The Christmas Club premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 27th and stars Elizabeth Mitchell (Olivia) and Cameron Mathison (Edward).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄 This is only the second movie that I didn't finish watching this year. I watched all but the last 20 minutes but I just wasn't enjoying the movie enough to finish it. See the rant section for details on my issues.
General Movie Details: Two strangers, Olivia and Edward, meet and help an elderly woman, Gertrude, whose Christmas Club savings ($80) is blown away. Olivia and Edward decide to pay it forward and give their own money to Gertrude but tell her they found her missing money. Gertrude goes on about fate and Christmas magic which will continue to be a theme throughout the movie.
Meet Cute Moment: The premise of the movie and the premise opening scene is their meet cute.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are several places with large nutcrackers. They are at Miss Maggie's Dance Academy and on the street. They are also in front of the store where Gertrude lost her money.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I found that this movie had a number of things that really just left me scratching my head and pulling me out of the story (really preventing me from being drawn in). At the holiday festival in the park there is a randomly placed wooden swing that they sit on and talk. This just seems very out of place seasonally and at the park since it looks like it was just placed there (with a cushion, really?). One of the main plot lines is that Maggie decides to retire and sell her business suddenly and puts the building up for sale in a few days because it is the best time to sell. I really wonder who told her that 2 weeks before Christmas was the best time to sell. I am sure that they are trying to get a commission and would say anything. Apparently, it works because with 5 days to Christmas a buyer is found and they are closing on the sale and the dance academy must vacate the premises before Christmas. Edward encourages her to open her own studio in a space for lease down the street and thinks she can get the business loan and be open by January. There is some serious time-bending going on in this story that just leaves me with more questions and issues. The tradition of the impractical Christmas Eve event is back in force with a Christmas recital at Miss Maggie's Dance Academy. Don't get me started on the fact that most dance academies host a ballet like The Nutcracker in December and not a recital... Also, the dance studio has lit and decorated Christmas trees throughout the space so I don't see how dancers can easily take class in the space forget about trying to perform. The only dancers we see (before the last 20 minutes) are the 5 and under crowd. I get that the theme is fate and Christmas magic but this movie could easily have been called Godwink Christmas 3: The Christmas Club. You'd just need Olivia's mom to make a comment using the term Godwink. The situations and timing were just taken too far too fast for me to follow and appreciate this movie.
I will point out two small things that I found refreshing and enjoyable. I liked the scarves on the eggnog glasses that Olivia's mom uses. I also appreciated that there was a Jewish character and a reference to Hanukkah and the lighting of the menorah. While the media related to the holiday season is overwhelming associated with Christmas it is nice to see some religious diversity. How about a holiday movie where Hanukkah gets more than a passing mention?!? How about something about Kwanzaa?!? Both holidays would be material that has not really been explored (read exploited) in holiday movies and the stories would lend themselves to greater diversity in talent and stories.
Hallmark Movie Connection: It appears that this is Elizabeth Mitchell's Hallmark debut but she has appeared in many TV series. I know her from Revolution but you might know her from another show. Additionally, she has an impressive Christmas movie connection as Carole/Mrs. Claus in The Santa Clause series (2 and 3). Cameron Mathison is in some ways the face of Hallmark. He has been in a multitude of movies and now is the co-host of Hallmark's Home & Family show since 2018. My favorite Christmas movie starring Cameron is The Christmas Ornament (2013) with Kellie Martin.
If you were able to sit through the entire movie, please let me know what I missed and if the resolution was worth it.
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