Hallmark For All Seasons

“A Christmas Love Story” originally aired on December 7 as a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, starring Kristin Chenoweth and Scott Wolf.  I adore Chenoweth (she was fantastic on “Pushing Daisies” and I saw her in the original Broadway cast of “Wicked” back in the day).  I was thrilled when I heard she was starring in a Hallmark Christmas movie (she’s done Lifetime Christmas movies before, but not Hallmark).  Scott Wolf is the main 1990s teen heartthrob, having starred as Bailey on “Party of Five” with one of the Queens of Hallmark, Lacey Chabert.

This movie was set in New York and Connecticut, but it was actually filmed in my neck of the woods, the greater Charlotte, NC region.  Filming took place in Monroe to the east and Gastonia to the west.  One of my former co-workers is friends with a woman that worked in the building where the office scenes were filmed for this movie at the beginning of the year.  At that time the movie was called ‘When Angels Land” but the name got changed at some point.

In a nutshell

I’m sad to say that even with the delightful Chenoweth, the adorable Wolf, and some local scenery, this movie was not a win for me.  It escapes being in the lower five for the Christmas movies, but only by a hair.  I normally really enjoy the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies, but this one somehow one didn’t live up to the other dozens of HHOF movies (which include movies such as “Christmas Everlasting,” “Love Takes Flight,” “Christmas in Conway,” and “Christmas in Holly” (which I LOVED)).

Plot (from Hallmark Channel website)

Tony Award-winning Kristin Chenoweth stars as Katherine, a youth choir director who needs to write a big song for a Christmas Eve show. She is distracted from her task when a boy with a golden voice joins her choir, which comes as a surprise to his widowed father, Greg, portrayed by Scott Wolf.

Actors

As I said, I adore Kristin Chenoweth, so there’s no need for me to go on and on and gush over her.  She’s just fabulous in everything she does.  Scott Wolf was good, although he’s still so boyishly handsome that he will ALWAYS be Bailey from Party of Five to me.  Except now he’s Bailey as a dad.  The supporting cast in this movie was great, from Kevin Quinn as Greg’s son Danny, and especially Keith Robinson as Katherine’s pianist, Brian.

As for Six Degrees of Kris Polaha, Keith Robinson is only two steps away.  He had a role in the James Brown biopic “Get On Up” in 2014 which also featured Clyde Jones, who costarred with Polaha in 2014’s “Where Hope Grows.”

Chemistry

You know who I thought had the best chemistry together?  Chenoweth and Robinson.  I loved ALL theirs scenes together and kind of think the movie would have been better if it had solely been about those two trying to figure out how to raise funds for the choir program.  I suppose they had automatically camaraderie from their musical backgrounds, and that translated onto the screen to the point where I didn’t really get into the Chenoweth/Wolf chemistry at all (which they did have, but not to the extent Chenoweth/Robinson did).

Tropes

There were some tropes, as expected, but not a ton.  The opening shot of the Big City, some baking, a single parent, shopping for and decorating the Christmas tree, and drinking some hot cocoa.  There was a shot of snowglobe, characters taking selfies, and (obviously) the lead character sings.

Bingo Card Score for “A Christmas Love Story”

I managed to cover 10 spots on my card, which is great, but no bingo.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

I had two notes about this movie.  First, Greg and Danny live in a nice house in Connecticut.  Katherine lives in New York City and the choir she leads is based in NYC.  I know people make the commute between CT and NYC all the time (they aren’t that far apart from each other), but there is NO WAY that a dad is going to be fine with his teen son traveling back and forth from Connecticut to NYC just to perform for an hour a day in a show choir.  I can’t remember if the movie established that it was Christmas break or not, or that the son was commuting with his dad to work every day, but suffice to say, it’s highly improbable.  What is the boy doing the remainder of the day?  Just wandering around NYC seeing the sights waiting for show choir to start?

My second issue had to do with one of the girls in the show choir.  Who does she know and what gossip does she or her agent have on that person, because she was featured HEAVILY in all the choir shots.  Her name is Lacey Caroline (she’s the blonde in the white shirt below) and she’s a young actress based in Charlotte, NC.  She has been in several smaller projects in the past couple of years, but there was no reason for the director (Eric Close, who co-starred as Greg’s co-worker/boss in this movie) to have so many shots of this girl throughout the movie.  It just became weird after a while.

Feelgoods

The minute Greg said that Danny was “a gift” I knew he was adopted without another word being said about it.  As such, knowing this was a Hallmark Hall of Famer, I knew that Katherine was likely his mother.  As such, I had NO feels when the big reveal came.  Not only that, but perhaps they should have made the blonde girl be the kid for that plotline because there is no way that tiny little Kristin Chenoweth is giving birth to a son who is so much bigger and taller than her, unless her partner was Andre the Giant.  Genetics can only do so much.  In this case, proper casting can do a lot.

Re-watchability

I’m afraid I won’t be rewatching this one at all.  While it certainly is not the worst, it’s rare for me to rewatch a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie.  The exceptions are “Christmas with Holly,” “Christmas Everlasting,” and (if it ever re-airs) “Love Takes Flight.”

The Ranking

“A Christmas Love Story” is near the bottom for the entire year, but not in the bottom ten.  I’m not a complete monster.

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

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 Christmas Love Story”?  Comment below and let me know!

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