2023 Hallmark Christmas Movie Report
For the 6th year, I am honored to report on the new Hallmark Christmas Movies shown in 2023. The popularity of Hallmark Christmas offerings makes them the “go to” festive channel during the holiday season. For Hallmark that season stretches from October 20st to December 17th when 40 new Christmas movies and another 60 favorites from previous years are shown 24/7 on 2 Hallmark channels.
HALLMARK TAKES ON PLENTY OF TV COMPETITION
Lifetime Channel
Lifetime has been Hallmark’s main holiday competitor since the early 2000’s. This year they halve their offerings to 13 flicks. Their movie schedule was announced in late October and their holiday season did not start until November 18th. All indications are that Lifetime is downsizing their Holiday fare. They have dropped the ball in terms of both quantity and quality of their Holiday movies.
In the past, Lifetime has had established stars make guest appearances.Their supposed star lidden feature this year was Ladies of the 80’s: A Divas Christmas starring Loni Anderson, Morgan Fairfield, Linda Gray and Donna Mills. I found it painful to see the film sirens of the 80’s display little talent and a lot of surgery. I was also disappointed in seeing Terry Hatcher in Christmas at the Chalet, another Lifetime movie eagerly anticipated. If these offerings are the best they can offer, then Lifetime is in trouble.
GAC Family Channel
This year, Great American Country (GAC) increased their premiere Holiday movies from 18 to 30. They also continued signing some of Hallmark’s biggest stars and had 18 of these crossover actors and actresses in their new Holiday features. The 2023 GAC movies continue to have high production style and plenty of decorations.
The big GAC catch in 2022 was Hallmark matriarch Candace Cameron Bere. She followed up her 2022 GAC debut with My Christmas Hero also starring Gabriel Hogan. Candace plays a military doctor who treats the knee injury of Gabriel Hogan, an Army Major awaiting assignment. After their flirtatious meetup, they work together to find out how her grandfather died during a WW2 battle in Italy. There is plenty of intrigue with a light comedic touch as they inch towards solving the mystery. A strong faith-based ending in the spirit of GAC makes this movie watch worthy.
Lori Loughlin makes her long awaited return to the Christmas movie scene with Blessings of Christmas also starring Jesse Hutch and James Tupper. Lori plays a TV food critic selling her deceased aunt’s food pantry in a rural town. An angel played by Jesse Hutch encourages Lori to stage a final charity fund raiser to provide holiday meals for the needy. Lori convinces an adjacent property owner played by James Tupper to assist. By staging the fund raiser, Lori feels the benevolence of her aunt with the help of the angel while she starts a romance with the property owner. The movie has a very deliberate pace but finishes strong with a heartwarming conclusion. The movie was inspired by Lori Loughlin’s 100 hours of community work at Project Angel Food.
HALLMARK CONTINUES TO DELIVER
I am so pleased to announce that I saw all 40 of the new Hallmark Holiday Movies. 30 of the films were made in Canada and another 5 in the US plus 5 were filmed abroad (France, Scotland, Germany, Ireland, and Norway). 15 of the Canadian movies are filmed at or near Vancouver where Hallmark has a long-standing relationship. The production facilities are excellent, and locations can vary from big city to rustic rural. They continued to stretch themes beyond their romcom trope.
Lacey Chabert, the anointed queen of Hallmark movies, has a sequel to Haul out the Holly entitled Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up. With the assistance of the Homeowner Association (HOA) president/boyfriend played by Les Brown, Lacy gets the neighborhood riled up in the festive spirit of upcoming Christmas. Everybody is all excited with the arrival of their new neighbors Christmas TV celebrity family, the Jolly Johnsons. However, the new family is soon overbearing with their endless violations of the HOA decoration rules. A standdown takes place where the children of the neighborhood finally bring the adults to task for their immature behavior. The factions team up for an outlandish Christmas ending.
For viewers looking for a predictable Hallmark plot, this movie and its original are disappointing. These movies are a big spoof on highly decorated and commercialized Christmas. The dialogue of the festive-crazed neighbors is what makes the movie. There should be one more Haul out the Holly movie featuring a Christmas Wedding of Lacy and Les.
HALLMARK STRETCHES THE BOUNDARIES OF THEIR DIVERSITY THEMES
Hallmark continued displaying plenty of diversity in their films. In a sweet sapphic romance entitled Friends and Family Christmas, the fake dating trope is expanded to include two women and two sets of parents interested in getting them romantically together. So, there is no coming out of the closet angst. What makes the movie is the lively interaction of not only the women but the parents as the story line moves steadily towards romance. Hallmark wisely casts two women (Ali Liebert and Humberly Gonzalez) active in the LGBTQ movement in the lead roles with Liebert also being executive producer.
