1000 Miles From Christmas | 2021 Christmas Movies

I‘ve done it! 1000 Miles From Christmas is the last 2021 Christmas movie on my list! It has taken forever to do it but I have watched 91 Christmas movies. That is such an exhausting number. And I bet there will be more movies this year. I’m scared.

Raúl (Tamar Novas) is an auditor that hates Christmas. This year, he has planned a vacation to Cuba to get away from the Christmas festivities. Instead, his boss sends him to a small town to audit the local nougat factory. Will he ruin Christmas for the town or can they bring the Christmas spirit to him?

This was such a lovely movie. Even though it revolved around the town putting on the largest nativity play in the world and there were a lot of Christmas flashbacks for Raúl, it never felt like the Christmas season was being forced onto us. Christmas just happened to be the time of year and I love that.

I also liked that there were actual reasons for Raúl to hate Christmas. Thanks to the flashbacks, we got to see all of the traumatic things that happened to him during Christmas over his lifetime. If I was him, I would hate Christmas too.

If you don’t mind foreign films, 1000 Miles From Christmas is absolutely worth watching. It has romance, it has friendship, it has an evil backstabbing character, and it has the best parts of Christmas. I can’t think of a single thing that I didn’t like about the movie. It really might be my favorite Christmas movie of the season. And I am so happy that this was the last movie I watched. It leaves me hopeful for the 2022 Christmas movie season.

Grumpy Christmas | 2021 Christmas Movies

As I’m wrapping up the last few Christmas movies from 2021, there are a few foreign films left to watch. Grumpy Christmas (also known as Una Navidad No Tan Padre) is the first of two Spanish movies on my list.

Servando (Héctor Bonilla) is spending Christmas at the beach with his family. His son, Fran (Benny Ibarra); his wife, Alma (Jacqueline Bracamontes); and the ragtag group of people they live with are spending the holidays at the house of Alma’s aunt, Alicia (Angélica María). The old man believes they should celebrate Christmas one way but Alicia doesn’t want him telling her what to do in her house. Meanwhile, Fran and Alma are arguing over Fran’s tendency to overwork and ignore his family. Can this Christmas be saved?

I have seen quite a few people complaining about Grumpy Christmas. Perhaps they were expecting something more “American” with slapstick gags and laugh tracks. Instead, what we get are two old people so set in their ways that they go out of their way to try to annoy the other. At least that is what we think we get. In reality, the elders are afraid of dying and wasting what precious time they have left. I’m glad there is no slapstick.

While the movie mostly focuses on Servando and Alicia, we do have two other couples having trouble. There’s Fran and Alma, who thankfully are actually doing couples therapy in order to attempt to work on their relationship. Unfortunately, the therapy isn’t helping them much. On the other hand, we have Gala (Renata Notni) and Renato (Juan Pablo de Santiago) who are secretly sleeping together. Renato professes his love to Gala, which she rejects since living in the communal house makes them “family.” Of course, all of this is resolved by the end.

I found Grumpy Christmas to be a nice change of pace from all of the other Christmas movies I’ve sat through. Even though I’m sure it’s not the norm, a lot of the foreign language Christmas movies on Netflix do revolve more around family dynamics than will-they-won’t-they scenarios. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good romance movie. But most Christmas romance movies aren’t good. This was a nice palate cleanser.

A California Christmas: City Lights | 2021 Christmas Movies

I have been both looking forward to and dreading A California Christmas: City Lights. If you will remember, 2020 gave us the most depressing Christmas romance movie ever - A California Christmas. Well, the Swickards are back to give us another dose of….whatever this is.

A year has passed since Callie (Lauren Swickard) and Joseph (Josh Swickard) starting dating. Joseph’s mother has decided to leave the family business, meaning it’s up to Joseph to officially take over. He takes Callie with him to San Francisco so they can save the company.

This series is so utterly confusing. I didn’t mention it in the review of the 2020 movie but a majority of it revolved around death. Callie’s mom was dying of cancer, her father and her then-fiancé died in a car accident…it was just a mess of sad emotions. This time around, things are a bit happier. Callie’s vineyard is doing well and they seem to be selling quite a bit of wine. Her sister, Hannah (Natalia Mann), also seems to be doing well, though we don’t see a ton of her. In short, the Petaluma section of the movie is kinda OK. It’s the San Francisco portion that is a train wreck.

