7 Stars. Enjoyed it.
Just ignore the dude in the middle. This promotional image from Hallmark is not great.
I stopped watching Westworld on HBO at the end of season two, when it became clear that I could not tell what was real and what was fake. I mean, are you a robot or a human? It just became too much. While I very much enjoyed Believe in Christmas, the questioning of reality at the end of the film gave me uncomfortable flashbacks to those sketchy Westworld episodes. I had hoped for a more wholesome feeling when the credits roll.
This is a very enjoyable movie, and only mild spoilers ahead.
Best friends Bea (Meghan Ory) and Emilia (Lindura) take a trip to Christmasland, a town where you can experience the best of Christmas, like you’re in a holiday movie. This sounds awesome to Emilia, but not Bea, who reluctantly agrees to go, but promises to be a skeptic.
When they arrive at the North Pole Inn, both are immediately introduced to potential love interests. Ethan (John Reardon) pairs up with his wife in real life Bea, while Porter (Kevin Hanchard) has the hots for Emilia.
A photo of my TV . . . note the Mahone Bay Dental sign on the right. Looks like a nice town! Don’t forget to floss!
Ethan takes Bea on every Christmas themed activity possible. Sledding, eggnog, cocoa, pastries, puppies, snowmen, isolated cabins, fireplaces, baking, slow walks through town–all the things. But is Ethan really interested, or is he playing a part for the sake of Christmasland? Porter’s actions are also questioned, because he is just too good to be true.
This film felt like it was a few years old, coming from the old Hallmark formula of a small town where miracles happen and I appreciated that return to it’s roots. I bought into the premise, even if I didn’t like the “actors” in town, which are revealed at the end.
They filmed this movie, not in Christmas town, but rather Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. While taking a carriage ride through town, you can clearly see a sign for Mahone Bay Dental in the background. Yes, I Google Mapped it. What’s even funnier, is when one of the guests at the bake-off gets called out as being from Mahone Bay. They even comment that he took the bus there. That’s good stuff.
Notes for days
I want to go to Christmasland for the full Christmas movie experience.
I want to stay at the North Pole Inn.
They never really dig into the foster kid story enough to make it matter
Christmasland has been around for 15 years. Seems like it would be a bigger affair.
The Mayor asks, “Have you found the spirit of Christmas?” How about you mind your own business robot!
Quote, “Just go with it, don’t look for the wizard behind it.” This is where the Westworld foreshadowing got me.
Does anyone want an eggnog flight? No. Definitely, no.
The red pickup truck fits the genre, but it’s less than 10 years old, not vintage (really stretching it here).
It’s surprisingly difficult to be lactose intolerant in Christmasland
Being challenged to a bake-off was way too easy. Winning as a ruse is wrong.
They just hand out candied apples on the street. How are they accounting for this cost?!
Fake snowmen are cheesy. And you need three pieces to be a complete snowman! They do it with two, and this is just wrong.
That flour fight - whoa. That was violent. Followed by a kiss interrupted by granny Christmas… I really feel like granny did not need to butt into this scene.
Winter allergies? Yeah, good one.
For 5 years I’ve been looking for an ornament that happened to be in the hallway in plain view of anyone with the worst vision possible…
Grinch Handler should be a job in every Hallmark movie.
Cast Kudos: I loved Meghan Ory in the Secret Gift of Christmas. She’s got this radiant smile that makes it hard to see her as a suspicious Christmas Grinch. One little smile, and you see joy and happiness just beaming out of her. Maybe she was extra happy for working on a movie with her husband. In any case, she’s a joy.
Measuring Christmas magic: Off the charts. So much magic, but it might be contrived to make it happen for guests, so that’s suspicious.
Alternative Movie titles: Believe in Christmas is really a bad title. Really bad. Nobody said they didn’t believe in Christmas! Bea has no love for the holiday, but she’s not really a non-believer. I could buy “believe” as in, “is it real?” But taking that title away from any other Santa-related movie is pretty dumb. So some other options: Christmasland (obviously); The Grinch Handler; Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Movie Experience.