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

[trudysmom]

I see most of you here are posting about Hallmark/LIfetime movies, which I watch occasionally, but not often.  I checked out Freeform's Holiday schedule and am puzzled by the inclusion of multiple showings of the Hunger Games series in November.  Didn't see anything posted about December, yet.  Maybe it's just me but after the year we've been through watcing a series about a dystopian society and civil war is not my idea of a holiday good time. (and I have enjoyed the series in the past, just not now!)

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, trudysmom said:

I see most of you here are posting about Hallmark/LIfetime movies, which I watch occasionally, but not often.  I checked out Freeform's Holiday schedule and am puzzled by the inclusion of multiple showings of the Hunger Games series in November.  Didn't see anything posted about December, yet.  Maybe it's just me but after the year we've been through watcing a series about a dystopian society and civil war is not my idea of a holiday good time. (and I have enjoyed the series in the past, just not now!)

Their Kickoff to Christmas (November) schedule isn’t really a holiday schedule. It’s just 30 days of (mostly Disney) movies. Their holiday schedule really starts of December 1st.. 
Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas Schedule Is Here

[trudysmom]

Thanks, Dani, I appreciate the link, that's what I was looking for.

[Ashforth]

I'm watching Christmas Unwrapped on Lifetime. It just started, but I'm here to say that Cheryl Ladd has had some incredibly bad plastic surgery. She looks disfigured. It's pitiful. She used to be so beautiful, and she's been in a few Christmas movies that I've seen in which you could tell she had had work done, but she still looked good. I was shocked at her "new face" in this one.

[Irlandesa]

14 hours ago, Dani said:

There’s nothing really wrong with it but there doesn’t seem to be any actual plot. Just an overgrown child pouting that people aren’t doing what she wants and a workaholic veterinarian who everyone is trying to set up. 

That's a perfect description of it. Except you forgot she keeps thinking he has a girlfriend--over and over and over again. And he thought the same about her at least once even though they had, at that point, discussed how they were single.  So any "date" was clearly a first date and not some grand obstacle to their relationship.  

I don't know what it was, though, because I don't think I minded it. Maybe I thought the guy was kind of cute or that it was a late night sleepy movie for me. 

[ShelleySue]

On 10/31/2020 at 11:13 PM, Dani said:

Now I’m 30 minutes into Candy Cane Christmas and am about to give up on that too. There’s nothing really wrong with it but there doesn’t seem to be any actual plot. Just an overgrown child pouting that people aren’t doing what she wants and a workaholic veterinarian who everyone is trying to set up. 

The actual plot of Candy Cane Christmas was basically a series of misunderstandings because the overgrown child kept jumping to conclusions.  I'm going to cut her some slack though because she was in the middle of a mini tantrum because things changed from when she was a little girl.

[ECM1231]

20 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

That's a perfect description of it. Except you forgot she keeps thinking he has a girlfriend--over and over and over again. And he thought the same about her at least once even though they had, at that point, discussed how they were single.  So any "date" was clearly a first date and not some grand obstacle to their relationship.  

I don't know what it was, though, because I don't think I minded it. Maybe I thought the guy was kind of cute or that it was a late night sleepy movie for me. 

I didn't mind it either, even though as  it has been said, the misunderstanding trope was repeated over and over. It was nice to see Beverly Mitchell again and the male lead was good- looking and pleasant enough. Lifetime scored points for having the African- American friend be the lead's business partner, and not  just her employee, AND for her interracial marriage. Progress!

[Irlandesa]

I used my Monday as I worked to "watch" (a.k.a. background noise) a few other non-Hallmark movies. 

I didn't think I'd end up liking A Very Country Christmas but I found it to be very pleasant for background noise.  At first I thought the grandfather was going to be a massive jerk about the lead guy wanting to adopt his granddaughter but, other than a few legit reservations, he mostly was pretty accepting.  The side story with the older star and the younger new star was also fun.  I see that this was a sequel. I can't remember if I actually watched the first movie; although the description sounded familiar to me.

