Hallmark Channel
Here we are in mid-October, the little ghouls and goblins are still awaiting the special night to knock on doors and load up on sweets. But with Hallmark, the Countdown to Christmas has started with their first new movie of the holiday season, ‘Twas the Date Before Christmas, dropping us right into the holiday spirit.
‘Twas the Date Before Christmas stars Hallmark Channel favorite Amy Groening as Jesse, a young woman who seems to be on the hunt for Mr. Right but can’t find the guy who is more interested in her than he is in anything else in his life. Her friend/sister-in-law Shelly (Patrice Goodman, from Lifetime’s The Killer I Picked Up), urges her not to give up on love but notes she’s still wearing the engagement ring from her former beau Sean, albeit on her other hand. It’s not revealed until later as to why the two never got married. Getting a visit from her mom Laura (Karen Waddell), Jesse learns that the annual ‘Chamberlain Family Christmas Olympics’ is not going to be held this year because it’s too much for old Aunt Lily (Mimi Kuzyk) to organize. Jesse offers to do everything but her mom tries to suggest that it’s time for change and change is good (obviously trying to nudge Jesse along in her search for love and stop hanging on to the past). But Jesse has a surprise — she’s bringing a date to the family Christmas Eve gathering! Thrilled, Laura declares the games are back on. Now Jesse just needs to find a date.
Bryan (Robert Buckley), whose family owns a real estate development company in the city, has also struck out in the love department. He’s also not doing great at work as the company awaits him to decide when he’ll be ready to take over as CEO, following in his dad’s footsteps. But Bryan isn’t a suit-and-tie kind of guy, preferring to be more hands on so he’s not ready to be a businessman. Hanging out with some friends, they decide he needs to find a woman and get on a dating app to help him out. Voila, they find Jesse, whose quirky profile piques Bryan’s interest. He swipes right, she replies and they make a date … to go to the Chamberlain family home as a blind date. Luckily they seem to like each other and when they arrive, Laura immediately embraces Bryan as Jesse’s boyfriend, which Jesse does not correct. Yes, she failed to tell her family that he is her blind date and they just met that morning, but it’s weird enough for him to play along. Things begin to get complicated when the rest of the family arrives. Aunt Lily is in full game mode, and Bryan — or Newbie as she keeps calling him — has won the first two rounds, but when he finds out Shelly owns a candle shop in the city the Christmas spirit is dampened. Bryan’s company is redeveloping the building her shop is in and they are sending her an eviction notice ON CHRISTMAS EVE! As the sham relationship and Bryan’s occupation become exposed, Christmas seems to be ruined and the sparks that were beginning to fly between Jesse and Bryan are quickly extinguished. But are there still some embers glowing? Can Bryan save not just the holiday but Shelly’s candle shop? It’s a Hallmark Christmas movie, what do you think?!?
Hallmark Channel
‘Twas the Date Before Christmas is an absolutely charming addition to Hallmark’s vast library of Christmas-themed movies. The screenplay by Ramona Bracket creates a very unique situation with the blind date Christmas, and completely makes it believable through the characters of Jesse and Bryan. The addition of the candle shop storyline amps up the drama and pulls at our heartstrings as it seems it may be too big of a hurdle for the two to overcome. The story wraps up with what seems like a logical conclusion that saves the day and the budding relationship, and also helps Bryan grow into being the type of CEO he wants to be, not the one he thinks his father expects him to be. Unaware of Laura telling Jesse earlier that change is good, he actually discovers this to be true. Bradley Walsh also directs the film very well, and the production crew has done a wonderful job of making everything feel like Christmas. Even the light show that is supposed to end the Family Olympics feels real because it’s not over-done (even though the amount of equipment Jesse’s brother has for the show makes it seem like you’ll be able to see the house from outer space). There’s also a cute sub-plot involving Aunt Lily and her rideshare driver that she thinks is a secret, and the reveal — or the reaction to the reveal — is a laugh-out-loud moment. The entire production just draws you in and wraps around you like a warm blanket.
Also helping sell this wacky story are the two leads, Groening and Buckley. They both feel so natural, completely embracing their characters and the situation, as potentially outlandish as it is (although the opening credits say this was inspired by a true story so perhaps it isn’t as outlandish as it seems). One thing we’ve noticed on a lot of these Hallmark movies is that as they have a large stable of regular stars, some of whom have been doing these movies for years and years, often the leads don’t feel age-appropriate for the stories. It’s great that Hallmark has such a loyal group of actors whom the fans have embraced, but they also need to realize that some of them are not in their mid-20s or early-30s anymore, so either they need more mature storylines or the regulars have to accept that they are moving into main supporting roles, more motherly than the ingenue. Here though, Groening (41) and Buckley (35) are perfectly cast, making us feel like these two could actually be in a relationship. That chemistry is palpable and is what makes the viewers get so invested in the story.
The supporting cast is also wonderful. Patrice Goodman is terrific as Shelly and she makes our hearts break when she gets the eviction email, not wanting to spoil the holiday for everyone else. She is also great support for Jesse. Mimi Kuzyk is a hoot as Aunt Lily, fully invested in those reindeer games to the point that we have to wonder if it wasn’t Laura who originally cancelled them because of Jesse’s broken engagement. Sean Cullen is quite over-the-top, in a fun way, as Laura’s boyfriend and chief cook for the holiday gathering, Karen Waddell is completely believable as Laura, while Christopher Jacot plays brother Andrew with some coldness to him, not really feeling the holiday spirit, and not happy that an outsider has joined the family. He does eventually warm to Bryan, and we see that his attitude is fueled more by the competition than any acrimony with Bryan.
‘Twas the Date Before Christmas kicks off Hallmark’s holiday series in style and even though Halloween is still just around the corner, this is guaranteed to warm your heart and put you in the holiday spirit.
‘Twas the Date Before Christmas 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 – ‘Twas the Date Before Christmas
Hallmark Channel
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