Hallmark For All Seasons

“Jolly Good Christmas,” starring Reshma Shetty and Will Kemp aired on Hallmark Channel during the 2nd weekend of 2022’s Countdown to Christmas, on October 29, 2022. It was set and filmed in London, England.

Originally called “Christmas in London,” I have to say I do prefer the updated title.  The screenplay was written by Ron Oliver, who is known for solid stories, with Jonathan Wright directing.  Those two are the elite of Hallmark between writing and directing, so I had high hopes for this movie, even with the travesty of Englishman Will Kemp being forced to speak with an American accent.  Wright previously worked with Will Kemp in Love, Romance and Chocolate.

Music: The movie opened with Wonderful Christmastime (affiliate link) by Paul McCartney. Christmas Wrapping (affiliate link) by Spice Girls during their run from the store police.

In a nutshell

The movie was more serious than I expected, but I loved the two leads and in the end I really liked this movie.

The Plot of “Jolly Good Christmas”

When by-the-book architect David hires free-spirited personal shopper Anji, he finds himself on a wild ride across London in search of the perfect Christmas gift but finds something he wasn’t looking for.

Actors & Chemistry

Where has Reshma Shetty been all this time and how can we get her in more Hallmark movies?  I LOVED her throughout this entire movie.  Apparently she was on the show “Royal Pains,” and “Blindspot,” but as I do not watch either of those shows, this is my first time seeing her, and I adored her.

What can I say about Will Kemp?  He does a very unique American accent that is not really specific to anywhere in the US.  It wasn’t nasally like the northeast, it wasn’t in the throat like the west coast, and it wasn’t at the front like the south. It was wildly mid-throat but not mid-West, which isn’t really a thing. But if you are able to ignore that, then David comes off as charming and open, if slightly stressed.

I thoroughly enjoyed Anji’s parents, played by Su McLaughlin and Amerijit Deu. That whole dynamic with Anji’s family was great.  I also really liked David’s co-worker Callum, played by Callum Blue, who was last featured as Chef Henri in Mix Up in the Meditteranean.

Find the Tropes!

Drone shots of London, people ice skating.  Our double meet cute involved a ginormous teddy bear that my son would love to have.  Interestingly, in this movie could HE be considered the Bad Boyfriend since he barely knows his girlfriend after 3 months of dating?

They went to a Christmas market where people were dressed up as elves. Does two-handed teacup holding count as hot cocoa in this movie? They attended a Christmas gala.  Towards the end there were carolers.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

So, the white Christmas tree things that weren’t really trees in David’s office had potential to be really cool.  Instead, they looked like a six-year-old was handed lights and given the opportunity to throw them anywhere.  So much wasted potential.

I had so many issues with the whole “I accidently stole a necklace from the store so let me run from security” scene. First, personal buyer Anji can now never go back there to shop for gifts for people. While they were running from the store police they encountered a small Christmas market and were able to talk a stringed quartet into letting him play a violin?  Really? They were better off staying dressed up as elves and running the race whose lanes were only 30 feet long.

Feelgoods

The movie shows off England very well, although it clearly had the Paris problem.  What I mean is, in every movie in Paris, whoever is visiting has a room with a view of the Eiffel Tower.  In London, apparently everyone lives right near Big Ben. I do wish it had showed MORE of London though.  I mean, I get it – the movie basically takes place over a couple of days, so it could only do so much, but I wanted MORE MORE MORE!

Anji’s purple dress at the Christmas party was lovely.

The Ted Baker coat returns, and Anji apparently has TWO of them!

Re-watchability of “Jolly Good Christmas”

Given how much I loved Reshma Shetty, yes I’d watch it again.

The Rankings

It had cracked the Top 10 for the year, thanks to incredibly likeable stars, nice direction and a good script (store police chase notwithstanding). Frankly, it would have ranked higher if it had a couple more tropes, but it still an enjoyable movie.

