IF I ONLY HAD CHRISTMAS (2020)

Darcy Gale works for Gumm Public Relations in Kansas City and discovers at an office Christmas party that has lost out on a big award she was sure was hers. When she hears that Austin Inc., a big Manhattan firm, is in PR trouble, she has a plan. The late founder's son, William Austin, has spent years out of the public eye and the company seems to be foundering under him and Winona West, the public face of Austin. Darcy thinks she can help straighten things out by either getting Austin to come out of hiding or by making news of the company's massive charitable contributions to the Emerald Educational Trust. Her first meeting with Austin high-level exec guy Glen Goodman is a mistaken identity meet-cute, but they do hit it off nicely and when she proposes to make her campaign pro bono work to help win her agency Austin as a client, he agrees to let her. Her plan to highlight the children's charity at Christmastime is almost derailed by Bridget Tinsley, who is concerned that the trust will be seen as being exploitative of the children. Darcy's two other contacts at Emerald are Jackie Crow (who has lots of ideas but comes off as a little ditzy) and Riley Lyons (a young man who loves dancing but a fear of public performance). Slowly, it looks like everything will come together, but will West and Austin himself derail the PR campaign? 

It took me a little while to figure things out, but what makes this stand out from other Hallmark Christmas movies is that it’s inspired by The Wizard of Oz, the MGM movie more so than the novel. Once you start looking, the references are plentiful. Darcy Gale from Kansas City = Dorothy Gale from Kansas; Gumm was Judy Garland's real last name; Winona West is, of course, the Wicked Witch of the West (though she's not really wicked); Tinsley is the Tin Man (too much heart to want to exploit the kids), Lyons is cowardly (of course he finds his courage eventually), and Crow is the Scarecrow (seems to have no brain but is really the smartest of all). It isn't a spoiler to note that Goodman is the Wizard of Oz (a very good man but a very bad wizard); he's actually William Austin (the Wizard of Austin) who has been hiding all these years. I had that figured out even before I caught on to the Oz details. Also, Darcy's brothers back home are Zack and Huck (Zeke and Hunk in the movie); her dad is Henry and her stepmom is Emma. Once you start playing the game, it's hard to stop, but I’ll refrain from listing more similarities and even direct quotations involving curtains and lions and tigers and flying monkeys. However, my favorite reference occurs when Darcy arrives at the Emerald Trust and wonders out loud which way she should go to find Goodman. Jackie Crow, her head hidden momentarily behind a computer monitor, says something along the lines of, "Some people go this way and some go that way"—I laughed out loud at that Scarecrow reference. And of course, the title refers to the song Dorothy and her pals sing along the Yellow Brick Road.

On a strictly "Hallmark Christmas movie" level, this is about par for the course. We're in good hands with the two leads, Candace Cameron Bure and Warren Christie (pictured) who are old pros. Of the other actors, no one really stands out except maybe Jordana Largy who is quite personable as Crow, but they're all OK. The usual predictable plot turns and plot holes are in place but there's nothing egregiously off about the narrative. As a novelty, this is quite enjoyable. I can imagine a drinking game—take a drink every time you recognize an Oz reference—that would leave you with quite a hangover the next morning. I can't resist pointing out one more scene that made me chuckle: when Darcy and the three Emerald Trust workers go hoping to meet Mr. Austin, we get a shot of them from behind, walking down a long, intimidating corridor, and Riley decides he should just stay behind. I feel like a lot of Oz love went into this and I can respect that, even if it has little to do with the actual story. [Hallmark]