Lacey Chabert has been serving as the host/emcee for all of the Countdown to Christmas festivities on Hallmark, and now it’s her time!
A Tale of Two Christmases
This takes a very standard Hallmark formula (woman returns to hometown and reconnects with her childhood friend, starts questioning her city life) but it uses the Sliding Doors structure to let us see the city version of Emma’s (Katherine Barrell) Christmas play out. It is obvious from the beginning (and from the poster) that she is not going to end up with the cute guy from her office building who she only spoke to for the first time the day before Christmas Eve when her childhood best friend is right there with many many more years of memories. I liked that they didn’t make the Chicago Christmas seem cartoonishly bad or Max (Evan Roderick) seem like a soulless corporate shell. He is a nice guy! He’s just not the guy for Emma.
That would be Drew (Chandler Massey), who is BFFs with Emma’s parents and constantly reminds her that she is being a huge faker when she wears nice clothes and doesn’t want to do everything she did as a teenager (I was kind of annoyed with Drew’s constant “I know you better than anyone!” schtick). I think the main problem is that I find Evan Roderick a much more charming actor than Chandler Massey, but I also understand that Evan Roderick has smug rich guy face so couldn’t really play the flannel-wearing, truck-driving hometown guy.
What does Christmas mean? Hallmark would like to remind you, yet again, that Christmas is a time to spend with the people you love. Preferably at home with cocoa and a cozy sweater.
Is the title a pun? Yes, it’s a Dickens pun, but we’re moving beyond A Christmas Carol for this one.
How many other Hallmark movies have the two leads been in? Katherine Barrell: 2 Christmas movies; Chandler Massey: 1 non-Christmas movie and 1 Christmas movie
Last minute plans/impending deadline? Emma helps Max plan his Christmas Eve party after his caterer cancels the morning of.
Chemistry check? In the earlier scenes, Emma and Max have much better chemistry and the connection between Emma and Drew feels like it’s coming a bit more from telling than showing. But they did kind of grow on me.
Christmas Grump/Christmas Enthusiast? Max is a Christmas Grump and Drew is a Christmas Enthusiast, and this is not a movie about opposites attracting.
Quaint town? Whatever unnamed town in Vermont Emma grew up in is much more Christmassy than Chicago.
Dialogue highlight? “Who needs all those bells and whistles when the cocoa is sourced ethically?”
How white and straight? Classic Hallmark.
Pet peeve? Do people really do unannounced video calls? Please do not call me on video without texting me to ask me first. A video call at work? With no headphones in?? It does allow your crush to eavesdrop and thus have something to talk to you about, but I will not take that risk.
Hot cocoa? The fact that Emma has starting drinking plain cocoa (as opposed to “Colossal Cocoa” which has marshmallows, whipped cream, and more!) is a sign to Drew that she’s trying to be a fancy city person. Max, as seen above, is a cocoa purist. I personally prefer my hot cocoa to taste like chocolate and not just sugar, which apparently means I’ve lost my childlike enthusiasm for life.
Rating? 3 out of 5 savory yule logs
Final verdict? I appreciate the attempt at a different structure, but this did not totally land for me.
Haul Out the Holly
When Emily (Lacey Chabert) breaks up with her shithead boyfriend right before Christmas, she decides to go home for the first time in a while. Her parents encourage her to come, and then ditch her to go condo-hunting in Florida. Emily is left to deal with the HOA, led by Jared (Wes Brown) her childhood friend who has moved back home and taken up Emily’s parents position as the leader of the neighborhood’s extravagant Christmas celebrations. There are a lot of citations thrown around as a form of flirting.
I enjoyed the supporting ensemble more than the central romance and I kind of wish the moral of the story was not “overly exacting HOA policies that encourage people to meddle in your personal choices are good actually!” But it’s a fun, silly Hallmark movie, so I can’t get too in the weeds about the implications. There were a lot of funny moments, and I loved the meta moment where Emily watched a bit of Christmas in Vienna from Hallmark’s 2020 lineup.
What does Christmas mean? Christmas is a time for community! And ostentatious decorations!
Is the title a pun? I didn’t realize until they used the song in the movie, but “haul out the holly” is a line from “We Need A Little Christmas.”
How many other Hallmark movies have the two leads been in? Lacey Chabert: 12 non-Christmas movies and 13 Christmas movies; Wes Brown: 5 non-Christmas movies and 6 Christmas movies
Last minute plans/impending deadline? Emily’s decision to go home is very last minute, and her parents leave all the decorating for her to do in the week before Christmas.
Chemistry check? They have very chaste Hallmark chemistry. Good banter, but it doesn’t have much crackle.
Christmas Grump/Christmas Enthusiast? Emily is a Christmas Grump specifically about the very intense Evergreen Lane Christmas traditions. She likes low-key Christmas, but Jared brings her over to the Super Christmas Enthusiast side of things by the end of the movie.
Quaint town? Evergreen Lane is a tourist destination for Christmas decorations.
Dialogue highlight? “I need you and your cute little baby hands to thread popcorn.”
How white and straight? Verrry.
Pet peeve? You really should label your salt and sugar containers.
Hot cocoa? The best way to thank your neighbor for helping you put up all your Christmas lights.
Rating? 4 out of 5 up-to-code nutcrackers
Final verdict? It’s wacky and fun, you’ll have a good time.
Up next, A Christmas Cookie Catastrophe (another lost cookie recipe plot!) and A Holiday Spectacular (featuring the Rockettes!).
So enjoying Julia! Can’t remember last time I had good cocoa!