Eight Gifts of Hanukkah | 2021 Christmas Movies

I think next year I might reclassify the “Christmas movie” reviews as “Holiday movie” reviews. There’s usually only one Hanukkah movie per year shoved in the middle of the pile of Christmas movies but I would love to branch out into movies about other holidays. If those movies exist, anyway. Give me some recommendations about not-Christmas movies!

Sara (Inbar Lavi) is an optometrist who is looking for love. Her long-term relationship ended four months ago and she’s about ready to get back into the dating pool. She has met two men that she is considering dating but on the first night of Hanukkah, an anonymous suitor leaves a present on her doorstep with promises of seven more gifts to come. Is the mysterious man her ex, one of the two men courting her, or someone she has overlooked since childhood?

Eight Gifts of Hanukkah was a sweet movie. Granted, I spent way too much time wondering where I knew Inbar Lavi from but that is my problem, not the movie’s. (The answer is Lucifer. She played Eve.) I found her to be a great leading lady. She has this ability to pull off wide-eyed innocence yet not make the character look childish. She is also very good at bringing that feeling of nostalgia when you look at a sentimental item. I’m not sure how she does is but she made me miss her grandmother and we only know the character from an old picture!

This movie isn’t for someone wanting to learn more about Hanukkah. Head over to the 2019 movie Mistletoe & Menorahs, also starring Jake Epstein (I swear he’s everywhere), for that. There also isn’t a ton of mystery in this movie. The audience can tell pretty quickly who the anonymous gift-giver is. However, the movie does have a certain sweetness to it, which I’m crediting entirely to Lavi.

To those people looking for something a little different from your typical Hallmark Christmas movie, Eight Gifts of Hanukkah is a nice breath of fresh air. I’m not sure this will make my favorite list this year but it is worth watching. Even if you only watch it to shake things up a little.

The Christmas Contest | 2021 Christmas Movies

It’s finally that time of year! Time for Candace Cameron Bure’s Hallmark Christmas movie! You know you were waiting for this one…The Christmas Contest!

Lara (Candace Cameron Bure) has been unhappy with her life since she broke up with Ben (John Brotherton). When they both sign up for a Christmas-themed contest in order to win money for their respective charities, emotions run wild. Maybe this contest will remind them how much they truly love each other.

For the most part, this is a pretty typical Cameron Bure Hallmark movie. A bit of schmaltz, a bit of family reconciliations, and a bit of former lovers getting back together. But the best part, in my opinion, is when she actually makes fun of Hallmark movie plots. I was dying! It happens pretty early in the movie so it isn’t a scene that would make or break the whole show but it was pretty funny.

As for the rest of it, it’s fine. Cameron Bure and Brotherton also star in Fuller House together. It’s not like Hallmark threw two strangers together on this one. And that has actually been a big part of the marketing for The Christmas Contest. While I’m not sure the characters make a great couple, the two actors have enough chemistry together that their playful banter is fun to watch.

This one will be another tough call. If you’re a big fan of traditional Hallmark movies, this will be right up your alley. If you’re looking for something more, this is more like a movie you’d put on the background while you bake some cookies or something. On the plus side, it is much better than last year’s pile of crap that Cameron Bure starred in.

Time For Us To Come Home For Christmas | 2020 Christmas

Lacey Chabert is back for another 2020 Christmas movie. This time it’s a mystery over on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel.

A group of people are mysteriously invited to spend Christmas at a local inn. Sarah (Chabert) takes it upon herself to figure out who invited them and why.

I was really looking forward to Come Home. The mystery sounded interesting and I was intrigued about how these five strangers fit together. Then I fell asleep in the middle of it. Yes, I actually fell asleep.

I think the problem is that the story spends too much time on everyone’s individual stories. Instead of pulling them together to solve the Big Mystery, we’re busy with a father trying to win his daughter’s affection, a former couple rekindling their flame, a musician mourning his wife, and a woman mourning her mother. The writers could have had the group working together to solve the mystery so the father could impress his daughter with some rare knowledge, the former couple could be canoodling while finding clues, and the two people mourning could reminisce about their deceased family members. It would have been so much more interesting with the group together.

Also, Chabert isn’t a very good leading woman. In both movies this year, she spends a lot of time making sad eyes at the camera. It’s not attractive.

Should you watch it? Meh. Watch beginning and the last 30 minutes. Skip the rest. Or sleep through it. I did have a good nap while it was on.