Hallmark Channel
If you’re a fan of Disney movies, you may have noticed that a lot of the storylines are influenced by the death of one parent, sometimes both (Bambi, Frozen). If you’ve watched any Hallmark ‘Countdown to Christmas’ movies lately you may have noticed the same plot point where the lead female character has left home and doesn’t want to return because of the memories of their parent(s). It was a plot point in Hallmark Mystery’s Christmas Under the Lights and Hallmark Channel’s Debbie Macomber’s Joyful Mrs. Miracle, just to name the most recent one. Deck the Walls also includes this element as a plot device.
Rose Demonte (Ashley Greene) is a successful interior designer (not interior decorator … similar but not the same) who has a history of running away from things she can’t deal with emotionally earning her the nickname ‘Runaway Rosie’. Her brother Sal (Danny Pellegrino) is in the home renovation business in their home town, and has taken on a worthy project for the city — the renovation of a home for a well-known family in need (also dealing with the loss of a parent/spouse). He and his business partner Brysen (Wes Brown) are tasked with re-doing an entire house in just two weeks, needing it to be completed by Christmas Eve. There’s one catch: the mayor (Mia Marina) has had to divert the funds from their project, which came from a mystery benefactor, into fixing a mold issue at City Hall. It’s bad enough the job is only being handled by the two of them — yes, they have no crew — and now they have no money. So Sal puts in a call to Rose to beg for help even though, again, she is not an interior decorator. Rose, however, refuses to return home because of … her dead parents. Also making her resistant is the fact that Sal works with Brysen, a man she has a past with, and it’s not a good one. But she gives in and shows up to surprise Sal … and immediately butt heads with Brysen (when she accidentally flings the coffer shop door open causing him to dump hot chocolate all over himself — this would be a ‘meet cute’ in any other movie).
While Rose has to deal with her nemesis (and her feelings, not to mention the appearance of Brysen’s ex Bianca), Sal finds he has a nemesis on the horizon as well — Denver journalist Jake Hunter (Claybourne Elder) with whom Sal attended school in their small Colorado town, and whom bullied Sal for being gay (at least that’s the way Sal sees it). Trying to keep the peace is Aunt Gigi (Carolyn Hennesy), who can see that the sparks between Rose and Brysen are more likely romantic rather than adversarial. She can also see that Jake may not be as bad as Sal thinks. As everyone spends more time on their personal issues than actually working on the house, disaster hits when a tree branch breaks under the weight of some light, powdery snow and crashes through the roof of the house, adding more expense to the project that is supposed to be just days away from completion for a live reveal on TV, courtesy of Jake. Another mystery benefactor steps up to cover the costs, but will there be enough time to complete the project, and will Rose & Brysen and Sal & Jake be able to put their issues to rest?
Hallmark Channel
Deck the Walls has a lot going on, mixing the humor with the drama and the holiday spirit, also offering one ‘surprise’ that you may see coming as the story moves forward (and it’s also one that’s sure to be controversial for some Hallmark viewers), but it’s also handled very well and plays out very authentically. One plot device writers employ, though, is a tired cliché in which Rose discovers that Bianca is hoping to get back together with her ex, unaware that she’s referring to the ex-finace she had just broken up with (after announcing the engagement to Brysen). Rose, of course, is made to live up to her nickname and runs away — luckily she completed the project — without even having a conversation with Brysen, but of course finds out she misunderstood the situation and has to run back to profess her feelings. That plot device has been over-used by this point in time and needs to be retired. Writers, let you adult characters have adult conversations.
The cast all do a good job with their characters. Greene and Brown convincingly butt heads and handle the digs they deliver to each other well, while making their feelings for each other develop naturally (well, Rose always had a crush on Brysen so she finally gets to release her repressed feelings). Pellegrino does not hide who Sal is. He is definitely not in the closet. He’s sometimes a bit loud and dramatic and over-the-top, but he also gets some nice moments with Rose, Aunt Gigi and even Jake, especially when he learns about something his parents did for Jake’s family when they were kids which led to the bullying, but changes his whole perspective of Jake. Elder also does a nice job of not making Jake the villain. He arrives in town a bit haughty, but as he spends time following Sal while covering the work on the house, everything takes on a more personal connection for him and his attitude changes. And when he reveals the truth about everything, it all feels really authentic, so great job by the actors and the writers with this part of the story. Hennesy is also wonderful as Aunt Gigi, a woman who has more knowledge about the town and the people around her than anyone realizes. She has many layers and she makes Gigi the aunt we all wish we had.
The only place where the story comes up short is in the whole home renovation storyline. Sal and Brysen are basically working with a blank canvas, no time and no money, and they spend very little time actually working on the house. At one point Rose and Brysen go to pick out a Christmas tree to give the place more holiday spirit and get a second to deliver to the family getting the new house at their old house so they can have some feeling of Christmas while they wait for the new house to be completed. Then they spend hours helping them decorate the tree. Instead of working on the new house, leaving Sal to do it all by himself while the clock ticks. Also the influx of extra money comes at such a late time in the project but it miraculously gets the project completed … still without the appearance of a crew. We just have to accept the miracle of Christmas got the place done, I guess. Oh, and the egregious product placement in this one is so over-the-top. The plugs for Home Goods and Nutella are less than subtle. In one scene there are no less than three jars of Nutella on the counter, labels facing the camera. It’s crazy. Other than that, Deck the Walls is a mild diversion from the holiday hubbub, and may give you a craving for chocolaty hazelnut spread.
Deck the Walls 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 – Deck the Walls
Hallmark Channel
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