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

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Vermicious Knid said:

…Hallmark's Eight Gifts of Hanukkah…was nice to see some traditions just shown without tortured explanations. For a Hanukkah movie they managed to cram in a crapload of Christmas decorations though. And people do not decorate their houses with blue and white string lights and Hanukkah wreaths. Absolutely not.

The repeated scene of the yellow front door of the blue house kept bugging me. That can’t be a real life color choice for the exterior of a home, can it?

Edited December 5, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

That can’t be a real life color choice for the exterior of a home, can it?

It can.

I'd do it.  It's a bit trendy to liven up the house's curb appeal with a bright door (orange, yellow, red...etc.)

Or maybe I'm misinterpreting the question.

[Kaoteek]

13 hours ago, Dani said:

I tried to watch Saying Yes to Christmas but can’t understand why anyone thought a movie where a woman loses the ability to say no was a good idea. I feels like Lifetime isn’t even trying to make semi-decent movies this year. 

Technically, she figured out later on that she didn't lose the ability to say no, just that she was magically compelled to say yes to any Christmas-related question (but wasn't technically obliged to do anything she didn't want to afterwards).

Didn't mind the movie, tbh, mainly on the strength of the very likeable lead (and her parents, too). Aside from that, it was your standard, cheap, awkwardly paced Reel One-produced Lifetime movie, with a bland male lead and little to no chemistry between him and the protagonist.

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, Kaoteek said:

Technically, she figured out later on that she didn't lose the ability to say no, just that she was magically compelled to say yes to any Christmas-related question (but wasn't technically obliged to do anything she didn't want to afterwards).

Don’t care. It’s still a remarkably bad plot for any movie. I’m never going to be on board with someone being “magically compelled” to say yes. 

I also really doubt she actually wanted to play fetch with a dog in the snow without a coat to the point she was struggling to stand up. If they tried to turn it into something less appalling in the end they should have done a better job writing the movie since playing fetch isn’t Christmas related or even an actual question. 

[Clawdette]

Does anyone remember One Magic Christmas with Mary Steenburgen and Harry Dean Stanton?  It's from the mid-80s and my kids and I loved that movie.  The setting is bleak both in terms of scenery and quality of life but all is well in the end.

[Kaoteek]

26 minutes ago, Dani said:

Don’t care. It’s still a remarkably bad plot for any movie. I’m never going to be on board with someone being “magically compelled” to say yes. 

I also really doubt she actually wanted to play fetch with a dog in the snow without a coat to the point she was struggling to stand up. If they tried to turn it into something less appalling in the end they should have done a better job writing the movie since playing fetch isn’t Christmas related or even an actual question. 

But... but... but it was a... Christmas dog, I guess ? And it was more about her learning to have fun, enjoy Christmas and not be so career oriented ?

(.... nah, I got nothing, the rules of the movie were half-assed ^^)

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, Kaoteek said:

But... but... but it was a... Christmas dog, I guess ? And it was more about her learning to have fun, enjoy Christmas and not be so career oriented ?

(.... nah, I got nothing, the rules of the movie were half-assed ^^)

🤣 I may be judging it more harshly because I really liked the lead and it’s the first time one of these movies actually had a Japanese actress playing a Japanese character. Then for it to devolve into a career woman having to magically be forced into finding the spirit of Christmas against her will made me want to throw things. 

Last years Sugar and Spice Holiday did the same career woman rediscovers her love of Christmas so much better. 

Edited December 5, 2021 by Guest

[norcalgal]

1 hour ago, Dani said:

🤣 I may be judging it more harshly because I really liked the lead and it’s the first time one of these movies actually had a Japanese actress playing a Japanese character. Then for it to devolve into a career woman having to magically be forced into finding the spirit of Christmas against her will made me want to throw things. 

Last years Sugar and Spice Holiday did the same career woman rediscovers her love of Christmas so much better. 

What I liked about Say Yes to Christmas was they didn't shy away from the Japanese aspects (mochi, origami, references to Japanese-American history) of the movie. I too didn't mind that she felt compelled to say yes to Christmas stuff because it seemed like the stuff was harmless fluff.  What I did wonder was if she and the male leads' families knew each other for so long and presumably spent past Christmases together, how was it she had to explain the mochi process to him? Didn't he (with his family) attend the mochi making party in the past?