Joseph is surrounded by all of his super-rich friends and family, who don’t really care about Callie. Callie straight up forgets about her sister entirely while she’s gone. Victoria (Laura James), who is Joseph’s ex and I guess is supposed to be taking care of the business, is all over the place. I think she’s supposed to come off as a conniving ex that wants to get back together with Joseph but she just doesn’t. She randomly appears in scenes to throw around a few snarky words then leaves. It’s frustrating.

While I didn’t want to label the first movie as bad, this one does take the terribleness a step further. None of the characters really make rational decisions about anything. Important things happen off-camera, making some of the conflicts very confusing. And I think Lauren Swickard (who wrote this movie) might think Callie is stupid or incompetent. I’m not sure.

Well, if you actually liked the original A California Christmas, you might find some sort of enjoyment out of City Lights. Personally, I recommend staying away. This movie hints at an upcoming third one. Let’s hope that one doesn’t happen. I don’t need to see these two as parents.

Writing Around The Christmas Tree | 2021 Christmas Movies

I have made it to the end! Well, the end of the Lifetime 2021 Christmas movies at least. Writing Around The Christmas Tree is the last of the Lifetime (and Hallmark!) Christmas movies on my list. There are a few Netflix movies left, though I have to see if Netflix hasn’t removed them from the service. I will be so glad when this second Christmas is over.

Mikaela (Krystal Joy Brown) is a romance writer who is suffering from some writer’s block. She decides to reopen her late mother’s writers workshop at her father’s bed & breakfast. Somehow, non-fiction writer Levi (Curtis Hamilton) manages to snag an invite to the workshop. It seems that Levi wants to write a book about Mikaela’s mother. Will Levi use Mikaela for information or will something more come out of the workshop?

Jake Helgren wrote this movie, along with a number of other Christmas movies. I’m not sure if he’s a terrible writer overall or if it’s just his Christmas movies that suck. Though I noticed that he tends to direct the movies that he writes so maybe the problem is that he has no one to tell him his stuff is just not good.

For example, there are only a few tolerable characters in Writing and they are barely used. The amazing Dawnn Lewis plays Sharon, a cookbook writer who is having problems finishing her latest cookbook. However, we mostly only see Sharon interacting with Mikaela’s father, Irving (James Black). Then there are the two gay assistants, Keifer (Gavyn Michaels) and Mitchell (Max Emerson). They are mostly used to shove the plot along when Helgren can’t figure out how to make it organically move forward.

The worst character, though, is Olive (Meg Steedle). Olive writes musicals. But her personality is harsh and abrasive and she keeps throwing herself at Levi, even though it’s obvious he’s not interested. I cringed every time she appeared on screen.

I don’t know that I would say Writing Around The Christmas Tree is worth watching. After all, we don’t even get to hear the stories any of the characters write. We only hear a couple of poems. I really wanted to like it and I was sadly disappointed.

Hot Chocolate Holiday | 2021 Christmas Movies

I have watched nine Christmas movies this month. (Don’t worry, there are still a few more to go!) Most of them have been a chore to watch. For the first time, I’ve come across a movie that was new and interesting and, well, NOT BORING. Let me tell you about Hot Chocolate Holiday.

Colette (Aubrey Reynolds) owns a café that serves the best specialty hot chocolate in town. Her hot chocolate is so good that she is planning on making a powdered version to sell in stores so people can make it at home. Shortly before the holidays, Colette finds out that Marcus (Jonny Swenson) has opened a new dessert shop next door. Somehow, Marcus has the same exact hot chocolate recipe as Colette! This new competition not only threatens her shop but also her supermarket deal. How did he get her recipe?!

Hot Chocolate Holiday is one of the few Christmas movies where the romance barely exists…but in a good way. Instead of focusing on getting the other person to like them, both Colette and Marcus are focused on how to make their businesses better. The big conflicts come from two places, both business related - how does Marcus have the same exact hot chocolate recipe as Colette and can Marcus save his business after a catastrophic fire. I love that these are the conflicts. I don’t always love the way that Colette handles things but sometimes people get a little too heated when they are passionate about something.

The best part of having the romance take a back seat to other plot lines is that it doesn’t matter whether the leads have romantic chemistry. They work as friends and that is fine with me. I actually might have liked the movie more if there wasn’t a “I’m falling in love with you” moment. But I know that is not a popular opinion. Most people want the romance.

I would definitely recommend giving Hot Chocolate Holiday a chance. It’s probably the best of the cooking/business genre of Christmas movie.

