Holiday Heritage | 2022 Christmas Movies

This year, we got the first movie from Hallmark that highlighted Kwanzaa, Holiday Heritage. I am so happy that Hallmark has become more open to different cultures. But was it any good?

Ella (Lyndie Greenwood) is a graphic designer living in Boston. When she comes home to Mary’s Town, PA for Christmas, she finds that her mother, Micah (Holly Robinson Peete), and grandmother, Tess (Darlene Cooke), aren’t getting along. With the help of her ex-boyfriend and now-mayor, Griffin (Brooks Darnell), she tries to get her family back together by bringing the Kwanzaa celebration back into their lives.

I fully admit that I didn’t know a lot about Kwanzaa before watching Holiday Heritage. It was really nice that, instead of just showing montages of lighting candles and other traditions, the movie explained the reason for each night. In addition, Ella used each night’s traditions to try to get through to Micah and Tess. I’m glad Hallmark spent time to really focus on Kwanzaa instead of the Big Romance. I hope this is a good sign for the future.

Yes, yes, yes. Go watch this one. The movie wasn’t anything amazing but it is amazing that Hallmark is reaching beyond the “traditional” white woman Christmas movie. I am so excited to see what Hallmark has planned for the future. Watching more of these diverse movies shows the channel that, yes, we do want to see more of this.

Our Christmas Journey | 2021 Christmas Movies

Our Christmas Journey really shouldn’t be a Christmas movie. It should stand on its own without having to battle against all of the romantic Christmas movies. Especially since Christmas doesn’t play a huge part in it anyway.

Lena (Holly Robinson Peete) is a single mom trying to raise an autistic son, Marcus (Nik Sanchez), and a talented pianist daughter, Mia (Hilda Martin). When the family, along with her mother - Robin (Aloma Wright), and her ex-husband - Rick (Lyriq Bent), goes to check out a facility where Marcus can learn to live independently. Lena has a difficult time letting Marcus leave the nest, much to the aggravation of Rick. Can Lena learn to let go?

This really was a sweet movie. I’m a little sad that it got stuck in the middle of all of the other Hallmark Christmas movies. (This was on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, which doesn’t get as much traffic as the Hallmark Channel itself.) It highlighted the difficulties a mother goes through when she has a child who is different from other children. Lena wants to protect Marcus from all of the harm in the world but at what cost to Marcus? He will need to learn how to live on his own. It can be difficult to let your child do things that you know might hurt them, even though it will help them in the long run.

I don’t want to talk about the movie too much because I do think that everyone should watch it. Maybe even watch it with a loved one. And you might want to make sure you have a box of tissues nearby. Just in case….

Christmas in Evergreen: Bells are Ringing | 2020 Christmas Movies

Last year, I watched Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy. That was the third movie in Hallmark’s Christmas in Evergreen series. This year, we get the fourth movie - Christmas in Evergreen: Bells are Ringing.

While Michelle (Holly Robinson Peete) is getting ready for her wedding, Hannah (Rukiya Bernard) takes over getting the new Evergreen Christmas museum ready to open. Meanwhile, Hannah’s boyfriend, Elliot (Antonio Cayonne), is planning to open a Boston flagship store for his tinker shop.

Like A Christmas Tree Grows in Colorado, Bells are Ringing also features a main cast filled with people of color. The cast is also filled with people from the previous Evergreen movies. From what I can tell, there are only three new characters. (Well, the writers did mess up some of the names of the old characters. You would think they would re-watch the old movies so they could remember what they did. I didn’t count those as new characters.) I am glad that the twin sisters got more action this time around. They are adorable!

Despite liking the characters and the interactions between them, Bells are Ringing was lacking consistency. There was a great idea hidden in the plot but the story kept getting sidetracked. Sometimes it was by snowball fights and candy canes in hot chocolate, sometimes it was a conflict that only got resolved with an “oh well!” For example, Michelle’s fiancé is stuck in Maine due to a snowstorm and won’t make it to Evergreen (in Vermont) for the wedding. Most movies would have Michelle melt down. Instead, she just shrugs it off saying that she can stop planning now and they’ll just get married in July. She doesn’t cry, she doesn’t try on the dress one last time before giving in…it seems like she never actually planned the wedding. We don’t see any signs of a wedding - no invitations, no dresses, no flowers. It was weird.

Is this movie worth watching? I would say it is. It’s not a great movie but it does have some cute moments. The Cooper twins (Jacqueline Robbins and Joyce Robbins) are my favorite part. They are almost like the town Christmas elves. I think the movie is worth watching just for them.

The Christmas Doctor | 2020 Christmas Movies

Hallmark couldn’t possibly be happy with only one channel showing Christmas movies way too early. They had to have their second channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, get in the game. Everyone else probably already knew this but, man, how many movies can Hallmark really put out in one year? Well, the first movie of the year that I have watched from Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is The Christmas Doctor. Why can’t anyone give these movies good titles?

The Christmas Doctor focuses on Dr. Zoey Garner (Holly Robinson Peete), a traveling doctor who doesn’t stay in the same place long. She gets an assignment for Willow Brook, NY. The local doctor is having shoulder surgery and will be out for two weeks. But Dr. Zoey isn’t used to sticking around for that long.

Sadly, I don’t have a lot to say about The Christmas Doctor. It was a little boring but otherwise perfectly fine. There was this weird little backstory about Dr. Zoey being a former military doctor that didn’t really have a lot to do with the plot besides being the reason Dr. Ray chose her to substitute for him.

I think maybe the movie was so boring because there wasn’t any conflict. Zoey’s sister, Debra (Nicole Anthony) is upset that Zoey never spends Christmas with her. Luke (Adrian Holmes), the love interest, is upset when Zoey tells Dr. Ray (Fred Henderson) that she is leaving town when her gig is up. All of the conflicts are literally things that people knew about beforehand. Debra knows that her sister is a traveling doctor who fills in at various hospitals when needed. How can you really be upset about a doctor having to work on Christmas? And Luke? He knew that Zoey was only in town for 14 days. Why is he upset that she’s not ditching her career to stay in a tiny little town with someone she barely knows? All of this gets resolved, of course. That doesn’t make the fact that they are stupid conflicts any better.

So, I guess watch it if you have nothing else to do? Turn it on for some background noise? I’m not saying don’t watch it but I’m sure you have a better way to spend two hours.