Hallmark For All Seasons

Countdown to Christmas 2019

Hallmark’s “Christmas at Dollywood”

“Christmas at Dollywood” originally aired on December 8 on Hallmark Channel, starring two Hallstar faves, Danica McKellar and Niall Matter. This movie was set in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, but other than a few days filmed on location at the theme park where they set up Smoky Mountain Christmas a few weeks early, it was actually filmed in Vancouver, Canada. This was evidenced by the fact that there was never a scene of the ginormous “Pigeon Forge strip” which is basically like a miniature version of Las Vegas. Every overhead shot of “Pigeon Forge” in the movie showed snow-covered cabins in the woods. While charming, that’s not Pigeon Forge.

See that double yellow line going northwest to southeast thru Pigeon Forge? That is a four-lane divided road that runs the length of Pigeon Forge. It’s a path of endless stoplights and tourist traps. The movie never showed THAT part of Pigeon Forge.

In a nutshell

I went into this movie with no expectations whatsoever, and the result is that I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.

Plot (from Hallmark Channel website)

When NYC event planner Rachel returns to Tennessee to plan the Christmas celebration at Dollywood, she’s paired with Luke, the head of operations, who thinks he can handle the party just fine on his own.

Actors

I’ve given McKellar some grief on occasion, for being too earnest, too old to play an ingenue, and just…too “too.” And she is definitely too earnest and too old to play an ingenue in this movie, but she manages to dial it back a bit, AND it goes in her favor when she fangirls over Dolly Parton. Because IT’S LIVING LEGEND DOLLY PARTON. And while she did have a few moments of wide-eyed naivete, I forgave it for the most part. Not sure why I gave her a pass when I normally don’t.

As for Niall Matter, I’ve not ever been a huge fan of his – I think he’s fine, but I don’t necessary seek out his movies. Having said that, I really liked him in this one – more than any of this other movies. In fact, I liked him so much that I added a couple points to my “actors” score that I give during my final calculations.

For this round of Six Degrees of Kris Polaha, our dear Dolly is three steps away. She was (of course) in 1989’s “Steel Magnolias,” which also featured the brilliant Sam Shepherd as her husband. In 2007 he made a small movie for ESPN films, called “Ruffian.” One of his co-stars in that movie was Louis Herthum, who went on to share a screen with Polaha in 2014’s “Atlas Shrugged III.”

Christmas at Dollywood — image: Hallmark Crown Media

Chemistry

Because of McKellar’s twee-ness, sometimes I don’t see the chemistry between her and her male counterparts. However, I liked having her paired with Matter this time around. I don’t know how it was on set, but he definitely brought out the best in her, and she made him seem a bit more engaged in the movie. Overall, a good, solid pairing, in my opinion.

Tropes

You guys. There were so many tropes in this movie that I almost ran out of room on the paper I was using to write them all down. I counted 17 in all, and I’m sure I forgot to document a couple of them.

First, we opened with a scenic Big City overhead shot, followed by the news that Rachel was an event planner AND a single parent. When she went home to Pigeon Forge, we discovered her parents had a house with a covered front porch AND they like to make their own ornaments at Christmas. Rachel and Luke didn’t get along with each other at first, but she served him some hot cocoa and they agreed to a truce. At some point Rachel wore a circle pendant, as the Hallmark actresses are wont to do.

Luke, Rachel and Rachel’s daughter built a snowman (one that for once I couldn’t tell whether it was real or fake), and then there was mention of a snowball fight (although we never saw it). Luke and Rachel both admitted to being workaholics, but took a break to do some baking and make Yule logs.

They tried on some ugly sweaters, went dancing, then she slipped and tripped into his arms just before an almost kiss on her parents’ front porch. Later, they did some tree decorating at Dollywood, where Luke later misunderstood something he overheard his boss say about the promotion he was working towards.

You see? Tropes were fast and furious in this one!

Bingo Card Score for “Christmas at Dollywood”

Even with ALL of those tropes, I only covered 10 spots on my bingo card, but I did score one bingo! HUZZAH!

Did I Hear/See That Right?

No one can plan a party in six days. Certainly not one to celebrate the 30th anniversary of an amusement park. And sure, Luke had been doing some work already, but Dollywood actively hired someone to come in and do it. Not a rousing endorsement of Luke’s skillz (but he DID still get the promotion). My husband and I are throwing our annual Christmas party this weekend. We’ve been throwing this party annually for over 20 years. We’ve been actively planning this party for about a month and we only have 30 people over. There is NO WAY that Dollywood will have a successful party that is planned in six days.

The night they go dancing Rachel is in a thin flouncy miniskirt. Now, I know they usually film these movies in summer, but in this instance, it was filmed in November in the Tennessee mountains. At one point in the movie you actually see their breath when they speak, and that was REAL. The Tennessee mountains do get cold in November. And the movie is set at Christmas. So WHY was Rachel wearing a thin flouncy miniskirt as she walked around “Pigeon Forge” after going dancing with Luke? No way. I’ll admit I never wear coats in winter, but I would never wear a miniskirt in winter either (or anytime, really, but still…).

Lastly, let’s talk about that LED tree and the glitchiness of the tree. Part of the Christmas display at my own house involves a dancing light show with music. And while I don’t have a mega tree, I do know how they are put together, programmed and run. And I can say with full authority that megatrees like that do not run off a “master boot drive” (which doesn’t even exist, by the way). They use very specific controllers that either work, or don’t. There is no “glitchiness” with the lights going on and off.

And I know that the average movie watcher would not know or care, but *I* am a light enthusiast, with a goal of someday having a mega tree of my own. So it annoys me when the techno-speak doesn’t line up. But from now on, whenever my OWN controllers for my light show act up, you can bet I’ll be shouting, “shake the master boot drive!” in the hopes that the lights come on.

Feelgoods

Having said that, I really did love the mega tree. I love those things and am desperate to have one in my yard display some day!

I also loved the overdone yard decor at Rachel’s parents’ home. They ALMOST had as much crap in their yard as I have in mine. ALMOST.

And you know what? I even liked the kiss at the end of the movie. While I don’t approve of the “swoop and kiss” that is a McKellar staple (so weird), I did appreciate that it actually looked like a real kiss this time, not some 12 year old imitating what she thinks a kiss is meant to be. Brava, Danica! It’s about time you kiss like an adult on screen!

Re-watchability

Despite being a middling movie, if I was in the right mood, I might consider watching “Christmas at Dollywood” again.

The Ranking

“Christmas at Dollywood” is almost smack dab in the middle of the year! It’s interesting that it received the same score as “Picture a Perfect Christmas” even though “Dollywood” has a higher the raw score.

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%)
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%)
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%)
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%)
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%)
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%)
Love in the Sun (air date: June 1) – 361 pts – weighted score: 62.5 (43.8%)