Hallmark For All Seasons

“A Holiday Spectacular” starring Ginna Claire Mason and Derek Klena aired on November 27, 2022 during Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas. Written by the delightful Julie Sherman Wolfe, and directed by John Putch, the movie was filmed primarily in New York City as well as areas in nearby Hudson Valley.

In a nutshell

There were many things I liked about this movie – the script was well-written and it was so fun to have Hallmark air a movie set in the 1950s.  But there were some jarring inconsistencies that drove me crazy, too.

The Plot of “A Holiday Spectacular”

Set in 1958, follows Maggie who sneaks up to New York City to make her secret dream come true: dancing live on stage in the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, putting her high-society wedding plans on hold.

Actors & Chemistry

I don’t have much to say about the actors here.  Ginna Claire Mason and Derek Klena were pleasant to watch, pleasant to look at, and did a fine job.  They are both 100% new to me, so I have nothing to compare them to as far as other roles. Mason is apparently a big Broadway star, having taken a turn in the Glinda role in “Wicked” at some point. Similarly, Klena is also a Broadway actor, having most recently appeared in “Jagged Little Pill” as well as his own turn in “Wicked,” playing Fiyero. It’s a shame Hallmark couldn’t have figured out how to get them be in a movie about a Broadway play so that we could hear them sing!

I didn’t necessarily feel any chemistry between the two lead characters, but that didn’t detract too much from the movie overall.

Find the Tropes!

I didn’t take notes during this movie so that I could just sit and enjoy, so I didn’t really track any of the tropes, but I know there were several in there.  It wouldn’t be a Hallmark holiday movie without them!

Did I Hear/See That Right?

My main issues with this movie are two-fold.  One of them is just a hunch, and the other is based on actual history.

First, it appeared to me that several of the actors in this movie wore wigs, versus just styling their hair in various 1950s hairstyles.  With SO many references available online as to how women in the late 1950s styled their hair, and with plenty of professional hair stylists who would know how to re-create those styles, I can’t believe they thought it would be good to force some of the ladies in this movie into obvious artificial wigs.  Is it easier?  Probably.  But attractive on screen?  Definitely not.  Now, if I’m wrong, and those hairstyles were done with their own hair, then my goodness they need to hire better hairstylists next time because they did not look good.

The second issue I had was the highlighting of a Black character specifically stating that she had been a Rockette for 10 years prior to Maggie’s arrival.  Sadly, that was not true in the 1950s.  What’s shocking is that the first Rockette of color did not hit the line until the late 1980s.  Yep – I said the 1980s.  I’d have been fine with Rockettes of color being in the movie in order to have a more diverse cast in general, but to have the Black character specifically say she said she had already been a Rockette for 10 years had me scrambling to look up the true history of the Rockettes because I knew that wasn’t true.

Feelgoods

Seeing Radio City Music Hall all decorated for the holidays was awesome.  I believe they filmed this movie a year ago when it was still decorated for the season, and that paid off dividends. RCMH is a gorgeous theater.  I have fond memories from the days I worked in the Rockefeller Center area, and during the holiday season they would provide walks for all the animals from the Holiday Spectacular right outside the entrance to my building.  So, for a couple months I’d see the camels and the other animals out for their morning constitution.  My one regret about my years living in the NYC area is that I never got around to seeing the Rockefeller Holiday Spectacular.

Re-watchability of “A Holiday Spectacular”

While the movie is worth watching, I’m not sure I’ll re-watch this one.

The Rankings

I’ve added several movies to the rankings below. Of those listed in bold, the one I liked the most was Nicki Deloach’s “The Gift of Peace,” which also featured Brennan Elliott. I still have plenty more to watch with plans to review at least one of them. The good news is that “Spectacular” was still strong enough to crack the Top 20 for the year.