1. A Kismet Christmas (air date: Oct 24) – 664 pts – weighted score: 113.2 (79.4%)
2. Two Tickets to Paradise (air date: June 25) – 664 pts – weighted score: 111.4 (78.1%)
3. Just One Kiss (air date: Apr 2) – 660 pts – weighted score: 111.2 (78.0%)
4. The Presence of Love (air date: Mar 13) – 650 pts – weighted score: 110.9 (77.8%)
5. Wedding of a Lifetime (air date: Sept 17) – 640 pts – weighted score: 108.2 (75.9%)
6. Dating the Delaneys (air date: Aug 20) – 638 pts – weighted score: 106.5 (74.7%)
7. Love, Classified (air date: Apr 16) – 624 pts – weighted score: 106.1 (74.4%)
8. A Royal Runaway Romance (air date: Apr 9) – 617 pts – weighted score: 105.9 (74.3%)
9. Jolly Good Christmas (air date: Oct 29) – 625 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.2%)
10. We Wish You a Married Christmas (air date: Oct 22) – 623 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.1%)
11. Rip in Time (air date: May 22) – 622 pts – weighted score: 105.3 (73.9%)
12. We Need a Little Christmas (air date: Oct 22) – 614 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
13. Campfire Christmas (air date: July 16) – 621 pts – weighted score: 104.9 (73.6%)
14. Noel Next Door (air date: Oct 21) – 609 pts – weighted score: 104.8 (73.5%)
15. Caribbean Summer (air date: June 11) – 636 pts – weighted score: 104.7 (73.5%)
16. A Cozy Christmas Inn (air date: Oct 28) – 626 pts – weighted score: 104.6 (73.5%)
17. Always Amore (air date: Apr 3) – 618 pts – weighted score: 104.5 (73.3%)
18. Hidden Gems (air date: Jun 4) – 611 pts – weighted score: 102.3 (71.8%)
19. Pumpkin Everything (air date: Oct 8) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.6 (71.3%)
20. Autumn in the City (air date: Oct 15) – 594 pts – weighted score: 100.2 (70.3%)
21. Love in the Limelight (air date: Aug 6) – 604 pts – weighted score: 100.0 (70.2%)
22. Second Chance at Love (air date: Mar 26) – 585 pts – weighted score: 99.7 (69.9%)
23. Romance in Style (air date: Aug 13) – 562 pts – weighted score: 97.2 (68.2%)
24. Big Sky River (air date: Aug 7) – 568 pts – weighted score: 97.1 (68.1%)
25. Game, Set, Love (air date: Aug 27) – 552 pts – weighted score: 95.3 (66.9%)
26. A Tail of Love (air date: Apr 23) – 557 pts – weighted score: 94.4 (66.2%)
27. The Perfect Pairing (air date: Jan 15) – 563 pts – weighted score: 92.7 (65.0%)
28. Christmas in Toyland (air date: July 23) – 544 pts – weighted score: 92.4 (64.8%)
29. The Wedding Veil Legacy (air date: Feb 19) – 543 pts – weighted score: 92.0 (64.5%)
30. Welcome to Mama’s (air date: Feb 26) – 540 pts – weighted score: 91.9 (64.5%)
31. Butlers in Love (air date: Jan 29) – 527 pts – weighted score: 91.3 (64.0%)
32. Feeling Butterflies (air date: Mar 12) – 542 pts – weighted score: 91.2 (64.0%)
33. To Her, With Love (air date: Sept 11) – 536 pts – weighted score: 89.4 (62.7%)
34. The Wedding Veil Unveiled (air date: Feb 12) – 515 pts – weighted score: 86.9 (61.0%)
35. My Grown-Up Christmas List (air date: July 9) – 514 pts – weighted score: 86.9 (60.9%)
36. Road Trip Romance (air date: May 14) – 492 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.3%)
37. Don’t Forget I Love You (air date: Jan 22) – 508 pts – weighted score: 85.8 (60.2%)
38. The Wedding Veil (air date: Jan 8) – 508 pts – weighted score: 83.3 (58.4%)
39. Where the Heart Belongs (air date: Jan 1) – 435 pts – weighted score: 74.5 (52.3%)
40. 14 Love Letters (air date: July 31) – 420 pts – weighted score: 73.5 (51.6%)

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

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