up to support her husband's career even though hers is the one that pays the bills.

I watched Heaven Sent on Lifetime.  It was pretty decent.  Predictable but the two leads had good chemistry and you could really feel the heartbreak of the impending divorce.  But there was a bit too much "moppet" for my taste.

I was looking forward to Girlfriends of Christmas Past because it had a different premise but I was really disappointed. I thought the ex-girlfriends were psychpaths.  First, I didn't think the way he dumped Livvy in the beginning was bad.  Thinking he was going to propose and following them so they'd be around when he did so was 100% on the family--not on him.  And yes, he started dating someone new a few weeks before he dumped his current squeeze which is not great but he did end his current relationship pretty quickly.  They never would have known if they hadn't all met up.  Their shenanigans ended up not only hurting him but the woman he was dating an the man the lead actress was starting to have feelings for.

I think this movie should have ended with the three women and Ty hanging out and hoping to do better for themselves in the future because honestly, they were no better than their ex-boyfriend.  Maybe not scum in the same exactly way but pretty similar.  I don't mind a good revenge story but their crimes felt worse than  his.

*who probably shouldn't have forgiven Livvy so quickly either. And what was with that talk about having her find some guy at the New Year's Eve party and hoping he'd find someone closeted--WTF?  What out gay man dreams of meeting Mr. Closeted Charming?

[twoods]

6 hours ago, In2You said:

I watched it and liked it in spite of some flaws. I disagree about the communication between the leading lady and the boyfriend. Watch the rest of it and your opinion may change on that part because he was terrible when it came to communicating regarding his ex wife. As for the ex father-in-law he was too over the top nasty for most of the movie so the attempt to redeem him at the end fell flat for me.

You were right- I spoke too soon about the communication issue. Too much moping for my taste- it's not like he ever flirted with his ex wife or wanted her back. I did like the side storyline of her partner trying to re-connect with his father. Plus, the kid was also not annoying like others have been so far.

I'm curious as to whether the ending was the first time he said "I love you" to Jenny by her shocked reaction. And if so, he proposes to her at the same time? Craziness.

Merry Kissmas,which premiered last year, was absolutely terrible. Like I couldn't last 5 minutes terrible. I ffed to the "magical elevator kiss" to see if it was redeemable but the lead actress was unlikable. Yuck.

A Cinderella Christmas also is boring me so far. What a disappointing weekend for movies. Time to watch Nine Lives again.

Edited December 5, 2016 by twoods

[Suck It Trebek]

8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

It was put together well for what it was.  The leads were good, although Andrew Walker was missing for too much of the movie.  But it was still pretty offensive.  She made a wish she didn't really mean but I hated the message that "single" her was allowed to both be more successful professionally but also turned into some kind of feared monster.  I mean we didn't see her that way but clearly her staff were reacting to her as if she were. And then at the end she gives it all up to support her husband's career even though hers is the one that pays the bills.

I actually yelled at the TV, "And how are you going to pay for all that?!" She gets the promotion and then promptly quits?? Huff. 

[zxy556575]

18 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

Did anyone watch A Dream of Christmas? I thought it was cute, but less dramatic than you usually see in the "glimpse of another life" stories. Typically the main character needs to learn some lesson, but here she just said she didn't want to be married out of frustration, and never meant it.

Spoiler

I didn't understand how the wish also erased her sister's husband and kids. Beware of wish overspill!

It also made me a little nostalgically sad that Shirley Feeney is now Crazy Old Lady.

Edited December 5, 2016 by lordonia

[Aliconehead]

http://www.ew.com/gallery/holiday-tv-movie-stars

 

i do think they are missing some but I guess they went with "known" actors. Or actors that were famous before their Christmas Movies

[twoods]

I don't know if my bar for Christmas movies is so low now but I ended up really enjoying A Cinderella Christmas. I think the chemistry between the leads is what sold it for me, but I liked it a lot. I also DVRed Spirit of Christmas on Lifetime since so many of you enjoyed it last year. Good to know to stay away from A Dream of Christmas.

Edited December 5, 2016 by twoods

[BitterApple]

22 hours ago, Mountainair said:

So, I splurged and updated my regular 40inch flat screen tv to a 60 inch ultra high def tv as an early Christmas present to myself. Since the upgrade it seems I can not sit through a Halmark movie. Maybe my movie standards are becoming higher but I can stomach them on my other TVs. I think ultra HD may take some getting used to. It makes everything seem like I'm watching Live tv or a live stage show if that makes sense. It really highlights the poor quality of these movies. Live tv (like watching football or a reality show) doesn't have the same impact. 

