Hallmark For All Seasons

Countdown to Christmas 2019

Hallmark’s “Double Holiday”

“Double Holiday” originally aired on December 21 on Hallmark Channel, starring my personal favorite Hallstar of all time, Kristoffer Polaha, along with Carly Pope. Hallmark stuck to the east coast of Canada again, choosing to film another movie in Ottawa. The screenplay was written by fan favorite Nina Weinman (she has written many Hallmark scripts over the past several years, including “The Last Bridesmaid” and “Flip that Romance” from 2019 alone).

I should say here that I do not plan to review the remaining movies this year. This week is Christmas week and it is going to be a super-crazy one for my family. As such, while I will TRY to review “Christmas on My Mind” at the very least, I will not be posting full-length reviews of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “The Family Christmas Gift,” or the “When Calls the Heart” movie. I will only be posting final scores for those. At the very least I may publish one single post that has synopses of those movies and their scores.

And unfortunately, the Michael Rady New Year’s movie has been removed from the schedule entirely, so there is no New Year’s movie this year. I do have plans to post one final overall list of all the Christmas movies and their rankings, just like I did last year.

In a nutshell

There were only a handful of movies this holiday season that I was counting the days until they came on, and this was one of them. I was relieved that my anticipation didn’t get the best of me – this was a great movie and a nice way to finish out the holiday movie reviewing season.

Plot (from Hallmark Channel website)

Career-minded Rebecca’s plans for Hanukkah don’t go as expected when a promotion opportunity comes up at work. When the company CEO asks Rebecca and her insufferable office mate, Chris – also her main competitor for the promotion – to plan the company’s Christmas party, she realizes they must overcome their opposing styles in order to succeed. Forced to work together on the party, Chris learns more about Rebecca and embraces her family’s Hanukkah traditions, while she also begins to see him in a new light. Although feelings slowly develop between the two, the ongoing competition over the promotion threatens to undermine it all.

Actors

I’ve waxed poetic about Kristoffer Polaha too many times to count, so I won’t do it again. But suffice to say that there is a reason he is my number one Hallstar of all time. He is simply DELIGHTFUL. Both personally and professionally.

Carly Pope was new to me even though she has done a lot of TV, including “Arrow,” “Suits” and “24,” just to name a few. I found her charming and very sweet, and a perfect foil for Polaha.

I can’t play Six Degrees of Kris Polaha for this movie, now can I?

Double Holiday — image: Hallmark Crown Media

Chemistry

These two were great together. The relationship between the characters ran the gamut from competitors to friends to love interest, which I appreciated, because it allowed Pope and Polaha to show off plenty of variety in their roles. Pope played Rebecca as confident but goofy, which I found charming. Rebecca is clearly good at her job (otherwise she wouldn’t be up for the promotion) but lets her self-doubt get in the way in both her professional and personal life. Polaha played Chris as extremely confident without being cocky, but clearly someone who likes to tease and have fun. The result was that these two were great together.

Tropes

There were some tropes, but not as many as I hoped to see. There was the big city opening drone shot, a promotion on the line, some Christmas tree shopping and decorating, some hot cocoa, and a little ice skating. The movie also featured a Christmas deadline, some baking AND making handmade ornaments.

Bingo Card Score for “Double Holiday”

I was so close to a bingo – I just needed a shot of snowglobe and I would have scored a bingo! As it was, I did cover 9 spots on my card.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

The one thing that drove me crazy was the idea that a business decision about the rec center was going to be based on the quality of a Christmas party. Additionally (and “Holiday Date” did this as well), we live in a country where Christmas is HUGE – they start promoting it in OCTOBER in stores and on TV. I don’t care how secluded a life you may live, there is no way that most people (Jewish or otherwise) don’t know about Christmas trees or general Christmas-y things. Heck, even non-religious people know about Christmas trees.

I’m sure there were other things in there that I missed, but nothing so egregious that I felt the need to write it down. I was just happy that Polaha was FINALLY on my TV!

Feelgoods

I loved the moment when Chris told Rebecca she needed to be more diligent with her tree decorating, and fill the gaps. His advice for ornament placement is exactly what I do: stand back, look for gaps, then fill the gap, then stand back again and look again to make sure it’s right.

