Hallmark For All Seasons

“‘Tis the Season to be Merry,” aired on December 19, as the last movie for this year’s Countdown to Christmas on Hallmark Channel.  It starred Rachael Leigh Cook and Travis Van Winkle.  The movie, while being set in Vermont, was actually filmed in Winnipeg, Canada.  One location used in the film was the Deer Meadow Farms.

Knowing that Jen Kirkman (from such notable projects as “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and “Chelsea Lately”) worked alongside Duane Poole on the script, I expected good things from this movie.  Then throw in Hallmark regular Gary Yates (On the 12th Date of Christmas) as the director, and I expected even more.

This poster closes out the Christmas movie season with a bold red poster, with presents and ornaments as decoration, and our cute couple front and center.  I like it.

In a nutshell

What a great way to finish off the Christmas movie season! RLC and TVW were both fabulous, with a well-written, entertaining script.

The Plot of “‘Tis the Season to be Merry”

Looking for a fresh angle to her book on relationships, Merry heads to snow covered Vermont. She finds a new perspective and Christmas cheer with charismatic aid worker Adam.  

Actors & Chemistry

Rachael Leigh Cook and Travis Van Winkle were so great together.  That scene in front of the fire place when he asks her what she wants, and she nervously answers “Right now?” and he softly hums, “uh huh.”  WOW.  Everything about that scene – the line delivery, the camera placement, the editing – served up a huge plate of intimacy and attraction.  It was perfect. Talk about chemistry.  Theirs was amazingly good. And what’s so great is that the movie had been building up to that fireplace moment the entire time – from Merry’s initial, shocked silent mouthing of “OH MY…!” when Adam left the bedroom when they first encountered each other to the way Adam would show his displeasure when she interacted with James.  The attraction between the two of them was acute and palpable.

And really, the entire cast was great.  It was nice seeing Karen Malina White again, this time as Merry’s book rep Sonia.  I loved her in Love, For Real earlier this year. And while Sonia took a while to grow on me, in the end I was rooting for her to get a good book out of the trip AND the new man!   John B. Lowe and Lois Brothers were also good fits as Adam and Darlene’s parents.

Tropes

There were definitely some tropes, but not as many as appeared in other movies over the past couple of months.  We had the big city drone shot, a character with a festive name (Merry), and characters that knew each other before.  Adam drove an old red truck, and we saw both tree decorating and tree lighting.  Adam and Merry took quite a few selfies together.  We saw them wrap presents and dress like elves, and lastly there was was CGI snow here and there.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

There were really only three things that stood out – two were minor but one was MAJOR.  First, at the tree auction, they auctioned off the trees in increments of $50.  I’ve not been to many auctions, but I know that’s not how it works unless it’s a bigger ticket item than a Christmas tree.  Secondly, they had real mugs (empty ones at that) at the town tree lighting – do they give the mugs back at the end of the event?  Are there enough mugs to just hand out willy-nilly to the townspeople?  That’s gotta be expensive when people inevitably walk off with them.  Or do they get to keep the mugs as a keepsake?  I need answers.

But the major thing was the fact that Adam’s parents did not discuss their plan to sell the land and store until it was already a done deal.  I know your son travels a lot, and seems to have his whole life sorted, but retirement is a MAJOR life change and the least you could do was tell your kid(s) that the THIRD GENERATION FAMILY BUSINESS AND LAND were being sold, even if they meant it for good (as stated in the movie, they planned to share some of the proceeds with him as his inheritance).

I’m still fifteen years away from retiring and even now I joke around with my kids about what I intend to do in my retirement years (sell the house, move out of SC and take over my parents’ awesome house in Virginia).  So even when retirement is a year away I’d tell them my intentions so it’s no surprise.  As close as Adam’s family claims to be (despite the physical distance between them), there’s no way that major life change should be handled without full knowledge of the kids.

Feelgoods

I’ve already mentioned the s’mores scene.  It wasn’t just the fire giving off heat, y’all.  That scene was great.  But really, EVERY scene between RLC and TVW was great.

I also really appreciated the humor in this one.  It wasn’t a straight up comedy, but had great comedic moments.  My favorite was when they saw Sonia had arrived in Snow Bridge and she hissed “Run!” to Adam, to which he literally sidestepped out of frame.  I rewound my Tivo and watched that a couple times because it tickled me to no end.