 

My in-laws have the 60 in. ultra hd, and I agree it takes some getting used to. It's like the people on screen are in the same room with you.

[Misslindsey]

Quote

I don't know if my bar for Christmas movies is so low now but I ended up really enjoying A Cinderella Christmas. I think the chemistry between the leads is what sold it for me, but I liked it a lot.

I enjoyed it as well. Then again, I am a sucker for lame Cinderella type movies. I liked that the male lead figured out that it was not the cousin that was at the masquerade ball fairly quickly for one of these types of movies and was more of does she actually like me problem. I liked that the uncle that the female lead lived with after her parents died was not mean, but basically oblivious. 

[Suck It Trebek]

Looks Like Christmas was (surprisingly) good! I thought the chemistry was there and I liked the dialogue. Cute.

[twoods]

1 hour ago, Misslindsey said:

I enjoyed it as well. Then again, I am a sucker for lame Cinderella type movies. I liked that the male lead figured out that it was not the cousin that was at the masquerade ball fairly quickly for one of these types of movies and was more of does she actually like me problem. I liked that the uncle that the female lead lived with after her parents died was not mean, but basically oblivious. 

Haha me too! I even love the cheesy Disney remakes. I also liked how the guy figured out quickly that's Angie was the girl at the party. It was also realistic that she was scared to have him find out it was her not only because she wasn't like one of the girls he usually dates, but also because he was willing to marry someone he only met. There seemed to be a good reason why they were both apart most of the movie. 

[KaveDweller]

12 hours ago, Suck It Trebek said:

I actually yelled at the TV, "And how are you going to pay for all that?!" She gets the promotion and then promptly quits?? Huff. 

Ha, that's what I said too. She should have kept the job and shown that she didn't have to be a "monster" to be Senior VP, she could have the best of both worlds. 

10 hours ago, lordonia said:

  Reveal hidden contents

I didn't understand how the wish also erased her sister's husband and kids. Beware of wish overspill!

It also made me a little nostalgically sad that Shirley Feeney is now Crazy Old Lady.

It erased the sister's husband and kids, because she and the husband introduced them in the original timeline. I don't know how the sister had three kids the ages they were if they met after the main couple met (they said six years ago). But that's a minor detail.

[Irlandesa]

Quote

It erased the sister's husband and kids, because she and the husband introduced them in the original timeline. I don't know how the sister had three kids the ages they were if they met after the main couple met (they said six years ago). But that's a minor detail.

I thought about that too but I think the timeline was that they had been married for six years but we don't know how long they've actually been together.  To make the timeline work in my head, they may have met first but the sister and her husband likely married first.

[In2You]

21 hours ago, twoods said:

You were right- I spoke too soon about the communication issue. Too much moping for my taste- it's not like he ever flirted with his ex wife or wanted her back. I did like the side storyline of her partner trying to re-connect with his father. Plus, the kid was also not annoying like others have been so far.

I'm curious as to whether the ending was the first time he said "I love you" to Jenny by her shocked reaction. And if so, he proposes to her at the same time? Craziness.

Merry Kissmas,which premiered last year, was absolutely terrible. Like I couldn't last 5 minutes terrible. I ffed to the "magical elevator kiss" to see if it was redeemable but the lead actress was unlikable. Yuck.

A Cinderella Christmas also is boring me so far. What a disappointing weekend for movies. Time to watch Nine Lives again.

Most of these little kids annoy me (and I adore kids in real life) and this little girl annoyed me in the movies she was in last year so I appreciated that she toned it down a little this year.

I only ever saw bts and pieces of Merry Kissmas since last year since it came off as so damn boring.

I missed the Sunday movies because I was in NYC.  Just reminded me of the discussion we had on here. The place sure seemed full of Christmas spirit to me. 

[StaceyNotStacie]

I enjoyed Hearts of Christmas. It had a really good story and a nice cast. The leads had good chemistry and I liked that there was no real villain or major conflict. The lead actress from the Nine Lives of Christmas had a small role as the male lead's sister. Another winner on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. 

[MissyPoo]

Signing up after lurking for some time. I've been a Hallmark watcher for a few years but noticed the movies this year have been lacking in quality.  I find myself skipping a lot of newer ones that just seem 'eh'. Not sure if it's the samey plot, samey actors, predictability but I'm hoping next year they scale back on the quantity for quality. 

That said, I liked December Bride, Christmas List and Christmas Cookies...the first time. Upon watching them again, they didn't really catch my interest.