Lifetime's A Christmas Aunt was rather boring for me but since it was background noise, I kept it on up to the point about 3/4ths into the movie when the lead's boss tells her she needs to come back to take care of a project on Christmas Eve.  Noooope.  I don't even think Hallmark trotted out that bit of ridiculousness yet this year.  I have limits even with my background noise apparently.

Edited November 2, 2020 by Irlandesa

[LexieLily]

On 11/2/2020 at 3:27 PM, Irlandesa said:

I didn't think I'd end up liking A Very Country Christmas but I found it to be very pleasant for background noise.  At first I thought the grandfather was going to be a massive jerk about the lead guy wanting to adopt his granddaughter but, other than a few legit reservations, he mostly was pretty accepting.  The side story with the older star and the younger new star was also fun.  I see that this was a sequel. I can't remember if I actually watched the first movie; although the description sounded familiar to me.

Do you remember what the first movie was, so I can write it down to record it?

[Irlandesa]

8 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Do you remember what the first movie was, so I can write it down to record it?

I think it's A Very Country Wedding.

[Guest]

On 11/2/2020 at 1:27 PM, Irlandesa said:

I didn't think I'd end up liking A Very Country Christmas but I found it to be very pleasant for background noise.  At first I thought the grandfather was going to be a massive jerk about the lead guy wanting to adopt his granddaughter but, other than a few legit reservations, he mostly was pretty accepting.  The side story with the older star and the younger new star was also fun.  I see that this was a sequel. I can't remember if I actually watched the first movie; although the description sounded familiar to me.

I think you’re describing A Very Country Christmas Homecoming which is the third movie in the series. A Very Country Christmas and A Very Country Wedding are the first two movies. 

[Irlandesa]

4 minutes ago, Dani said:

I think you’re describing A Very Country Christmas Homecoming which is the third movie in the series. A Very Country Christmas and A Very Country Wedding are the first two movies. 

Indeed you are right.  Thanks for pointing that out.

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, Dani said:

I think you’re describing A Very Country Christmas Homecoming which is the third movie in the series. A Very Country Christmas and A Very Country Wedding are the first two movies. 

Thank you!

[Kohola3]

1 hour ago, Dani said:

I think you’re describing A Very Country Christmas Homecoming which is the third movie in the series. A Very Country Christmas and A Very Country Wedding are the first two movies. 

Not to be confused with A Country Wedding. Sheesh, get some writers that have a little more imagination.

[WinnieWinkle]

Am I surrounded by cynical children  because I don't know a single child over the age of about 7-8 who believes in Santa and yet almost invariably in these movies children who look about 10-12 are writing Santa letters and seem to genuinely still believe.  

 

[Luckylyn]

I’m behind on my Christmas Movie watching.  I see multiple Hallmark but of Lifetime have only seen Candy Cane Lane.  That movie was so frustrating.  It’s basically the same misunderstanding not once, not twice, but three times keeping the characters apart.  After the third misunderstanding I didn’t care anymore about them getting together since the characters aren’t capable of simple conversations to settle easily addressed issues.  When she was crying in the car over misunderstanding #3 I was rolling my eyes so hard.  Seriously just talk to the man instead of jumping to conclusions again.  

[Irlandesa]

I watched The Christmas Yule Blog last night.  I feel like they adopted some of Hallmark's worst traits--like the woman goes into the B&B in the small town where she's on assignment and asks for a white chocolate mocha.  It's a small B&B.  Who goes into what is basically a house and expect an espresso maker? And even if they do, most people aren't going to have all the flavorings for whatever combo of coffee someone asks for. 

Plus, when they showed her working, she wasn't writing a blog.  She was doing vlogs.  Irritating but I do appreciate the attempt at looking at the holidays in another state.

I also watched Midnight at the Magnolia on Netflix.  It wasn't as good as the set up suggested but it was still good.  However, it was mostly a post-Christmas to New Year's Eve movie so it was a little weird watching now. I'm surprised it was released now.  If you were debating whether or not to watch, I'd wait until after the holidays.

I see The Christmas Drop is trending on Netflix.  I want to watch because I like Kat Graham but the male lead looks so punchable that I can't bring myself to do so. 