Re-watchability of “‘Tis the Season to be Merry”

Definitely re-watching this one.  Every year, faithfully.  And not just because of TVW’s abs.

The Ranking

“‘Tis the Season to be Merry” landed in Top 5 for the year, and I’m happy about that.  This movie was just fun from beginning to end and well worth catching if you haven’t already!

I should also note that I’ve added the score for “Sugar Plum Twist” in the rankings below.  I was going to review it, but the movie was so bad I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  But rest assured despite having two leading ladies who crushed it, they were paired with two leading men who dragged down that movie hard, and an unnecessary romantic plot that ruined the movie.

1. An Unexpected Christmas (air date: Nov 26) – 736 pts – weighted score: 123.0 (86.3%)
2. A Dickens of a Holiday! (air date: Dec 11) – 735 pts – weighted score: 122.3 (85.8%)
3. The Santa Stakeout (air date: Oct 24) – 730 pts – weighted score: 122.3 (85.8%)
4. ‘Tis the Season to be Merry (air date: Dec 17) – 730 pts – weighted score: 122.0 (85.6%)
5. A Christmas Family Tree (air date: Nov 14) – 730 pts – weighted score: 121.9 (85.5%)
6. You, Me and The Christmas Trees (air date: Oct 22) – 716 pts – weighted score: 121.3 (85.1%)
7. The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls (air date: Dec 18) – 710 pts – weighted score: 118.8 (83.4%)
8. Crashing Through The Snow (air date: July 10) – 705 pts – weighted score: 118.1 (82.8%)
9. The Nine Kittens of Christmas (air date: Nov 25) – 690 pts – weighted score: 116.5 (81.8%)
10. One December Night (air date: Nov 13) – 695 pts – weighted score: 116.3 (81.6%)
11. A Mrs. Miracle Christmas (air date: Nov 6) – 688 pts – weighted score: 116.2 (81.5%)
12. Every Time a Bell Rings (air date: Nov 1) – 687 pts – weighted score: 116.2 (81.5%)
13. Boyfriends of Christmas Past (air date: Oct 23) – 673 pts – weighted score: 116.1 (81.5%)
14. A Royal Queens Christmas (air date: Dec 11) – 690 pts – weighted score: 115.3 (80.9%)
15. Next Stop, Christmas (air date: Nov 6) – 682 pts – weighted score: 114.7 (80.5%)
16. It Was Always You (air date: Feb 27) – 668 pts – weighted score: 114.2 (80.1%)
17. The Christmas Promise (air date: Oct 30) – 675 pts – weighted score: 114.1 (80.0%)
18. Gingerbread Miracle (air date: Nov 5) – 671 pts – weighted score: 114.0 (80.0%)
19. Christmas In My Heart (air date: Oct 23) – 675 pts – weighted score: 113.9 (79.9%)
20. A Kiss Before Christmas (air date: Nov 21) – 671 pts – weighted score: 111.9 (78.5%)
21. Open at Christmas (air date: Nov 12) – 658 pts – weighted score: 111.6 (78.3%)
22. You Had Me At Aloha (air date: June 5) – 675 pts – weighted score: 111.4 (78.1%)
23. A Christmas Together With You (air date: Nov 20) – 645 pts – weighed score: 110.9 (77.8%)
24. Five More Minutes (air date: Nov 21) – 645 pts – weighted score: 110.8 (77.7%)
25. Sweet Carolina (air date: May 15) – 648 pts – weighted score: 110.1 (77.2%)
26. A Very Merry Bridesmaid (air date: Dec 4) – 644 pts – weighted score: 109.5 (76.8%)
27. One Summer (air date: Oct 3) – 637 pts – weighted score: 109.2 (76.6%)
28. Taking a Shot at Love (air date: Jan 2) – 641 pts – weighted score: 108.9 (76.4%)
29. Christmas in Tahoe (air date: Nov 28) – 653 pts – weighted score: 108.7 (76.3%)
30. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (air date: Mar 27) – 636 pts – weighted score: 108.5 (76.1%)
31. Christmas at Castle Hart (air date: Nov 27) – 639 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
32. Right in Front of Me (air date: Apr 18) – 637 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
33. As Luck Would Have It (air date: Apr 10) – 638 pts – weighted score: 107.7 (75.5%)
34. Our Christmas Journey (air date: Dec 4) – 640 pts – weighted score: 107.5 (75.4%)