I skipped Looks Like Christmas but I may check it out. Finally catching Journey Back to Christmas and I'm actually liking it. The premise seemed really interesting and I'm glad it's turning out to have a nice story and production. Some folks on the movie's forum were talking about Jake the officer ending up with a descendent of Hannah's which kind of reminds me of Edge of the Garden (ahh, love that movie - Hallmark needs to get back to that kind of quality).

I also watched Firehouse Christmas (yuck) and Girlfriends of Christmas Past on Ion but probably won't revisit either. Firehouse was just bad all around while Girlfriends wasn't bad per se. It just had some crazy psycho characters who were supposed to be the protags. What I don't understand is, main girlie ends up with a new guy, doesn't it occur to old boy that she may psycho out on him the same way in the future if they ever break up? 

Anywho, I have hopes for A Nutcracker Christmas and the Sunday ones. HMM movies are definitely looking much better in quality overall.

[twoods]

Wish Hallmark showed some of their HMM movies instead of the same ones over and over again. 

Just looking at the Lifetime movies their quality alone is heads over heels over Hallmark. No weird cuts between scenes, decent acting. Heaven Sent is good so far but it's too depressing for my taste.

Edited December 6, 2016 by twoods

[Valentine]

If You Believe (another oldie, but goodie) is on Oxygen tomorrow morning. It's one of my favorites, and I think it hasn't been shown in the past few years. It has the charm many of Hallmark's recent offerings lack.

[twoods]

Did anyone catch the Freeform holiday movie Holiday Joy? It was on demand and was pretty cute. It's sad that I like a teeny boo movie more than most of the Hallmark movies so far. I don't mind Bailee Madison and she was pretty good in this movie. 

[ButterQueen]

On 11/12/2016 at 1:50 AM, twoods said:

Watched The Most Wonderful Time Of the Year tonight and I always love that movie. Good storyline, great chemistry between the leads. This is the quality I miss after Hallmark started pumping out an obscene amount of movies without caring about the quality. 

I love this movie too.  Great story and actors.  

I also love Battle of the Bulbs.

[ButterQueen]

On 11/25/2016 at 1:18 AM, Irlandesa said:

Interesting because I think I would have preferred to watch the movie they were filming over the movie we got...mainly because I thought they had more chemistry even if he was a bit of a doofus.

But I didn't enjoy it.  It wasn't the worst movie I've seen but maybe it's this year but I have less patience for really thin plots, with not funny writing, or barely any effort.

I didn't enjoy Christmas In Homstead either.  No chemistry at all.

[MissyPoo]

1 hour ago, twoods said:

Did anyone catch the Freeform holiday movie Holiday Joy? It was on demand and was pretty cute. It's sad that I like a teeny boo movie more than most of the Hallmark movies so far. I don't mind Bailee Madison and she was pretty good in this movie. 

 

I may check this one out. Though Bailee kind of annoys me except for that Teri Polo chef movie she was in years ago. 

[EyewatchTV211]

22 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

Ha, that's what I said too. She should have kept the job and shown that she didn't have to be a "monster" to be Senior VP, she could have the best of both worlds. 

 

Did she fully quit her job or did she just not take the promotion? I agree that it would be nice for her to show she could be a nice Senior VP, but maybe she was afraid of the corruption of power once she saw it was potentially within her, like Dumbledore not wanting to be Minister of Magic. :)

[Shanna Marie]

I just noticed that the FYI channel is showing some of the older Lifetime holiday movies on Tuesdays. On tonight are Holiday High School Reunion and Recipe for a Perfect Christmas. Next week are His and Hers Christmas (the battling newspaper columnist movie I was trying to remember a while ago) and The Twelve Trees of Christmas.

[In2You]

21 hours ago, twoods said:

Wish Hallmark showed some of their HMM movies instead of the same ones over and over again. 

Just looking at the Lifetime movies their quality alone is heads over heels over Hallmark. No weird cuts between scenes, decent acting. Heaven Sent is good so far but it's too depressing for my taste.

Lifetime doesn't produce most of their movies like Hallmark does.  They just act the US TV distributor for movies that are produced and filmed earlier in the year. Hallmark is busy churning them out like an assembly line.

[twoods]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

I just noticed that the FYI channel is showing some of the older Lifetime holiday movies on Tuesdays. On tonight are Holiday High School Reunion and Recipe for a Perfect Christmas. Next week are His and Hers Christmas (the battling newspaper columnist movie I was trying to remember a while ago) and The Twelve Trees of Christmas.