One other moment that I specifically wrote down was when Rebecca and Chris see Fancy Suit Guy (with whom Rebecca is smitten) in the coffee shop, and Chris proceeds to “help” Rebecca bump into FSG while whispering under his breath, “It’s happening!” I laughed out loud. And that’s where I appreciated that the movie took its time on moving these characters from competitors to friends to love interest. It wasn’t until over halfway through the movie that Chris later sees Rebecca having coffee with Fancy Suit Guy and gets a look on his face that says, “Wait, I don’t want her to like Fancy Suit Guy.”

Re-watchability

Yes, of course, I’m going to watch “Double Holiday” again. I’ll watch any Polaha movie multiple times, y’all. While it isn’t my favorite Polaha movie, it was very enjoyable.

The Ranking

“Double Holiday” made it into the Top 30 for the year. It actually has a higher raw score than “The Christmas Club,” which sits a few spots higher.

Two Turtle Doves (air date: Nov 1) – 742 pts – weighted score: 123.7 (86.8%)
Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses (air date: Oct 26) – 719 pts – weighted score: 121.0 (84.9%)
Love to the Rescue RE-RANKED (air date: March 23) – 708 pts – weighted score: 120.6 (84.6%)
Winter Love Story (air date: January 19) – 685 pts – weighted score: 115.8 (81.2%)
Mystery 101 (air date: January 27 (HMM)) – 454 pts – weighted score: 94.2 (80.5%)
Love on the Menu (air date: February 23) – 642 pts – weighted score: 113.8 (79.9%)
Holiday Hearts (air date: Nov 23) – 663 pts – weighted score: 113.0 (79.3%)
Bottled With Love (air date: April 13) – 649 pts – weighted score: 112.2 (78.7%)
Love Takes Flight (air date: April 27) – 670 pts – weighted score: 111.0 (77.9%)
Love, Romance & Chocolate (air date: February 16) – 627 pts – weighted score: 110.2 (77.3%)
The Last Bridesmaid (air date: June 22) – 643 pts – weighted score: 109.2 (76.6%)
Love, Fall and Order (air date: Oct 12) – 636 pts – weighted score: 109.0 (76.5%)
Paris, Wine & Romance (air date: May 4) – 638 pts – weighted score: 108.3 (76.0%)
Holiday Date (air date: Dec 14) – 647 pts – weighted score: 108.2 (75.9%)
My Boyfriend’s Back: Wedding March 5 (air date: June 8) – 635 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy (air date: Nov 29) – 627 pts – weighted score: 107.0 (75.1%)
Over the Moon in Love (air date: Oct 5) – 613 pts – weighted score: 106.3 (74.6%)
Flip That Romance (air date: March 16) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
Check Inn to Christmas (air date: Nov 26) – 619 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.1%)
My One and Only (air date: Aug 31) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.6 (74.1%)
Mystery 101: Playing Dead (air date: June 23 (HMM)) – 425 pts – weighted score: 86.5 (73.9%)
A Summer Romance (air date: Aug 17) – 577 pts – weighted score: 103.7 (72.7%)
The Christmas Club (air date: Nov 27) – 588 pts – weighted score: 103.5 (72.6%)
True Love Blooms (air date: April 6) – 598 pts – weighted score: 103.1 (72.3%)
Forever in My Heart (air date: Sept 14) – 560 pts – weighted score: 102.4 (71.8%)
The Mistletoe Secret (air date: Nov 11) – 585 pts – weighted score: 102.2 (71.7%)
Double Holiday (air date: Dec 21) – 596 pts – weighted score: 102.0 (71.6%)
Christmas Under the Stars (air date: Nov 16) – 576 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
The Story of Us (air date: February 9) – 605 pts – weighted score: 101.3 (71.1%)
Holiday for Heroes (air date: Nov 8) – 566 pts – weighted score: 99.8 (70.0%)
Time for You to Come Home for Christmas (air date: Dec 8) – 582 pts – weighted score: 98.4 (69.1%)
A Brush with Love (air date: March 30) – 563 pts – weighted score: 97.7 (68.6%)
Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays – 558 pts – weighted score: 97.7 (68.6%)
