Hallmark Channel
Hallmark pulled a fast one on is this week by passing off a previously Hallmark Movies Now (now rebranded Hallmark+) ‘Christmas in July’ movie as a Hallmark Channel ‘Countdown to Christmas’ movie. Unfortunately, this one is a bit convoluted and less light-hearted than we usually get from Hallmark.
Operation Nutcracker stars Ashley Newbrough as Lottie, an event planner in Massachusetts who has a last minute opportunity to apply for the event coordinator position for the annual Warby family fundraiser in Boston, Lottie’s hometown. Her boss Hilary (well, hello again, Patrice Goodman in a cameo that probably happened while she was filming Twas the Date Before Christmas?) assures her that if she gets the job and does a good job, Lottie will be heading up her company’s new headquarters in Boston, so she gets to move home as a bonus. But does she want to move home? Lottie left after her mom died and her dad basically plunged himself into his work at a 24-hour diner he owns, so their relationship suffered, making Lottie feel like he didn’t want her around because she made him think of his wife. Returning to Boston could be complicated.
On the way to Boston, she ‘meets cute’ Tristan (Christopher Russell), an overly generous and out-going man who gives children in the airport candy (really!), and his chance meetings with Lottie continue in Boston as they grab their luggage — and they have the same identical piece so you can guess what happens. There is also a third identical piece retrieved by another man who we later learn is named Dave, and his and Tristan’s luggage both have some very precious cargo. Dave’s has a doll for his daughter that she wants for Christmas. Tristan’s has a priceless antique nutcracker that will be auctioned off at the Warby charity event. Oh, did I mention Tristan’s last name is Warby? Lottie learns this when he opens the door at the mansion, a bit miffed that he never revealed who he was after she told him that she was there for a job, but he did offer her some advice on how to get the job. Lottie took his advice and was hired on the spot, but when she asked to see the nutcracker for which her event was the focus, it was not in Tristan’s suitcase. It also was not in Lottie’s suitcase, but Dave did find it in his. Dave’s daughter was to dance in a local production of The Nutcracker but was too ill to participate, ending up in the hospital, and without the doll he thought he had, her father gave her the priceless nutcracker instead. Hilarity does not ensue.
Tristan and Lottie race around Boston for days trying to track down the nutcracker — and as far as we know Lottie has zero staff to help with the event but somehow manages to pull it all together BY HERSELF, while spending time with Tristan looking for the nutcracker — but as the big day approaches, the treasure is nowhere to be found, causing Mrs. Warby to fire Lottie — the day before the event, mind you — and have words with her son, causing Lottie to storm off knowing all he’d get was a slap on the wrist while her career goes down the tubes. And spending the extra time with her father hasn’t helped their relationship until he gives her a pep talk about not giving up and … it would be nice if she did come back to Boston. But can she find the prize and save the day?
This was a different kind of Christmas movie for Hallmark as it focused more on the daddy issues of the three main characters than it did any romance (of course there is obviously something brewing between Lottie and Tristan). Lottie feels like her father doesn’t want her there as a reminder of his late wife so he avoids her by working all the time, making excuses that the diner is short-staffed because of the holidays. Tristan pretty much ran away from home, in a manner of speaking, just traveling the world to deal with the loss of his father even though both his mother and sister want him there, with him in line to take over the charity when his mother steps down. Dave is the daddy issue, a workaholic who is upset about not having the gift his little girl wants, blind to the fact that all she wants is for him to be home and working less often. Of course, this being a Hallmark holiday movie, there is some Christmas magic at work to help all of them see their value to their families, allowing them to make changes in their lives to be more present. It’s a different kind of storytelling for a Hallmark movie but it’s a bit of a downer too. Then there is the goofiness of Lottie and Tristan on their treasure hunt to find Dave. The situation could have easily been rectified through the airline’s lost and found if they all reported having the wrong bag, but the airline employee they all talk to is of little help, with Cassie Cao seemingly acting in a completely different movie with her portrayal of Rhonda.
What does work here is the cast. Ashley Newbrough is a delight as Lottie, and her interactions with Tristan and his mother feel natural. She also makes his feel her heartache every time she tries to connect with her father and he seems to shut her down. She keeps Lottie’s relationship with Tristan professional, but gives us just enough with her expressions when she looks at him that tells us love is in the air. Christopher Russell doesn’t feel like the typical Hallmark leading man, and that’s a good thing. He’s not cut from the same cloth as the other lead actors, a little more rough around the edges and ruggedly handsome. He has the look of a world traveler, and he thankfully loses the obviously glued on beard early enough in the movie that we don’t hold it against him. What really sets Tristan apart from the others is that it’s he who is pursuing Lottie, totally wearing his heart on his sleeve, willing to throw himself on the sword over the loss of the nutcracker (rightly so) to keep Lottie out of his mother’s line of fire. Tristan could have just been another wealthy dude charmed by someone of a lower class, but Russell makes him utterly charming, someone we’re rooting for to get the girl.
Darryl Hinds is fine in his limited appearances as Dave, Ann Pirvu offers Russell some good support as Tristan’s sister, and Jennifer Dale manages to make Mrs. Warby not a caricature, although the way she turns on Lottie does almost put her in villain territory (and it’s crazy that she would fire the event coordinator the day before the event — just give her a bad review when the event is over because who else was going to set everything up?).
Operation Nutcracker has the usual Hallmark quality but the story just lets it all down. The tone is uneven, and it just doesn’t feel like Christmas. The cast, however, elevates the material and it is they who make the film worth watching.
Operation Nutcracker 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 and Hallmark+.
Hallmark Channel
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