Hallmark For All Seasons

“Christmas Under the Stars” aired on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, November 16 at 8 p.m.  It starred a couple of very popular Hallstars, Jesse Metcalfe and Autumn Reeser.  The movie was filmed in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. This movie was actually written first as a novel by a school janitor, but Hallmark nabbed it and made it into a movie even though the novel has yet to get published!

In a nutshell

Do you want to know why I liked this movie more than I expected?  No, it’s not because of the re-pairing of the leads from Hallmark’s “A Country Wedding.”  It’s because this was a rare Hallmark movie in which the lead character was actually the man instead of the woman.  That does not happen often, and I give all credit to the story’s writer(s) and Hallmark for allowing it to happen.

I think too often Hallmark relies on making female-centric movies (which makes sense since women make up the majority of their viewership).  It’s refreshing that this time around it’s the man that is taking the journey to open up and grow during the course of the story.

And I’m sure people disagree with me, since most movies are about men with the women being in the minority – but for HALLMARK, this is most definitely not true.  So I enjoyed seeing a storyline that revolved most around Jesse Metcalfe’s character this time around.

Plot

When Nick (Metcalfe), a career-focused investment banker, is fired from his high-powered firm at Christmastime, he takes a job at a Christmas tree lot owned by Clem, a warmhearted widower. There, he meets Julie (Reeser), an astronomy teacher who’s always looked to the stars for hope. As the Christmas spirit washes over him — and he begins falling for Julie — the once self-centered Nick discovers the joy of helping others.

Actors

Metcalfe and Reeser really do have great chemistry together.  I love that Hallmark knows when it has lightning in a bottle and allows fans to see their favorite couples team up over and over again (see: Elliott & Chabert, Polaha & Wagner, DeLoach & Rady, Reeser & Metcalfe).

But the real standout for me was Clarke Peters, who portrayed Clem, the owner of the Christmas tree lot, and mentor to Nick.  Some readers may not be familiar with Clarke Peters, but trust me when I say he is an actor’s actor.  He has been in SO many fantastic projects including 2000’s miniseries”The Corner,” “The Wire,” “Treme,” “John Wick,” and “Jessica Jones” – just to name a FEW.  Getting him on this movie was a major get and WOW did he shine.  He was so, so good and I really think he elevated Metcalfe and Reeser because the chemistry of all three of them was fantastic.

As for Six Degrees of Kris Polaha, Clarke Peters is two steps away.  Peters had a role in “An Acceptable Loss” which came out earlier this year.  His co-star, Rex Linn, was previously in 2013’s “Devil’s Knot” with Polaha!

Chemistry

As I said, Metcalfe and Reeser are a popular pair for Hallmark, and it’s for good reason.  They are really well-suited for each other on-screen and play well together.  Add in Joseph Bolognese, who play Julie’s adopted son Matt, and Clarke Peters, and this was a winning combination all the way around.

Feelgoods

I cried, “Kringles!” when Matt brought Nick a kringle to snack on.  I love Kringles and force my husband to buy them at Trader Joe’s all the time.

The other moment that I loved was when Julie shared that she fostered Matt and eventually adopted him.  That was so unexpected and such a wonderful side story.  Usually, Hallmark features widowed parents and only recently began adding in divorced parents.  But to have an adoptive single mom?  Wow.  Just wow.

Tropes

“Christmas Under the Stars” had many of the tropes we know and love.

The movie started with an opening drone shot of a big city skyline, as well as a single parent.  Nick’s name is associated with Christmas, the whole movie was FILLED with Christmas tree shopping, they decorated at least one tree AND sang Christmas carols.  Not only that, but I spotted Reeser drinking hot cocoa (with two hands!), and they attended a tree lighting.

Bingo Card Score for “Christmas Under the Stars”

I was so close to getting a bingo on this one.  The only thing missing was a quick baking montage and I would have gotten a bingo.  As it was, I covered 10 boxes on my bingo card with this movie.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

So here’s the thing.  I love a good Hallmark trope just as much as the next person.  But there was one egregiously placed trope that just irritated me.  WHY OH WHY did they have to shoehorn in the random soldier IN UNIFORM buying a Christmas tree before he had the ship out?  I don’t know whether to blame the author of the book, or the screenplay adapter.  But that scene had NO business being in the movie.  It made no sense whatsoever and was completely gratuitous.

I’m sure there were other things in the movie that didn’t make sense.  I have to say I thought the tie-in to astronomy didn’t quite make sense, and didn’t understand why Julie would have such reticence about putting the topper on her Christmas tree (a topper that her dad apparently made, even though it looked like a third-grade art project).

Re-watchability

I probably would watch “Christmas Under the Stars” again, but not this year.  But next year I can totally envision myself thinking, “Oh I liked that one!” and setting my Tivo to record it to watch at some point.