I hope I have that channel- I already have Recipe on DVR from last year but I really enjoyed the Reunion one as well and want to catch it again. Thanks for the heads up. It's so hard to keep up with all the movies this year.

[Kaoteek]

16 hours ago, In2You said:

Lifetime doesn't produce most of their movies like Hallmark does.  They just act the US TV distributor for movies that are produced and filmed earlier in the year. Hallmark is busy churning them out like an assembly line.

That said, these past few years, a good bunch of Lifetime's Xmas movies were produced by the exact same production companies as Hallmark movies : MarVista, Lighthouse pictures, Hybrid...

[ButterQueen]

The Mistletoe Promise

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[Court]

On 12/5/2016 at 11:43 PM, Stacey1014 said:

I enjoyed Hearts of Christmas. It had a really good story and a nice cast. The leads had good chemistry and I liked that there was no real villain or major conflict. The lead actress from the Nine Lives of Christmas had a small role as the male lead's sister. Another winner on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. 

I could not place that actress! Thank you. I also enjoyed Hearts of Christmas. I cried more than once, though. I've had two babies in the NICU and it just really got to me.

[stormy]

Broadcasting Christmas, was for me, the worse vehicle for Melissa Joan Hart.  Tried twice, couldn't watch it.  I always like MJH in anything, even Melissa and Joey at it's worst.

Partly, I didn't like Dean Cain.  I'll watch Handcuffed for the Holidays every year on Freeform.  I never get tired of it!

[Kaoteek]

Funnily enough, I was pleasantly surprised by Broadcasting Christmas. Nothing to write home about, but MJH & Dean Cain had a nice chemistry, and their scenes had enough energy to make up for some bits of dodgy character writing, re: MJH's character.

On the other hand, I can't find a good thing to say about A Firehouse Christmas. That was painful, unfocused, and it didn't seem to know whether it wanted to be a caricatural Christmas comedy with very "evil" antagonists, or a more touching, sob story with the big emotional finish and that pointless token-black-bff-and-colleague-of-the-lead-character's absent dad storyline, that brought nothing to the movie except some padding. Also, the lead actress was almost a supporting character in the movie, since her bf & the ex hogged most of the screentime. Bleh.

Edited December 9, 2016 by Kaoteek

[Shanna Marie]

I'm finally digging into the movies I've been stockpiling on my DVR since Halloween. Tonight was A Wish for Christmas, and while I kind of liked the premise, the execution bugged me. I guess part of it has to do with the fact that I used to work for an ad agency, and if you showed up for a pitch meeting only to find out that they'd already signed someone else to the account and were cancelling the meeting, you'd figure that this would end up being the client from hell and consider yourself lucky to have avoided the nightmare. Working with that kind of client would be terrible, and you'd probably end up either resigning the account after you bled staffers who quit rather than deal with it or losing the account anyway because that kind of jerk will never be happy. So it was hard for me to watch when the whole premise was chasing after this guy and jumping through his hoops. And then there was that whole sidetrack about the boss's family.

Oh, and the obvious white blanket draped over the bushes as fake snow.

[In2You]

Christmas with the Andersons is on tomorrow and it looks good. Its been awhile since I've seen Christy Carlson Romano onscreen so I'm looking forward to that.

On Sunday Up has Season's Greetings which involves a greeting card company. Has Hallmark ever done a movie like that?  Its seems like an obvious plot for the Channel.

Darcy Blake has the perfect job – she works for Harrington House, a successful greeting card company, in the editorial department. Writing heart-felt, meaningful copy for cards is very important to Darcy, especially at Christmas, which was important to her as a young girl. She realizes that she is a bit out of step with her fellow millennials but that is fine with Darcy. Everything is about to change when Andrew Harrington arrives at the company to take over from his grandfather and he has a very different view of the holidays

[ehall1052]

If they are filming a movie in the summer, I can not understand why they can't make the setting in Florida or S. California. Fake snow looks ridiculous! I live in Florida. We have Christmas here....we really do.

[Aliconehead]

We have it in San Diego too, no matter what this years Christmas List would lead you to believe. 

Edited December 10, 2016 by Aliconehead

[twoods]

8 minutes ago, Aliconehead said:

We have it in San Diego too, no matter what this years Christmas List would lead you to believe. 

Seriously. She didn't get an Christmas because of her crazy mom, not because she lives in Southern California. We still have lights and a christmas tree (though it's fake, another Hallmark no no)- we don't need snow to enjoy the holidays. 

