Welcome to the database of Hallmark Christmas movie reviews that I have compiled for both Peace Love Christmas and Jeff Marshall, Movie Blogger.
If you’re in the mood for some holiday romance, you’ve come to the right place. In this database, which will be updated often, you will find all of the Hallmark Christmas films I have reviewed along with the director, cast, plot and my detailed thoughts along with my rating from 0 to 5 stars.
My suggestion in using the database is to take a look at the titles on the Table of Contents, click on a title that sounds intriguing, and it will take you directly to my review.
As I mentioned above, this will be a consistent work in progress, so if you don’t find a title that grabs your attention, come back again and maybe your luck will change.
If you’d like to suggest a movie to add to the database, please do so in the comments at the bottom of the page.
My hope is that this will be a time-saving resource for you during the holidays when you are in the mood for a couple hours of relaxation in front of the television.
Over the course of the next few weeks and months, keep an eye out for other databases that will be added to the site – including comedies, dramas, romances, children’s movies, animated movies, holiday specials and documentaries.
A CHRISTMAS DETOUR (2015)
DIRECTOR: Ron Oliver
STARRING: Candace Cameron Bure, Paul Greene and Sarah Strange
PLOT: Two travelers become linked when a snowstorm grounds their flight in Buffalo. Paige desperately needs to find a way to New York City to meet her fiance’s parents, and it’s up to Dylan, a fellow passenger and a guy she can’t stand, to get her there.
RATING: **1/2 out of *****
MY THOUGHTS: This is actually half of a good movie and half of a really bad movie. Everything involving Bure and her fiancé and his parents is trash. I am quickly learning that Candace is an actress I’m simply not going to warm up to, so I’m trying to keep that into consideration. In her defense this time, the character is horribly irritating and abominably written.
The good news is that much of the movie also centers around a long married couple played by Strange and David Lewis who are funny, relatable and surprisingly non-Hallmark. Also Greene, who looks remarkably like a young Paul Young on DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, gives an absolutely charming performance and single-handedly makes the central relationship worth caring about. He walks the tightrope between charm and arrogance beautifully, and the fact that I wanted these two characters together at the end speaks volumes about his performance.
I believe it was the great Athenian philosopher Plato who said, “Half a good HALLMARK movie is better than nothing at all.”
THE CHRISTMAS HOUSE (2020)
DIRECTOR: Michael Grossman
STARRING: Robert Buckley, Sharon Lawrence and Treat Williams
PLOT: Working through some difficult decisions, Bill and Phyllis Mitchell have summoned their two grown sons home for the holidays. It is their hope that bringing the family together to recreate the Christmas house will help them find resolution and make a memorable holiday for the entire family and community. Son Brandon and his husband Jake make the trip home while anxiously awaiting a call about the adoption of their first child. Other son Mike, an actor in a fledgling TV series, reconnects with his high school sweetheart.
RATING: **1/2 out of *****
MY THOUGHTS: Regardless of its merits, this Hallmark movie will go down in history as the first to feature LGBTQ+ characters as part of its lead ensemble. And while this is cause for celebration, I wish the movie itself were worthy of being memorable. This is largely an uncomfortable blend of comedy and drama that is not very funny and not very touching.
I recently reviewed another Hallmark Christmas movie in which I had tears streaming down my face at the end – this one left me cold emotionally. And the central romance between Buckley and Ana Ayora, who could be a stand-in for Gal Gadot in WONDER WOMAN, is a dud. The sparks just aren’t there.
A lot of these Hallmark movies just have too much going on, too many subplots that aren’t given enough attention. The actors are appealing and camera friendly – kudos to Hallmark for consistently finding charismatic thespians to adorn their projects. I just didn’t feel the holiday spirit with this one. Certainly not a lump of coal in my stocking but not something I’ll likely revisit during Christmases to come.
CHRISTMAS UNDER THE STARS (2019)
DIRECTOR: Allan Harmon
STARRING: Jesse Metcalfe, Autumn Reeser and Clarke Peters
PLOT: Nick loses his high finance job right before Christmas. Lost, he takes a gig at a tree lot where he meets science teacher Julie and her son Matt.
RATING: ***1/2 out of *****
MY THOUGHTS: Maybe I’m mellowing as I get older, but this Hallmark movie really got to me. The first 30 minutes or so are honestly pretty rough. We hit every cliche from every Christmas romcom ever made. But then a strange thing happened. I actually got involved in the story and these characters. I put down the notebook in which I was writing potentially witty barbs, and by the end I found myself breaking down into the ugly cry. I still haven’t processed all this yet.