Hallmark had a strong entry in their Hanukkah movie entitled Round and Round. Rachael (Vic Michaelis) is going to her parents annual party on the 7th night of Hanukkah which happens to be their anniversary. At the last minute her boyfriend bails and her grandma Rosie (Paula Shaw) fixes her up with Zach (Bryan Greenberg), an art instructor. On the way to the party. Rachael and Zach have the customary dustup in which they collide, and Rachael spills a box of her family’s favorite bake goods (sufganiyot – jelly donuts).
At the party, the colorful family members are introduced, holiday food is served, and games are played. Zach arrives and awkwardly reintroduces himself to Rachael. In a quick turn of events, a drape catches on fire, Rachel wakes up at home, and she starts reliving the day just like Groundhog Day. What follows is many iterations of the day before she and Zach find a way to break the loop. The Jewish setting serves as platform for the festive cast, fast-paced action, and quick funny dialogue. At the end the romance comes with a surprise twist.
Hallmark Tackles Time Travel
In A Biltmore Christmas, Lucy (Bethany Joy Lenz) is hired to write a script for the remake of the beloved 1946 Holiday movie His Merry Wife. When she struggles with an ending, the producer suggests that she visits the setting of the movie, the historic Biltmore House. The manager of the House takes her to the lavish study for further research. She turns over an hourglass in the room and is taken back to the making of the original movie. Although initially shocked, she adjusts to her setting and is determined to learn more about the movie script.
Lucy and the film’s rising star Jack Huston (Kristoffer Polaha) spend time together conversing about the movie ending. As they become closer, she struggles with the knowledge that he will die within a year. Tension also arises when her presence causes events that could jeopardize the completion of the original movie. Her abrupt return to the present leaves her with an unrequited feeling for Jack. The ending gives hope they will be meeting again soon.
This movie received the highest IMDB viewer rating of the 40 new Hallmark Christmas movies for very good reasons. The portion of the movie in the 1940’s was tastefully done in black and white with appropriate costume and setting. The casting of the leads could not have been better. There were also some cameos of other Hallmark stars. The plot was brilliantly conceived with no holes plus it leaves the usual Hallmark Christmas tropes behind.
Hallmark Tells True Story of Autistic Boy Determined to Establish a World Record
In World Christmas Record, Charlie (Aias Dalman) is an autistic boy determined to set a Guinness World Record stacking 1,400 Jenga Blocks to impress his estranged father. He is raised by his single mom (Nikki DeLoach) and stepfather (Lucas Bryant). His parents provide full support but also gave him the realistic bounds he must follow to get the record.
The movie not only tells the story of his pursing the record but also his facing life in his world which only he understands. The road is fulfilling but also has challenges as he attempts to establish a relationship with his father and best friend Amy(Daphne Hoskins). Charlie ends up stacking the 1,400 blocks on his second attempt for his personal record. He notices that his estranged father does not attend and sit in the special seat he has designated for him. In a touching moment, he takes his stepfather to the seat and makes a point that he should be in the seat as his “real” father.
All the acting was superb, especially Aias Dalman as Charlie. The fact he is autistic and able to act in the throes of his hectic environment is truly amazing. He gives a very creditable and moving performance. Special kudos are due to Amy Ginsberg who does a great job of playing Charlie’s friend.
THE 2023 HALLMARK CHRISTMAS MOVIE AWARDS
In the spirit of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, I announce the following 2023 Christmas Movie awards:
The Darcy Award for Best Movie
I am pleased to award best picture to My Christmas Guide. This movie has everything: a blind teacher, his daughter, a guide dog and a guide dog instructor. What more does one need.
In a recent accident, English Professor Trevor Donovan (Ben Mehl) loses his sight but continues teaching with some challenges. His daughter Annie (Ava Weiss) urges him to get a guide dog to make his life easier. Peyton Lewis, a guide dog trainer (Amber Marshall) overhears Annie’s suggestion and leaves a flyer about guide dogs at Annie’s school. Trevor bumps into construction scaffolding at college recently placed in his path and gets frustrated. Annie seizes the opportunity to revisit getting a guide dog and they go see Peyton. She convinces Trevor to get a guide dog named Max.
During the training, Trevor and Peyton develop a personal relationship centered around Christmas activities. Annie, a child wiser than her years, facilitates the relationship. Throughout the movie, Peyton’s noncaring boyfriend constantly takes advantage of her.
At the crucial moment, three incidents take place to blow up the budding romance. Annie gets into a confrontation with a bully and gets blamed for the incident which angers Trevor. The college feels the construction is too much for Trevor to handle and asks him to take a leave of absence. Peyton’s boyfriend confronts Trevor and tells him she is kind to him just like any client.