[EyewatchTV211]

I need snow and cold. :D But I'm from the mid-Atlantic/northeast and have always had winter weather, so it just doesn't feel right to me otherwise. Though it certainly doesn't always snow right when the holidays occur. It's just a somewhat colder temperature. This year has been pretty warm, which is making me sad. I want my snow! However, since I know snow, I'm bothered by the movies with clearly fake snow. 

[Shanna Marie]

1 hour ago, twoods said:

She didn't get an Christmas because of her crazy mom, not because she lives in Southern California.

I just watched Christmas List tonight, and yeah. There was potential in that movie, but they couldn't seem to figure out what it was really about. It seemed like the real issue was her crazy mom, but then that was brought up and dismissed fairly early in the movie. I didn't feel like she was really learning anything other than to maybe chill a bit, but again, she figured that out early. She wasn't all that invested in the boyfriend (though I thought that Hallmark was getting a bit racy with the new couple going on vacation together -- did they come close to suggesting that they were sleeping together? Gasp!). As a person from a warmer climate, though, I could kind of see dreaming about that kind of Christmas and wanting to have that kind of thing. If I were going to go on a Christmas vacation, I'd totally plan to go to the mountains and stay in a Christmassy place, and do stuff like a sleigh ride, skating, etc. Not because it's necessary to have a perfect Christmas, but because it would be a fun change of pace.

I also watched Falling for Christmas, the figure skater one. I didn't really get the ending of that. It wasn't like she really had to choose between a relationship and skating. There didn't seem to be a good reason for her to win nationals and not compete at worlds. It would have made more sense if her injury had been affecting her and that was why she quit.

[In2You]

20 minutes ago, VMepicgrl said:

I need snow and cold. :D But I'm from the mid-Atlantic/northeast and have always had winter weather, so it just doesn't feel right to me otherwise. Though it certainly doesn't always snow right when the holidays occur. It's just a somewhat colder temperature. This year has been pretty warm, which is making me sad. I want my snow! However, since I know snow, I'm bothered by the movies with clearly fake snow. 

I'm in the northeast and there hasn't been a true white Christmas in my area since I was a kid.  Though a few years back we had a white Halloween one year.

[EyewatchTV211]

Yeah. A handful of years ago, there were flurries on Christmas but it didn't stick. But palm trees and people in light clothing just doesn't look right. 

[Aliconehead]

Let me tell you, you get use to the warmth although it's rarely above the 80 in San Diego for Christmas.  we do need to keep in mind HALF the world has Christmas in the Summer and never has snow. My aunt is Australian and talks about beach BBQd for Christmas.  Actually snow if actually rare for Christmas when you look at the whole earth, the majority of the world is warmer than colder  

Edited December 10, 2016 by Aliconehead

[JasmineFlower]

On 12/8/2016 at 8:37 PM, Kaoteek said:

On the other hand, I can't find a good thing to say about A Firehouse Christmas. That was painful, unfocused, and it didn't seem to know whether it wanted to be a caricatural Christmas comedy with very "evil" antagonists, or a more touching, sob story with the big emotional finish and that pointless token-black-bff-and-colleague-of-the-lead-character's absent dad storyline, that brought nothing to the movie except some padding. Also, the lead actress was almost a supporting character in the movie, since her bf & the ex hogged most of the screentime. Bleh.

I'm glad I wasn't alone in that thinking about A Firehouse Christmas. I found it to be a bit of a mess more often than not. The ex-wife and ex-father-in-law were a lot to take on every level and some of it made little sense and was almost cartoonish at times. The treatment of the daughter/granddaughter did nothing to help them out either. I liked the lead actor and actress in general and would try them out in another movie. But her character, who appeared to be a non-parent with no experience with raising children was very righteous in telling her boyfriend how to parent and deal with divorce. Then she intervenes in the co-workers's life, who she hasn't known for a year mind you, to reunite him with his dad and make it seem like no big deal about him ditching you. And that was just a strange storyline to include in the movie at all, where the guy is basically sharing his daddy abandonment story at a banquet with his co-workers. It was an odd movie, the flow was off for sure and it's like anyone who had an idea for the script, got it in. It was rather clunky and unfocused, they could have done with getting rid of half the tangents in this movie and focus for a hot minute on the main couple without his daughter around. It wouldn't have made it good, but it would've been better.

However, I also watched A Dream of Christmas (not to be confused with My Christmas Dream with Danica) and enjoyed Nikki DeLoach and Andrew Walker in this one. Not the best ever, but I don't have many complaints and certainly one of the better ones I've seen this holiday season.

