Hallmark For All Seasons » A Magical Christmas Village

Countdown to Christmas 2022

A Magical Christmas Village

“A Magical Christmas Village,” starring Alison Sweeney, Luke Macfarlane, and featuring Marlo Thomas, aired on Hallmark Channel during the 3rd weekend of 2022’s Countdown to Christmas, on November 4, 2022. It was filmed in Vancouver, Canada.

Melissa Salmon provided the script, having written for Alison Sweeney several times in the past, including 2017’s “Christmas at Holly Lodge.” Jason Furukawa directed, this being his first Hallmark feature.

The poster is cute, but I do wish that Luke Macfarlane was visible in it since it’s not like he’s a minor character in the movie.

Music: Opening credits featured Little Bit of Christmas (affiliate link) by Juliet Roberts.

In a nutshell

I tend to like Alison Sweeney’s movies, so I was looking forward to this one, especially since it also added a touch of Christmas magic with the little village. If I didn’t have a cat that would terrorize that village the same way Godzilla invaded Japan, I’d probably have one of those little villages in my house every holiday season as well. Despite these things, I was a bit disappointed by the movie.

The Plot of “A Magical Christmas Village”

Summer’s life changes when her mother Vivian move in with her and daughter Chloe. Vivian sets up a miniature Christmas village, and as Chloe begins setting up the figurines, real-life events seem to mimic the scenes she creates.

Actors & Chemistry

Alison Sweeney was solidly good in this one, but she always is. She seems like the consummate professional actress who knows the brief and lands it without effort. It’s seamless with her. The same holds true for Luke Macfarlane, who was Mr. Charming just as much as he ever is.

The rest of the cast was good as well – I particularly liked Maesa Nicholson, who played Chloe. She’s been in three Hallmark projects this year, and has been great in all of them. I’m sure Hallmark will keep hiring, which makes me happy.

And of course, Marlo Thomas. While younger folks may not know who she is, I am just old enough to remember “That Girl” and how revolutionary that show was at the time. While the character of Vivian dove too hard into the hippie realm (which doesn’t match Vivian’s possible age in this movie), it was fun having Thomas back on my TV.

Find the Tropes!

An overhead shot of a car driving down the road. Single mom(s). Dead parent. Cute (teenaged) kid. House with a front porch. A Christmas market.

A very pretty Christmas gazebo. We saw some crafting going on. Ice skating complete with a slip and fall. Chloe dressed up like an elf. A final kiss as the snow begins falling.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

The movie did not start out well at all. As two women walk through an old building, one of them says something like, “It was hard to see from your blueprints, but this place is amazing.” Um….it’s one big, dark open room with nothing in it but furniture covered in drop cloths and a FULLY DECORATED CHRISTMAS TREE while workmen do construction in the background. WHAT?

Mom Vivian has to move out of her boyfriend’s house and all she has is a few suitcases and about 10 boxes? And most of those boxes hold her Christmas village and (apparently) glass canisters of dry goods? Did she give up ALL her possessions to move in with the guy?

Did Ryan pick up Summer before dinner? Because it was implied they’d meet there, and yet he took her home and they said good night at her door. Or did they walk from main street to her house? Is the town that small? I have so many questions.

There were so many nitpicky things that I know I should let go. But I can’t. The sister hands her husband a hot glue gun and he pretty much has to hold the HOT GLUE end AND she pushes it up against his winter coat when she hands it to him. And is there a need to go to a Christmas market almost every day?

Feelgoods

I know Summer calls her mother “Vivian” several times instead of Mom, but it made me laugh because my 18-year-old son has called me “Jane” for at least 10 years with no signs of stopping. At first he’d only do it when he was upset with me and trying to make a point, but now he does it all the time.

Loved the “Elf” quote that Chloe put on the fridge. That’s one of my all-time favorite modern Christmas movies.

The random “reach out and touch her upper arm” as Ryan was leaving the Christmas market in the first half of the movie was HILARIOUSLY AWKWARD and I loved it.

Re-watchability of “A Magical Christmas Village”

I don’t think I’d watch this again. This movie was too…normal? staid? safe? for a magical Christmas movie.

The Rankings

Despite the minor issues with how the movie’s story was told, it will likely end up solidly in the middle for the year, which is a good thing.

I also want to add that I chose not to write up last weekend’s “Christmas Bedtime Stories,” starring Erin Cahill and Steve Lund. I was somewhat okay with the movie until the last ten minutes. When the MIA husband showed up at the Daddy/Daughter dance, I just got MAD. Listen, I know this is Hallmark and so it’s a very easy breezy version of life. But it was egregious to show that a person can be a prisoner of war for YEARS and come home and automatically resume their life. And not just come home, but come home with NO announcement of his return, NO slow exposure to normal life, NO PTSD and then just pop up at a holiday dance. That does an incredible disservice to the POW experience.

