Hallmark Movies: Small Town Royalty Magically Celebrating Rekindled Love! - General Discussion

[luvthepros]

On 11/22/2022 at 2:07 PM, Bronx Babe said:

They showed the two of them wiping away tears -- maybe she told a horrible ruthless lie to the maitre de that it would be her dying daughter's last Xmas and he'd go to hell if he didn't accommodate this unfortunate situation.  So I guess the question Shelby asked was if he was a religious person, lol.

I realize this will sound insensitive or even mean, but, I did not care for the child actor.  I know a lisp is something one cannot help and many people in the entertainment industry had/have one (Boris Karloff is the most famous example) but I felt that Hallmark was exploiting it to maximum degree.  (please do not hate me for this opinion)

As for Three Wise Men and a Baby, I guess it was okay by Hallmark standards but the guys should have been hunks to really make it work for the female audience; hell, the actor playing Luke the fireman brother bears an unfortunate resemblance to Timothy McVeigh.   I also didn't think the infant was cute.

Regarding lisps....yes, there is something that can be done. Speech therapy when young can correct it.

[Bronx Babe]

Could not stand the lead actress in My Southern Family Christmas -- is she the same one who played a fashion designer for full-figured women in another movie I can't recall the title of?  I didn't like her there either -- has all the charm and personality of a dish rag in my opinion.  Nothing to do with weight -- she just always has a glum expression on her face.

Looking forward to A Royal Corgi Christmas this evening only because I still cannot believe Queen Elizabeth is gone -- not really a monarchist but I always admired and respected her.

Saw a few Lifetime Xmas movies for the first time.  They make the Hallmark ones look good by comparison.

4 hours ago, luvthepros said:

Regarding lisps....yes, there is something that can be done. Speech therapy when young can correct it.

I didn't know that -- thank you.  

Edited November 25, 2022 by Bronx Babe

[bankerchick]

7 hours ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

Watching a couple of these today and all I can think of is how long would it take someone to put away all the decorations that get put out on these massively overdecorated houses in real life?  I get decorating for the holidays but Hallmark people must have huge storage rooms somewhere to keep the 40 zillion decorations they all seem to have!!

Regardless of how many people gather around the piano to sing carols, drink cocoa, string popcorn, trim the tree and every other surface inside and out, stand under the mistletoe, bake cookies, make gingerbread houses and otherwise enjoy the season, how many people are around when it comes time to take everything down and haul it back to the storage unit they must have rented to hold it all?  One.

[Makai]

I’m only half way through My Southern Family Christmas but so far I am loving it. I really appreciate they are going outside their norm in the casting. The leads and the sisters are refreshingly normal. I like that she is more reserved in dealing with the situation. A character that chooses water over hot chocolate in a Hallmark Christmas movie and it isn’t a big deal? Shocking.

The supporting cast is really good. The dad could have been unbearable if Bruce Campbell wasn’t so charming. I like that the characters are smarter than normal. The love interest figures out the secret almost immediately and the step mother figures out that he knows immediately. 

[Irlandesa]

5 hours ago, Makai said:

I’m only half way through My Southern Family Christmas but so far I am loving it.

I was prepared to bail on this movie early but it ended up being more watchable than I anticipated and darnit if I didn't actually get emotional at the end.  It did help that I liked the lead, Bruce Campbell and Moira Kelly as the stepmom. 

The only thing I really enjoyed about the Royal Corgi Christmas was the dog and we got less of him as the movie went on.  It's not that I didn't like the cast.  The cast was fine but it was very much your typical royal movie with a stupid misunderstanding at the end. 

I enjoyed the movie they aired earlier #XMAS quite a bit more.  It was the "fake relationship" trope but I felt it went a little deeper than usual and had a modern perspective on social media.  But what I especially liked about it was that the romance angle felt nicely built out and paced.  Once they realized being in close quarters was bringing up some old feelings, they addressed it.  And the angst was character-based.  Clare Bowen had her same weepy acting tics her Nashville character used to exhibit but it worked here and I especially loved how his Christmas gift was revelatory to her epiphany in a believable way.

[Makai]

I am definitely noticing that the movies I am enjoying the most are the one that are not focusing on the romance as much. But it would nice if they could match up an interesting plot and a good romance. 