But I have to say that overall, I have enjoyed this year's holiday movies more than I can ever recall, and that's due to two things:

1) the increased NON-TOKENISM diversity in characters and insertions of those characters' heritage; and

2) the stories and the characters so refreshingly mature, level headed and the portrayals by almost all the actors (leads and secondary) feel authentic.

Here's three that come to mind since I just watched them:

Lifetime: Match Made in Mistletoe: My above comments apply with two exceptions: I could have done without the "adorable tyke" trope since I didn't think the daughter was needed in the story (but she did have a lovely singing voice if that was the actress singing). Also, I think her character was supposed to be 8 years old but she came across older - like 11 or 12.  My second strike involved the two "villains":  Big Dan was an OTT villain and the embassy guy (Arvind?) was such a stick-in-his-ass pill. I never truly believed he just had the best interests of the Ambassador in mind, and didn't really buy his change of heart in the end. The mom character deserved a better crush.

Hallmark: A Very Merry Bridesmaid: I just found the interaction between the two leads honest and authentic. I liked the backgrounds each brought to the story because it was believable. I also liked that even though we had the 16 Candles theme (family forgot her birthday because the sibling was getting married) running throughout, the male lead made it a priority to focus on her and make her feel seen/appreciated. And her family at the end came through as well.

Gingerbread Miracle:  Boy, if I thought I liked the honest, real relationship between in the leads in Very Merry Bridesmaid, I loved it here even more!  No misunderstandings, nobody flounces off in a hissy fit, just feelings that ring true to me. I don't mind movies that have a magical element, but if that's a turnoff for others, here, the "magic" could realistically be viewed as coincidence with the context for those coincidences to be authentic. Loved the Mexican traditions and that secondary characters (the sister or the mom's event planning business) also got a chance to shine. 

Edited December 5, 2021 by norcalgal

[DanaMB]

I just watched Christmas on 5th Ave and thought it was really cute. Nothing new, but I still enjoyed it. 

[irisheyes]

Just finished Single all the Way and I really loved it!  It’s full of laugh out loud moments. 

[Bill1978]

18 minutes ago, irisheyes said:

Just finished Single all the Way and I really loved it!  It’s full of laugh out loud moments. 

I fully recommend this as a Christmas movie. I laughed out loud quite a lot. Even though you know how it will end from the start it was enjoyable getting there. And its a sign of a decent script that I honestly hoped that the person not chosen still got to be happy. Normally these movies set it up so it is an easy choice from an audience point of view. 

It was also nice that while it was a gay love story there was no coming out plot involved for any of the main gay characters. I also liked how the 'pretend to be my boyfriend for the holidays' plot was basically removed the moment they arrived at the parents house so we didn't have to deal with all that crazy awkwardness associated with fake cheating.

I also resonated with the scene where the family celebrated the main guy going on a date. I am convinced that's how my family would respond in that situation. 

Unpopular opinion, I really don't find Jennifer Coolridge that hilarious. Although I would say this is one of her better performances of late. A lot less ham in the delivery of her lines in this movie.

 

[Amethyst]

Saw The Clusterfunke Christmas.  It was ok.  There were a few funny bits, but overall, I found it very meh.  Sucks, because a parody Christmas special is a great concept.  It just didn't do much for me.  

[peachmangosteen]

On 12/4/2021 at 6:44 PM, JAYJAY1979 said:

I love the Family/ABC Family/Freeform holiday movies.  Modern, a touch cynical, and warm.

Me and my sister were just talking about how we miss ABC Family Christmas movies. Holiday in Handcuffs and Snowglobe are all-time faves. Has Freeform even done any? 

[Kaoteek]

10 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Saw The Clusterfunke Christmas.  It was ok.  There were a few funny bits, but overall, I found it very meh.  Sucks, because a parody Christmas special is a great concept.  It just didn't do much for me.  

I liked it more than I thought I would, but I'm still somewhat lukewarm on it, too. "Hallmark parody" has been done before, and this one was (obviously) more polished than some, but it still (obviously) felt at times like a SNL digital short turned into a movie, with some fun bits and others that fell completely flat for me (everything re: the gay bff character and his "wife" was way too obvious and telegraphed, for instance). Could have been worse, though.

[Irlandesa]

I've seen three Christmas movie parodies and none of them have fully worked for me.  Two of them have been this year with A Clusterfunke Christmas and The Bitch who stole Christmas. And in the past, there was A Christmas Movie Christmas.

The two this year are probably more outright parodies than the previous one I saw but 90 minutes is too long.  A Clusterfunke Christmas has been the best so far, though.  Maybe I need to watch more closely to catch things I missed.

