I have been both looking forward to and dreading A California Christmas: City Lights. If you will remember, 2020 gave us the most depressing Christmas romance movie ever - A California Christmas. Well, the Swickards are back to give us another dose of….whatever this is.
A year has passed since Callie (Lauren Swickard) and Joseph (Josh Swickard) starting dating. Joseph’s mother has decided to leave the family business, meaning it’s up to Joseph to officially take over. He takes Callie with him to San Francisco so they can save the company.
This series is so utterly confusing. I didn’t mention it in the review of the 2020 movie but a majority of it revolved around death. Callie’s mom was dying of cancer, her father and her then-fiancé died in a car accident…it was just a mess of sad emotions. This time around, things are a bit happier. Callie’s vineyard is doing well and they seem to be selling quite a bit of wine. Her sister, Hannah (Natalia Mann), also seems to be doing well, though we don’t see a ton of her. In short, the Petaluma section of the movie is kinda OK. It’s the San Francisco portion that is a train wreck.
Joseph is surrounded by all of his super-rich friends and family, who don’t really care about Callie. Callie straight up forgets about her sister entirely while she’s gone. Victoria (Laura James), who is Joseph’s ex and I guess is supposed to be taking care of the business, is all over the place. I think she’s supposed to come off as a conniving ex that wants to get back together with Joseph but she just doesn’t. She randomly appears in scenes to throw around a few snarky words then leaves. It’s frustrating.
While I didn’t want to label the first movie as bad, this one does take the terribleness a step further. None of the characters really make rational decisions about anything. Important things happen off-camera, making some of the conflicts very confusing. And I think Lauren Swickard (who wrote this movie) might think Callie is stupid or incompetent. I’m not sure.
Well, if you actually liked the original A California Christmas, you might find some sort of enjoyment out of City Lights. Personally, I recommend staying away. This movie hints at an upcoming third one. Let’s hope that one doesn’t happen. I don’t need to see these two as parents.