I like the leads in My Southern Family Christmas together but they really shortchanged the romance. Very much 0 to 60 in that department. I also wish they hadn’t pushed the dad reveal to the end but it was enjoyable. 

I hadn’t paid any attention to the promos so when Wes Brown showed up in the beginning playing the boss I thought he was the love interest. Which confused me since I knew he was is the next whatever pronoun needs to come home for Christmas movie. 

[GeorgiaRai]

I've started calling the "come home for Christmas" movie something more specific, i.e. Time for Jessy Schram to Come Home for Christmas, Time for Lacey..., Time for Alison Sweeney..., Time for Megan Park... lol   So ridiculous that they recycle this title so much!

But I think the newest one is Time for Tyler Hynes to Come Home for Christmas (not Wes Brown). Loved seeing Wes's cameo in My Southern Family Christmas, and I really liked the movie overall.  

Edited November 26, 2022 by GeorgiaRai

[Makai]

1 hour ago, GeorgiaRai said:

But I think the newest one is Time for Tyler Hynes to Come Home for Christmas (not Wes Brown).

🤦‍♀️You’re right and I knew that. Wes is in the other movie premiering tonight with Lacey Chabert and Tyler is in the stupid repeat title one. 

[Irlandesa]

Yeah.  Wes is in Haul Out The Holly tonight with Lacey Chabert.  There are three Hallmark movies tonight.  I'm wondering how the early movie is doing for Hallmark. 

[bankerchick]

We have 2 new movies, at 6pm and 8pm.  Is your third movie at 4 or 10?  I can see pros and cons for both but can't see either being a real consistent ratings winner.  I guess 10 makes more sense.

[Makai]

53 minutes ago, bankerchick said:

We have 2 new movies, at 6pm and 8pm.  Is your third movie at 4 or 10?  I can see pros and cons for both but can't see either being a real consistent ratings winner.  I guess 10 makes more sense.

10 on HMM. That’s been the time slot for all of HMM’s Christmas movies this year. 

[Justaguest]

On 11/25/2022 at 9:56 AM, Elizabeth Anne said:

Watching a couple of these today and all I can think of is how long would it take someone to put away all the decorations that get put out on these massively overdecorated houses in real life?  I get decorating for the holidays but Hallmark people must have huge storage rooms somewhere to keep the 40 zillion decorations they all seem to have!!

I just finished watching When I Think of Christmas and one of the first things I noticed was this was the first Hallmark Christmas movie I've seen where the house was decorated like a real home would be. Plenty of decorations, but no garland around every window, door, and banister and not every surface was covered.

[bankerchick]

What is your third movie?  We are getting A Tale of Two Christmases and Haul Out The Holly.

1 minute ago, Justaguest said:

I just finished watching When I Think of Christmas and one of the first things I noticed was this was the first Hallmark Christmas movie I've seen where the house was decorated like a real home would be. Plenty of decorations, but no garland around every window, door, and banister and not every surface was covered.

So, they don't really celebrate then?  😉

[Makai]

26 minutes ago, bankerchick said:

What is your third movie?  We are getting A Tale of Two Christmases and Haul Out The Holly.

27 minutes ago, Justaguest said:

Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas with Tyler Hynes. 

[Irlandesa]

Yeah.  I say three movies but it's really over the 2 Hallmark channels. I lump them together for Christmas.

[VartanFan]

I liked the Southern Christmas movie because it wasn’t about true love.  Could have done without the guy altogether.  

I had never seen the lead in #xmas before and found her hard-core grating.  

[bankerchick]

Watched about a half hour of A Tale of Two Christmases.  Awful.  I don't care for the lead actress and the guy from her home town is ultra-meh.  Not sure why he's a romantic lead.  (I'm assuming she'll end up with him one way or another.)  It was so bad I decided to watch Property Brothers: Forever Home, where the homeowner doesn't want to change the decades out-of-date staircase because his late dad built it.  It's just like watching a Hallmark movie. 

[Chippings]

Bankerchick, me too.  I lasted 25 minutes with that one, and the parade of stupid misfortunes all in a row lost me.  The heroine created some of her messes herself (including generally her preparation of the career-making model) - and the others were just out of the writer's head.  No sympathy left.  