[Kaoteek]

Yeah, last year, there was also SyFy's Letter to Satan Claus and the independant Cup of Cheer, both movies being closer to a bad spoof à la Friedberg/Seltzer (Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, and so on) than to a good ZAZ movie or genre send-up.

Edited December 6, 2021 by Kaoteek

[ShelleySue]

I may just have watched tried to watch the worst movie of 2021.  It was UpTV's Christmas Beneath the Stars. I had to turn it off after 30 minutes.  Usually when I can't get into a movie I fast forward to the end, but I just stopped this one and deleted it. It was that bad.  I have no idea where to even start.  The lead was some sort of critic or photographer or a combination of the two.  Her specialty was Christmas. She was supposed to be spending the holidays with her aunt and her aunt was gushing over the niece's pictures but they looked like random holidays pictures that I could take with my phone. Then the niece got sent on assignment to a Christmas place in Alaska.  The niece didn't read reviews because she didn't want to be influenced by them in advance. The place was a total bust with no Christmas spirit.  The owner's son was back from the Army and I guess he was supposed to be the love interest although there was another hotter guy who showed up too. The reason that the place wasn't decorated for Christmas is because someone had been hired who ran the place into the ground. The niece wasn't sure if she'd be able to get pictures and the aunt told her they could make miniature snowmen and take pictures of those.

If all of that sounds bad enough, the reason that I couldn't get past half an hour is the movie was supposed to take place in Alaska in December and (1) it was daylight, in December in Alaska (Did I mention that?)(2) there were just piles of snow, (3) trees had leaves, (4) coats were wide open, (5) water, even near the shore, had no ice, and (6) I just didn't care. I know that movies are filmed in the summer and that the snow if fake, etc.  But this was just bad --- really, really, really bad.

Edited December 6, 2021 by ShelleySue
Clarity

[DanaMB]

20 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Saw The Clusterfunke Christmas.  It was ok.  There were a few funny bits, but overall, I found it very meh.  Sucks, because a parody Christmas special is a great concept.  It just didn't do much for me.  

I thought it wasn’t bad. The funny thing is, I’m watching The Christmas Thief and I swear in the first 15 minutes it has hit so many tropes that movie made fun of. I am having trouble remembering this one isn’t a parody, too. 
 

ETA

OMG, they just had the hero and rival compete in cornhole. I’m dying. (Not with fruitcake, though.)

Edited December 7, 2021 by DanaMB

[Irlandesa]

22 minutes ago, DanaMB said:

I’m watching The Christmas Thief and I swear in the first 15 minutes it has hit so many tropes that movie made fun of. I am having trouble remembering this one isn’t a parody, too. 

I'd argue that The Christmas Thief is a bit of a parody or maybe pastiche is a better word. But not of Christmas movies. Rather it's noir detective movies mixed with Christmas themes. 

I kind of started out not liking it but got into it more as it went a long.  I did find the male detective's eyebrows distracting, though.  They were a reddish brown while the rest of his hair was a browner brown.

 

[DanaMB]

4 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I'd argue that The Christmas Thief is a bit of a parody or maybe pastiche is a better word. But not of Christmas movies. Rather it's noir detective movies mixed with Christmas themes. 

I kind of started out not liking it but got into it more as it went a long.  I did find the male detective's eyebrows distracting, though.  They were a reddish brown while the rest of his hair was a browner brown.

 

I’m an hour in… tempted to turn it off. 

[Irlandesa]

13 minutes ago, DanaMB said:

I’m an hour in… tempted to turn it off. 

I was too but I had it on in the background while working.  I don't think you need to finish.  Although I did end up liking the last 20 minutes more than I liked the previous 1 hour and 40 minutes.

[Scarlett45]

12 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Me and my sister were just talking about how we miss ABC Family Christmas movies. Holiday in Handcuffs and Snowglobe are all-time faves. Has Freeform even done any? 

I watch Holiday in Handcuffs every year. It’s precious. 
 

I just saw Princess Switch: Switched Again, I liked the first one better. I may watch the 3rd while I wrap presents, just to have something on in the background. I can tell Vanessa is having fun with the roles though. 

[Dr.OO7]

The "Sound Of Music" will air December 19 @ 7

[SusanM]

CBC here in Canada always used to air "The Railroad Children" at Christmas.  For some reason I started thinking about that a few days ago and now I really want to see it again.  That scene at the end....sob...happy tears.

