Martha Stewart, oops, I mean Julia Wise is a lifestyle maven who runs her empire from Los Angeles but returns home to Vermont every December to make a Christmas TV special. Her trusted assistant Maggie has a big idea: do the Christmas Eve show live. Julia's nervous about it; Maggie assures her she'll have a teleprompter so she won't have to memorize anything, but Julia still insists on getting some extra help from her son Danny who has produced shows for her in the past. Maggie steels herself to resent the help, but Danny turns out to be handsome and charming, and actually has a pretty good idea for the show: the two of them will travel from L.A to Vermont and film short human interest stories to insert into the live show. Along the way, Maggie gets the idea to reunite Danny with his two brothers as a surprise for Julia. But this proves tricky as there is some simmering resentment in both Derek, worker at a ski resort, and David, owner of a small but thriving pet shop, at the fact that Danny's job producing seemed to anoint him as Mom's favorite, or something like that. This resentment, other obligations, and an approaching blizzard all threaten to derail Maggie's plan, but since this is a Hallmark Christmas movie, we know that all these obstacles will be overcome on the way to a happy ending.
Or will they? I actually had my doubts for a while because, while the basic Hallmark template is intact (busy businesswoman meets cute with down-to-earth guy—Danny is now a nature documentary maker—who helps her solve all her problems with a kiss on Christmas Eve), there are a couple of interesting differences in this one. For one, Derek (Cardi Wong) is Asian—it turns out that all three brothers are adopted. It's not unusual in a Hallmark Christmas movie for the heroine to have a non-white sidekick, but Derek's role is a little more substantive than usual. Even more interesting, David (Jeff Gonek, at right) is gay; it doesn't take much reading between the lines to see that his relationship with pet shop co-owner Bradley is more than just a business one. Plus, Bradley has a theater degree (!) and near the end, David breaks out in a theatrical impression of James Stewart as George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life. Though some viewers might miss these cues, for those of us who catch them, there is a added degree of fun. I found Jessy Schram to be rather ho-hum as Maggie, but Chad Michael Murray (above left), slightly higher in star power than usual for a Hallmark non-Hall of Fame movie, is delightful as the sly and patient Danny. Though the set-up with the brothers is nicely done—I could see them starring in their own Hallmark series called The Three Wise Men—the writing is generally weak with lots of plotholes and awkwardly delivered exposition. There's a mini-meltdown scene when Maggie finds out that Danny isn't planning to stay on with Mom's production company, but we were never clued in by anyone or anything that he might stay on. Still, the brothers made this one worth sticking with. (Hallmark)
Martha Stewart, oops, I mean Julia Wise is a lifestyle maven who runs her empire from Los Angeles but returns home to Vermont every December to make a Christmas TV special. Her trusted assistant Maggie has a big idea: do the Christmas Eve show live. Julia's nervous about it; Maggie assures her she'll have a teleprompter so she won't have to memorize anything, but Julia still insists on getting some extra help from her son Danny who has produced shows for her in the past. Maggie steels herself to resent the help, but Danny turns out to be handsome and charming, and actually has a pretty good idea for the show: the two of them will travel from L.A to Vermont and film short human interest stories to insert into the live show. Along the way, Maggie gets the idea to reunite Danny with his two brothers as a surprise for Julia. But this proves tricky as there is some simmering resentment in both Derek, worker at a ski resort, and David, owner of a small but thriving pet shop, at the fact that Danny's job producing seemed to anoint him as Mom's favorite, or something like that. This resentment, other obligations, and an approaching blizzard all threaten to derail Maggie's plan, but since this is a Hallmark Christmas movie, we know that all these obstacles will be overcome on the way to a happy ending.
Or will they? I actually had my doubts for a while because, while the basic Hallmark template is intact (busy businesswoman meets cute with down-to-earth guy—Danny is now a nature documentary maker—who helps her solve all her problems with a kiss on Christmas Eve), there are a couple of interesting differences in this one. For one, Derek (Cardi Wong) is Asian—it turns out that all three brothers are adopted. It's not unusual in a Hallmark Christmas movie for the heroine to have a non-white sidekick, but Derek's role is a little more substantive than usual. Even more interesting, David (Jeff Gonek, at right) is gay; it doesn't take much reading between the lines to see that his relationship with pet shop co-owner Bradley is more than just a business one. Plus, Bradley has a theater degree (!) and near the end, David breaks out in a theatrical impression of James Stewart as George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life. Though some viewers might miss these cues, for those of us who catch them, there is a added degree of fun. I found Jessy Schram to be rather ho-hum as Maggie, but Chad Michael Murray (above left), slightly higher in star power than usual for a Hallmark non-Hall of Fame movie, is delightful as the sly and patient Danny. Though the set-up with the brothers is nicely done—I could see them starring in their own Hallmark series called The Three Wise Men—the writing is generally weak with lots of plotholes and awkwardly delivered exposition. There's a mini-meltdown scene when Maggie finds out that Danny isn't planning to stay on with Mom's production company, but we were never clued in by anyone or anything that he might stay on. Still, the brothers made this one worth sticking with. (Hallmark)
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