Will try the Haul Out the Holly thing in an hour & a half, but I've gotten cynical the last several weeks.  We shall see. 

[Clawdette]

Kristoffer Polaha sighting in Haul out the Holly.  I love these cameos as a wink to the fandom.

And Eric Mabius, too!

Edited November 27, 2022 by Clawdette

[voiceover]

Just running into shriek about Eric Mabius,  and then saw @Clawdette got here first 🤣  Well, Eric is such a welcome addition that two posters trumpeting the news seems like the minimum required.

Haul Out the Holly was two hours of silly, which was fun.  Wes Brown is one of my Hallmark Men, and I liked him with Lacey.

[MerBearHou]

I loved Haul Out The Holly.  Funny and different. Wes Brown is one of my Hallmark favorites too.  Lacey and he were clearly having so much fun shooting this and their line deliveries were so quick and crisp.  The supporting cast was quirky and delightful and you had to keep an eye on their facial expressions even when they weren’t delivering lines.  The cameos by Kristoffer and Eric were yummy icing on the cake.  This one will be on repeat for me.  

ETA:  when Lacey was watching “Christmas in Vienna” and said “oh, I like that guy”.  I had to look up who she meant — it’s Brennan Elliott.  Another of the fun little Easter eggs.  

Edited November 27, 2022 by MerBearHou

[Makai]

Haul Out the Holly started with Lacey’s character living with her boyfriend. Even with the changes, I didn’t think that Hallmark would ever do that again. 
Loved the movie. Fun and it reminded me why I used to love Lacey’s movies. She and Wes seemed to be having a ball. I haven’t laughed that much during a Hallmark movie in quite awhile. 

4 hours ago, Chippings said:

I lasted 25 minutes with that one, and the parade of stupid misfortunes all in a row lost me.  The heroine created some of her messes herself (including generally her preparation of the career-making model) - and the others were just out of the writer's head.  No sympathy left.  

I had the same reaction. That was painfully stupid and all the characters were pretty unlikeable. They did get better but I definitely wouldn’t recommend it. 

[kirinan]

I wasn’t sure about Haul Out the Holly at first, but it really grew on me. I love that they just leaned into the silliness. It was bonkers fun, and like others commented, the actors appeared to be having a blast. Although I wouldn’t say he’s one of my top favorite Hallmark leading men, I have a weak spot for Wes Brown, and he didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed the thawing of Melissa Peterman’s character, and Lacey Chabert was very likable here. And I loved that Stephen Tobolowsky’s riotously odd character was named Ned Broadhead (Ned “The Head” Ryerson, anyone?). Best shout-out ever.

ETA: Mostly, I loved that—once again, like Three Wise Men and a Baby and Ghosts of Christmas Always—it didn’t seem as churned out from the Hallmark formula factory as some of the other movies this year. Yes, they had some of the usual tropes, but they went outside the lines to a good extent, and it worked, IMO.

Edited November 27, 2022 by kirinan

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, Clawdette said:

Kristoffer Polaha sighting in Haul out the Holly.  I love these cameos as a wink to the fandom.

And Eric Mabius, too!

Yeah.  The cast was my favorite part about the movie.  It was silly fun.  Not one I'd necessarily watch again but also not something I'd turn off if I had Christmas movies on in the background.

The cameos of Kristoffer and Eric were great but I also really enjoyed seeing Melissa Peterman, Stephen Tobolowsky, Ellen Travolta and Peter Jacobson (who played Lacey's father and I just tend to enjoy him. )

I gave up on A Tale of Two Christmases as well.  I thought the concept had potential but the execution just felt uninspired and low budget.  Hallmark movies are low budget but they usually do a decent job of getting a better look/feel than most low budget movies.

And I actually like Chandler Massey as a lead.  I thought he was great in last years Next Stop, Christmas.  But this movie was not it. 

I also gave up on Time For Him To Come Home For Christmas.  I am sure it's  a movie for some people but that people isn't me.  It was way too serious and I like my movies to be at least a little light hearted.