Rebuilding A Dream Christmas | 2021 Christmas Movies

What happens when nothing happens? Rebuilding A Dream Christmas happens.

When real estate broker, Abbey (Meggan Kaiser), is forced to go back to her hometown to fix a broken window in her late grandmother’s house, she hires Josh (Zane Stephens) to do the work. Abbey gets more than she bargained for when she finds herself connecting with Josh’s son, Noah (Bryson JonSteele).

Oh, there are so many things wrong with this movie. I’m going to start off with: NOTHING HAPPENS. Abbey is told that, since her grandmother’s house is on the historic buildings list, the owner has to show up in person to fill out the permit for any outside work. This is the entire reason the movie happens. It’s not a real thing and it’s dumb. Of course, the permit process gets dragged out, which is why Abbey has to stay so long. So instead of doing anything else, Abbey basically just waits around doing nothing. There is one montage of her making some Christmas ornaments but it’s not as big a plotline as Lifetime wants you to think.

My next problem with the movie is the way it treats relationships. All of the relationships are extremely superficial. Abbey was raised by her grandmother but she doesn’t live in her grandmother’s house, she just covers up the furniture and lets the house sit there. Josh says all of the right words to be a caring single father but there is no emotion behind anything. Josh and Noah might as well be two strangers hanging out together. Even the big “nemesis,” aptly named Karen (Ashton Leigh), feels like she only wants a romance with Josh because someone somewhere told her she did. It’s annoying.

But I think my biggest problem with the movie is the character of Nick (Jon W Sparks). We are supposed to think he is Santa Claus. However, he is barely in the movie. I think the character was supposed to have a bigger role but it got cut way down. Nick does some Santa-ish things - collects the letters to Santa from the mailbox, goes caroling around town, gives some good-natured but cryptic advice - but we don’t see him doing anything that would make him anything more than the guy in town that happens to look like Santa. If you are going to have a Santa character, USE HIM.

Needless to say, don’t bother watching Rebuilding A Dream Christmas. Or Christmas Comes Home. Or My Christmas Wish. Yes, this movie was so terrible that it had to change names three times before it aired. That should tell you something.

It Takes A Christmas Village | 2021 Christmas Movies

Now I remember why Christmas movies drive me crazy every year. It’s rare to get both a good story and good acting. A lot of times we get decent acting with a terrible story. But, sometimes, we are given movies like It Takes A Christmas Village, which has a good story but it is ruined by terrible acting.

Alex (Brooke Nevin) is the mayor of a small town. When road construction threatens the local businesses, she decides to put together a Christmas market to help boost sales. The best location she can find is a closed mill owned by the town recluse, Darcy Hawkins (Corey Sevier). Can Alex convince Darcy to let her rent the space from him?

The mayor-saves-local-business isn’t a rare storyline in Christmas movies. Christmas Village somehow managed to make it feel fresh and new. Maybe it’s the interactions with the shop owners, maybe it’s that we get to see a little more of Alex actually planning the Christmas market, or maybe it’s just because the female lead is the mayor. It doesn’t much matter why it feels like a new story, it just does.

Unfortunately, where the movie falls apart is the acting. Corey Sevier, who also directs Christmas Village, has the charisma of a piece of cardboard. I have watched a couple of Christmas movies with him as the male lead (and the director!) and they have all been awful. While I haven’t seen as many of Nevin’s Christmas movies (most of hers were before I started the Great Christmas Movie Review project), I have seen some of her other works. She isn’t bad but she isn’t memorable either. I think she might have had a chance here if she wasn’t paired with Sevier.

Wait…wait. After a bit of serious Googling, I have found what the problem is. Corey Sevier is married to the scriptwriter, Kate Pragnell. That is how he keeps getting these terrible roles. Well, much like their other joint Christmas venture, Heart of the Holidays, don’t bother to watch this one. Christmas Village isn’t as bad but it’s definitely not worth your time.

Candy Cane Candidate | 2021 Christmas Movies

Jacky Lai from 2020’s A Sugar & Spice Holiday faces off with Christmas powerhouse Jake Epstein. Seriously, how does that guy have the time to film so many Christmas movies? Anyway, Candy Cane Candidate had a bit of genre change up going on. Get this…

Julia (Jacky Lai) lost her recent political campaign. To regain her emotional footing, she decides to go home for the holidays. She finds out that her old high school arch nemesis, Parker (Jake Epstein), is running for town mayor. UNOPPOSED! Julia thinks the town should have a choice so she decides to run against him. Will Julia win this time or will she lose again to Parker like she lost the class president election?

