Hallmark For All Seasons

“We Need a Little Christmas,” starring Erica Durance, Patrick Sabongui and Lynn Whitfield aired on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel during the first weekend of 2022’s Countdown to Christmas, on October 22, 2022. It was filmed in a section of British Columbia, Canada called Kalowna.

Kevin Fair directed based off a screenplay by Graham Locke and Angela Mancuso.  Fair has directed many Hallmark movies, including Taking a Shot at Love, Wedding Every Weekend, and most of the “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” series.

In a nutshell

I loved the story involving the two women becoming friends, and Julie and her son figuring out how to maneuver the first Christmas without husband/dad.  But while I like Patrick Sabongui, I felt no chemistry between Julie and Peter and wished the movie didn’t have a romantic element at all.

The Plot of “We Need a Little Christmas”

Facing her first Christmas as a single mother, Julie develops an unexpected friendship with Irene, an older neighbor.

Actors & Chemistry

First of all, let’s talk Azriel Dalman.  That sweet, sweet young man is wonderful and so emotive and able to draw on my heartstrings.  He has been in a few Hallmark movies, including Coyote Creek Christmas and Sweet Carolina. He has a natural ability to draw you in and he’s one of the better Hallmark kids.

Erica Durance was fabulous and I felt her vulnerability and fear throughout the first half of the movie. Even before she confronted Irene you could feel her slowly rising jealousy regarding Irene and Gavin’s connection at day camp.  Lynn Whitfield was delightful and charming as Irene. She was so natural and easy as Irene, and made me cry when she saw her grandson outside her front door.

Yep, I teared up quite a lot in the last few minutes of this movie.

Find the Tropes!

Single widowed parent to cute kid. A house with a front porch.  Kids caroling at day camp.  Kids crafting. Tree decorating, complete with an ornament with special meaning. Irene’s grandson was in the military. Empty coffee cups. Snowglobes!

Did I Hear/See That Right?

My one takeaway is that I wish they had not tried to get a romance going in this movie at all.  I know that’s what Hallmark does, but this movie’s best parts came from the two women building their friendship. When Peter started hinting to Julie that he liked her at the networking event, I thought, “No! Too soon!” but then I checked and the movie was at the 1 hr 30 min mark.  Having said that, I’m SO GLAD they didn’t end this movie with a kiss.  It would have felt forced and ruined the movie.

Feelgoods

Yes, I teared up when Gavin overheard his mom having an emotional moment to herself, and he formed big crocodile tears of his own.  Oh my word – that kid.  When Julie smelled her husband’s cologne while Gavin watched her, both Erica Durance and Azriel Galman brought me to tears by the looks on their faces.

Re-watchability of “We Need a Little Christmas”

I generally don’t watch the serious movies more than once unless I REALLY like them (such as Two Turtle Doves), so I wouldn’t watch this one again.  But if YOU haven’t seen it, I recommend it, mainly for the triple impact of Durance, Whitfield and precious young Dalman.

The Rankings

The performances in this movie are what enabled it to score as high as it did.  Another huge bonus was the decision NOT to push too hard on the romance and instead focus on a budding friendship between neighbors, and the reconnection through grief of a mother and son.  So, so good.

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. We Wish You a Married Christmas (air date: Oct 22) – 623 pts – weighted score: 105.7 (74.1%)
10. Rip in Time (air date: May 22) – 622 pts – weighted score: 105.3 (73.9%)
11. We Need a Little Christmas (air date: Oct 22) – 614 pts – weighted score: 105.1 (73.7%)
12. Campfire Christmas (air date: July 16) – 621 pts – weighted score: 104.9 (73.6%)
13. Noel Next Door (air date: Oct 21) – 609 pts – weighted score: 104.8 (73.5%)
14. Caribbean Summer (air date: June 11) – 636 pts – weighted score: 104.7 (73.5%)
15. Always Amore (air date: Apr 3) – 618 pts – weighted score: 104.5 (73.3%)
16. Hidden Gems (air date: Jun 4) – 611 pts – weighted score: 102.3 (71.8%)
17. Pumpkin Everything (air date: Oct 8) – 603 pts – weighted score: 101.6 (71.3%)
18. Autumn in the City (air date: Oct 15) – 594 pts – weighted score: 100.2 (70.3%)
19. Love in the Limelight (air date: Aug 6) – 604 pts – weighted score: 100.0 (70.2%)
20. Second Chance at Love (air date: Mar 26) – 585 pts – weighted score: 99.7 (69.9%)
21. Romance in Style (air date: Aug 13) – 562 pts – weighted score: 97.2 (68.2%)
22. Big Sky River (air date: Aug 7) – 568 pts – weighted score: 97.1 (68.1%)
23. Game, Set, Love (air date: Aug 27) – 552 pts – weighted score: 95.3 (66.9%)
24. A Tail of Love (air date: Apr 23) – 557 pts – weighted score: 94.4 (66.2%)
25. The Perfect Pairing (air date: Jan 15) – 563 pts – weighted score: 92.7 (65.0%)
26. Christmas in Toyland (air date: July 23) – 544 pts – weighted score: 92.4 (64.8%)
27. The Wedding Veil Legacy (air date: Feb 19) – 543 pts – weighted score: 92.0 (64.5%)
28. Welcome to Mama’s (air date: Feb 26) – 540 pts – weighted score: 91.9 (64.5%)
29. Butlers in Love (air date: Jan 29) – 527 pts – weighted score: 91.3 (64.0%)
30. Feeling Butterflies (air date: Mar 12) – 542 pts – weighted score: 91.2 (64.0%)
31. To Her, With Love (air date: Sept 11) – 536 pts – weighted score: 89.4 (62.7%)
32. The Wedding Veil Unveiled (air date: Feb 12) – 515 pts – weighted score: 86.9 (61.0%)
33. My Grown-Up Christmas List (air date: July 9) – 514 pts – weighted score: 86.9 (60.9%)
34. Road Trip Romance (air date: May 14) – 492 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.3%)
35. Don’t Forget I Love You (air date: Jan 22) – 508 pts – weighted score: 85.8 (60.2%)
36. The Wedding Veil (air date: Jan 8) – 508 pts – weighted score: 83.3 (58.4%)
37. Where the Heart Belongs (air date: Jan 1) – 435 pts – weighted score: 74.5 (52.3%)
38. 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 “We Need a Little Christmas”?  Comment below and let me know!