35. Her Pen Pal (air date: June 19) – 636 pts – weighted score: 107.1 (75.1%)
36. Time for Them to Come Home for Christmas (air date: Nov 27) – 638 pts – weighted score: 106.8 (74.9%)
37. The Baker’s Son (air date: June 13) – 637 pts – weighted score: 106.3 (74.6%)
38. The Christmas Contest (air date: Nov 28) – 628 pts – weighted score: 105.9 (74.3%)
39. South Beach Love (air date: Oct 9) – 615 pts – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
40. Love Strikes Twice (air date: Oct 2) – 608 pts – weighted score: 105.2 (73.8%)
41. A Holiday in Harlem (air date: Nov 7) – 628 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
42. Christmas Sail (air date: Oct 31) – 606 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
43. Christmas in Harmony (air date: Oct 29) – 605 pts – weighted score: 104.8 (73.5%)
44. A Christmas Treasure (air date: Nov 7) – 625 pts – weighted score: 104.6 (73.4%)
45. A Winter Getaway (air date: Jan 23) – 620 pts – weighted score: 104.4 (73.3%)
46. A Godwink Christmas: Miracle of Love (air date: Dec 11) – 610 pts – weighted score: 104.4 (73.2%)
47. Coyote Creek Christmas (air date: Oct 30) – 614 pts – weighted score: 104.3 (73.2%)
48. Love, For Real (air date: July 31) – 607 pts – weighted score: 103.6 (72.7%)
49. Christmas CEO (air date: Nov 26) – 596 pts – weighted score: 103.5 (72.6%)
50. Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone (air date: Oct 1) – 595 pts – weighted score: 103.0 (72.2%)
51. Mix Up in the Mediterranean (air date: Feb 20) – 590 pts – weighted score: 102.5 (71.9%)
52. Advice to Love By (air date: Oct 16) – 599 pts – weighted score: 102.2 (71.7)
53. Two For The Win (air date: Jan 16) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.8 (71.4%)
54. Taking the Reins (air date: Sept 28) – 574 pts – weighted score: 101.2 (71.0%)
55. Raise a Glass to Love (air date: Sept 18) – 590 pts – weighted score: 100.7 (70.7%)
56. Eight Gifts of Hanukkah (air date: Dec 3) – 590 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
57. Sugar Plum Twist (air date: Dec 17) – 586 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
58. Nantucket Noel (air date: Nov 18) – 585 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
59. Chasing Waterfalls (air date: Mar 20) – 570 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
60. Roadhouse Romance (air date: Sept 11) – 571 pts – weighted score: 100.2 (70.3%)
61. Sweet Pecan Summer (air date: ) – 576 pts – weighted score: 97.3 (68.3%)
62. Sand Dollar Cove (air date: June 26) – 557 pts – weighted score: 96.8 (67.9%)
63. Hearts Down Under (air date: Apr 24) – 547 pts – weighted score: 95.2 (66.8%)
64. Fit for a Prince (air date: Mar 6) – 546 pts – weighted score: 94.6 (66.4%)
65. A New Year’s Resolution (air date: Jan 9) – 516 pts – weighted score: 90.5 (63.5%)
66. Finding Love in Mountain View (air date: ) – 504 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
67. A Little Daytime Drama (air date: Aug 21) – 511 pts – weighted score: 87.7 (61.5%)
68. Baby, It’s Cold Inside (air date: May 8) – 495 pts – weighted score: 85.6 (60.0%)
69. Playing Cupid (air date: Feb 13) – 466 pts – weighted score: 82.6 (58.0%)
70. Beverly Hills Wedding (air date: Feb 6) – 431 pts – weighted score: 80.6 (56.5%)
71. Journey of my Heart (air date: ) – 450 pts – weighted score: 76.0 (53.3%)
72. Snowkissed (air date: Jan 31) – 402 pts – weighted score: 76.0 (53.3%)

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

I have three more movies to watch – I likely will not get a chance to review them since tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, but I do intent to watch them so I can not only come out with my big year-end synopsis of the Christmas movies, but the stats of the entire year of movies as well.

But in the meantime, what did you think of “‘Tis the Season to be Merry”?  Comment below and let me know!