THIS MOVIE MAKES NO SENSE. I swear Lifetime has just given up on Christmas movies. They put them out because they “have” to but they don’t want to.
Hayley (Jessica Lowndes) is spending Christmas with her sister, Amy (Vanessa Sears), and Amy’s in-laws. Unfortunately, Haley blames Amy’s brother-in-law, Paul (Chad Michael Murray), for the breakup of her last relationship. When Amy’s mother-in-law, Judy (Seana McKenna), falls ill and Paul’s Christmas trip falls through, it’s up to Amy and Paul to fulfill Judy’s wishes for the perfect Christmas.
I am so annoyed by Too Close For Christmas. I have no idea what Hayley does for a living. It seems like she plans something. Parties? Events? I’m not sure. I just know she constantly calls her boss to bug her about a possible promotion. There’s a running gag about Hayley not getting good phone reception at the Barnett house.
Then there’s this wanna-be-tension between Hayley and Paul. Apparently, at Amy and Tim’s wedding, Paul made a comment about Hayley’s then-boyfriend moving back to London without her AND IT HAPPENED. (Big gasp here?) So now Hayley blames Paul for it? It doesn’t seem like it was his fault. He may have been rude (they don’t actually show the interaction; Hayley just talks about it) but he didn’t make the guy decide to move across the ocean without his girlfriend. The movie tries very hard to make this the conflict between the two characters. IT IS DUMB.
Everything else feels so forced. There’s a charity gala that has to be planned and it ends up being left to Hayley and Paul. For some reason, Hayley decides to have a local barbecue place cater the event. Sure, ribs might be tasty but I’m not sure who wants to eat them at a gala, where they are wearing fancy clothes with perfect hair and makeup. I get that they wanted to come off as ‘down to earth’ and ‘relatable.’ But ribs are a messy food. Not something you eat at a fancy party.
I don’t like this movie at all. It has a 6/10 rating on imdb so I guess someone out there likes it. However, I can’t - in good conscience - recommend it. If you want to watch Too Close For Christmas, do it at your own peril.