[marketdoctor]

I enjoyed The Clusterfunke Christmas, but maybe I was in just the right mood for it (I'm a sucker for product placement jokes, and I thought the lead actress was amazing; for me she hit the right notes between dry self-awareness and staying in the moment.)

That said, Christmas parodies are hard--partly because there's often one joke (some exceptions, like some Robot Chicken Christmas specials), and that's hard to stretch for two hours.  Also, it's hard to make fun of something already a comedy, or already fun. A shorter attempt is better, which is why so many SNL skits are funny (like the one about a woman dating three guys from Christmas movies--it parodied a lot of tropes, then got out before the joke wore too thin, or their alternate ending to It's A Wonderful Life.)  The only other option is to go dark, and that can be very hit-or-miss, since for some people they wonder if their relatives really are zombies, etc.

That said, I hope your Christmas is nice.

 

 

[Scarlett45]

I watched The Princess Switch 3- I liked it better than the second one. It was fun. Fiona had the best wardrobe though. 

[anniebird]

I just watched Christmas Movie Magic on Lifetime - it was a fairly typical Christmas TV movie offering, big-town girl goes to small town, blah, blah, blah, huge misunderstanding which could have been cleared up in one minute if she had just explained the situation clearly, and then the end of the movie turned into......La La Land - strangest ending I've ever seen in one of these movies. 

[Ms Lark]

Watched The Christmas Thief. It wasn't horrible, but the lead was not a good PI! Whoa. Also, I knew who the thief was right from the get-go. It was that obvious.

The Clusterfunke Christmas was fun, but agree with some that it was an extended SNL skit. At least it was something different!

[DanaMB]

10 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

Watched The Christmas Thief. It wasn't horrible, but the lead was not a good PI! Whoa. Also, I knew who the thief was right from the get-go. It was that obvious.

Yep.  I pegged the thief right away, too. 

[twoods]

Single All the Way on Netflix was so freaking good. Probably my favorite holiday movie this season. Great cast, hilarious, and I loved Peter’s entire family. I also loved the actor that played Nick. This is definitely a yearly rewatch for me. 

[KaveDweller]

On 12/7/2021 at 10:28 PM, anniebird said:

I just watched Christmas Movie Magic on Lifetime - it was a fairly typical Christmas TV movie offering, big-town girl goes to small town, blah, blah, blah, huge misunderstanding which could have been cleared up in one minute if she had just explained the situation clearly, and then the end of the movie turned into......La La Land - strangest ending I've ever seen in one of these movies. 

I literally turned on my TV five minutes until the end of that movie. I was so confused by what the hell I was watching, and had no desire to see the beginning. 

[lark37]

On 12/5/2021 at 5:30 PM, DanaMB said:

I just watched Christmas on 5th Ave and thought it was really cute. Nothing new, but I still enjoyed 

Is this a remake of It Happened on Fifth Avenue? If so, its worth watching the original on HBO Max.  Its in Black and white with the Skipper from Gilligans Island and Wilbur from Mr. Ed. Ok some of the old fashioned themes are anti feminist but its still funny and sweet. One has to remember that it was made a very long time ago (1947).

I enjoyed Christmas at the Castle or whatever it was called.  It doesn't look as if Brooke Shields or Cary Elwes has had any work done other than maybe coloring their hair. That's refreshing to see! I've been enjoying Christmas Hard except someone upthread spoiled the end for me.  If you're going to tell us how the movie turns out or who someone ends up with please put it in spoiler tags as not all of us have seen all these movies yet. Thanks

Edited December 10, 2021 by lark37
Added Xmas hard

[MissyPoo]

I'm not DanaMB and I hope they don't mind interjecting here, but Christmas on 5th Avenue is based on Sarah Morgan's contemporary romance book Miracle on 5th Avenue.

 

I happened to catch It Happened on 5th Avenue some years ago while scrolling through TCM around this time and I enjoyed it. I don't have TCM this year but I'm happy to see it's on HBOMax. I'm definitely giving it a rewatch. Thanks for the heads up!

[norcalgal]

On 12/8/2021 at 8:24 AM, Ms Lark said:

Watched The Christmas Thief. It wasn't horrible, but the lead was not a good PI! Whoa. Also, I knew who the thief was right from the get-go. It was that obvious.

 

On 12/8/2021 at 6:28 PM, DanaMB said:

Yep.  I pegged the thief right away, too. 

Me three.  