[Daff]

6 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I loved Haul Out The Holly.  Funny and different. Wes Brown is one of my Hallmark favorites too.  Lacey and he were clearly having so much fun shooting this and their line deliveries were so quick and crisp.  The supporting cast was quirky and delightful and you had to keep an eye on their facial expressions even when they weren’t delivering lines.  The cameos by Kristoffer and Eric were yummy icing on the cake.  This one will be on repeat for me.  

ETA:  when Lacey was watching “Christmas in Vienna” and said “oh, I like that guy”.  I had to look up who she meant — it’s Brennan Elliott.  Another of the fun little Easter eggs.  

Whenever those two are in proximity, I always want to ask, “Where are the goats?”

[WhyAmIHere]

Haul out the Holly was really enjoyable.  It flew by, while some of these movies are such a slog to get through.  I liked this one more than Three Wise Men and a Baby.   I think my expectations were a little too high for Three Wise Men.  

I would love to see Melissa Peterman in more Hallmark movies.  She and Stephen Tobolowsky were fun to watch.   The cameos were also great. 

I hope Hallmark eventually feels comfortable with leaving out the leads-must-fall-in-love storyline in the occasional movie.   This movie and Three Wise Men would have been good without any kind of romantic love story.   I enjoyed Wes and Lacey together, but the movie also would have been fine without a kiss at the end.  

[kirinan]

12 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I also gave up on Time For Him To Come Home For Christmas.  I am sure it's  a movie for some people but that people isn't me.  It was way too serious and I like my movies to be at least a little light hearted.

I did watch the whole thing, and I'll admit that if Tyler Hynes hadn't been in it, I might not have bothered to even turn it on, since I've never been interested any of the other "Time for Him/Her/Them etc." movies. However, I'm glad I watched this one. Tyler and his co-star, Holland Roden, had a good chemistry IMO. This is the first time I've ever seen her, and I would watch her in a Hallmark movie again. And I'm not posting any spoilers by saying it had a happy (if somewhat deus ex machina) ending. It isn't enough to make me go back and watch the other movies, but I'd watch this again. 

Oh, and Tyler Hynes has made an absolute art form out of so soulfully gazing at the woman he loves that it just jumps through the screen to the viewer. Say what you want about his hair (which seems better styled these days), but that guy can act.

Edited November 27, 2022 by kirinan

[GeorgiaRai]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I also gave up on Time For Him To Come Home For Christmas.  I am sure it's  a movie for some people but that people isn't me.  It was way too serious and I like my movies to be at least a little light hearted.

"That people" is ME!!! This is absolutely my kind of Christmas movie (others on my list are The Christmas Secret, A Season for Miracles, A Christmas Wish, November Christmas - you get the idea!)  I've liked several of the new 2022 movies, but this is definitely my favorite (so far.)

It's exciting to me that 3 movies* have made me misty-eyed, and it's not even December yet!  ::happy dance::

*Time for Him (Tyler Hynes) to Come Home for Christmas; Inventing the Christmas Prince; My Southern Family Christmas.  

[MerBearHou]

16 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

And I actually like Chandler Massey as a lead.  I thought he was great in last years Next Stop, Christmas.  But this movie was not it. 

I loved Chandler Massey in Next Stop, Christmas.  That was the first time I'd seen him in anything and he is very appealing to me. 

The lead in A Tale of Two Christmases is one of my least favorite — she was a terrible addition to Good Witch back in the day.  

Edited November 27, 2022 by MerBearHou

[Irlandesa]

41 minutes ago, kirinan said:

Tyler and his co-star, Holland Roden, had a good chemistry IMO.

I do agree with this.  And I might have powered through if it was more focus on them.  I may let it roll in the background if it weren't for the overload.  The weekend was brutal.

[voiceover]

1 hour ago, kirinan said:

Oh, and Tyler Hynes has made an absolute art form out of so soulfully gazing at the woman he loves that it just jumps through the screen to the viewer. Say what you want about his hair (which seems better styled these days), that guy can act.

Oh Tyler!!  I always love your hair — facial and otherwise.  Which AFAIK makes me the only one here, so please pick me 😬

[Bronx Babe]

I opted for The Crawling Eye on Svengoolie but before that was watching something last night (cannot keep the titles in my memory bank) where the dad kept calling his grown architect daughter (the lead actress, who looked to be in her late twenties) "Peanut"  I thought that was a little creepy.

