Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker | 2020 Christmas Movies

OK so Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker isn’t really a Christmas movie. It’s a dance documentary. But it is about a production of the Nutcracker so I’m counting it in my Christmas movie reviews.

The Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA) teaches anyone who wants to learn dance, no matter their financial situation. Seventy-five percent of their students are on scholarship. DADA’s biggest fundraiser is their annual production of Hot Chocolate Nutcracker. Dance Dreams goes behind the scenes as the academy prepares for the annual production.

Debbie Allen is an amazing person. Even at 70 years old, she is still teaching and choreographing and, well, just being a badass. While she does have other teachers and choreographers that work with her, she is very hands-on with her students. She is there pushing them to make them better dancers, as well as better people.

If you are a dancer or a fan of dance, you should definitely watch this. Strike that, EVERYONE should watch this. Debbie Allen is such a ray of light and a source of inspiration that everyone could use her words of wisdom, even if you aren’t a dancer.

Happiest Season | 2020 Christmas Movies

Now that I finished all of the Christmas movies form Hallmark and Lifetime, I can dive into the movies from Netflix and Hulu. Hulu gave us just one movie this year, Happiest Season, but it’s better to have one really good movie over 100 terrible ones.

Harper (Mackenzie Davis) has invited her girlfriend, Abby (Kristen Stewart), to her family’s house for Christmas. Unfortunately, Harper has not come out to her parents. Abby spends the next five days with Harper’s crazy family pretending that she is only Harper’s roommate.

Happiest Season has a lot of big names attached to it. It was written and directed by Clea DuVall. The cast has bigwigs like Kristen Stewart, Aubrey Plaza, Dan Levy, Alison Brie, Mary Steenburgen, and Victor Garber. It would have been difficult to make a bad movie with this sort of talent attached.

Thankfully, this was a wonderful movie. I don’t think I could have stood another bad movie. There are a few weird moments but these were true to life. Life isn’t always easy and sometimes there are moments you have to traverse that are weird. I think the characters handled it better than I would have.

This is definitely a movie you should watch. Actually, this might be a good annual movie as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

My Sweet Holiday | 2020 Christmas Movies

This review was supposed to be posted yesterday. However, every time I tried to sit down and watch My Sweet Holiday (also known as Chocolate Covered Christmas), I wanted to rip my eyeballs out. It’s a movie that starts out bad and keeps getting worse as it goes on.

Sadie (Malone Thomas) is a marketing associate who returns home for Christmas when her boyfriend decides to stay in Europe for the season. Alex (Jason Burkey) is buying the chocolate store owned by Sadie’s parents. It’s up to Sadie to teach him the business before he takes over on January first.

There is a lot wrong with this movie. The script is terrible, the acting is cringeworthy, and the overall look of the film is awful. Every time there is a scene change, there is a weird montage of the location of the next scene. Going to a coffee shop? A montage of making coffee. Is the scene inside the chocolate shop? A montage of making chocolate. Instead of adding something to the movie, it makes it drag a lot.

On one hand, I’m glad that this is the last of the Lifetime/Hallmark movies for the 2020 season. On the other hand, I’m angry that Lifetime aired it at all. It is a terrible movie with a terrible script and a terrible cast and a terrible director. Don’t watch it. Don’t let any of your friends watch it. Let’s try to eradicate it from the world.

Christmas at the Castle | 2020 Christmas Movies

I hate when I get bamboozled by a movie. Christmas in the Castle is actually titled Christmas in the Highlands. Also, this is a movie from 2019 that Lifetime is marketing as a new 2020 movie. Bad form, Lifetime.

Blair (Brooke Burfitt) is a perfume sales manager who gets sent to Scotland to acquire a very special perfume blend. Alistair (Dan Jeannotte) is the Scottish Earl who made the rare perfume. When Alistair says he won’t sell his perfume, Blair disguises herself as a documentarian to steal the formula.

First off, it annoys me to no end that this movie takes place in Scotland and no one has a Scottish accent. Alistair and his family have English accents, Kirsten (Ellen Patterson) and her mother (Geraldine Somerville) also have English accents, and a random car rental guy has an Irish accent. I know that Scottish accents can be difficult to understand but c’mon. You could have put this movie anywhere in the world. Why would you pick a country with a unique accent then not use it?

