It’s rare that I get mad at a Christmas romance movie. Santa, Maybe has pushed me over that edge.

Lila (Aubrey Reynolds) manages the local theater. The board of directors has hired a new marketing coordinator, Glenn (Samuel Whitten), who happens to be Lila’s high school bully. Glenn pulls Lila’s name for the company Secret Santa. Can Glenn make up for his past and can Lila pull off the perfect Christmas ballet without forsaking her personal life?

I’m pretty sure that things that bother me, a theater person, would not bother a normal person. But they are things that shouldn’t have been in the movie. For example, no one recasts a major role in the Nutcracker at the last minute. This is a ballet that takes months to perfect and no one would approve a major cast change with less than a month preparation. No matter what the new marketing guy says. Also along those lines, no one would let the marketing guy cast any role. That’s not his job. He could bring it up to the director or the artistic director or the choreographer but he would not be the one making that decision. Also also - why bother having an understudy if you aren’t going to use them? THAT IS THE ENTIRE POINT OF HAVING AN UNDERSTUDY. Someone who knows the role and can step in when the actor/dancer cannot perform. You don’t recast a role because the dancer is injured when you already have an understudy. What the hell.

On top of all of that, the Secret Santa thing they run is stupid. They are supposed to give each other one gift per week for six weeks. We’re talking about theater people! They are stereotypically broke! Who thinks they could afford to buy six separate gifts for someone? This is the stupidest Secret Santa ever.

I really hate when movies set themselves in a theater then completely ignore the rules of how a performance works. You would think that someone somewhere along the line would know that none of this is even close to reality and try to get it fixed. Then again, maybe they don’t know how scripts work either.

Rating: A sugar plum dud

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.