There was another one recently where the male lead is called Jackson.  This makes, along with Marcus, the fourth or fifth Hallmark movie using those names.

The corgi was adorable!  But aside from that fuzzy sweetheart it was the usual ho-hum royal/commoner stuff.  Gorgeous locations, though.   There was the usual wtf moment when the American dog trainer was asked her opinion BY THE QUEEN IF HER SON THE PRINCE WAS QUALIFIED TO BE KING.  "I trust your judgement"   

The one that really takes the cake is I think Crown for Christmas where royals and their underlings OFFER MONEY to commoners.  (in this case, $5,000 as a "generous tip" to the hotel maid who returns the prince's watch)  Royalty does not give money away.  EVER.  They are the cheapest people on earth, and keep it all in the family.  That is how they have amassed extreme power, wealth and influence over the centuries.  

[greekmom]

5 Star Christmas. If I had a few bottles of wine and the Christmas Hallmark drinking game card I would be soooooo drunk by the end of this one.  It was everything on Hallmark's check list of Christmas movie tropes.

I can't believe how low Victor Webster has sunk.  Remember seeing him years ago at Fan Expo with the Continuum cast. Those were the days.

[norcalgal]

15 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I gave up on A Tale of Two Christmases as well.  I thought the concept had potential but the execution just felt uninspired and low budget.  Hallmark movies are low budget but they usually do a decent job of getting a better look/feel than most low budget movies.

And I actually like Chandler Massey as a lead.  I thought he was great in last years Next Stop, Christmas.  But this movie was not it. 

Scattered thoughts about A Tale of Two Christmasas:

I love Sliding Doors plots but this movie was just meh.  I actually liked the other love interest more. He wasn’t the typical jerk potential “other guy”.  Maybe it’s because Chandler Massey will always be gay Will Horton to me, so I can’t really “see” him as a heterosexual romantic lead.  I know, I know….it’s acting.

Drew had to go to the lodge to fix the lights because the other employee, Gordon, was off for Christmas.  Who should we see at the lodge when the main characters are fixing the lights. Gordon!  Um, hello?  Did anyone proof the script?

speaking of…when Drew picked up Emma at the airport, she told him it had been a long time since she saw her family, even though it’s been established her parents hold a holiday party every year and she hasn’t missed any (until the Sliding Doors moment).  So, one year is Emma’s idea of a “long time” since she last saw her parents!?  

so does this make it two years in a row Chandler has been in a holiday movie where he plays the long time friend who then becomes the main character’s love interest? Hmmmm, he might start to get typecast. 

6 minutes ago, greekmom said:

5 Star Christmas. If I had a few bottles of wine and the Christmas Hallmark drinking game card I would be soooooo drunk by the end of this one.  It was everything on Hallmark's check list of Christmas movie tropes.

I can't believe how low Victor Webster has sunk.  Remember seeing him years ago at Fan Expo with the Continuum cast. Those were the days.

I will always think of Victor as one of two characters, no matter how many Hallmark movies I’ve seen him in:  older Nicholas Alamain  from Days of Our Lives and the electric charge mutant character from Mutant X.  

[GeorgiaRai]

For cheesy alternate-reality/sliding-door themed Christmas tv movies, I much prefer Lifetime's 2012 All About Christmas Eve (Haylie Duff) to Hallmark's A Tale of Two Christmases. I left ATO2C on till it ended but quit actively trying to watch very early on.

I only know Chandler Massey from Last Stop, Christmas - which I like & have watched several times. 

[GeorgiaRai]

An "a-ha" moment for me today, that everyone else may already know:  Blake Shelton & his mother wrote the song Time for Me to Come Home.  Since then, Blake has produced 5 Hallmark Christmas movies with unrelated stories "inspired by" the song.  I guess naming the movies this way is to clearly identify them as Blake's productions, but I find it confusing (and not very creative).  

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, norcalgal said:

I will always think of Victor as one of two characters, no matter how many Hallmark movies I’ve seen him in:  older Nicholas Alamain  from Days of Our Lives

Since I remember Erik Von Detten as original recipe Nicholas Alamain, Victor never worked for me as he seemed too old.  (And holy hell, Erick is 40 years old.  Either I'm super old or I'm younger than I remember being during that story.) He's only 49 but he just feels older to me.