[WinnieWinkle]

I am watching Sense and Sensibility and Snowmen and actually really enjoying it, but, and it's a big but - who the hell was in charge of make-up?  Both of the lead actresses are very attractive women but the make-up treatment they have received (so far at least) are doing them no favours!  I've noticed this in other Hallmark movies as well, not the make-up itself so much as incredibly ridiculous eye lashes that make it seem like Christmas in Hollywood not Christmas in small town USA.

Edited November 7, 2020 by WinnieWinkle

[EyewatchTV211]

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I watched The Christmas Yule Blog last night.  I feel like they adopted some of Hallmark's worst traits--like the woman goes into the B&B in the small town where she's on assignment and asks for a white chocolate mocha.  It's a small B&B.  Who goes into what is basically a house and expect an espresso maker? And even if they do, most people aren't going to have all the flavorings for whatever combo of coffee someone asks for. 

Not only should any decently intelligent person know that, she talks about how she was from a small town. Seems she should especially know because of that. 

[Luckylyn]

A hilarious analysis of Candy Cane Christmas is up on youtube

 

[ShelleySue]

We're still in October and there have already been two movies with very similar underlying plots.  In both The Christmas Ring and Christmas Unwrapped reporters fell in love while writing stories. In both stories the reporters wanted to write heart warming stories.  In both stories the evil editors wanted the stories to be exposes about the reporters' new-found love interests.  In both stories the reporters turned in the stories that they wanted to write over the objections of the editors and both times the editors rewrote the stories.  The love interests read the rewritten stories, got mad at the reporters, but in the end true love prevailed.

To be honest, I didn't understand the Christmas Ring.  If I'm a reader of an online magazine that's full of quizes (What Reindeer am I?) why do I care about an architect/real estate deal that fell apart?  And why the big deal that no one can find him?  He was back in his home town in the house he grew up in.  Isn't that investigative reporter 101?  That all just fell flat for me.

I finally watched Holly and Ivy. I was afraid it would be too depressing.  But it was actually quite good.  It was sad, but in a bittersweet way, not in a maudlin way.

[Valentine]

1 hour ago, ShelleySue said:

I finally watched Holly and Ivy. I was afraid it would be too depressing.  But it was actually quite good.  It was sad, but in a bittersweet way, not in a maudlin way.

My husband and I groaned and eye-rolled every time the commercial for it came on, but I liked the movie, too. I thought it would be manipulative and cliche ridden, and it was, but not in a way I found annoying. I've watched several of the new ones so far, and Holly and Ivy and the 12 Dates one with Tyler Hynes are my favorites. I like the old 12 Dates one with Amy Smart, too. I guess when they roll out the next variation of a 12 Dates title (and I'm sure they will), I will have to give that movie a look.

[twoods]

I really enjoyed Operation Christmas Drop on Netflix. It was a different story that kept me interesting, and I like that it’s based off of something the military actually does. Plus, I love Kat Graham and she had good chemistry with the lead. 

[WinnieWinkle]

On 11/4/2020 at 12:28 PM, Kohola3 said:

Not to be confused with A Country Wedding. Sheesh, get some writers that have a little more imagination.

Sing it!  I just watched A Chateau Christmas - which while not great did have two excellent leads and I loved that the ending did NOT have the heroine give up her big career for small town living - anyway I wondered about a few details as I watched and googled.  Got Christmas at the Chateau by mistake and was totally and completely confused for a while there!

[MorganSte]

Has anyone watched Holidate on Netflix?  I liked it for the most part.  It had a slightly different flavor, but was still true to the tropes of a Christmas movie.

[norcalgal]

On 11/9/2020 at 7:02 AM, ShelleySue said:

We're still in October and there have already been two movies with very similar underlying plots.  In both The Christmas Ring and Christmas Unwrapped reporters fell in love while writing stories. In both stories the reporters wanted to write heart warming stories.  In both stories the evil editors wanted the stories to be exposes about the reporters' new-found love interests.  In both stories the reporters turned in the stories that they wanted to write over the objections of the editors and both times the editors rewrote the stories.  The love interests read the rewritten stories, got mad at the reporters, but in the end true love prevailed.