[kirinan]

Holy Guacamole, Batman, I just saw an ad for next Saturday's Hallmark movie, "My Christmas Love" and I am for some reason especially boggled by what I saw, even though I certainly know that diversity is not Hallmark's...well, hallmark.

I happened to have the mute button on, so all I saw were the visuals. I don't recognize any of the leads, btw. It appears that the lead actress--of course, a pretty long-haired blonde--has to choose between four suitors. And the four guys--well, if you asked Central Casting for "the blandest, most generic set of handsome young male actors you can find," these are the guys they'd send. All tall, white, varying shades of blond or light brown hair, and I think they all wore suits but I can't even remember that. It's even possible that it was only two guys who were on so many times that I thought there were four of them. 

Not a hint of ethnic, racial, or age diversity anywhere that I saw. Just 60 seconds of Wonder Bread. I don't think I need to hear what this one is about to skip it, thanks.

Maybe Hallmark should just change their tagline to "Hallmark: Travel back to the 1950s with the whitest movies on TV." 

Edited December 10, 2016 by kirinan

[twoods]

Bwah! So true. You figure in this day and age with four suitors at least one would be "ethnic" unless it's in a small Hallmark small town where the non white people are in the background wandering around in the snow. Hallmark, you really are ridiculous at times.

I ended up really enjoying the Spirit of Christmas. The lead actor was smoking hot and literally smoldering. I need to see what else he's on. 

Edited December 10, 2016 by twoods

[In2You]

I ended up watching Girlfriends of Christmas Past. It reminded me a little of John Tucker Must Die with the three ex girlfriends attempts to sabotage only making him look better. I didn't feel sorry for the ex he was an ass and all they did was highlight some of the stuff his new girlfriend would've eventually realized. And breaking up with a woman on a holiday is  a jerk move. Though her family shouldn't have assumed he'd propose after only a year of them dating.  Now their Taylor Swiftesque Christmas song was a little cringe worthy. 

[beadgirl]

Yeah, I'm getting mighty tired of all the bland white people on Hallmark.  Notice, too, how they all have the same style.  The women all have the same long, wavy hair, lots of tasteful make-up, mail-order catalog clothing with appropriate layers and the requisite scarf around the neck, and subtle boring jewelry.  The men are all in suits or Lands' End-type casual clothing.  They all live in enormous McMansions with beige/white everything.  Heck, even their Christmas decorations are all of the red/green/gold palette and super traditional.  There's nothing wrong with any of this in theory, but sheesh -- show some variety.

I watched the Firehouse Christmas movie while I was painting my living room (such a smart project to take on right before the holidays!), and it was a mess.  The ex-wife is an evil bitch!  No wait, she just had a crappy childhood, her father is an evil bastard!  But no, he just didn't realize how he was affecting his family!  This is a  romance! A farce!  A touching family drama! Meanwhile, the ex-husband was a little pathetic; surely his divorce attorney helped him with custody and explained what could and could not be done?  I liked how the girlfriend, as meddling as she was, was all-around super competent.  I kinda wanted her to ditch the whole family and go off on her own.

[MissyPoo]

3 hours ago, kirinan said:

Holy Guacamole, Batman, I just saw an ad for next Saturday's Hallmark movie, "My Christmas Love" and I am for some reason especially boggled by what I saw, even though I certainly know that diversity is not Hallmark's...well, hallmark.

I happened to have the mute button on, so all I saw were the visuals. I don't recognize any of the leads, btw. It appears that the lead actress--of course, a pretty long-haired blonde--has to choose between four suitors. And the four guys--well, if you asked Central Casting for "the blandest, most generic set of handsome young male actors you can find," these are the guys they'd send. All tall, white, varying shades of blond or light brown hair, and I think they all wore suits but I can't even remember that. It's even possible that it was only two guys who were on so many times that I thought there were four of them. 

Not a hint of ethnic, racial, or age diversity anywhere that I saw. Just 60 seconds of Wonder Bread. I don't think I need to hear what this one is about to skip it, thanks.

Maybe Hallmark should just change their tagline to "Hallmark: Travel back to the 1950s with the whitest movies on TV." 

 

I don't know why, but I was hoping you'd veer into "and there was some diversity in one or two of her suitors"! But then I remembered this was Hallmark again and your last sentence was very apropos. Sigh. I don't know why I hope this channel would change. No matter how much they keep giving lip service to their whole proclamation of how they take diversity seriously. :-/