My favorite movie of his is Summer Villa.  I always thought they should have done a sequel to that one. 

I thought 5 Star Christmas was kind of fun and one of the few I remember from 2020.

[Trini]

Okay, finally watched Three Wise Men and a Baby. TriniMom and I thought it was hilarious! And y'all talked about the dance, but I was still not prepared for the cuteness!

So they might have overdid it with the brothers bickering at times; Video Game Brother reminded me of a lesser Karl Urban; and yes, the tacked on romances at the end weren't necessary, but overall funny, enjoyable, and not the typical X-mas rom-com. Would recommend.

[norcalgal]

18 hours ago, GeorgiaRai said:

An "a-ha" moment for me today, that everyone else may already know:  Blake Shelton & his mother wrote the song Time for Me to Come Home.  Since then, Blake has produced 5 Hallmark Christmas movies with unrelated stories "inspired by" the song.  I guess naming the movies this way is to clearly identify them as Blake's productions, but I find it confusing (and not very creative).  

Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas was the first ever movie I’ve watched in this series, and I quite enjoyed it. The lead actress was one of the strongest in terms of acting chops I’ve seen in holiday movies across all channels (Hallmark, Lifetime, etc.).  Yes, there’s the trope of Tyler’s character misunderstanding the scene he walked in on between Elizabeth and their dead friend, but I didn’t mind that trope this time around because of the dialogue and how the scene played out in the den. The chemistry/vibes between the two leads was very good. I did buy that they were longtime friends, and it developed into something more.
I also liked that there was a mystery for the leads to solve, and decent airtime was given to the B story and how the B story mirrored the current story with themes of loss/lost love and second chances.

One of the best scenes for me was between Elizabeth and voicemail guy. It was such a moving scene well acted by both actors.

That said, Madelyn really shouldn’t have given the guy a second chance since the guy she was with seemed like a nice, thoughtful partner (he got the item wrong but remembered she was looking in the candy store window). Traveling cross country with him (didn’t they live in Nashville?) seemed to imply theirs was a significant relationship so dropping him didn’t jive with me.

Lastly, how did Elizabeth make the leap from the song to: the item was a snow globe; and it was sold at that particular store!?  They learn the name of the song, then BOOM! the rest just followed without explanation. 

17 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Since I remember Erik Von Detten as original recipe Nicholas Alamain, Victor never worked for me as he seemed too old.  (And holy hell, Erick is 40 years old.  Either I'm super old or I'm younger than I remember being during that story.) He's only 49 but he just feels older to me.

Erik was also the voice of Sid in Toy Story and was in the Princess Diaries. 

Edited November 28, 2022 by norcalgal

[FunnyFace]

Christmas Spectacular has me yelling at the television. There were no black Rockettes in 1957, the time period of the film. The Rockettes actually had a policy preventing the hiring of dancers of color. For heavens sake Hallmark movie script writer and Radio City Music Hall you had an opportunity to here but wasted with  white washing history.

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, Trini said:

Video Game Brother reminded me of a lesser Karl Urban

I had to keep staring at him in his first few scenes because his voice and attitude were giving me such strong Charlie Sheen. Apparently the actor has been on Letterkenny and is the same Tyler Hynes just mentioned as being appealing in Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas in this thread.

[Makai]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

My favorite movie of his is Summer Villa.  I always thought they should have done a sequel to that one. 

Me too. I remember seeing news that there was a sequel planned before Hilarie left Hallmark. I was looking forward to that one. 

1 hour ago, GeorgiaRai said:

I guess naming the movies this way is to clearly identify them as Blake's productions, but I find it confusing (and not very creative). 

Yes and they appear to be doing something similar with the Five More Minutes movies based on Scotty McCreery’s song. Fortunately they are running out of pronouns that work in the title so maybe it will end after next years inevitable Time for Her to Come Home for Christmas. 

[memememe76]

5 Star Christmas is a high-tier Hallmark movie. It had a more ensemble atmosphere, its focus on slapstick comedy deviates from the norm, and the chemistry was fun.

[BuckeyeLou]

1 hour ago, FunnyFace said:

Christmas Spectacular has me yelling at the television. There were no black Rockettes in 1957, the time period of the film. The Rockettes actually had a policy preventing the hiring of dancers of color. For heavens sake Hallmark movie script writer and Radio City Music Hall you had an opportunity to here but wasted with  white washing history.