Now don’t get me wrong – this is not filmmaking at its finest. But it dots all the i’s and crosses all the t’s for this genre and what it does it does well. I’m not going to say Metcalfe necessarily gives a strong performance here, but he is filled with charisma and is extremely likable. It took me awhile to warm up to Reeser, who often sounds like she swallowed a Kardashian, but I eventually came around and she has a nice chemistry with the boy who plays her son. The standout in the cast is Peters, whose role has Morgan Freeman written all over it.
I appreciate that the romance here took backseat to the goings-on at the tree lot – in fact this movie was based on Rikk Dunlap’s novel THE CHRISTMAS TREE LOT, which would have been a much better title than the generic one chosen. Color me shocked, but not only am I heartily recommending this movie, I may end up watching it during multiple holiday seasons.
HEART OF THE HOLIDAYS (2020)
DIRECTOR: Corey Sevier
STARRING: Vanessa Lengies, Corey Sevier and Maria Ricossa
PLOT: After her life in New York unexpectedly falls apart, powerhouse stockbroker Samantha Wallace returns to her small town for the holidays and reconnects with her high school sweetheart who helps reignite her humanitarian spirit just in time to help their community on Christmas.
RATING: *1/2 out of *****
MY THOUGHTS: This is without a doubt a low point in my admittedly limited voyage through the land of Hallmark Christmas movies. In fact, this features pretty much every characteristic I feared and dreaded would be a staple of most if not all of these movies. Every generic cliche you can imagine is alive and well here.
The two leads have zero chemistry whatsoever, and I actually was hoping for a twist at the end in which they didn’t end up together. Alas, SPOILER ALERT, my hopes were dashed. Ricossa has the unenviable task of portraying one of the most irritating meddling mothers I’ve ever seen captured on celluloid. Her insistence on making hot cocoa for her daughter in every scene became a true thorn in my side. There’s not a single supporting character that contains an ounce of originality.
Even the Christmas cookies didn’t look appealing. Life is too short for this claptrap.
IF I ONLY HAD CHRISTMAS (2020)
DIRECTOR: David Weaver
STARRING: Candace Cameron Bure, Warren Christie and Chris Gauthier
PLOT: At Christmas, a cheerful publicist teams up with a cynical VP and his eclectic team to help a charity in need.
RATING: * out of *****
MY THOUGHTS: Bah humbug! What a lifeless and uninspired excuse for a Christmas movie! I’ve seen auto insurance commercials with more depth of character and insight into humanity.
Perhaps I just have it out for the Cameron family. Candace’s brother Kirk made the worst Christmas movie ever made, and this is certainly in the same neighborhood. There’s nothing obscene or disgusting about it – it’s just like reaching for a handful of Cheetos and getting Styrofoam packing peanuts instead.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think this to be a satire of nearly every other Hallmark movie ever made. Bure is a cream cheese sculpture of an actress, and she handily runs the gamut of emotions from A to B. There is not a single inspired moment here, and I literally forgot every performance 20 minutes after it was over.
IT’S CHRISTMAS, EVE (2018)
DIRECTOR: Tibor Takacs
STARRING: LeAnn Rimes, Tyler Hynes and Eden Gilmore
PLOT: A school superintendent with a knack for turning around schools meets a single father who works as the head of the school’s bankrupt music department. As she rediscovers her passion for music, she works to save the dreams of the kids who love music.
RATING: *** out of *****
MY THOUGHTS: Despite having the cheesiest title in modern holiday movie history, I am giving this a very lukewarm recommendation. There is nothing here particularly special or out of the ordinary that would differentiate it from any other white people struggling on Christmas film experience.
And, with all due respect, I don’t find Rimes a particularly likable screen presence. She obviously sings beautifully, which doesn’t happen much here, but her acting feels awkward, and I have to admit I didn’t care what happened to her character. She and Tynes have zero chemistry.
My recommendation is due to the fact that the movie deals with the importance of music and the arts in education, something very close to my heart. A film about this subject would have to be pretty awful in order not to get at least a half-hearted thumbs up. We all have our weak spots!
More Christmas Movie Reviews For You:
Top 10 Popular Christian Christmas Movies and Specials
Comedy Christmas Movie Reviews
Leave a Reply