1. Ghosts of Christmas Always (air date: Oct 30) – 732 pts – weighted score: 122.4 (85.9%)
2. Three Wise Men and a Baby (air date: Nov 19) – 735 pts – weighted score: 122.2 (85.7%)
3. Haul Out the Holly (air date: Nov 26) – 729 pts – weighted score: 121.0 (84.9%)
4. Lights, Camera, Christmas! (air date: Nov 5) – 671 pts – weighted score: 113.1 (79.4%)
5. A Kismet Christmas (air date: Oct 24) – 664 pts – weighted score: 113.2 (79.4%)
6. Our Italian Christmas Memories (air date: Nov 12) 665 pts – weighted score: 112.4 (78.9%)
7. Christmas at the Golden Dragon (air date: Nov 13) – 665 pts – weighted score: 112.1 (78.7%)
8. Two Tickets to Paradise (air date: June 25) – 664 pts – weighted score: 111.4 (78.1%)
9. Just One Kiss (air date: Apr 2) – 660 pts – weighted score: 111.2 (78.0%)
10. The Presence of Love (air date: Mar 13) – 650 pts – weighted score: 110.9 (77.8%)
11. The Gift of Peace (air date: Dec 10) – 636 pts – weighted score: 108.9 (76.4%)
12. Wedding of a Lifetime (air date: Sept 17) – 640 pts – weighted score: 108.2 (75.9%)
13. Dating the Delaneys (air date: Aug 20) – 638 pts – weighted score: 106.5 (74.7%)
14. Love, Classified (air date: Apr 16) – 624 pts – weighted score: 106.1 (74.4%)
15. All Saints Christmas (air date: Nov 5) – 624 pts – weighted score: 106.0 (74.4%)
16. A Royal Runaway Romance (air date: Apr 9) – 617 pts – weighted score: 105.9 (74.3%)
17. Jolly Good Christmas (air date: Oct 29) – 625 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.2%)
18. #Xmas (air date: Nov 25) – 624 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.1%)
19. We Wish You a Married Christmas (air date: Oct 22) – 623 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.1%)
20. A Holiday Spectacular (air date: Nov 27) – 622 pts – weighted score: 105.6 (74.1%)
21. My Southern Family Christmas (air date: Nov 24) – 621 pts – weighted score: 105.6 (74.1%)
22. The Royal Nanny (air date: Nov 12) – 611 pts – weighted score: 105.5 (74.0%)
23. Hannukah on Rye (air date: Dec 18) – 629 pts – weighted score: 105.4 (73.9%)
24. In Merry Measure (air date: Nov 11) – 625 pts – weighted score: 105.4 (73.9%)
25. Rip in Time (air date: May 22) – 622 pts – weighted score: 105.3 (73.9%)
26. Inventing the Christmas Prince (air date: Nov 18) – 614 pts – weighted score: 105.2 (73.8%)
27. We Need a Little Christmas (air date: Oct 22) – 614 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
28. Campfire Christmas (air date: July 16) – 621 pts – weighted score: 104.9 (73.6%)
29. Noel Next Door (air date: Oct 21) – 609 pts – weighted score: 104.8 (73.5%)
30. Caribbean Summer (air date: June 11) – 636 pts – weighted score: 104.7 (73.5%)
31. A Cozy Christmas Inn (air date: Oct 28) – 626 pts – weighted score: 104.6 (73.5%)
32. Christmas Class Reunion (air date: Dec 10) – 615 pts – weighted score: 104.6 (73.4%)
33. Always Amore (air date: Apr 3) – 618 pts – weighted score: 104.5 (73.3%)
34. A Tale of Two Christmases (air date: Nov 26) – 605 pts – weighted score: 103.6 (72.7%)
35. The Most Colorful Time of Year (air date: Dec 9) – 596 pts – weighted score: 103.5 (72.6%)
36. Hidden Gems (air date: Jun 4) – 611 pts – weighted score: 102.3 (71.8%)
37. A Magical Christmas Village (air date: Nov 4) – 592 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
38. Pumpkin Everything (air date: Oct 8) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.6 (71.3%)
39. Autumn in the City (air date: Oct 15) – 594 pts – weighted score: 100.2 (70.3%)
40. Love in the Limelight (air date: Aug 6) – 604 pts – weighted score: 100.0 (70.2%)
41. Second Chance at Love (air date: Mar 26) – 585 pts – weighted score: 99.7 (69.9%)
42. When I Think of Christmas (air date: Nov 20) – 577 pts – weighted score: 99.3 (69.6%)
43. Christmas Bedtime Stories (air date: Oct 29) – 575 pts – weighted score: 98.8 (69.3%)
44. Romance in Style (air date: Aug 13) – 562 pts – weighted score: 97.2 (68.2%)
45. Big Sky River (air date: Aug 7) – 568 pts – weighted score: 97.1 (68.1%)
46. Game, Set, Love (air date: Aug 27) – 552 pts – weighted score: 95.3 (66.9%)
47. A Tail of Love (air date: Apr 23) – 557 pts – weighted score: 94.4 (66.2%)
48. The Perfect Pairing (air date: Jan 15) – 563 pts – weighted score: 92.7 (65.0%)
49. Christmas in Toyland (air date: July 23) – 544 pts – weighted score: 92.4 (64.8%)
50. The Wedding Veil Legacy (air date: Feb 19) – 543 pts – weighted score: 92.0 (64.5%)
51. Welcome to Mama’s (air date: Feb 26) – 540 pts – weighted score: 91.9 (64.5%)
52. Long Lost Christmas (air date: Nov 19) – 537 pts – weighted score: 91.9 (64.5%)
53. Butlers in Love (air date: Jan 29) – 527 pts – weighted score: 91.3 (64.0%)
54. Feeling Butterflies (air date: Mar 12) – 542 pts – weighted score: 91.2 (64.0%)
55. A Maple Valley Christmas (air date: Nov 5) – 522 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
56. To Her, With Love (air date: Sept 11) – 536 pts – weighted score: 89.4 (62.7%)
57. A Royal Corgi Christmas (air date: Nov 25) – 508 pts – weighted score: 87.1 (61.1%)
58. The Wedding Veil Unveiled (air date: Feb 12) – 515 pts – weighted score: 86.9 (61.0%)
59. My Grown-Up Christmas List (air date: July 9) – 514 pts – weighted score: 86.9 (60.9%)
60. Road Trip Romance (air date: May 14) – 492 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.3%)
61. Don’t Forget I Love You (air date: Jan 22) – 508 pts – weighted score: 85.8 (60.2%)
62. The Wedding Veil (air date: Jan 8) – 508 pts – weighted score: 83.3 (58.4%)
63. Where the Heart Belongs (air date: Jan 1) – 435 pts – weighted score: 74.5 (52.3%)
64. 14 Love Letters (air date: July 31) – 420 pts – weighted score: 73.5 (51.6%)

To see where this movie lands in my overall rankings of Hallmark movies, visit my Hallmark Movie Rankings page!

What did you think of “A Holiday Spectacular”?  Comment below and let me know!