Hallmark For All Seasons

“An Unexpected Christmas,” starring Bethany Joy Lenz and Tyler Hynes, premiered on November 26 during 2021’s Countdown to Christmas on Hallmark Channel. It was set in Illinois, but filmed in Vancouver, Canada.

The script was provided by none other than Hallstar Paul Campbell. As soon as I heard that he wrote it, I knew I’d love it.  Paul is one of the funniest Hallstars I have the pleasure of following on Twitter, and I knew his script would be infused with humor. Michael Robison directed, having also directed Hynes in this year’s It Was Always You.

This movie poster is kind of a standard rom-com poster, which I’m not mad at. The only way this is Christmas is from the Christmas lights, but even those are pretty innocuous and could be from anything.  But I still like the poster.

Music: The main song of note came at the end, when Jamie and Emily are in the bar after they’ve made up.  The song playing (and that they are talking about), is Bethany Joy’s own song, Snow (affiliate link).

In a nutshell

Oh my word.  I LOVED THIS MOVIE. Sure, the conflict was rushed and could have been avoided by a simple mature conversation.  Sure, it’s awful that Jamie lied to his family FOR MONTHS and then dragged Emily into it.  BUT, this movie had wit, genuine laugh out loud moments, and two amazing performances.

The Plot of “An Unexpected Christmas”

Jamie, a speechwriter, convinces his ex-girlfriend Emily to pose as a couple for Christmas. 

Actors & Chemistry

Hallmark, you need to put these two in more movies together.  Their chemistry was off the hook.  In any other writer’s hands, the Emily character could have come off as shrewish, but Bethany Joy Lenz had the proper amount of lightness to her actions, which made Emily a fun character instead.  Hynes is normally very droll and quiet with his dialogue, but in this movie while Hynes started with Jamie acting that way, about a third of the way into the movie, Hynes just ran with it and opened up to create a genuinely awkward, self-doubtful, but entirely human character.

Jamie’s family was a bit over the top for me in some scenes, but I did enjoy the dynamic between Alison Wandzura (playing Jamie’s sister, Becca) and Tyler Hynes.  Their relationship as sister and brother was entirely believable. I loved how she said she was still supportive of him, even though she thought he was wrong.  That’s a true loving sister, right there.

And did you see Andrew Walker’s cameo at the bar?  He came in looking for a table, and even told the Maitre’d he was in the Walker party!

Tropes

We had the big city opening drone shot, and Emily has a promotion on the line. Then, instead of having a overhead “car on snowy road surrounded by trees” shot we had that shot with the train.  We had some product placement with Balsam Hill, along with tree decorating at Jamie’s family’s house (which had a front porch).

Becca had a cute son, who had to dress as a Christmas tree in the Christmas pageant.  We saw a tree lighting, had some karaoke caroling, and OF COURSE, two people faking a relationship to fool the family!

Did I Hear/See That Right?

My biggest confusion was the governor’s re-election campaign that Jamie was working for.  Um…isn’t election day the first Tuesday in November?  And isn’t the Ilinois governor’s next election not until 2022? And would the current acting governor really be so hands on in the re-election office?

My only other issue with the movie was the Big Misunderstanding near the end of the movie.  Jamie overhears someone congratulate Emily on getting the Grand Cayman gig after the holidays. He then goes into jerk mode, cuts her off when she starts to tell him she has feelings for him, and says, “You can get yourself to the train station, right?  Because I want to be alone with my family when I tell them we aren’t a couple.”

Now, this could have gone in two directions.  First, she could have said, “I love your family and I want be there, too, and is that really what you want, because I don’t,” thus opening up the opportunity for them to continue talking and realize they want to be together.  Secondly, he could have MANNED UP by saying, “I overheard that you are going to Grand Cayman, is that true? Because I want you to stay.”

But instead, they get in a fight, the family overhears and finds out the truth, and then they just let her LEAVE.  Even the family could have said, “DON’T GO! JAMIE IS JUST BEING DUMB!”

