Hallmark Christmas films are like McDonalds or Pizza Hut or Dunkin’ Donuts. You know that there’s a handful of way better alternatives but for some reason, you keep coming back to them because of their distinct taste. Sure, they’re unhealthy as heck, but they’re still the go-to places when you need a quick pick-me-up.
That’s probably the allure that is the Hallmark Holiday season. If you for some reason happen upon Hallmark whether it’s on cable television or their new online streaming platform, Hallmark Movies Now, a hundred percent you’ll be sucked into a parallel universe that extremely looks like our own world where people seem to have colorful outfits, perfect hair, and pearly-whites, fairytale-esque problems in life, and has steroids-level of the Holiday Cheer. It’s kinda like that Supernatural Season 6 episode ‘The French Mistake’ where the Winchester brothers are taken into a parallel dimension where they are actors in a show but in reverse.
So for those who have yet to be bitten by the Hallmark Christmas bug, here are four movies that in no particular order might get you in the overdrive of the holiday spirit that some of you might need:
Mingle All The Way
Molly (Jen Lilley), developed an app that helps match people who are too busy to have a dating life without the string of a long-term relationship. She joins the app to prove to her family that it actually works and comes across a busy ad executive, Jeff Scanlon (Brant Daugherty). The two are polar opposites; Molly is a career woman who is purely focused on success while Jeff is a chill and laid-back guy. The two use each other as the app was designed for but finds themselves that they are getting in deeper together than what they have bargained for.
Marry Me at Christmas
Johnny Blake (Trevor Donovan) is the hottest Hollywood action star and leading man while Madeline Krug (Rachel Skarsten) runs a local wedding boutique with her best friend Isabel (Crystal Lowe) in a small Christmas town. The two crossed paths when Johnny’s sister, Ginger (Emily Tennant) and her fiancé Oliver (Blair Penner) are strapped for time to get married before Oliver’s residency in London in a month with Maddie agreeing to help the couple have the perfect Christmas wedding. With Johnny escaping the stranglehold that Hollywood has on him with another impending sequel to his action film franchise, he surprisingly finds solace and happiness in the small town with its bubbly but unassuming wedding planner showing him that there’s beauty in a slow-paced lifestyle.
A Christmas Duet
The movie is about Jesse (Rome Flynn) and Averie (Chaley Rose), a musical duo that became famous for their song ‘Wouldn’t be Christmas. The pair have long since parted ways from each other with Averie already given up on her music career, opening her own lodge in Vermont while Jesse still continued being an artist, working hard to find the success that he had with Averie when they were still a duo. Fate brings the two back together just in the nick of time before the yearly holiday festival kicks off.
A December Bride
It’s the typical ‘let’s pretend we’re dating’ story but it’s Christmas! Seth (Daniel Lissing) and Layla (Jessica Lowndes) are old friends. Layla is not looking forward to her cousin’s Christmas wedding because she was marrying Layla’s ex-fiance, with Seth being the reason why the two are getting married. Seth asks Layla to be her date to her cousin’s wedding and she accepts because she couldn’t find someone else to go with her. Things get out of hand and Seth shockingly announces that he and Layla are engaged. The two are then obliged to keep up with the charade, but as the two of them spend time together, they slowly realize that things are becoming real.
Hallmark Christmas movies are considered B-movies by most people but that’s where their charm lies. Fans of the Hallmark brand will easily admit that these films are cheesy and that’s actually the point. It doesn’t matter if it seems like sometimes there are poorly-written characters or the plot might be ‘shallow’ or that the story is predictable. The joy in watching Hallmark Christmas movies is just that, the mixture of the obvious and the anticipation to confirm that you’re right and the satisfaction of knowing it. And honestly, the production value of their movies aren’t really that bad. It’s just–too Christmas-y for some people.