To be honest, I didn't understand the Christmas Ring.  If I'm a reader of an online magazine that's full of quizes (What Reindeer am I?) why do I care about an architect/real estate deal that fell apart?  And why the big deal that no one can find him?  He was back in his home town in the house he grew up in.  Isn't that investigative reporter 101?  That all just fell flat for me.

I finally watched Holly and Ivy. I was afraid it would be too depressing.  But it was actually quite good.  It was sad, but in a bittersweet way, not in a maudlin way.

Re: The Christmas Ring - Good point about why a quiz website would care about the ex of some celebrity. But credit to The Christmas Ring for having a POC character as the lead. 

18 hours ago, twoods said:

I really enjoyed Operation Christmas Drop on Netflix. It was a different story that kept me interesting, and I like that it’s based off of something the military actually does. Plus, I love Kat Graham and she had good chemistry with the lead. 

I watched and really liked Christmas Drop because I adore Kat due to The Vampire Diaries. Also, I’m from Guam so I appreciate that the show was set there and color me surprised they filmed there too! Lastly, I’m glad a normally fluff xmas movie had some gravitas to it since the issue of base closures is a real thing and like @twoods posted, it highlighted something that’s real. I wish instances of US/US Military goodwill were more amplified. 

[Irlandesa]

On 11/4/2020 at 9:39 AM, Dani said:

I think you’re describing A Very Country Christmas Homecoming which is the third movie in the series. A Very Country Christmas and A Very Country Wedding are the first two movies. 

A Very Country Christmas is available on Prime, BTW.  And I think it's coming to Netflix too.

[WinnieWinkle]

Window Wonderland is coming up on Saturday night.  Doing a happy dance here.  Now if some channel would just show 12 Dates of Christmas (not to be confused with On the Twelfth Day of Christmas or On the 12th Date of Christmas) that would help get me through this pandemic Christmas nicely thank you.

[Guest]

On 11/12/2020 at 7:36 AM, WinnieWinkle said:

Window Wonderland is coming up on Saturday night.  Doing a happy dance here.  Now if some channel would just show 12 Dates of Christmas (not to be confused with On the Twelfth Day of Christmas or On the 12th Date of Christmas) that would help get me through this pandemic Christmas nicely thank you.

You can stream it for free (with ads) from Freeform and it’s in Disney+. 
https://www.freeform.com/movies-and-specials/12-dates-of-christmas

Just to add to the confusion HBOMax is about to release a reality dating show called The 12 Dates of Christmas and there’s a new on-demand movie called The 12 Days on Christmas. 

Edited November 14, 2020 by Guest

[DanaMB]

On 10/29/2020 at 1:28 AM, Irlandesa said:

Netflix kicked off its holiday movie season today with The Holidate and it's perfect if you want a romcom with a little bit of sex and language thrown in.  I definitely appreciated it compared to some of the more sanitized cable movies.

I was catching up on here and this inspired me to watch  Holidate. It was so good. I will definitely watch it again. 
 

I couldn’t make it through Christmas on Ice. Usually I’d slog through, but there are too many movies waiting to be watched to waste my time on one that doesn’t grab me. 

Edited November 12, 2020 by DanaMB

[MerBearHou]

I am watching The 12th Date of Christmas again — y’all, it’s my 4th time already.  I cannot believe how much I love this new movie.  Tyler and Mallory are the best duo, the supporting cast is perfect and the story is smart and unique.  

Edited November 13, 2020 by MerBearHou

[Vermicious Knid]

NPR's Linda Holmes (who some of you may remember as TWOP's Miss Alli) has her list of all the holiday movies, on all the networks. With her snarky take on the plot descriptions of course. List is in chronological order so some have already aired. Only one Hannukah related one this year. But in addition to the two featuring gay couples, and one Asian American couple, there is also a movie starring Ali Stokes, the first and only wheelchair-using actor to win a Tony.

[MerBearHou]

1 hour ago, Vermicious Knid said:

NPR's Linda Holmes (who some of you may remember as TWOP's Miss Alli) has her list of all the holiday movies, on all the networks. With her snarky take on the plot descriptions of course. List is in chronological order so some have already aired. Only one Hannukah related one this year. But in addition to the two featuring gay couples, and one Asian American couple, there is also a movie starring Ali Stokes, the first and only wheelchair-using actor to win a Tony.

