• Home
  • Blog
  • Archive
  • Contact
  • About
Menu

Cassandra Morgan

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number

Your Custom Text Here

Cassandra Morgan

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Archive
  • Contact
  • About

All I Need For Christmas | 2024 Christmas Movies

December 16, 2024 Cassandra Morgan

The title for All I Need For Christmas reminds me of those Blake Shelton Time For Christmas movies. Thankfully, this is not in that series. So let’s see what it is.

Maggie (Mallory Jansen) is a singer/songwriter who is having trouble getting her career off the ground, blaming technology for making all music sound the same. After her touring gig has been cancelled, she returns to her family’s Christmas tree farm for the holiday. There she meets Archer (Dan Jeannotte), a man with family troubles whose tech company is about to launch two new apps for musicians. Maybe the two of them can help each other in more ways than they originally thought.

When I turned this movie on, I didn’t think I would like it. Boy, was I surprised. In these sort of movies, one of the main characters is usually kinda terrible and they get turned around by the others. On the contrary, both of these people are fairly nice. Sure, Maggie is a little mean to Archer at the beginning when she finds out he runs a tech company but she quickly learns that she was wrong and actually apologizes to him. TWICE! And Archer tries everything he can to stay a normal, even-keeled person, even when his sister, Piper (Emily Tennant), tries to push his buttons.

Despite All I Need For Christmas airing on the subpar Hallmark Mystery channel, I do recommend watching it. It has the perfect synergy between cheesy, saccharine, and conflict. I think this is one that almost anyone would enjoy.

Rating: Can I pet them pigs?

In Christmas movies Tags Hallmark, Hallmark Mystery, All I Need For Christmas, Mallory Jansen, Dan Jeannotte, Emily Tennant, Azriel Dalman, Kate Whiddington, Veronica Long, Jaime M. Callica, Mike Dopud, Iris Quinn, Christmas 2024, Christmas movie
Comment

A Very Merry Bridesmaid | 2021 Christmas Movies

December 11, 2021 Cassandra Morgan

A Very Merry Bridesmaid is what happens when Hallmark wants to make a bridezilla movie but doesn’t want to make the bride too controversial. And the bride isn’t even the main character! Hear me out….

Leah (Emily Osment) is turning 30 on Christmas Eve. Her older brother, Paul (Patch May), is also getting married on Christmas Eve. Determined to make sure the wedding is perfect, Leah downplays how important her 30th birthday is to her. But Drew (Casey Deidrick), her childhood crush, insists on celebrating her birthday every day leading up to the wedding. Will Leah’s dreams ever be a reality or will she keep putting everyone else before herself?

Let’s get the bride thing out of the way first. Paul is engaged to Julia (Frances Leigh). Julia wants to have the perfect wedding that she has dreamed of since she was a child. This includes buying a wedding dress from a designer in London and traveling overseas multiple times for fittings. She also wants to get married at the house she grew up in but it was purchased by someone else so she’s settling for Paul’s parents’ house. When the movie begins, Paul and Julia are flying back from London. He had a work conference, she was picking up the wedding dress. For some reason, the airline made Julia check the dress bag then they promptly lost the dress. Julia spends the next half of the movie complaining about not having the perfect dress and refusing all of the “backup” dresses until Leah’s stylist friend suggests an alternative.

As for the house, the sale from the buyers fell through so Paul decided to buy the house without telling Julia. (This isn’t the first movie this season that did this. It is terrible. Stop doing this, Hallmark.) Then Paul makes all of his groomsmen work on the house, including building a gazebo in the middle of winter in a Chicago suburb. On the plus side, when Paul finally tells Julia about the house, she is horrified at first. She eventually gives in and is happy she got her house back but, really, buying houses without talking to your significant other first is awful. Don’t do it. Also, don’t have a wedding in Chicago in December then have the reception OUTSIDE. It is cold. They are lucky no one died.

Oh, and the reason Julia wants these things? Because her deceased mother liked them. The dress was made by her mom’s favorite designer. The house is where Julia grew up with them. They are having the wedding on Christmas Eve because her mother loved Christmas Eve. Julia’s entire personality is “I can’t let go of the past.” Maybe be a little more reasonable and pick things that YOU like.

The worst part is that neither Paul nor Julia are the main characters of A Very Merry Bridesmaid. Leah is! And Leah has a legit gripe here, even though she never complains once about it. Christmas Eve is her birthday. She didn’t have a choice on when she was born. But now her brother is getting married on her birthday. And we don’t see anything about Paul pushing back on Julia for any of her wedding wants. As a matter of fact, Paul says “I would do anything for Julia to make her happy.” There should have maybe been a conversation saying “Could we pick a day that isn’t my sister’s 30th birthday? Maybe we can get married next year instead.”

For what it’s worth, the movie isn’t completely awful. Emily Osment is a joy to watch, even though her character needs to stand up for herself a little more. We do see her grow a little throughout the movie but we still don’t see her defending herself. She just goes outside her comfort zone a bit. Maybe we can get a sequel next year where she is a little more confident.

Is it worth watching? Yeah. It’s not amazing but it is worth a quiet night in. Maybe have a bottle of wine nearby in case Julia gets on your nerves.

In Christmas movies Tags Hallmark, Hallmark Channel, Christmas 2021, Christmas movie, A Very Merry Bridesmaid, Emily Osment, Casey Deidrick, Frances Leigh, Tanja Dixon-Warren, Mike Dopud, Patch May, Parmiss Sehat
Comment

Subscribe

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

We respect your privacy.

Thank you!
Archive
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • October 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007