Next, the acting sucks. A lot. I might give Blair’s boss, AKA “The Dragon Lady,” (Caprice Bourret) a pass because she is supposed to suck but she is so over the top that I can’t excuse it. As much as I wanted to like the characters, the weird acting wouldn’t let me.

Skip Christmas in the Castle. Even better, just pretend it doesn’t exist.

The Christmas High Note | 2020 Christmas Movies

There are only a few more Lifetime Christmas movies left. They seem to be getting worse as time goes on.

After being stood up by her boyfriend, Brad (William McNamara), on their anniversary, Rachel (Jamie Luner) meets Michael (Johnny Messner) and his daughter, Sophia (Madeline Grace). Sophia is having trouble reaching the high note in “Hark, The Herald Angels Sing.” Rachel offers to give her voice lessons to help.

The Christmas High Note has a lot going on. Rachel is stuck in a love triangle with Brad, who she doesn’t want to be with, and Michael, who doesn’t want to date someone for his daughter’s sake. Add to that, Rachel’s dad, Dennis (William Katt) keeps trying to date Brad’s mom, Donna (Marcie Barkin). And there’s a sub-plot about Dennis trying to sell his veterinarian business so he can travel the world. Oh, and don’t forget about the Christmas pageant. There’s so much going on that nothing actually gets addressed.

As for the relationships, they also suck. Both Brad and his mom are terrible people. I’m not sure why anyone would even want to date them. Rachel should have broken up with Brad long before the 4th anniversary stand up. While it isn’t overly obvious, Michael is definitely controlling. There’s a scene where Rachel asks him to dance and he refuses simply because he wants to ask her instead. Dude, it’s OK for a woman to ask you to dance. It doesn’t make you less of a man to let her initiate things.

Don’t watch The Christmas High Note. It may not be the most terrible movie of the season but it’s up there. There have been a ton of music-related movies this year. Go watch one of those instead.

Project Christmas Wish | 2020 Christmas Movies

Christmastime means granting Christmas wishes, right? At least that is what Hallmark thinks.

Every year, Lucy (Amanda Schull) collects and grants Christmas wishes from her community. This year, Max (Averie Peters) wishes to have a Christmas like she did before her mother passed away. As Lucy tries to fulfill this wish, Max changes her wish to helping her father, Lucas (Travis Van Winkle), find love again.

The main plotline of Project Christmas Wish is granting Christmas wishes. Unlike The Angel Tree, we don’t actually see Lucy granting any wishes. She talks about it. She talks about it a LOT. But we don’t actually see any wish granting going on. It is a little disappointing.

Another annoying part is Lucas’ parenting style. In the beginning of the movie, he is the worst helicopter parent. He chides his parents for bringing donuts without asking him first. Whenever he goes into public with Max, he always tells her to stay within his sight. While I understand being careful, in the world of Hallmark movies, this is overbearing.

As is the norm for this season, I can’t recommend watching Project Christmas Wish. It is the worst kind of boring. The kind where nothing actually happens. If you want to watch a movie where they grant Christmas wishes, The Angel Tree does it much better. And they are both on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel.

A Christmas Break | 2020 Christmas Movies

I had hope that the movies released closer to Christmas would be better. It doesn’t seem to be going that way.

Addison (Cindy Sampson) is a middle school principal. Her school is slated to close after the Christmas break. She turns to Dylan Davidson (Steve Byers), an old school friend who is now a somewhat famous actor. Addison convinces Dylan to direct the school’s Christmas play, which they will use as a fundraiser to keep the school open.

Are there school districts that actually close schools in the middle of the school year? My school district has recently closed a couple of their buildings but it was always done after the school year is over. Why would they close it in the middle of the year? That makes no sense to me. And that isn’t the only weak link.

Unlike Olivia in Spotlight on Christmas, Dylan isn’t a super famous actor. As a matter of fact, he’s having trouble landing jobs. So why is his manager (or whatever Garth (Arnold Pinnock) is supposed to be) following him around everywhere? I’m sure he has other clients that are making him more money. The same goes for the paparazzi. I can’t imagine that anyone would be that interested in his love life.

Beyond the troubles with the plot, the acting is also bland. It doesn’t feel like Addison really wants to save her school. Instead of trying a variety of plans, she hinges everything on Dylan directing the school play. Dylan doesn’t even seem all that interested in his own life. When his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Monique (Samantha Helt), shows up, he just kinda lets her walk all over him and the kids. Grow a set, dude.