That was a blast to read!  Love her humor.  Added a few movies to my watch-list.  

[Kohola3]

8 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

That was a blast to read!  Love her humor.

And love the highlighted themes. 

Christmasland is very dangerous as evidenced by the number of moppets with only one parent floating around. Since divorce is never the reason, somebody is busy killing off young parents out there.

[MerBearHou]

2 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

And love the highlighted themes. 

Christmasland is very dangerous as evidenced by the number of moppets with only one parent floating around. Since divorce is never the reason, somebody is busy killing off young parents out there.

Haha!  Also love the Hallmark stalwarts, maybe there will be music, and quests!

[roughing it]

I just wish there was some kind of rating system for these movies so we would know which ones to watch and which to pass on.  Would be helpful when looking at 3 options airing at the same time to make the best choice.

[Callietwo]

6 hours ago, roughing it said:

I just wish there was some kind of rating system for these movies so we would know which ones to watch and which to pass on.  Would be helpful when looking at 3 options airing at the same time to make the best choice.

I actually am keeping a spreadsheet of all the Xmas movies I watch this year with my ratings so I know what to skip in the future.  😆  I will rank anything with Kellie Pickler (aka The Pickle) a zero.  Same with Jonathan Bennett due to his abnormally perfect eyebrows which I find incredibly distracting.  I also never find him believable as a straight man in love with a female, unlike say- Luke MacFarlane who though gay, can actually act so it's not a problem.  There's a few others I dislike immensely. (Lauren Holly, Tori Spelling & Dean Cain all spring to mind)   

On the other hand, people like Nicki Deloach, Andrew Walker, Sam Page, Tyler Hynes, Autumn Reeser, Michael Rady, Brendan Elliott and a few others can elevate even the cheesiest of movies enough to rank higher.  

Edited November 13, 2020 by Callietwo
Corrected Actor's name! ooops.

[Silver Raven]

5 minutes ago, Callietwo said:

MacFarlane who though gay, can actually act so it's not a problem.

Seth MacFarlane is gay?

 

[Callietwo]

12 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Seth MacFarlane is gay?

 

OMG... I meant LUKE MacFarlane, I'm sorry.  I'll go fix my post!  

[MerBearHou]

1 hour ago, Callietwo said:

I actually am keeping a spreadsheet of all the Xmas movies I watch this year with my ratings so I know what to skip in the future.  😆  I will rank anything with Kellie Pickler (aka The Pickle) a zero.  Same with Jonathan Bennett due to his abnormally perfect eyebrows which I find incredibly distracting.  I also never find him believable as a straight man in love with a female, unlike say- Luke MacFarlane who though gay, can actually act so it's not a problem.  There's a few others I dislike immensely. (Lauren Holly, Tori Spelling & Dean Cain all spring to mind)   

On the other hand, people like Nicki Deloach, Andrew Walker, Sam Page, Tyler Hynes, Autumn Reeser, Michael Rady, Brendan Elliott and a few others can elevate even the cheesiest of movies enough to rank higher.  

That is impressive — and a great idea!  Your scoring system of likes/can’t watch is pretty much exactly as mine would be.  I’m glad to say that my list of “likes” is pretty long, but those on the “can’t watch” list are unshakeable for me, regardless of their likable co-star.

Edited November 14, 2020 by MerBearHou

[EyewatchTV211]

Is it just me, or is the quality of Lifetime's Christmas movies down this year so far? Not to say that they, or Hallmark, were ever high quality. But there was something watchable about it. While I've enjoyed quite a few of the Hallmark movies this year, I've barely been able to maintain attention to any of the Lifetime ones. Possibly 1 of them. Something seems off.

[Irlandesa]

Just now, EyewatchTV211 said:

Is it just me, or is the quality of Lifetime's Christmas movies down this year so far? Not to say that they, or Hallmark, were ever high quality. But there was something watchable about it. While I've enjoyed quite a few of the Hallmark movies this year, I've barely been able to maintain attention to any of the Lifetime ones. Possibly 1 of them. Something seems off.