A Godwink Christmas: Meant for Love (air date: Nov 17) – 548 pts – weighted score: 96.9 (68.0%)
Ruby Herring: Silent Witness (air date: January 20 (HMM)) – 357 pts – weighted score: 79.5 (67.9%)
Love, Unleashed (air date: July 6, 2019) – 559 pts – weighted score: 96.2 (67.5%)
Sense Sensibility & Snowmen (air date: Nov 30) – 560 pts – weighted score: 96.1 (67.4%)
Love Under the Rainbow (air date: March 9) – 581 pts – weighted score: 96.0 (67.4%)
One Winter Proposal (air date: January 12) – 535 pts – weighted score: 95.8 (67.2%)
Just Add Romance (air date: March 2) – 548 pts – weighted score: 95.6 (67.1%)
Christmas Scavenger Hunt (air date: Nov 3) – 561 pts – weighted score: 95.4 (66.9%)
From Friend to Fiance (air date: May 25) – 555 pts – weighted score: 94.8% (66.5%)
Christmas at Dollywood (air date: Dec 8) – 553 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
Picture a Perfect Christmas (air date: Nov 10) – 529 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
Christmas in Montana (air date: Dec 14) – 556 pts – weighted score: 94.4% (66.2%)
A Christmas Duet (air date: Nov 25) – 540 pts – weighted score: 94.1 (66.0%)
Write Before Christmas (air date: Nov 17) – 529 pts – weighted score: 94.1 (66.0%)
Christmas Camp (air date: July 11) – 530 pts – weighted score: 93.9 (65.9%)
Our Christmas Love Song (air date: Nov 24) – 537 pts – weighted score: 93.4 (65.5%)
Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday (air date: Dec 15) – 537 pts – weighted score: 92.7 (65.1%)
Love and Sunshine (air date: Aug 3) – 504 pts – weighted score: 91.7 (64.3%)
Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (air date: March 10 (HMM) – 354 pts – weighted score: 74.1 (63.3%)
A Christmas Miracle (air date: Nov 14) – 494 pts – weighted score: 90.1 (63.2%)
Christmas at the Plaza (air date: Nov 28) – 517 pts – weighted score: 90.0 (63.1%)
Sister of the Bride (air date: June 29) – 516 pts – weighted score: 89.8 (63.0%)
Valentine in the Vineyard (air date: February 2) – 503 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
Love, Take Two (air date: June 15) – 507 pts – weighted score: 87.8 (61.6%)
All Summer Long (air date: Aug 24) – 512 pts – weighted score: 87.7 (61.5%)
Snowcoming (air date: January 26) – 485 pts – weighted score: 87.3 (61.2%)
Christmas in Rome (air date: Nov 30) – 494 pts – weighted score: 86.8 (60.9%)
The Winter Castle (air date: January 5) – 475 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.2%)
A Christmas Love Story (air date: Dec 7) – 525 pts – weighted score: 85.1 (59.7%)
Merry & Bright (air date: Nov 2) – 483 pts – weighted score: 84.4 (59.2%)
Christmas Town (air date: Dec 7) – 508 pts – weighted score: 83.8 (58.8%)
Cherished Memories: A Gift to Remember 2 (air date: Nov 24) – 465 pts – weighted score: 83.4 (58.5%)
Nostalgic Christmas (air date: Oct 31) – 446 pts – weighted score: 79.2 (55.6%)
A Merry Christmas Match (air date: Oct 25) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.3 (54.9%)
Sailing Into Love (air date: May 18) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.0 (54.7%)
Rome in Love (air date: July 27) – 436 pts – weighted score: 76.7 (53.8%)
A Homecoming for the Holidays (air date: Dec 7) – 458 pts – weighted score: 75.9 (53.2%)
A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas (air date: Nov 7) – 398 pts – weighted score: 72.3 (50.7%)
A Taste of Summer (air date: Aug 10) – 403 pts – weighted score: 70.9 (49.7%)
A Winter Princess (air date: January 18) – 380 pts – weighted score: 70.5 (49.5%)
A Feeling of Home (air date: May 11) – 386 pts – weighted score: 69.7% (48.9%)
A Cheerful Christmas (air date: Dec 15) – 410 pts – weighted score: 69.5 (48.8%)
Love in the Sun (air date: June 1) – 361 pts – weighted score: 62.5 (43.8%)