Christmas Island | 2023 Christmas Movies

When I first saw the commercials for Christmas Island, I thought it sounded very similar to the Broadway musical Come From Away. Except that the plane in Christmas Island was grounded by weather and not a terrorist attack.

Kate (Rachel Skarsten) is a pilot that has been hired by the wealthy Sharpe family to fly them to Switzerland for the holidays. Unfortunately, they run into a major blizzard and are forced to land on a small island in Canada called Christmas Island. Can Kate save her job (and Christmas)?

I have to admit that I enjoyed Christmas Island. But not for the romance. It was for the Sharpe family, especially the kids. I knew the movie was going to Save Christmas for them (it is Hallmark, after all) but I found myself really hoping their parents would come through for them. I would have liked a few more scenes or montages of the family spending more time together but it wasn’t needed to make the movie watchable.

At the end, this movie wanted us to pull for Kate and Oliver (Andrew Walker) to get together. But it didn’t make me actually care if they did. I think they would have been perfectly fine as friends. Alas, Hallmark does not make friends, only romantic partners.

Rating: Me and The Sky

My Christmas Family Tree | 2021 Christmas Movies

Ah, the orphan plotline. It can be used to make such a feel-good Christmas movie. Or it can make you feel sad and lonely. Let’s see where Hallmark went with My Christmas Family Tree.

Vanessa (Aimee Teegarden) was orphaned when she was nine years old. Now an adult, she takes a Family Tree DNA test. A few days before Christmas, her test returns a paternal match. Has she found the family that she has dreamed of?

I know, this sounds like it would be a schmaltzy movie where everyone adores everyone else. On the contrary, My Christmas Family Tree adds the right amount of skepticism to the love fest. Sure, her new father, Richard (James Tupper), and his family accept her into their family immediately, Richard also shows a bit of doubt that Vanessa really is his daughter. Even Vanessa has some doubt. I think that it offsets what could be a terribly cheesy scenario.

To be honest, I found myself enjoying the movie. I loved the way that Vanessa didn’t try to force her way into the family. She was just nice to everyone. When the kids were having a difficult time, she would talk to them like they were real people, which is a rarity. Most people treat kids like they are idiots or dolls they can play dress up with. Vanessa is there when they need someone and she doesn’t talk down to them. It’s the way people should act around children.

The romantic part of the story is actually the sub plot. Vanessa isn’t there to find her one true love. She’s there to find who her family is and where she comes from. The romantic love is the cherry on top of the happiness sundae. Sorry, Kris (Andrew W Walker), you’re kinda irrelevant here.

I would recommend watching My Christmas Family Tree. Especially if you are looking for a movie that is sweet but not syrupy, full of love but not overly romantic, and has just the right amount of Christmas. Good job, Hallmark.

Christmas Tree Lane | 2020 Christmas Movies

Music, nostalgia, and Christmas. What more could a Christmas movie want? Oh, right, romance.

Alicia Witt plays Meg, the daughter of a family-owned music store on Christmas Tree Lane. Sadly, all of the stores on the lane are being pushed out to make room for office buildings. Meg brings all of the merchants together to try to save their stores.

Christmas Tree Lane is a little odd for a Hallmark Christmas movie. (I think they are sticking all of their unusual movies over on the Movies & Mysteries channel.) You could literally remove Nate (Andrew Walker), the love interest, and there would be very little impact on the story. I found it quite refreshing. It was nice that the movie focused on the history of the lane and the merchants trying to save their livelihoods.

I also liked that the movie featured musicians that still enjoy what they do. Meg had a little difficulty with her songwriting but I think it was more of a writer’s block type of thing than a losing passion for it thing. She still loved teaching music and convincing her student, Kari (Malaika Guttoh), to perform at the Christmas Eve concert. Meg even performed a song she wrote!

This was such a sweet movie. I would have liked to have a little more nostalgia in it…maybe a few scenes showing what the area was like 100 years ago instead of just talking about it…but not having that doesn’t ruin anything. And Alicia Witt is such a great actress, I think I would recommend any of her work. In short, this is definitely worth watching.

Advent Day #13: A Christmas In Tennessee

OMG. A Christmas In Tennessee is everything that Welcome To Christmas wanted to be. It is almost exactly the same premise but a million times better.

Matthew (Andrew W. Walker) is a consultant for a real estate developer who rolls into White Pines, Tennessee to try to get the townspeople to sell their property so they can put a ski resort there. Allison (Rachel Boston), a single mom, owns the local bakery. She is also one of two descendants of the town founders. Matthew only needs one of them to sign the contract but will they?

Tennessee also has a couple of subplots going on. One involves Allison’s daughter, Olivia (Kate Moyer), wishing the bakery made more money. Santa and Mrs. Claus order a ton of cookies. When Olivia’s tale of Santa’s favorite cookies goes viral, the bakery is busier than ever. A second subplot involves Allison’s mother, Martha (Patricia Richardson), resuming her life after the death of her husband. She is the musical director at the local church but she doesn’t want to sing anymore. And there’s a bit of a love story between Martha and the town mayor.

Unlike Welcome to Christmas, this movie is packed with personality. The only character that gets sidestepped a bit is Matthew’s evil assistant, who doesn’t even get a credit on the show’s IMDB page. (I even forget her name…Rebecca, maybe?) While I didn’t want her to be more involved, she is the cause of the big problem at the end of the movie and we never see her getting her comeuppance. I mean, the lady literally forges a signature. It would have been nice to see her get arrested or something.

I found myself actually charmed by Tennessee. Considering a groaned inwardly when I saw that this was another real estate movie (does big-Christmas-television think that this is an interesting concept? Because it isn’t.). Thankfully, the casting director hired some amazing actors that were able to bring this all together. You’ll definitely enjoy Caroline Rhea as Mrs. Claus. Whoever decided to cast her needs a raise!