Nope. I agree with you. Hallmark seems improved over the previous years--or at least so far.  Lifetime seems to be much worse/lower budget.  Maybe they will get better as we get closer to Christmas and this is a consequence of trying to out-Hallmark Hallmark and starting in October.  But so far?  Meh.

Snowed Inn Christmas with Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker is on Lifetime tonight for a remembrance of the better movies days of yore.

[MerBearHou]

12 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Snowed Inn Christmas with Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker is on Lifetime tonight for a remembrance of the better movies days of yore.

I’ve never seen Snowed Inn Christmas — will have to catch it.  Bottled With Love with BJL and AW is one I am always happy to watch any time it’s on.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, EyewatchTV211 said:

Is it just me, or is the quality of Lifetime's Christmas movies down this year so far? Not to say that they, or Hallmark, were ever high quality. But there was something watchable about it. While I've enjoyed quite a few of the Hallmark movies this year, I've barely been able to maintain attention to any of the Lifetime ones. Possibly 1 of them. Something seems off.

So far Lifetime has been airing a much higher number of acquired movies than in previous years. They bought what was available it reaction to the shut down. The first two weeks was primarily acquired movies and now they are starting to air the ones they made.

In contrast, Hallmark bet on production restarting in time and didn’t acquire any Christmas movies. 

36 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Snowed Inn Christmas with Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker is on Lifetime tonight for a remembrance of the better movies days of yore.

That’s one of my favorites. 

[DanaMB]

Watching my recording of The Christmas Bow (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries). Not the best, but not the worst. The actress is pretty bad, but I can overlook it since I believe she is a violinist foremost. I really like the actor and the story is different enough from the usual that I’ll stick with it. Plus a kiss before the end of the movie! 😮😂

Edited November 14, 2020 by DanaMB

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, MerBearHou said:

I’ve never seen Snowed Inn Christmas — will have to catch it.  Bottled With Love with BJL and AW is one I am always happy to watch any time it’s on.

I think it's better than Bottled With Love so I hope you enjoyed Snowed Inn Christmas.

 

 

[Ashforth]

I just watched Last Christmas on HBO. It stars Emilia Clarke and her eyebrows (I mean, they really have a life of their own!).

I liked it! This was a theater release last year. The story is engaging and the cast is excellent. Yes, the main character Kate is a mess - she's a promiscuous hard drinker who is estranged from her family and basically homeless. Classic holiday good times, right? But like any good holiday flick, she and the people around her are good at heart and it has a happy ending. There's a twist that I found unexpected. It has a lot of George Michael's music, which for me was well-used and a plus.

It looks like this one is available on some of the streaming services. At least one of them is charging $14.95, to which I say no! But if you can watch it without paying a lot of money, I say yes.

[Ashforth]

I tried to watch Christmas on Wheels this afternoon. I almost bailed in the first ten minutes because of the terrible acting. Lots of odd pauses and heavy sighs. I hung in for a while, but ultimately turned it off.

[Mountainair]

It took me about three tries to get into it but I actually ended up liking Christmas on Wheels. I liked the leads and thought the uncle with the broken foot was giving me Marlon Brando vibes (appearance wise) for some reason. I’m a sucker for classic cars so that helped as well!

[anniebird]

On 11/13/2020 at 6:17 PM, Callietwo said:

I actually am keeping a spreadsheet of all the Xmas movies I watch this year with my ratings so I know what to skip in the future.  😆  I will rank anything with Kellie Pickler (aka The Pickle) a zero.  Same with Jonathan Bennett due to his abnormally perfect eyebrows which I find incredibly distracting.  I also never find him believable as a straight man in love with a female, unlike say- Luke MacFarlane who though gay, can actually act so it's not a problem.  There's a few others I dislike immensely. (Lauren Holly, Tori Spelling & Dean Cain all spring to mind)   

On the other hand, people like Nicki Deloach, Andrew Walker, Sam Page, Tyler Hynes, Autumn Reeser, Michael Rady, Brendan Elliott and a few others can elevate even the cheesiest of movies enough to rank higher.  

You and I like and dislike all the same people - you need to publish your speadsheet when it's done.