Yahoo Lifestyle The Best & Battiest Moments From This Past Weekend’s Holiday Movies
Once again it’s the season to be merry and watch every new holiday movie as it debuts! Each Monday, we’ll take a look back at the previous weekend’s premieres to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with a new list of superlatives.
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Best Musical Moment
The running joke of Pentatonix annoying their manager by responding in harmony in Netflix’s Meet Me Next Christmas was fun. But considering all the slow dances to Christmas carols we’ve sat through this season already, we appreciated the novelty of Layla (Christina Milian) and Teddy (Devale Ellis) performing a sexy lip-synch to “Santa Baby” the most. Plus, Layla’s sparkly jumpsuit was to die for.
Pet Peeve We’ll Stop Complaining About
As mentioned when we dubbed Hallmark Channel’s ‘Tis the Season to Be Irish our runner-up pick of the weekend, the film had a total disregard for the number of coats traveling house flipper Rose (Fiona Gubelmann) could have conceivably packed in her one suitcase. But, we will now acknowledge that the changing of coats is one way to tell the passing of days in winter movies with lots of outdoor scenes.
Safety Tip of the Week
In Hallmark Channel’s Santa Tell Me, interior designer Olivia (Erin Krakow) failed to check the license plate of the car she assumed was her ride share. Luckily, the man behind the wheel was just Chris (Krakow’s When Calls the Heart costar Daniel Lissing), the TV producer she was about to unknowingly trash talk to his face. At least she waited for the driver to speak her name first.
Biggest Reach
Olivia’s letter from Santa, informing her that she’d meet her soulmate, named Nick, was intentionally fantastical in Santa Tell Me. A plot point that we were supposed to accept as realistic: the viability in today’s economy of a shop devoted to wrapping presents bought elsewhere in Hallmark+’s Unwrapping Christmas: Tina’s Miracle.
Hallmark Debut of the Week
Eoin Macken (La Brea, The Night Shift) was ideal casting for realtor/preservationist/unofficial town mayor Sean in ‘Tis the Season to Be Irish, imbuing the character with enough charm, depth and sex appeal to not get upstaged by a hero sheep. Hallmark holiday movies can be a one-shot deal for that kind of established male actor. We hope we see him in another one next year (or perhaps moving to Lifetime or Netflix so he can show even more chest hair).
Biggest Overreaction
We all know there comes a time (with about 10 minutes left in the film) when the two people about to become a couple have a disagreement that could’ve been easily avoided or quickly cleared up. In Hallmark Mystery’s Five Gold Rings, Audrey (Holland Roden) learned that private eye Finn (Nolan Gerard Funk) was paid by her late grandmother to help her reunite those loosely defined treasures with their owners. Grandma had suggested Audrey enlist Finn’s services in the quest, and Audrey never doubted his noble intentions. She didn’t need to storm off!
Family Tradition We’re Most Tempted to Try
In Great American Family’s Christmas Under the Northern Lights, tour guide Trevor (Jesse Hutch) took urban historian Erin (Jill Wagner) into the Canadian wilderness to show her how generations of his family have hung bells on trees to represent themselves. The gentle clanging was beautiful. But how do you keep the bells from blowing away during a storm?
Most Romantic Moment
Producer Chris abusing his power to turn the home improvement network’s prop warehouse into a recreation of the starlit sleigh rides from Olivia’s youth was incredibly sweet in Santa Tell Me. Moral: You don’t need the northern lights for romance. You just need to show that you listened. See also: Max (Brant Daugherty) taking Celeste (Tammin Sursok) to build a Christmas village, like the ones she and her father used to make, in Hallmark Channel’s Trivia at St. Nick’s.
Funniest Scene
Cousin Jordy (scene-stealer Kalen Allen) barking choreography at Layla and Teddy in Meet Me Next Christmas wins. Honorable mentions: Olivia nearly maiming and concussing dates in Santa Tell Me. (Hallmark should do more physical comedy that doesn’t involve falling into someone’s arms.) And the ladies arming themselves with pans to answer a late-night doorbell and the lusty flirting from sister Lisa (Tiffany M. Snow) in BET+’s A Christmas Miracle.
Interior Decoration Debate of the Week
Does Tina’s dad (Henry Alessandroni) in Unwrapping Christmas: Tina’s Miracle, starring Natalie Hall, really need three poinsettias, two Christmas trees, one wreath and multiple garlands in his kitchen? It made Michael’s (Alec Santos) kitchen, with garland lining every inch of counter space, seem underdressed.
Exterior Decoration Debate of the Week
Should wealthy people living in skyscrapers be allowed to have projectiles on their patios, as seen in Meet Me Next Christmas?
Surest Sign the Times Are Changing
What a difference a decade makes. In 2014’s classic The Nine Lives of Christmas, Brandon Routh’s Zachary had to wear a red muscle tank while posing for a firefighters calendar. In Santa Tell Me, firefighter Nick C. (Kurt Szarka) was able to walk around shirtless for charity. Progress!
Sexiest Xmas Sweater
Just look at Max, offensive coordinator for the university football team, casually sitting on astronomy professor Celeste’s couch and enthusiastically watching a baking competition in Trivia at St. Nick’s. This pose was a slightly more subtle flex than him baring his bulging biceps for the team-bonding exercise at rock climbing wall.
Christmas Time Is Here! Your Guide to 100 Holiday Movies on Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix and More in 2024
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