Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel reunites two popular sitcom co-stars for its latest Christmas treat, Holiday Mismatch, and this time the two play adversaries who need to put aside their differences for the good of their children. But are they really doing good? Beth Broderick stars as Barbara Harrison, a recent retiree who is looking for something to keep her busy. She joins her town’s Chamber of Commerce Christmas committee, where she quickly butts heads with the committee chair Kath Stone (Caroline Rhea), whose more loosey-goosey approach to management is decidedly at odds with Barb’s — sorry, Barbara’s by the book work ethic, putting the other two men on the committee stuck in the middle as they adore Kath but find Barbara’s forthrightness refreshing.
Both Kath and Barbara are also busy meddling in the lives of their children. Kath is on a dating app looking for Mr. Right for her daughter Lauren (Maxine Denis), and Barbara is doing the same for her son Shane (Jon McLaren), hoping to find the perfect woman. Each of them finds a match (of course Lauren and Shane are the matches), and their kids reluctantly go on a blind date where they both learn that their mothers have set them up and perhaps they should just pretend date through the holidays to get their moms off their cases. Seems like a plan, and while Shane is busy trying to save — or sell — the community theatre he owns, and Lauren is busy with a new architectural business she’s formed, trying to meet a client’s ridiculous daily demands for the space, the plan was to just tell their moms that they hit it off but are too busy to see each other frequently. But, things keep coming up for which either one of them needs a date. Shane and Lauren begin to feel like maybe they should date for real, and by this time Kath and Barbara find out about the fake dating — or they believe Shane is faking it and will hurt Lauren — and they do what they can to break them up before anyone gets hurt. But will their constant meddling be what hurts the cute couple?
Holiday Mismatch is a fun Hallmark holiday movie mainly because of the inspired casting of longtime pals and Sabrina the Teen-Age Witch co-stars Broderick and Rhea. It’s not often we see them playing characters at odds but they both do a great job of showing disdain for each other … even if deep down they do respect one another and just may be able to learn a bit about themselves as they move forward. And, yes, the writers did manage to sneak in two references to ‘magic’ and ‘witch’, and the stars played the lines straightforward without winking at the audience but they will surely give those in the know a little smile. Both actors perfectly embody their characters, which made it even more fun when the two had to pretend to be getting along when they thought Shane and Lauren were really dating, even going so far as to playing some Christmas karaoke. It’s always a delight to see these two in action.
Hallmark Channel
Jon McLaren is perfect as Shane, but interestingly he is the complete opposite of his mother. Shane is the free-spirit, the artist who puts his acting and his theatre before anything else. He also realizes he is fighting a losing battle with the bills and repairs needed to keep the place open but … he’s just not ready to give up that easily. McLaren just makes Shane feel authentic and through his performance you can see he is falling for Lauren and we desperately don’t want him to get hurt if she doesn’t feel the same way about him. Maxine Denis does a good job as Lauren, who like Shane is the very opposite of her mother, more focused and driven to get every little detail just right. She makes Lauren a tough nut to crack for Shane, and she ends up surprising her mother and herself when she ventures out of her comfort zone for Shane (like when he pulls her on stage for a bit of improv, which Barbara and Kath thought for sure would be another nail in the fake relationship). Both actors do a great job of showing us the characters are falling for each other even before they realize it.
The fine supporting cast includes Bruce Dinsmore as Mark Harrison, Christopher Hayes as Aidan Harrison (Shane’s brother), Rebecca Croll as Yolanda (Kath’s ‘boss’), Amanda Ip as Danielle (Lauren’t business partner), and Rodrigues A. Williams and David Pryde as the two male committee members, one of whom freaks out under the pressure of playing Santa, with Kath and Barbara actually pulling together to talk him down from quitting altogether. The script by Sarah Wise captures the holiday spirit and makes the characters feel like real people, and the direction by Caroline Labrèche keeps the story moving forward logically.
Holiday Mismatch is a delightful holiday tale told without any time jumping plot devices, with a perfect cast of actors, good writing and directing, and some lovely production design of the idealized small town America that just fills the viewer with the Christmas spirit. The romance is fun to watch develop, but it’s even more wonderful to see Broderick and Rhea back on screen together. Definitely one to watch this holiday season.
Holiday Mismatch has a run time of 1 hour 24 minutes, and is rated TV-G. The film is streaming on Hallmark+.
Preview – Holiday Mismatch
Hallmark Channel
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