As for Jamie’s speech he wrote for the governor, I was expecting a bit more from the speech.  It was only a minute long – when has a politician only spoken for ONE MINUTE? *lol*

Feelgoods

Let’s get back to what I loved about the movie.

First, the humor.  Oh my word, spoken and unspoken, this movie oozed the funny. Physical comedy I loved in this movie: Emily knocking the cookie from Jamie’s hand, the spit take, Jamie’s horrible experience on the sofabed (been there, done that, Jamie!), Emily throwing water in Jamie’s face to wake him up. And then we had funny laugh-out-loud dialogue throughout as well (“What are you, eight? Are you going to tell on me?”)

The other moment that made me smile was when Jamie and Emily were at the fountain trying to come up with taglines for her promotional campaign.  Once they had something, she climbed on the fountain’s edge and did a running lap around it.  I kept waiting for her to fall in, but she didn’t.  The reason I expected it?  When I was a child, we had a similar raised pond near my house.  My best friend Jeff and I were playing and running around the edge, and I DID fall in. Seeing her run around that fountain in joy reminded me of my childhood.

Jamie’s dad and his inflatable farm.  Yesterday my husband and I spent 4 hours working on our outdoor display (we’ll be finishing up today), and while we were setting up our 12 inflatables and 50 lighted animals, we talked about investing in another 15-20 inflatables during post-Christmas sales and having ONLY inflatables in our display next year. So, I was all over the inflatable farm that Jamie’s dad set up!

General Thoughts

If this is an example of what Paul Campbell can do with a script, please bring him back for more, Hallmark! It was (mostly) well-executed and a perfect addition to my annual required viewing!

Re-watchability of “An Unexpected Christmas”

Already marked it “keep” on my DVR, and I’ve already watched it twice.

The Ranking

Thanks to an amazing script by Paul Campbell, “An Unexpected Christmas” is solidly in first place! It was really well written, with funny performances, an engaging cast, and all the right Christmas notes I want from a Hallmark Christmas movie.