If you want to watch an actor-comes-home movie, go watch Spotlight on Christmas. It is a much better movie. A Christmas Break isn’t worth your time or attention.

Swept Up By Christmas | 2020 Christmas Movies

Maybe Hallmark Movies & Mysteries mean the movies are a mystery to me. This is one of those movies that sounds fine on paper but is a little confusing in reality.

Gwen (Lindy Booth) is an appraiser for an auction house. When Alan Hawthorne (Vlasta Vrana) decides to sell his house and everything inside, Gwen gets the job to auction it all. She has to work with Reed (Justin Bruening), who owns the company that will clean the house.

While the main story is about Gwen and Reed preparing the house for sale, the side story about Gwen trying to raise enough money to buy the auction house is weird. Her boss, who I assume also owns the business, seems to want to sell it to her but he also wants to accept the highest price tag no matter who is paying. Of course, this sets it up for Alan to sweep in and buy it all for her, which is also weird. I think this might have ended better if Gwen decided to start her own auction house or appraising business instead of relying on either her boss to give in or someone else to foot the bill.

As for the main story, it’s fine. I wasn’t particularly taken by either of the lead characters but I’m sure there are people out there who think they are amazing. They both seemed very bland to me. I would have liked it better if one of them was a little more excited about things. Gwen kept talking about how she loved appraising things but we never really saw that. Reed kept talking about families and traditions but, again, we didn’t see anything like that.

I wouldn’t recommend watching this. Unless you are having trouble falling asleep. You wouldn’t have a difficult time dozing off while this is on.

The Christmas Exchange | 2020 Christmas Movies

Is it a good sign when a Lifetime movie steals the plot of a 2006 theatrically released movie? Because this movie is totally The Holiday on a budget.

Molly (Laura Vandervoort) wants a whirlwind British romance. Patrick (Rainbow Sun Francks) wants to get away from his hectic life in London so he can start writing his book. The two swap their houses for the holiday season. As they continue to communicate via text messages, Molly and Patrick find themselves falling in love.

I liked this movie for the most part. Both Vandervoort and Francks are good actors. My problem mostly lies with Molly’s character. She spends the entire movie fawning over this one romance novel that was turned into a movie. Though some flashbacks, we learn that she has been reading/watching this for over 20 years! Maybe it’s time to move on. Though, of course, this is why she has totally romanticized London and relationships with British men. I mean, one of the items on her to-do list is “a date with an English gentleman.” Seriously?

Adding onto Molly’s immature view of relationships, her grandmother had told her this romantic story of how her parents met. Unfortunately, her parents had passed away so there was no way for her to verify what her grandmother said. When she’s in London, she meets an old friend of her father’s who reveals that her grandmother straight up lied to her. Molly reacts to this….by losing her mind. She locks herself in Patrick’s flat where she cries her eyes out. I don’t understand why she is so invested in the story. It didn’t seem to make her feel closer to them or anything. The story was just romantic.

Even with Molly’s shortcomings, The Christmas Exchange is a pretty good movie. As long as you can overlook her emotional immaturity, you should enjoy this. At least there aren’t any princes involved!

A Carousel Christmas | 2020 Christmas Movies

I guess carousels are now magical. We had a time travel carousel in Christmas Comes Twice. A Carousel Christmas gives us a wish-granting carousel. Everyone needs to be more careful the next time they go to an amusement park!

Lila (Rachel Boston) and her father, Roy (Stuart Hughes), are hired by the royal family of Ancadia to restore a carousel made by Roy’s grandfather. While there, Lila pairs up with the prince, Whitaker (Neal Bledsoe), to plan a Christmas festival to gain support for an arts academy.

Besides the fact that the carousel story is stupid, there is a lot wrong with this movie. The acting is rather terrible, the rest of the plot is boring, and the conflict is dumb. If I was to look for one redeeming quality, it would be the very subtle budding romance between Roy and Heidi (Jennifer Vallance), one of the royal family’s staff members.

Don’t watch A Carousel Christmas. If you’re looking for a royal Christmas movie, there are so many better ones out there. Or, even better, let’s stop romanticizing royal families. They all kinda suck.