These three low blows leave Trevor in a state of despair, but recovery is on the way. Annie assists the bully in his time of need, and they become friends. The students protest Trevor ‘s leave of absence and threaten to drop the course. Peyton hears a recording of her boyfriend confronting Trevor and tells him to take a hike. Peyton, Trevor, Annie and Max can now enjoy Christmas together. The couple seal their relationship with a unique kiss.
Although the plot is predictable, the writing is smart and convincing; and delivered by actors totally engaged. Amber Marshall is very caring and sweet as the instructor. Ben Mehl, who is visually impaired, teaches with energy and conviction. Ava Weiss as the daughter helps her father through crisis. One very heartwarming movie!
The de Bourgh Award for Worst Movie
I select Never Been Chris’d as the worst Hallmark movie. Two girlfriends/business partners Liz and Naomi(Pascual Lamathe-Kipnes and Janel Parish) come home for the holidays to a half-baked reunion. They act like immature teenagers as they swoon over the cool guy Chris (Tyler Hynes) on which they still have a crush. The big question by the end of the movie is who will get Chris. Unfortunately, he ends up with one of them. A better ending would have been Chris dumping them both.
I appreciate that fact that some people get stuck in high school mode the remainder of their life, but that hardly makes a good Hallmark movie. In this movie, character development is replaced with arrested development. A side story about the mothers and their relationship with the girls is weak and goes nowhere.
Never Been Chris’d got the lowest IMDB rating of the 40 Hallmark movies. I appreciate Hallmark’s efforts to go beyond their typical romcom, but this movie rambles to an ending not a minute too soon. Tyler Hynes is one of my favorite Hallmark actors. He deserves better.
The Bennett Lifetime Achievement
I have selected Niall Matter for the 2023 Hallmark Lifetime Achievement Award. Niall has brought a deliberate but strong presence to movies and shown the ability to work well with Hallmark’s best actresses, including Candice Cameron Bere in Aurora Teagarden mystery series and Erik Krakow in the 3 Father Christmas movies.The 1st Father Christmas film was the most watched premiere in the Hallmark History. He has been in 23 Hallmark movies/series (including 10 Christmas pictures) over the past 8 years.
Niall was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and grew up on his parents' dairy farm. He is a third-generation oil rigger, having worked eight years on the rigs in Alberta. At age 25, he suffered a serious oil rig accident which took six months of rehabilitation for full recovery. While working on the oil rigs, Niall simultaneously attended Vancouver Film School. The accident convinced him to concentrate on becoming an actor in Vancouver.
Prior to making Hallmark movies, Niall established himself as an actor in both US and Canada in 6 TV series and 8 movies. He has been nominated 3 times for best performance at the annual Leo Awards (British Columbia’s highest film and TV industry honor).
This year Niall starred in Holiday Hotline with Emily Tennant. On a break from her life as a restaurant cook in London, Abby (Emily Tennant), goes to Chicago and takes a job on a cooking hotline assisting callers in making a holiday turkey dinner. Jack (Niall Matter), single father/architect, lives in same building as Abby and becomes her friendly neighbor. At the same time, Niall needs help in cooking and calls Abby on the hotline.
On the hotline Abby uses pseudonym Peggy and an American accent. Jack is unaware that Abby and Peggy are the same woman as he develops a phone romance with Peggy and an in-person romance with Abby. Abby is the 1st to realize Jack is the same person but hesitates to tell him. Jack is in a quandary due to having strong feelings for both. A tense moment occurs when Jack realizes they are the same and Abby has not told him. Jack forgives Abby and a sumptuous holiday meal is enjoyed by all.
This romcom stands out for comedy on some ridiculous calls received on the hotline. The director makes the phone romance feel closer by having Peggy with her headset in the same room as Jack rather than split screen.
The completion of my Hallmark Report leaves me with an empty feeling, thinking about the good movies on which I have not commented. Over 120 new Christmas movies appeared on TV in 2022. I saw over 75 of them not only on Hallmark, Lifetime, and GAC, but also on UP TV.
For those who want a little bit of naughty with their nice in holiday movies, I recommend the favorably reviewed The Holdovers. Paul Giamiti (Golden Globe Winner for Best Actor) plays a super-strict classics professor at a New England boarding school. The headmaster gives him the unenviable job of watching the few students who have no place to go over the 1970 Christmas holiday.
The professor soon forms an unlikely bond with the school’s biggest troublemaker and a grieving head cook who lost her son in the Vietnam War. Their closeness provides the setting to learn the interesting back story of each.The movie has a great soundtrack featuring holiday songs and the memorable rock of the times. Watch for the film to be rereleased in theaters around Oscar time.
As you can tell, my interest in Holliday movies has not waned. I view the sameness in terms of setting, plot and actors as comfort TV watching. I am not alone in my Hallmark interest. Their channels are the most viewed in October – December. Viewership of Fox News and MSNBC pales in comparison to Hallmark. In these troubled times, watching Hallmark sounds pretty good.