Surprisingly, with Following Yonder Star, I have caught up on all of the currently aired Hallmark/Lifetime/Great American Family Christmas movies. I don’t think I’ve ever caught up to the airing schedule before. I’m blaming the fact that Hallmark has released a bunch of movies on their Hallmark+ app that I decided not to get this year. But don’t worry, I still have Netflix and Hulu and all of the other streaming apps to keep me going!
Abby Marshall (Brooke D’Orsay) used to play the perfect wife and mother on TV. Now her life is falling apart thanks to a scandal. So she attempts to spend the holidays at a luxury resort in Vermont…but she accidentally booked the suite for next year. Thankfully, there is a room at a local bed and breakfast owned by Tom (John Brotherton). Abby spends her vacation helping Tom direct the church Christmas pageant, allowing her to find what is truly important to her.
For the first time in a long time, Hallmark has released a movie that references God a lot. Usually they stick to movies that make vague references to religion or they stay away from religion altogether. While it made a little bit of sense with the nativity Christmas pageant, it still felt odd in the context of the movie. Abby didn’t seem particularly religious through most of the movie then suddenly God has a plan. It was weird.
Beyond that, Following Yonder Star is fine. There’s nothing spectacular about it but it’s not awful either. It fits perfectly in that in-between space Hallmark loves.
Rating: People really are that delusional about celebrities