As a fan of both Pascale Hutton and Brendan Penny, I expected to love every minute of Hallmark‘s Mr. and Mrs. Christmas, no matter what it tried to throw at us. It’s certainly not a snoozeville, nor is it so bad that you have to abandon it midway, but in trying to do everything, it almost lacks anything at all. In fact, it’s almost hard to watch at times, but it’s also the kind of movie you have to see through to the end, flaws and all.
The idea of a Christmas market sounds like a blast—a cozy, festive ride through and through for anyone who loves the holiday. But it’s hard to imagine a father who’s so desperate to make a new town feel like home doing everything in his power and coming up with the disastrous neon-draped horror we get midway in the film. It’s even harder to imagine that he just can’t seem to grasp that communication might’ve been the better tool.
At the same time, for someone who’s supposed to be so good at his job, it’s hard to imagine that he’d lack any sort of understanding for what’s needed to get people excited. Broadening the appeal of a market doesn’t have to equate to making everything so “hip” that the result is abysmal. Because the idea of him being called out on it only to realize what he should’ve done at the same time doesn’t exactly feel earned.
Part of the Christmas glitz and glamour is the simplicity—tinsel on a tree and over-the-top decorations without smoke machines and neon lights. What starts as a mostly cozy movie becomes somewhat dull by the end, and that’s painful to say when the actors have incredible chemistry that’s delightful to watch. There’s a strange disconnect in their fictional careers, which is fine to a degree, but when we need more motivations to root for them, Sophie’s holds more significance than Taylor’s. It begs the question of what he’ll do after Christmas, making it harder to suspend disbelief when there’s already so much work that goes into ensuring we buy all the sentimental emotions.
And I love Hallmark movies. I don’t need to be convinced they’re good. The simplicity is the appeal and the tropes, no matter how ridiculous or overdone, hit every time. Yet, Mr. and Mrs. Christmas tries so hard it’s unclear where it wants to go. (And for a movie that involves the single parent trope, it doesn’t have to try at all. It’s already got all the heart right there.) With one drastic thing after another, it’s impossible to see the point in the movie until the third act. And the third act only works because Hutton and Penny genuinely believe in the story they’re selling, so it allows the screenplay to come to life a bit.
I also never want to hear the word “uppie” again. A cute word that stays from childhood typically works, but the execution here is wild, contradicting the story’s tone in a way that’s just bizarre. Still, you might love every minute of it, so it’s worth watching at least once.
Mr. and Mrs. Christmas is now streaming on Hallmark+.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Hallmark