The Ranking

You guys, yet another movie almost made my Top 20 for the year!

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. Bottled With Love (air date: April 13) – 649 pts – weighted score: 112.2 (78.7%)
8. Love Takes Flight (air date: April 27) – 670 pts – weighted score: 111.0 (77.9%)
9. Love, Romance & Chocolate (air date: February 16) – 627 pts – weighted score: 110.2 (77.3%)
10. The Last Bridesmaid (air date: June 22) – 643 pts – weighted score: 109.2 (76.6%)
11. Love, Fall and Order (air date: Oct 12) – 636 pts – weighted score: 109.0 (76.5%)
12. Paris, Wine & Romance (air date: May 4) – 638 pts – weighted score: 108.3 (76.0%)
13. My Boyfriend’s Back: Wedding March 5 (air date: June 8) – 635 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
14. Over the Moon in Love (air date: Oct 5) – 613 pts – weighted score: 106.3 (74.6%)
15. Flip That Romance (air date: March 16) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
16. My One and Only (air date: Aug 31) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.6 (74.1%)
17. Mystery 101: Playing Dead (air date: June 23 (HMM)) – 425 pts – weighted score: 86.5 (73.9%)
18. A Summer Romance (air date: Aug 17) – 577 pts – weighted score: 103.7 (72.7%)
19. True Love Blooms (air date: April 6) – 598 pts – weighted score: 103.1 (72.3%)
20. Forever in My Heart (air date: Sept 14) – 560 pts – weighted score: 102.4 (71.8%)
21. The Mistletoe Secret (air date: Nov 11) – 585 pts – weighted score: 102.2 (71.7%)
22. Christmas Under the Stars (air date: Nov 16) – 576 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
23. The Story of Us (air date: February 9) – 605 pts – weighted score: 101.3 (71.1%)
24. Holiday for Heroes (air date: Nov 8) – 566 pts – weighted score: 99.8 (70.0%)
25. A Brush with Love (air date: March 30) – 563 pts – weighted score: 97.7 (68.6%)
26. Ruby Herring: Silent Witness (air date: January 20 (HMM)) – 357 pts – weighted score: 79.5 (67.9%)
27. Love, Unleashed (air date: July 6, 2019) – 559 pts – weighted score: 96.2 (67.5%)
28. Love Under the Rainbow (air date: March 9) – 581 pts – weighted score: 96.0 (67.4%)
29. One Winter Proposal (air date: January 12) – 535 pts – weighted score: 95.8 (67.2%)
30. Just Add Romance (air date: March 2) – 548 pts – weighted score: 95.6 (67.1%)
31. Christmas Scavenger Hunt (air date: Nov 3) – 561 pts – weighted score: 95.4 (66.9%)
32. From Friend to Fiance (air date: May 25) – 555 pts – weighted score: 94.8% (66.5%)
33. Picture a Perfect Christmas (air date: Nov 10) – 529 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
34. Christmas Camp (air date: July 11) – 530 pts – weighted score: 93.9 (65.9%)
35. Love and Sunshine (air date: Aug 3) – 504 pts – weighted score: 91.7 (64.3%)
36. Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (air date: March 10 (HMM) – 354 pts – weighted score: 74.1 (63.3%)
37. A Christmas Miracle (air date: Nov 14) – 494 pts – weighted score: 90.1 (63.2%)
38. Sister of the Bride (air date: June 29) – 516 pts – weighted score: 89.8 (63.0%)
39. Valentine in the Vineyard (air date: February 2) – 503 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
40. Love, Take Two (air date: June 15) – 507 pts – weighted score: 87.8 (61.6%)
41. All Summer Long (air date: Aug 24) – 512 pts – weighted score: 87.7 (61.5%)
42. Snowcoming (air date: January 26) – 485 pts – weighted score: 87.3 (61.2%)
43. The Winter Castle (air date: January 5) – 475 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.2%)
44. Merry & Bright (air date: Nov 2) – 483 pts – weighted score: 84.4 (59.2%)
45. Nostalgic Christmas (air date: Oct 31) – 446 pts – weighted score: 79.2 (55.6%)
46. A Merry Christmas Match (air date: Oct 25) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.3 (54.9%)
47. Sailing Into Love (air date: May 18) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.0 (54.7%)
48. Rome in Love (air date: July 27) – 436 pts – weighted score: 76.7 (53.8%)
49. A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas (air date: Nov 7) – 398 pts – weighted score: 72.3 (50.7%)
50. A Taste of Summer (air date: Aug 10) – 403 pts – weighted score: 70.9 (49.7%)
51. A Winter Princess (air date: January 18) – 380 pts – weighted score: 70.5 (49.5%)
52. A Feeling of Home (air date: May 11) – 386 pts – weighted score: 69.7% (48.9%)
53. 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 “Christmas Under the Stars”?  Comment below and let me know!

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