The Best & Battiest Moments From This Past Weekend’s Holiday Movies
‘Tis the season to be merry and watch every new holiday movie as it debuts. Each Monday, we’ll take a look back at the previous weekend’s premieres to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with a new list of superlatives.
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Date We’d Most Like to Go On
We’ve had our fill of cocoa outings (unless it’s spiked, as in BET+’s So Fly Christmas). But we’ll accept an invitation for wine tasting with an expert at his family’s luxury Aspen lodge, as temporary “chalet girl” Lex (Teri Hatcher) did with her pseudo boss (William DeVry) in Lifetime’s Christmas at the Chalet.
Hottest Kiss
As previously teased, Hallmark Channel’s Catch Me If You Claus had the steamiest makeout session in Countdown to Christmas history when Avery (Italia Ricci) straddled Santa’s son Chris (Luke Macfarlane) in a car to make bad guys chasing them think they were just a couple in need of privacy. More of that!
Best Snowball Fight
So many movies do the flirty couple fight or the friendly family fight. Give us the hostile neighborhood brawl in Hallmark Channel’s Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up, when Jared (Wes Brown) and Emily (Lacey Chabert) fell for a trap and were ambushed. Code White!
Most Likely to Lead to an International Scandal
Apologies, but we do not see how stylist Bella (Danica McKellar) can keep that monetary award she received from Duke Stefan (Damon Runyon) after becoming his girlfriend at the end of Great American Family’s A Royal Date for Christmas. Definitely a conflict of interest!
Biggest Reach
There’s no world in which Lizzie (Joelle Rae) wouldn’t have told her sister, Georgia (Sarah Ramos), that she was dating a man whose brother was a huge English footballer in Hallmark Channel’s Christmas in Notting Hill. Of course, Georgia needed to have her clueless meet-cute with Graham (William Moseley), so he could know she likes him for him. (A more minor quibble: Georgia shouldn’t have put back on her precious, lost necklace they miraculously found in the crowded pub; she should have pocketed it until she could get the clasp replaced!)
Most Unrealistic Moment in a Magical Movie
If you’ve ever lived in or even visited New York, you know you would give anything to not have to lug shopping bags around the city. So why did Bernard (Paapa Essiedu) never tell Flora (Melissa McCarthy) that he wished his bags were already back at his apartment during their shopping spree in Peacock’s Genie?
Strongest Sign You’re Still a Kid at Heart
Did you laugh when an arrow was shot at the butt of a giant reindeer balloon in Disney+’s North Pole heist flick The Naughty Nine, and the ensuing deflation made a fart sound? You were not alone.
Most Harmless Continuity Error
Anyone else notice that in UPtv’s otherwise charming Mistletoe Connection, shop owner Kate’s (Jessica Sipos) signature changed sometime between when she signed the document to sell her family’s store and when developer Mark (Markian Tarasiuk) looked at the contract?
Film We’re Most Likely to Watch Again Next Year
Hallmark Channel’s A Biltmore Christmas: Our pick of the week was clever with its homages to the Golden Age of Hollywood and Somewhere in Time and perfectly cast with stars Bethany Joy Lenz and Kristoffer Polaha. Even if you called the ending — that actor Jack had died in 1948 because he time-traveled to the future to reunite with modern screenwriter Lucy — it was satisfying to watch it play out.
The New Queen of Christmas
For those keeping track, Cher’s Christmas album has now been used in a third Hallmark Channel movie. In Holiday Road, her rendition of “Run Rudolph Run” motived the van clan to a near victory at the Elf Games.
Cutest Co-Star
Golden retriever puppy Noel (played by Lemmy, as listed in the cast credits) was a scene-stealer in Hallmark Channel’s Letters to Santa, whether she was sleeping while being held or thinking about stealing popcorn from the child seated next to her on the couch.
Sexiest Xmas Sweater
Fact: A thin sweater really is best to show off your biceps when you’re untangling lights, as Paul (Brendan Penny) proved in Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ A Season For Family.
Sweetest Moment
Holiday Road’s passenger drop-offs were tearjerkers. But Great American Family’s My Christmas Hero really got us when the WWII veteran realized it was Nicole (Candace Cameron Bure)’s late 20-year-old grandfather who’d saved his life in Northern Italy shortly before losing his own. And then that veteran and his descendants gathered to dedicate a new building to her grandfather and grandmother.
Christmas Time Is Here! Your Guide to 100+ Holiday Movies on Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix and Others
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