1. An Unexpected Christmas (air date: Nov 26) – 736 pts – weighted score: 123 (86.3%)
2. The Santa Stakeout (air date: Oct 24) – 730 pts – weighted score: 122.3 (85.8%)
3. A Christmas Family Tree (air date: Nov 14) – 730 pts – weighted score: 121.9 (85.5%)
4. You, Me and The Christmas Trees (air date: Oct 22) – 716 pts – weighted score: 121.3 (85.1%)
5. Crashing Through The Snow (air date: July 10) – 705 pts – weighted score: 118.1 (82.8%)
6. The Nine Kittens of Christmas (air date: Nov 25) – 690 pts – weighted score: 116.5 (81.8%)
7. One December Night (air date: Nov 13) – 695 pts – weighted score: 116.3 (81.6%)
8. A Mrs. Miracle Christmas (air date: Nov 6) – 688 pts – weighted score: 116.2 (81.5%)
9. Boyfriends of Christmas Past (air date: Oct 23) – 673 pts – weighted score: 116.1 (81.5%)
10. Next Stop, Christmas (air date: Nov 6) – 682 pts – weighted score: 114.7 (80.5%)
11. It Was Always You (air date: Feb 27) – 668 pts – weighted score: 114.2 (80.1%)
12. The Christmas Promise (air date: Oct 30) – 675 pts – weighted score: 114.1 (80.0%)
13. Gingerbread Miracle (air date: Nov 5) – 671 pts – weighted score: 114.0 (80.0%)
14. Christmas In My Heart (air date: Oct 23) – 675 pts – weighted score: 113.9 (79.9%)
15. A Kiss Before Christmas (air date: Nov 21) – 671 pts – weighted score: 111.9 (78.5%)
16. Open at Christmas (air date: Nov 12) – 658 pts – weighted score: 111.6 (78.3%)
17. You Had Me At Aloha (air date: June 5) – 675 pts – weighted score: 111.4 (78.1%)
18. A Christmas Together With You (air date: Nov 20) – 645 pts – weighed score: 110.9 (77.8%)
19. Five More Minutes (air date: Nov 21) – 645 pts – weighted score: 110.8 (77.7%)
20. Sweet Carolina (air date: May 15) – 648 pts – weighted score: 110.1 (77.2%)
21. Taking a Shot at Love (air date: Jan 2) – 641 pts – weighted score: 108.9 (76.4%)
22. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (air date: Mar 27) – 636 pts – weighted score: 108.5 (76.1%)
23. Right in Front of Me (air date: Apr 18) – 637 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
24. As Luck Would Have It (air date: Apr 10) – 638 pts – weighted score: 107.7 (75.5%)
25. Her Pen Pal (air date: June 19) – 636 pts – weighted score: 107.1 (75.1%)
26. The Baker’s Son (air date: June 13) – 637 pts – weighted score: 106.3 (74.6%)
27. South Beach Love (air date: Oct 9) – 615 pts – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
28. Love Strikes Twice (air date: Oct 2) – 608 pts – weighted score: 105.2 (73.8%)
29. A Holiday in Harlem (air date: Nov 7) – 628 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
30. Christmas Sail (air date: Oct 31) – 606 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
31. Christmas in Harmony (air date: Oct 29) – 605 pts – weighted score: 104.8 (73.5%)
32. A Christmas Treasure (air date: Nov 7) – 625 pts – weighted score: 104.6 (73.4%)
33. A Winter Getaway (air date: Jan 23) – 620 pts – weighted score: 104.4 (73.3%)
34. Coyote Creek Christmas (air date: Oct 30) – 614 pts – weighted score: 104.3 (73.2%)
35. Love, For Real (air date: July 31) – 607 pts – weighted score: 103.6 (72.7%)
36. Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone (air date: Oct 1) – 595 pts – weighted score: 103.0 (72.2%)
37. Mix Up in the Mediterranean (air date: Feb 20) – 590 pts – weighted score: 102.5 (71.9%)
38. Advice to Love By (air date: Oct 16) – 599 pts – weighted score: 102.2 (71.7)
39. Two For The Win (air date: Jan 16) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
40. Taking the Reins (air date: Sept 28) – 574 pts – weighted score: 101.2 (71.0%)
41. Raise a Glass to Love (air date: Sept 18) – 590 pts – weighted score: 100.7 (70.7%)
42. Nantucket Noel (air date: Nov 18) – 585 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
43. Chasing Waterfalls (air date: Mar 20) – 570 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
44. Roadhouse Romance (air date: Sept 11) – 571 pts – weighted score: 100.2 (70.3%)
45. Sweet Pecan Summer (air date: ) – 576 pts – weighted score: 97.3 (68.3%)
46. Sand Dollar Cove (air date: June 26) – 557 pts – weighted score: 96.8 (67.9%)
47. Hearts Down Under (air date: Apr 24) – 547 pts – weighted score: 95.2 (66.8%)
48. Fit for a Prince (air date: Mar 6) – 546 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
49. A New Year’s Resolution (air date: Jan 9) – 516 pts – weighted score: 90.5 (63.5%)
50. Finding Love in Mountain View (air date: ) – 504 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
51. A Little Daytime Drama (air date: Aug 21) – 511 pts – weighted score: 87.7 (61.5%)
52. Baby, It’s Cold Inside (air date: May 8) – 495 pts – weighted score: 85.6 (60.0%)
53. Playing Cupid (air date: Feb 13) – 466 pts – weighted score: 82.6 (58.0%)
54. Beverly Hills Wedding (air date: Feb 6) – 431 pts – weighted score: 80.6 (56.5%)
55. Journey of my Heart (air date: ) – 450 pts – weighted score: 76.0 (53.3%)
56. Snowkissed (air date: Jan 31) – 402 pts – weighted score: 76.0 (53.3%)

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

What did you think of “An Unexpected Christmas”?  Comment below and let me know!