As for the lead, I bought Michelle Borth's portrayal as someone who was always into mysteries and wanted to become a PI.  Maybe that's the residual good feelings I have for her from Hawaii 5-0 before she became a series regular...?  After she became a regular cast member, it felt like the show really didn't know what to do with her  (boooo!)

[anniebird]

On 12/9/2021 at 1:28 PM, twoods said:

Single All the Way on Netflix was so freaking good. Probably my favorite holiday movie this season. Great cast, hilarious, and I loved Peter’s entire family. I also loved the actor that played Nick. This is definitely a yearly rewatch for me. 

I loved that the name of the Christmas play was Jesus H. Christ.

 

[JAYJAY1979]

Back when I had TCM, I always made sure to watch Holiday Affair (1949) with Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh.

It's a shame it never became the mega holiday classic that Miracle on 34th street or It's a Wonderful Life became.

Also, I was surprised that Lee Remick did a Christmas tv movie The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story (1983).  It's a wonderful heart felt movie about loss, regret and hope.

[LaylaGirl]

On 12/4/2021 at 4:44 PM, JAYJAY1979 said:

The Christmas List (1997): timeless in my view.

 

 

On 12/4/2021 at 6:31 PM, Luckylyn said:

I think The Christmas List staring Mimi Rogers is fantastic.  There’s something really special about it.  There’s romance in it but it’s not the point of the story.  Being more assertive about what she wants is the lesson and the romance was a bonus.

I love The Christmas List with Mimi Rogers! I still have it on VHS and rewatch it every couple of years. You are right, it is special. While there is a love story, it does not follow all the modern tropes.

[Irlandesa]

Hot Mess Holiday was kind of fun.  More crude than most holiday fare but fun.  The biggest hot mess is the timing for my DVR.  It said the movie is only 90 minutes.  It is not.  It's longer than that.

Edited December 12, 2021 by Irlandesa

[ShelleySue]

What do you think is the most overused trope? Mine is someone coming from the big city to a small town and somehow ending up getting involved with a holiday pageant/holiday play/holiday fundraiser/holiday contest/tree lighting, or promising to watch a child involved in one of those events. Then a call comes in from the boss in the big city saying that the person has to come back to the big city on the day/night of the event. Of course love interest thinks they person is going to go to the big city but the person ends up telling the boss that he/she isn't going. I’ve actually lost track of how many times I’ve seen this “plot twist” this season so far. It’s predictable and, in my opinion, lazy writing since it’s used so often.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, ShelleySue said:

What do you think is the most overused trope? Mine is someone coming from the big city to a small town and somehow ending up getting involved with a holiday pageant/holiday play/holiday fundraiser/holiday contest/tree lighting, or promising to watch a child involved in one of those events. Then a call comes in from the boss in the big city saying that the person has to come back to the big city on the day/night of the event. Of course love interest thinks they person is going to go to the big city but the person ends up telling the boss that he/she isn't going. I’ve actually lost track of how many times I’ve seen this “plot twist” this season so far. It’s predictable and, in my opinion, lazy writing since it’s used so often.

I suppose all the traveling that happens in these movies is to mirror what many of the viewers see or experience during the holidays. Also, the movies' depiction of the fear of never seeing someone again but having it all work out in the end caters to a lot of sadness people feel during the holidays--whether because of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder due to shortened amount of daylight and cold weather), the anniversary of a death in the family at a time of the year when everyone is told to be "jolly," or the distance from family at a time when being together is hyped up.

Or maybe it's just because that's the formula that is expected and works for these movies. 🤷‍♀️

[Cetacean]

1 hour ago, ShelleySue said:

What do you think is the most overused trope?

Let's face it, they are all identical movies in a different setting.  Each MUST include:  hot chocolate, cookies, ice skating/snowball fight, decorations on every conceivable surface, all characters living in enormous homes, and a kiss in the last 3 minutes. Comforting to some, incredibly mind numbing to others.

[bankerchick]

1 hour ago, ShelleySue said:

What do you think is the most overused trope? Mine is someone coming from the big city to a small town and somehow ending up getting involved with a holiday pageant/holiday play/holiday fundraiser/holiday contest/tree lighting, or promising to watch a child involved in one of those events.

The idea that it's possible to plan one of these events in 2-3 days, and have everyone in town show up on Christmas Eve.

Snowball fights.  Really?  Do any adults really have snowball fights?

