Hallmark For All Seasons

Countdown to Christmas 2022

My Southern Family Christmas

Hey there, everyone! Miss me? First, let me apologize for being MIA during the busiest weekend of Hallmark’s Christmas season. My family traveled out of town for Thanksgiving, and the result is that by the time we got back home on Saturday evening, I had 5 movies on my DVR with three more airing in the next 24 hours! I was way behind before I ever began! I have now watched five of the movies, with plans to review two of them (this one and “Haul Out the Holly”). Of the remaining three I still have yet to watch, I hope to review at least 2 of them before the end of the weekend.

But here’s the kicker – my husband and I are hosting our annual Christmas party on Saturday night, which means come Sunday morning I’ll still probably have three movies from last weekend, AND most of this weekend’s movies still to watch. But that’s not all! NEXT weekend I’m heading to NJ for the Hallmark Christmas Con, and so I’ll be missing all THOSE movies as well. That means by the time I get home on December 12, will possibly have 8-10 movies to watch.

The good news is, that after December 12 I will not be traveling again the rest of the holiday season, so I can focus on all the wonderful Christmas movies that I will have saved on my DVR by that point. So please have patience as I very slowly get my write-ups done over the next two weeks. It will get better!

“My Southern Family Christmas” starring Jaicy Elliot and Ryan Rottman as well as Moira Kelly and Bruce Campbell aired on November 24, 2022 during Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas. Alys Murray and Emily Moss Wilson wrote the script, with Moss Wilson also taking leadership as the director.

Music: The one song weaving throughout the entire movie was Christmas Lights by Luna Keller.

In a nutshell

I don’t know what it is about Bruce Campbell, but the man just makes me cry when he’s vulnerable. He was a big highlight in this movie, and the main reason why I liked it.

The Plot of “My Southern Family Christmas”

When invited to cover a Pere Noel Christmas celebration in Louisiana, Campbell, a journalist meets her estranged father and his family for the first time.

Actors & Chemistry

Most of the cast was great. It was a delight to see Moira Kelly, except whenever I saw her my brain would chirp, “Toepick!” (Shoutout to all “The Cutting Edge” fans out there) Anniston Almond and Adeline Whittle were fun as Campbell’s young half-sisters. Bruce Campbell was tremendous.

Where the movie fell flat was the two romantic leads, Jaicy Elliott and Ryan Rottman. I felt zero romantic chemistry between their two characters, Campbell and Jackson. I’ve seen Ryan Rottman before, and generally enjoy him. But Jaicy Elliott played her character in the same vein as her character in “Romance in Style.” That is to say – Campbell was acerbic, a bit cold, and generally lacking in emotion during most of the movie. I never really got a sense that Campbell was that affected at seeing her real dad for the first time in decades. I never really saw her being truly attracted to Jackson in a romantic way.

Find the Tropes!

There were not a ton of tropes, but all the typical ones were there. A house with a front porch, a snowglobe, an actor from the 80s/90s (Moira Kelly, who played Campbell’s step-mom, Jennifer). We saw them decorate the tree, and a red truck. At some point Campbell is carrying a bunch of food trays and they are clearly empty and light as a feather. And yes, we had empty cups. There was a Christmas market as well as a minor food fight while they were decorating cookies.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the family stuff, with Campbell getting to know her family. What I didn’t care for was the romance part of the movie. I would have much preferred if they held off on the romance until the end and just had Jackson ask Campbell out to dinner or something. It really turned me off when he basically said, “I’ll go to Morocco,” as a way of telling her he liked her. Dude, you’ve known her about a week and suddenly you are telling her you’ll travel the world with her? Uh, nope. Too much.

Feelgoods

I had one feel, and it’s the man in the picture below. When Everett began telling his wife Jennifer about how he went to go find his daughter at a Christmas pageant and saw her being loved and supported by his ex-wife and her new husband, I teared up. A lot. Okay, okay, I had to grab a paper towel and wipe the tears from my face. That scene was amazing.

But then at the end when Campbell admitted to Everett who she was, and he walked out of the room without saying a word, the tears began anew when he walked back in and presented her with his journals, written to her over the years.

And it was that thread of storytelling that made me like the movie when all was said and done. Remove the romance, give Campbell and Everett a few more interactions, and this movie would be perfect for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. The storyline of a father and daughter reunited was powerful enough to stand on its own.

Re-watchability of “My Southern Family Christmas”

While I won’t likely watch this one again, it’s a good movie that any good Hallmark fan would enjoy.

The Rankings

It cracked the Top 20 for the year thus far, and is a good movie simply for Bruce Campbell alone. He was fantastic and makes the movie worthwhile.