Surprisingly, there wasn’t a ton of romance in Candy Cane Candidate. Julia was pretty dead set on running her campaign and Parker wanted to make sure the town’s holiday traditions weren’t trampled all over. Sure, there were a few glances and some flirty moments but they didn’t make up the bulk of the movie. It felt like a bit of fresh air after all of the overt wooing in other movies.

If we want to talk about down sides, which don’t really need to do, I wish that Jacky would have done more about the ecological changes she wanted to make instead of just talking about them. The only thing she “did” was arrange a toy drive claiming that it was recycling plastic toys. It would have been nice to see her maybe making some phone calls to see what would be needed to fix the wonky lights at the high school. Even if she lost the election to Parker, she could have passed that information onto him to try to make it happen.

I do recommend watching Candy Cane Candidate. Even if you only watch it to see the Lai and Epstein Christmas Spectacular, you won’t regret it. They are both charismatic actors that I can’t wait to see more of in the future.

Tis The Season To Be Merry | 2021 Christmas Movies

I think my least favorite Christmas movie titles are ones using the main character’s name. Once in awhile there is a witty title with a character’s name in it, ‘Tis The Season To Be Merry is not one of them.

Merry (Rachael Leigh Cook) writes books giving romantic advice. In her recent book, she lies and says she is engaged. When her publisher, Sonia (Karen Malina White), gushes about how authentic Merry’s relationship is, Merry freaks out and runs away to her co-worker/friend Darlene’s (Amy Groening) family’s house in Vermont. Little did Merry know that Darlene’s brother, Adam (Travis Van Winkle), has returned from a 2-year trip to Guatemala. Can Merry figure out how to fix both her love life and her professional life?

There were pieces of Tis The Season that I thought were really cute. At the big Christmas tree auction, when Adam had Merry co-host with him and he would keep handing her cards when she had no idea to say. If there is one thing Cook is good at, it’s playing an awkward women who trips over her words. I’m glad Hallmark played into that strength.

In addition to the main Adam/Merry couple, there are two other couples introduced. I would have liked to have seen a little more of their interactions. We do see Sonia’s budding relationship with Joe (Paul Essimbre) but we really only see them when Merry happens to see them around town. It would have been nice to jump over to them to see how they were doing. There’s also a late romance between Joe’s son, James (Adam Hurtig), and Darlene. Even though they were childhood friends, we don’t see a lot of interaction between them until James confesses his feelings about Darlene to Merry. I would have liked to have seen more of James pining after Darlene instead of it appearing that James has a thing for Merry.

Tis The Season isn’t a terrible movie. It’s not boring, which is a step up from most movies, but it wasn’t particularly interesting either. If you watch it, watch it for the acting not for the story. Maybe one day Cook will get put into one of the really good Christmas movies. Until then, this will scratch the itch to see her on screen.

Under The Christmas Tree | 2021 Christmas Movies

Usually, when we get a Christmas movie with a gay main couple, that couple is male. Lifetime changes it up with Under The Christmas Tree. Women rule this time around.

Charlie (Tattiawna Jones) is a tree whisperer. With her partner, Rohan (Shawn Ahmed), she is looking for a Christmas tree for the state capital. She finds the perfect tree on property owned by Alma (Elise Bauman) and her parents. Can Charlie convince Alma to let her cut down the tree?

I was intrigued to see where Under The Christmas Tree was going to go. After all, it was written by the guy that wrote 2020’s The Christmas Setup, which was really good. Thankfully, this one wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t quite as good as Setup but it wasn’t boring. Instead of trying to force the two women together, they were allowed to have the “love at first sight” moment that so many straight movies have. The first time Alma sees Charlie, she stumbles over her words. Charlie is a little more confident so she gets the “you know you want to be with me” personality. It was really nice to see this change. Having to watch women be stereotypically female all the time in Christmas movies sucks. I liked seeing all of the women have very different personalities.

With that said, I wouldn’t say this is the best Christmas movie. It still has some very slow parts and the main tree conflict is stupid. They also keep trying to throw Ricki Lake into scenes for no real reason. I think they wanted to make sure they got their money’s worth casting her.

Despite the slow parts, it was a decent movie to watch. It didn’t fully capture my attention but I was able to pay more attention than I have in the other movies I’ve watched this month.