Hallmark’s Our Holiday Story should be amazing, and at times, it is, but the story unfortunately demands that we suspend a lot of disbelief. More than anything, much of it boils down to how hard it is to believe the characters are the same from the past as they are from the present, making the back-and-forth feel more jarring than anything else. Sure, Sydney Scotia looks young, but not young enough to play both the adult version of her character and the sixteen-year-old. The age differences are too vast here.
Starring Nikki DeLoach, Warren Christie, Gavin Langelo, Princess Davis, Sydney Scotia, and more, the movie has a lot to appreciate, especially for those who love fated mates as a trope, but it misses a few marks. It dabbles with some interesting tropes, and the performances are thoroughly great, but the execution of the past fumbles. The pacing and specific plot points don’t stick the landing, even though it feels like they should on paper.
Still, for instance, it’s always easy to appreciate a healthy depiction of divorced couples getting along well—this is a narrative we could use more often, and Hallmark’s Our Holiday Story manages it tastefully. With this in mind, what might have worked best for the past narrative to feel organic would be eliminating the animosity in their anonymous work relationship. Sure, it’s a clever twist to the A Shop Around the Corner arc, but it starts to feel too contrived when the film is already juggling too much. The two of them consistently missing each other and things going wrong would’ve told a more compelling story, and it’d draw out the necessary longing that’d make their reunion feel more earned.
Second chance and fated mates are already a tricky trope that countless people have a distaste for. (Not me, because they’re two of my favorites.) Perhaps that’s why this one isn’t working, and it’s because the focus is all over the place. By the midpoint, it feels like the characters are all over the place.
There’s a great dose of holiday cheer with all the glorious ugly sweaters, but the present is far stronger than the past, and the focus should’ve ultimately been here. The writing is fine, the directing is solid, and the performances are great, but the back and forth is exhausting in a way that doesn’t pull on the heartstrings. Instead, it made me want to fast forward, and I hate feeling that way with a Hallmark film.
The present works completely, especially with two sets of love stories, and there’s a solid amount of angst between wanting Chris and Jo to reunite. It helps that said reunion is so adorable that it makes up for all the moments they’re separated. Once she comes home, the present feels much lovelier, and everything locks into place. I wanted to like Hallmark’s Our Holiday Story, but the ending might be the best part when the film finally feels like it grounds itself into the chaos that it’s been trying to embrace throughout.
Watch Our Holiday Story on the Hallmark Channel this Christmas.
First Featured Image | Official Poster Credit: ©Hallmark