I knew any write-up I provided would just be one long rant about what really happens when a POW is brought home (hint: it can takes weeks/months to re-introduce them to normal life). The only reason the movie scored as high as it did was because it had about 1,000 tropes and I liked the cast.

Ghosts of Christmas Always (air date: Oct 30) – 732 pts – weighted score: 122.4 (85.9%)
A Kismet Christmas (air date: Oct 24) – 664 pts – weighted score: 113.2 (79.4%)
Two Tickets to Paradise (air date: June 25) – 664 pts – weighted score: 111.4 (78.1%)
Just One Kiss (air date: Apr 2) – 660 pts – weighted score: 111.2 (78.0%)
The Presence of Love (air date: Mar 13) – 650 pts – weighted score: 110.9 (77.8%)
Wedding of a Lifetime (air date: Sept 17) – 640 pts – weighted score: 108.2 (75.9%)
Dating the Delaneys (air date: Aug 20) – 638 pts – weighted score: 106.5 (74.7%)
Love, Classified (air date: Apr 16) – 624 pts – weighted score: 106.1 (74.4%)
A Royal Runaway Romance (air date: Apr 9) – 617 pts – weighted score: 105.9 (74.3%)
Jolly Good Christmas (air date: Oct 29) – 625 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.2%)
We Wish You a Married Christmas (air date: Oct 22) – 623 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.1%)
Rip in Time (air date: May 22) – 622 pts – weighted score: 105.3 (73.9%)
We Need a Little Christmas (air date: Oct 22) – 614 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
Campfire Christmas (air date: July 16) – 621 pts – weighted score: 104.9 (73.6%)
Noel Next Door (air date: Oct 21) – 609 pts – weighted score: 104.8 (73.5%)
Caribbean Summer (air date: June 11) – 636 pts – weighted score: 104.7 (73.5%)
A Cozy Christmas Inn (air date: Oct 28) – 626 pts – weighted score: 104.6 (73.5%)
Always Amore (air date: Apr 3) – 618 pts – weighted score: 104.5 (73.3%)
Hidden Gems (air date: Jun 4) – 611 pts – weighted score: 102.3 (71.8%)
A Magical Christmas Village (air date: Nov 4) – 592 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
Pumpkin Everything (air date: Oct 8) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.6 (71.3%)
Autumn in the City (air date: Oct 15) – 594 pts – weighted score: 100.2 (70.3%)
Love in the Limelight (air date: Aug 6) – 604 pts – weighted score: 100.0 (70.2%)
Second Chance at Love (air date: Mar 26) – 585 pts – weighted score: 99.7 (69.9%)
Christmas Bedtime Stories (air date: Oct 29) – 575 pts – weighted score: 98.8 (69.3%)
Romance in Style (air date: Aug 13) – 562 pts – weighted score: 97.2 (68.2%)
Big Sky River (air date: Aug 7) – 568 pts – weighted score: 97.1 (68.1%)
Game, Set, Love (air date: Aug 27) – 552 pts – weighted score: 95.3 (66.9%)
A Tail of Love (air date: Apr 23) – 557 pts – weighted score: 94.4 (66.2%)
The Perfect Pairing (air date: Jan 15) – 563 pts – weighted score: 92.7 (65.0%)
Christmas in Toyland (air date: July 23) – 544 pts – weighted score: 92.4 (64.8%)
The Wedding Veil Legacy (air date: Feb 19) – 543 pts – weighted score: 92.0 (64.5%)
Welcome to Mama’s (air date: Feb 26) – 540 pts – weighted score: 91.9 (64.5%)
Butlers in Love (air date: Jan 29) – 527 pts – weighted score: 91.3 (64.0%)
Feeling Butterflies (air date: Mar 12) – 542 pts – weighted score: 91.2 (64.0%)
To Her, With Love (air date: Sept 11) – 536 pts – weighted score: 89.4 (62.7%)
The Wedding Veil Unveiled (air date: Feb 12) – 515 pts – weighted score: 86.9 (61.0%)
My Grown-Up Christmas List (air date: July 9) – 514 pts – weighted score: 86.9 (60.9%)
Road Trip Romance (air date: May 14) – 492 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.3%)
Don’t Forget I Love You (air date: Jan 22) – 508 pts – weighted score: 85.8 (60.2%)
The Wedding Veil (air date: Jan 8) – 508 pts – weighted score: 83.3 (58.4%)
Where the Heart Belongs (air date: Jan 1) – 435 pts – weighted score: 74.5 (52.3%)
14 Love Letters (air date: July 31) – 420 pts – weighted score: 73.5 (51.6%)