CHRISTMAS SHORT TAKES

CHRISTMAS ABOVE THE CLOUDS (2025)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens remains in print and popular after 180 years, and is adapted every year in books, on TV, and in movies. One reason for its popularity is that everyone knows the basic story and we find it fun to see how the adapters will adjust bits of the story and characters to bring it up to date. This is a solid comedy version with good performances and nice up-to-date changes, though the basics remain: a Scrooge figure, some ghosts, a beleaguered employee, a relative who still has faith in Scrooge, and the sickly Tiny Tim. Here, Scrooge is Ella Neezer, the high-powered head of a successful travel agency who treats her employees like crap, especially her chief assistant Bobbi Cratchit, expecting everyone to work on Christmas Day while she flies first class to Australia for a business meeting. Tiny Tim is single mom Bobbi's son who has life-threatening asthma; the good-natured relative is a sister; Marley is Marlene, Ella’s late mentor. On the flight to Australia, Ella winds up next to her ex-fiancé Jake whom she gave up years ago to focus on her career and discovers that he never quite got over her (as she never quite got over him). The mystical stuff starts when she sees Marlene on her laptop screen; instead of chains, her ghost is burdened by wearing polyester. The three ghosts (a flight attendant, a pilot, and a scary silent man in black) take her through her life to show her how awful she’s been and what she can do for redemption. Erin Krakow does a great job as Ella, both present and past. It took me a little while to warm up to Tyler Hynes (pictured with Krakow), who looks and acts more like a country singer than a typical Hallmark small-town guy, but he's fine and has a nice beefy sexy aura. Erik Gow is fun as Christmas Present, and the movie's director, Peter Benson, is one of the disgruntled employees. There's a fun little reference to It's a Wonderful Life when, in the future, Ella discovers that Jake has become "a lonely librarian!" A very good adaptation that I could see myself rewatching in Christmas Future.

THE SNOW MUST GO ON (2025)

This is the gayest non-gay Christmas movie ever. Its first scene is great fun. Corey Cott (at right) is a former Broadway star trying to make a comeback with a one-man musical called Frost/Blitzen in which he plays a version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It's a flop and his divorced sister suggests he come and stay with her for the holidays. He winds up directing his niece's high school Christmas musical in which he takes the lead role hoping that a big Broadway producer, who is the mother of one of the students, will see him and hire him. His mercenary move is resented by some of the kids and the guidance counselor (Heather Hemmens) who is assisting him, but eventually the Christmas spirit wins out and Cott fixes everything in time to be a hero to everyone. Hallmark's theater plots never ring true but I like that they keep trying. Cott, a musical star in real life, is very good and looks quite adorable in Christmas pajamas which he wears in public insisting that it’s a "sweat set." However, he has zero chemistry with Hemmens—their romantic feelings barely register and they kiss as though it were 2020 and they were filming under Covid lockdown conditions. Kaelyn Yoon-MacRae as the niece is the standout supporting player. Some of the kids get a moment or two in the spotlight but not much more. I don't mean to imply that any romance connected to the Broadway scene should be gay, but Cott is so cutely whimsical that for a while, I assumed the character was gay as his connection with Hemmens has no heat whatsoever. I hope someone remakes this with Jonathan Bennett as the actor and maybe Luke Macfarlane as a hunky guidance counselor. 

MOONLIGHT AND MISTLETOE (2008)

The teenage Holly Crosby works at the family business, an all-year-round Christmas store and inn. A shaggy boy named Peter chats her up; she inspires him to get interested in The Nutcracker, and he leaves her a self-carved wooden necklace, but he's gone before she can thank him. Many years later, Holly (Candace Cameron Bure), who became disenchanted with the holidays, returns to her hometown to care for her father who was injured in a fall. She finds him on crutches and in good hands with his assistant Peter (Christopher Weihl), the same Peter from the first scene, though it takes Holly half the movie to realize that—and she still has that necklace. When Holly learns that her dad is in danger of losing the inn, she meets Ben (Matt Walton), a handsome financial advisor who offers to help her by finding silent partners who will pay off his debts. Too good to be true? Indeed—the fine print of the contract states that the debt must be paid by December 25th. Did I mention that Peter has a side business carving beautiful one-of-a-kind Nutcracker figures? Did I mention that the townsfolk still have warm nostalgic feelings for the place? So despite the title, it's Nutcrackers and nostalgia that might save the day. This is Candace Cameron Bure's first Hallmark Christmas movie; she went on to become the queen of the genre and a Hallmark Channel spokesperson for a time. Here, she’s the typical Hallmark heroine, a big-city gal drawn back to her roots who meets a handsome small-town guy who works with his hands. Weihl is a little quirky-looking and a bit more passive than later Hallmark men of the earth, but he's fine. Tom Arnold is compelling if not always likable, and the likability problem is more about the script than the actor. [All movie are from the Hallmark Channel]