Hallmark Channel
Hallmark’s latest Christmas flick puts young love to the test, posing the question — is three months into a relationship too soon to even consider tying the knot? Celeste Palmer’s father sure thinks so, and he’s determined to prove to the young couple that he is right.
To Have and To Holiday begins with Celeste in New York City, attempting to get a job with a major fashion house but to no avail, her temp job there coming to an end, leaving her with no job and no place to live (apparently?). She seems to have a place to live though since her boyfriend has the most fabulous apartment in the city, two floors, wide open spaces, giant windows and a great view. She could probably live there and they’d never cross paths it’s so big. But she’s there to bid him adieu for the holiday as she is heading home to visit her parents in Maine and he’s … going to be all alone in the city because his parents are away. He helps cram one hour of Christmas into their schedule before she has to leave and then … announces he really wants to go home with her for the holiday. Celeste is thrilled, and she’s certain her parents will love Jason as much as she does.
Back home, Pastor Mark is thrilled that his baby is coming home, hopefully for good since he believes she has nothing in New York. He’s even invited her ex, Dean, to join them for dinner because he doesn’t even know why the lovebirds broke up. Mark’s wife Judith also happens to be the town’s mayor, and when she isn’t throwing code violations at Mark for the holiday nutcrackers in town being a foot over code she’s excitedly preparing for Celeste’s return. They are both in for a shock when they open the door and see Celeste and Jason, and things get even more awkward when Dean shows up as well (he graciously bows out). Talk around the dinner table turns to a ‘lightning round’ with Mark quizzing Jason to see if he’s up to snuff — angering Judith and annoying Celeste — and things go from bad to worse when Celeste talks about wanting to be married by her dad in his church … but the church is going to need renovations after the new year and it won’t look the same by the time they’re done. Seeing her heart is set on that location, Jason decides to pop the question, surprising Celeste, making Judith giddy and nearly causing Mark to fall out of his chair. The only way he will allow his daughter and this ‘stranger’ to marry is if they can pass his ‘pre-marriage bootcamp’, several days of tests to see if the couple is really compatible. Celeste’s friends Tracy and Tim hold the record for the best time and are currently expecting a baby at any minute. They challenge the new couple to beat their time, and if they don’t — or if they completely bomb — they will have to do something embarrassing in public at Tim and Tracy’s whim. Game on. But Pastor Mark seems to be rigging the test to make them fail, and Judith is letting it be known that she’s not okay with that. Mark is so focused on screwing with the couple that he forgets very important business for the town’s Christmas festival, including the lights for the tree, and after Jason calls ‘his lights guy’, the tree is lit in time but Mark is more resentful than ever instead of being grateful that Jason stepped up. With more ire from Judith, Mark finally calls a truce with Jason and gets to know the young man. Could his icy walls be thawing toward this marriage? Everything is thrown into turmoil when part of the church roof collapses — thanks to Mark’s focus on the couple — and Celeste gets a surprise job offer from the fashion designer she wanted to work with. Now Mark fears he will lose Celeste forever if she returns to the city with Jason, and Celeste fears her Christmas Eve wedding plans have collapsed with the church roof. Will there be a happy ending for the couple and their families?
To Have and To Holiday is one of the more charming Hallmark Christmas movies thanks to its wonderful cast, but it’s also written so well by Grant Levy and Dominik Rothbard, and directed by Stacey N. Harding, that it all feels totally authentic. There’s no whimsy here, no escapism, it feels set firmly in the real world. Even the small town feels more like a real town than a set somewhere. Also driving the feeling of authenticity is the way the characters are written. We aren’t given too much information about Jason and his family and how he (or his parents) can afford that lavish apartment, but Jason still comes off as a real person, particularly when he talks about ‘his guys’, who are actually just his close friends (initially they just seem like business connections he has at his beck and call because of his wealth). Some of the townspeople are a bit quirky, but they add some color, while Judith feels the most real of all with her range of emotions. Her character is probably the most impressive.
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The actors all do remarkable work here. Madeleine Arthur is just spot-on as Celeste. She doesn’t play the character as some idealized young woman with stars in her eyes, the eternal optimist, certain she will get the job of her dreams. Nope, Arthur truly conveys the disappointment when her temp job ends with no prospects in sight. She also shows that she clearly loves Jason and her parents, and is not afraid to get tough with her dad when need be. She also shows that her relationship may not be perfect, but she is willing to work on it. Arthur puts every emotion Celeste is feeling on that screen and it is a wonderful performance. Robert Bazzocchi is also terrific as Jason, clearly in love with Celeste, and knowing he has to impress her father, coming in with confidence but not overly confident, and just a little terrified of Mark. He never plays Jason as too upper crust either. Even with his wealth, Bazzocchi manages to make Jason feel like a real down-to-earth guy that only someone with an agenda could dislike. Bazzocchi’s Jason is a genuinely nice guy and he’s someone anyone would love to have as a friend — or husband, which is why it isn’t so far-fetched when he suddenly pops the question. These two actors make this movie so extremely watchable.
Eric Close is also great as Pastor Mark (and TV trivia nerds — his former Now and Again co-star appeared in Three Wiser Men and a Boy the night before this movie originally aired). His is a tough role to play because he has to be the ‘bad guy’ for most of the movie but he can’t be so unlikable that we want to change the channel. He might seem like The Grinch Who Stole a Marriage, but everything he does is for his daughter’s well-being (even if there is a bit of selfishness on his part to keep her at home with the family). Close then manages to let Pastor Mark thaw out a bit with Jason and then we can see how warm he can be, so there is a real balancing act going on with this performance. Kate Drummong is outstanding as Judith. She is a professional as the town’s mayor, she is a supportive wife (to a point), and she is a loving mother who is excited for her daughter’s impending nuptials and she also stand up for Jason, fully showing her anger at Mark for his behavior. It’s really surprising to see a character so raw with emotion in a Hallmark movie, and everything Drummond does is totally authentic. These two actors offer great support to the leads, with Drummond really outstanding.
Rosie Simon and Reid Price are fun as Tracy and Tim, Karn Kalra as Dean has a nice moment with Arthur, giving Celeste some much needed support when everything looks like it’s falling apart, and Richard Jutras and Allegra Fulton get to have some fun as Jason’s parents — who fly in after finding out their son is getting married (and it isn’t clear but it seems like Celeste may have been the one who sent them the email) — participating in a bit of ‘obnoxious Christmas dinner guests’ as part of Mark’s bootcamp (until it all goes horribly wrong). Nora Sheehan offers some comic relief as quirky Mrs. Widowski.
I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a favorite of the Hallmark ‘Countdown to Christmas’ movies, but after thinking about it and reflecting on the performances and the overall production, this is actually one of the best of the lot simply because it’s the most realistic without being too real that it isn’t enjoyable. It actually is a wonderful holiday treat.
To Have and To Holiday has a run time of 1 hour 24 minutes, and is rated TV-G. The film is available On Demand and is streaming on Peacock.
Preview – To Have and To Holiday
Hallmark Channel
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