Yes, that bugged me too, I finally Googled it & the 1st black Rockette was hired in 1989.  That being said, I am enjoying the scenes with the Rockettes who are always a delight to see

[KLovestoShop]

1 hour ago, FunnyFace said:

Christmas Spectacular has me yelling at the television. There were no black Rockettes in 1957, the time period of the film. The Rockettes actually had a policy preventing the hiring of dancers of color. For heavens sake Hallmark movie script writer and Radio City Music Hall you had an opportunity to here but wasted with  white washing history.

As abhorrent as their policy was, the first Rockette was hired in 1989.  But so many films, tv shows and Broadway follow this policy of not following history.  Holy cow, I didn’t not recognize Eve Plumb as John’s mother until near the end of the show.  

Edited November 28, 2022 by KLovestoShop

[BuckeyeLou]

I totally enjoyed "Holiday Spectacular"....it brought back memories of going to see the Radio City Christmas show with my family...I was a kid & Loved the Rockettes.  The young lead of the show was charming(altho her bad fake wig was distracting)..and seeing Ann-Margaret brought back memories too.  

[kirinan]

2 hours ago, FunnyFace said:

Christmas Spectacular has me yelling at the television. There were no black Rockettes in 1957, the time period of the film. The Rockettes actually had a policy preventing the hiring of dancers of color. For heavens sake Hallmark movie script writer and Radio City Music Hall you had an opportunity to here but wasted with  white washing history.

@FunnyFace - This is in no way meant as confrontational; I’m genuinely interested. How would you have had them take advantage of the opportunity? I honestly can’t wrap my head around what they could do without turning it into a completely different, non-Hallmark type of movie.

ETA: I did enjoy the movie, btw. The actors were all good, and the story reminded me of those 42nd Street-type old Hollywood movies, which I’ve always loved.

Edited November 28, 2022 by kirinan

[ECM1231]

11 hours ago, kirinan said:

I did watch the whole thing, and I'll admit that if Tyler Hynes hadn't been in it, I might not have bothered to even turn it on, since I've never been interested any of the other "Time for Him/Her/Them etc." movies. However, I'm glad I watched this one. Tyler and his co-star, Holland Roden, had a good chemistry IMO. This is the first time I've ever seen her, and I would watch her in a Hallmark movie again. And I'm not posting any spoilers by saying it had a happy (if somewhat deus ex machina) ending. It isn't enough to make me go back and watch the other movies, but I'd watch this again. 

Oh, and Tyler Hynes has made an absolute art form out of so soulfully gazing at the woman he loves that it just jumps through the screen to the viewer. Say what you want about his hair (which seems better styled these days), but that guy can act.

I just finished watching this now and I thought it was fantastic! I never watch in real time anymore, preferring to zip through the commercials and more often than not, I still wind up falling asleep. But this movie kept me engaged the entire time. I didn't find it depressing or too serious at all. My only quibble was that Tyler was portraying someone 3 years post college graduation, which would make him 25. He's at least a decade older irl, so I had to hand wave that.

[bankerchick]

7 hours ago, greekmom said:

5 Star Christmas. If I had a few bottles of wine and the Christmas Hallmark drinking game card I would be soooooo drunk by the end of this one.  It was everything on Hallmark's check list of Christmas movie tropes.

and

2 hours ago, memememe76 said:

5 Star Christmas is a high-tier Hallmark movie. It had a more ensemble atmosphere, its focus on slapstick comedy deviates from the norm, and the chemistry was fun.

I agree that the movie was very popular on this board when it first came out, and has come up several times since as an example of a good one, but I also watched it again last night and disliked it as much as the first time.  It was just so needlessly ridiculous and over-the-top, especially the Grandmother.  Bethany Joy Lenz was her usual unlikeable (to me) character.  I like Victor Webster well enough, but every time I see him I get mad at him again for his stupid freak-out about the broken bowl in another movie with Jill Wagner.

[VanillaBear85]

Haul out the Holly was so much fun. Wes Brown doing the Carlton dance was something I didn't know I needed. I hope they make it a series.