Three Wise Men and a Baby | 2022 Christmas Movies

Hallmark took three of their Christmas leading men and cast them all in one movie as brothers. Three Wise Men and a Baby is the updated Christmas version of 1987’s Three Men and a Baby. Does it live up to the awesomeness of the original? Maaaybe…

Luke (Andrew Walker) is a firefighter. A few days before Christmas, a baby is left at the firehouse with a note asking Luke to look after him. So Luke brings the baby home to his mother, Barbara (Margaret Colin), and brothers, Stephan (Paul Campbell) and Taylor (Tyler Hynes). When their mother has to leave town to care for her sister for a few days, the brothers are left home alone to take care of the baby and prepare the house for Christmas. Chaos!

I was pleasantly surprised about how much I liked this movie. It was written by Paul Campbell and Kimberley Sustad (who makes a cameo appearance as an ER doctor), who also wrote 2020’s Christmas By Starlight. They were able to make each of the brothers completely different people while still allowing them the room to be brothers and have an emotional connection. I loved how the brothers interacted, especially with the baby. Oh, and their Nutcracker dance is to die for.

Yes, I think you should watch Three Wise Men and a Baby. The romance is kinda tacked on at the end but I think that makes this movie even more special. It isn’t about romantic relationships. It’s about repairing past family traumas and reconnecting with brothers. These are things that the holidays really should be about. Not finding your True Love.

A Maple Valley Christmas | 2022 Christmas Movies

You know, usually, Christmas movie titles give you a little insight into what the movie is about. A Maple Valley Christmas doesn’t really tell us anything. It’s about a family on a farm that harvests maple from trees so they make a lot of maple things. I guess they had to name it something, right?

Erica (Peyton List) has spent her whole life on her family’s farm. When the neighboring farm comes up for sale, Erica thinks they should buy the land to expand the business. Two things lie in her way - her sister, Heidi (Ella Cannon), who doesn’t want to spend the money and Aaron Davenport (Andrew Walker) whose father wants to buy the plot of land for their real estate business.

This is one of the most frustrating movies I have watched in awhile. It has all the marks of a good Christmas romance movie. Erica and Aaron make a good enough couple. Their romance seems to blossom fairly naturally. The land conflict is big enough that it could cause issues between people but not big enough that it’s catastrophic to everyone. However, what holds it back is the sheer self-centeredness of the women. Mainly Erica and Heidi.

Ina (Frances Flanagan), the family matriarch, wants to retire and go to Italy with her new boyfriend, who happens to tutor her in Italian. Erica basically throws a hissy fit at this news. How dare her mother want to spend her golden years doing something she wants to instead of wasting away on a farm simply to make her daughters happy? Since Ina is leaving the family business to Erica and Heidi, it’s Heidi’s turn to throw an unnecessary fit. Heidi absolutely refuses to even consider Erica’s plan to expand the family farm. When Erica talks to other people about it to get their ideas, Heidi complains that Erica is leaving her out. What should have been a simple conversation with everyone bringing up the pros and cons of the plan is turned into a stupid sibling rivalry. Why can’t these two think of other people for a minute?

I don’t know if I can recommend A Maple Valley Christmas. I really wanted to like it but it felt so misogynistic that it made my skin crawl. Maybe we can just forget this one exists this year.

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.