Ghosts of Christmas Always (air date: Oct 30) – 732 pts – weighted score: 122.4 (85.9%)
Three Wise Men and a Baby (air date: Nov 19) – 735 pts – weighted score: 122.2 (85.7%)
Lights, Camera, Christmas! (air date: Nov 5) – 671 pts – weighted score: 113.1 (79.4%)
A Kismet Christmas (air date: Oct 24) – 664 pts – weighted score: 113.2 (79.4%)
Our Italian Christmas Memories (air date: Nov 12) 665 pts – weighted score: 112.4 (78.9%)
Christmas at the Golden Dragon (air date: Nov 13) – 665 pts – weighted score: 112.1 (78.7%)
Two Tickets to Paradise (air date: June 25) – 664 pts – weighted score: 111.4 (78.1%)
Just One Kiss (air date: Apr 2) – 660 pts – weighted score: 111.2 (78.0%)
The Presence of Love (air date: Mar 13) – 650 pts – weighted score: 110.9 (77.8%)
Wedding of a Lifetime (air date: Sept 17) – 640 pts – weighted score: 108.2 (75.9%)
Dating the Delaneys (air date: Aug 20) – 638 pts – weighted score: 106.5 (74.7%)
Love, Classified (air date: Apr 16) – 624 pts – weighted score: 106.1 (74.4%)
All Saints Christmas (air date: Nov 5) – 624 pts – weighted score: 106.0 (74.4%)
A Royal Runaway Romance (air date: Apr 9) – 617 pts – weighted score: 105.9 (74.3%)
Jolly Good Christmas (air date: Oct 29) – 625 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.2%)
We Wish You a Married Christmas (air date: Oct 22) – 623 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.1%)
My Southern Family Christmas (air date: Nov 24) – 621 pts – weighted score: 105.6 (74.1%)
The Royal Nanny (air date: Nov 12) – 611 pts – weighted score: 105.5 (74.0%)
In Merry Measure (air date: Nov 11) – 625 pts – weighted score: 105.4 (73.9%)
Rip in Time (air date: May 22) – 622 pts – weighted score: 105.3 (73.9%)
Inventing the Christmas Prince (air date: Nov 18) – 614 pts – weighted score: 105.2 (73.8%)
We Need a Little Christmas (air date: Oct 22) – 614 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
Campfire Christmas (air date: July 16) – 621 pts – weighted score: 104.9 (73.6%)
Noel Next Door (air date: Oct 21) – 609 pts – weighted score: 104.8 (73.5%)
Caribbean Summer (air date: June 11) – 636 pts – weighted score: 104.7 (73.5%)
A Cozy Christmas Inn (air date: Oct 28) – 626 pts – weighted score: 104.6 (73.5%)
Always Amore (air date: Apr 3) – 618 pts – weighted score: 104.5 (73.3%)
Hidden Gems (air date: Jun 4) – 611 pts – weighted score: 102.3 (71.8%)
A Magical Christmas Village (air date: Nov 4) – 592 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
Pumpkin Everything (air date: Oct 8) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.6 (71.3%)
Autumn in the City (air date: Oct 15) – 594 pts – weighted score: 100.2 (70.3%)
Love in the Limelight (air date: Aug 6) – 604 pts – weighted score: 100.0 (70.2%)
Second Chance at Love (air date: Mar 26) – 585 pts – weighted score: 99.7 (69.9%)
Christmas Bedtime Stories (air date: Oct 29) – 575 pts – weighted score: 98.8 (69.3%)
Romance in Style (air date: Aug 13) – 562 pts – weighted score: 97.2 (68.2%)
Big Sky River (air date: Aug 7) – 568 pts – weighted score: 97.1 (68.1%)
Game, Set, Love (air date: Aug 27) – 552 pts – weighted score: 95.3 (66.9%)
A Tail of Love (air date: Apr 23) – 557 pts – weighted score: 94.4 (66.2%)
The Perfect Pairing (air date: Jan 15) – 563 pts – weighted score: 92.7 (65.0%)
Christmas in Toyland (air date: July 23) – 544 pts – weighted score: 92.4 (64.8%)
The Wedding Veil Legacy (air date: Feb 19) – 543 pts – weighted score: 92.0 (64.5%)
Welcome to Mama’s (air date: Feb 26) – 540 pts – weighted score: 91.9 (64.5%)
Butlers in Love (air date: Jan 29) – 527 pts – weighted score: 91.3 (64.0%)
Feeling Butterflies (air date: Mar 12) – 542 pts – weighted score: 91.2 (64.0%)
To Her, With Love (air date: Sept 11) – 536 pts – weighted score: 89.4 (62.7%)
The Wedding Veil Unveiled (air date: Feb 12) – 515 pts – weighted score: 86.9 (61.0%)
My Grown-Up Christmas List (air date: July 9) – 514 pts – weighted score: 86.9 (60.9%)
Road Trip Romance (air date: May 14) – 492 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.3%)
Don’t Forget I Love You (air date: Jan 22) – 508 pts – weighted score: 85.8 (60.2%)
The Wedding Veil (air date: Jan 8) – 508 pts – weighted score: 83.3 (58.4%)
Where the Heart Belongs (air date: Jan 1) – 435 pts – weighted score: 74.5 (52.3%)
14 Love Letters (air date: July 31) – 420 pts – weighted score: 73.5 (51.6%)