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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Longest Time Coming
Last year, after Amy Groening slayed us in The Santa Summit, we urged Hallmark to make the supporting favorite a leading lady. Fast-forward to ‘Twas the Date Before Christmas and her starring as a widowed fiancée who invites a blind date (Robert Buckley) to Christmas Eve so that her family won’t cancel their annual Christmas Olympics. Groening and Buckley are such deft banter-ers, we wish they’d had more alone time to cultivate the rivalry that emerged during snowball dodgeball. Pair them again in 2025?
Most Overused Setup
Four movies premiered last weekend and two of them (‘Twas the Date Before Christmas and Great American Family’s A Vintage Christmas) involved a developer who couldn’t break ground on his latest project because of a hold out. We’ve seen this plot so many times, we could sketch the inevitable compromise ourselves!
Most Surprising PSA
Even in the idyllic Hallmark Cinematic Universe, a woman must be careful. In Hallmark Channel’s Holiday Crashers, party-hopping Toni (Lyndsy Fonseca) is approached at the end of a long bar line by a dashing stranger, Justin (Chris McNally), offering her a glass of champagne. “How do I know I can trust that?” she says, with a hint of a smile. He grabs two fresh glasses from a roaming server. “Works?” he asks. “Works,” she says. Honestly, it’s a good, gentle reminder to be aware of who’s handling your beverages amidst the forthcoming festivities.
Biggest Pet Peeve Avoided
Do you find it (irrationally) infuriating when people don’t pay for the cocoa, cider, or coffee they buy from a street vendor in TV movies? Us, too. THANK YOU, ‘Twas the Date Before Christmas, for Groening’s Jessie having her cash in hand!
Best Use of Presents
Yes, it was very kind of Tessa (Merritt Patterson) and Noah (Christopher Russell) to answer decades-old letters to Santa in A Vintage Christmas, presenting now-grown adults with what they wanted as a child or could use most now. But really, we’re talking about how this mound of gifts frames them in this scene.
Best Exterior Illumination
‘Twas the Date Before Christmas gets props for actually using the phrase “exterior illumination” (hello, Clark Griswold!), but Justin’s Holiday Crashers lodge was surprisingly magical for evening strolls, firepit s’mores, and admiring Justin’s camel coat and scarf combo.
Biggest Interior Illumination Debate
More than one film, including Hallmark Channel’s Scouting for Christmas (starring Tamera Mowry-Housley and Audrey Wise Alvarez) featured a decorated headboard. Do people decorate their bed’s headboard? It’s a fun idea for kids who may use a night light already and cozy/romantic for adults… ARE WE DECORATING OUR HEADBOARDS THIS YEAR?
Most Controversial Baked Good
Be honest: How do we feel about Sir Bakes a Bunch’s “gingerbread man” in Scouting for Christmas? It’s not screaming Christmas, and it’s almost too cute to eat (those big eyes!).
Most Evergreen Sports Reference
“Did you see that Jets game?” Bri’s father (Keith MacKechnie) asked her in Holiday Crashers before they both groaned. Ha!
Best Character Redemption
We didn’t believe anything could get us to like the globetrotting archaeologist ex-husband (James Paladino) who returned unannounced in Scouting for Christmas. But then he told his ex’s new beau, baker William (Carlo Marks), that whatever makes his ex and their daughter happy makes him happy. “So even though this isn’t exactly the perfect arrangement…to new friends,” he added, clinking cupcakes. God bless us, every one!
Most Satisfying Ending
It’s great that Holiday Crashers’ Toni and Justin reconnected a year later when he crashed Bri and Vinny’s wedding. But we’re even happier that Toni is now working alongside her personal-injury attorney dad and Bri has her dream job as an event planner.
Sexiest Xmas Sweater
No one has a more stacked sweater collection than A Vintage Christmas’ Noah, which is good because that abandoned Post Office he was working from must have been drafty. With so many options to choose from — gray button Henley, white cable knit, green button Henley, burgundy zip Henley, green turtleneck, burgundy button Henley — this was a tough call. We went with the above because it fit so well, they shot it from every angle. Also, the color of the shirt underneath doesn’t distract.
Christmas Time Is Here! Your Guide to 90+ Holiday Movies on Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix and More in 2024
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