By far the most used, and most annoying, is someone (usually Kim Sustad or Jenn Lilley) overhearing a small snippet of conversation or seeing an innocent hug and assuming the last several days of the guy doting on them means nothing and rather than ask questions, they cancel all their plans (including going to the event they were responsible for planning) and head back to their unfulfilling life in the city.  Only to come back later the same day (or weeks later) to find the guy waiting for them.

[anniebird]

3 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

What do you think is the most overused trope? 

The main character's not having any Christmas spirit so they wait till the last minute to buy a tree and they take it home to a house that's otherwise fully decorated.

 

[SusanM]

4 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

What do you think is the most overused trope?

The two that annoy me are the absolutely over the top over decorated houses (in one movie they even overdecorated the barn) and the constant offering of hot chocolate or "hot" cococa.  It's just not realistic to me that adults are constantly imbibing this at Christmas to exclusion of all else.  It's a refreshing change when they at least offer hot cider or egg nog but even better when there are no seasonal beverages at all, which shockingly has happened a time or two.

[michelec]

10 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

What do you think is the most overused trope? Mine is someone coming from the big city to a small town and somehow ending up getting involved with a holiday pageant/holiday play/holiday fundraiser/holiday contest/tree lighting, or promising to watch a child involved in one of those events. Then a call comes in from the boss in the big city saying that the person has to come back to the big city on the day/night of the event. Of course love interest thinks they person is going to go to the big city but the person ends up telling the boss that he/she isn't going. I’ve actually lost track of how many times I’ve seen this “plot twist” this season so far. It’s predictable and, in my opinion, lazy writing since it’s used so often.

But before all of that happens they are offered a big promotion/dream job, and are told to take the holidays to think it over.

[shapeshifter]

11 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

What do you think is the most overused trope?

Tonight CBS is airing "A Christmas Proposal," with the tired trope of:
   We're just friends pretending to be in love, but, whoops! We are in love!

Quote

2021, Romance: A chef whose down on her luck pretends to be a Seattle attorney's girlfriend to help get her own line of food trucks started, but her spending Christmas with him and his family makes her reconsider their purely business relationship. Credits: Adam Rodriguez 

 

[KaveDweller]

13 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

What do you think is the most overused trope? Mine is someone coming from the big city to a small town and somehow ending up getting involved with a holiday pageant/holiday play/holiday fundraiser/holiday contest/tree lighting, or promising to watch a child involved in one of those events. Then a call comes in from the boss in the big city saying that the person has to come back to the big city on the day/night of the event. Of course love interest thinks they person is going to go to the big city but the person ends up telling the boss that he/she isn't going. I’ve actually lost track of how many times I’ve seen this “plot twist” this season so far. It’s predictable and, in my opinion, lazy writing since it’s used so often.

It's quite ridiculous how often they do this. Especially considering how unrealistic it is. I work for a large company and everyone assumes nothing will get done the last two weeks of December because so many people take days off. And all the partners we work with say the same thing. Are there really places where people are ordered back into the office on December 23 for some big work emergency? 

[twoods]

I saw that it’s on tonight, but because I like Adam Rodriguez I will DVR it. Hopefully since it’s done by CBS it will be done a little bit better than ION or Lifetime’s low budget movies. Sometimes the music scores are so loud I can barely hear the dialogue.

Edited December 13, 2021 by twoods

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, twoods said:

I saw that it’s on tonight, but because I like Adam Rodriguez I will DVR it. Hopefully since it’s done by CBS it will be done a little bit better than ION or Lifetime’s low budget movies. Sometimes the music scores are so loud I can barely hear the dialogue.

I'm watching it now. The acting is better than the Lifetime or Hallmark movies, but it's very formulaic.

[Ms Lark]

12 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Snowball fights.  Really?  Do any adults really have snowball fights?

Um. Yes! Even into our geriatric years.

12 hours ago, bankerchick said:

By far the most used, and most annoying, is someone (usually Kim Sustad or Jenn Lilley) overhearing a small snippet of conversation or seeing an innocent hug and assuming the last several days of the guy doting on them means nothing and rather than ask questions, they cancel all their plans (including going to the event they were responsible for planning) and head back to their unfulfilling life in the city.  Only to come back later the same day (or weeks later) to find the guy waiting for them.

This is my GBF's pet peeve. He's recovering from major surgery and has gotten sucked into the Hallmark and Other Channels holiday movie sphere. He tends to be rather analytical, so I've heard much on these tropes. It's been an interesting holiday season!

I think they're all overused and am thrilled (sort of) when there is something new and funny or endearing.