I've always been a big fan of Brittany Bristow and Peter Benson. Teryl Rothery, Bruce Boxleitner, and Anna VanHooft round out this all-star HM cast, along with newcomer Matt Comer. Even though this is basically a new take on Hitched for the Holidays, with a cast like this, it should be a home-run, right? Wrong.
Brooke (Brittany Bristow) is a fashion assistant in NYC and is excited to be bringing home her new boyfriend, Ethan, nicknamed by her, Mr. Christmas, to her hometown to spend Christmas with her family. Brooke's really amped Ethan up to her family but he wants to pump the breaks on this relationship, sensing that going home and meeting her family means more to Brooke than he's ready for, and breaks up with her. Brooke doesn't want to go home and be the only single person at Christmas (join the club, Brooke) so she hires Joel, a friend of a friend who happens to be a commercial actor, to pretend to be Ethan.
Not-Ethan (Matt Cohen) thinks this is a great plan but here's the thing... he's an idiot. Like a bumbling, fumbling moron. For the first half of the movie he keeps fumbling facts, he overzealously buys a Christmas tree that's about 4 feet too tall, he takes it upon himself to decorate the family tree when he's been explicitly told it's something they do as a family, he has zero concept of basic physics...
At some point, Matt's stupidity is attributed to the fact that he's Jewish and hasn't celebrated Christmas before. Which.... what? That's why he lacks basic social skills? Once Not-Ethan comes clean about being Jewish, Brooke's family, especially her mom (Teryl Rothery), goes full-out Chrismukkah. We've got Menorahs, sufganiyot, traditional Jewish songs in Hebrew, brisket... The incorporation of Chanukah is actually really sweet. But it begs the question - if Brooke's mom can research Chanukah, shouldn't Not-Ethan have done some Christmas homework for this "job"? Also, I'm from NYC and I didn't have to look up Menorahs, sufganiyot, etc so I'm not sure why secular Christmas is such a mystery to Not-Ethan, who grew up in the Christmas Capital of the World.
Obviously, the family learns of Not-Ethan's real identity and are not happy. Joel proves his worth and acting skills by stepping in to direct and star in Brooke's niece's Christmas play.
Brittany Bristow deserved better.
Edited to Add:
I watched and wrote this before hearing about Hallmark's horrible decision to pull the Zola ad. I'm heartbroken and really struggling as a fan but, as I said above, Brittany Bristow deserves better.
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- Glen (Peter Benson) is the best part of this whole mess. He's got great comedic timing and such expressive facial expressions.
- When the family thinks Not-Ethan and Brooke are engaged, her mom takes it upon herself to look up Ethan's parents' number to call and introduce herself. If you're looking for what line not to cross it's behind you, lady.
- Aside from a Christmas play, this wasn't set in the typical HM Christmas town. There were no town snowball fights, reindeer games, Christmas fairs, tree lightings, etc.
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| via Hallmark Channel |
Brooke (Brittany Bristow) is a fashion assistant in NYC and is excited to be bringing home her new boyfriend, Ethan, nicknamed by her, Mr. Christmas, to her hometown to spend Christmas with her family. Brooke's really amped Ethan up to her family but he wants to pump the breaks on this relationship, sensing that going home and meeting her family means more to Brooke than he's ready for, and breaks up with her. Brooke doesn't want to go home and be the only single person at Christmas (join the club, Brooke) so she hires Joel, a friend of a friend who happens to be a commercial actor, to pretend to be Ethan.
Not-Ethan (Matt Cohen) thinks this is a great plan but here's the thing... he's an idiot. Like a bumbling, fumbling moron. For the first half of the movie he keeps fumbling facts, he overzealously buys a Christmas tree that's about 4 feet too tall, he takes it upon himself to decorate the family tree when he's been explicitly told it's something they do as a family, he has zero concept of basic physics...
At some point, Matt's stupidity is attributed to the fact that he's Jewish and hasn't celebrated Christmas before. Which.... what? That's why he lacks basic social skills? Once Not-Ethan comes clean about being Jewish, Brooke's family, especially her mom (Teryl Rothery), goes full-out Chrismukkah. We've got Menorahs, sufganiyot, traditional Jewish songs in Hebrew, brisket... The incorporation of Chanukah is actually really sweet. But it begs the question - if Brooke's mom can research Chanukah, shouldn't Not-Ethan have done some Christmas homework for this "job"? Also, I'm from NYC and I didn't have to look up Menorahs, sufganiyot, etc so I'm not sure why secular Christmas is such a mystery to Not-Ethan, who grew up in the Christmas Capital of the World.
Obviously, the family learns of Not-Ethan's real identity and are not happy. Joel proves his worth and acting skills by stepping in to direct and star in Brooke's niece's Christmas play.
Brittany Bristow deserved better.
Edited to Add:
I watched and wrote this before hearing about Hallmark's horrible decision to pull the Zola ad. I'm heartbroken and really struggling as a fan but, as I said above, Brittany Bristow deserves better.
-
- Glen (Peter Benson) is the best part of this whole mess. He's got great comedic timing and such expressive facial expressions.
- When the family thinks Not-Ethan and Brooke are engaged, her mom takes it upon herself to look up Ethan's parents' number to call and introduce herself. If you're looking for what line not to cross it's behind you, lady.
- Aside from a Christmas play, this wasn't set in the typical HM Christmas town. There were no town snowball fights, reindeer games, Christmas fairs, tree lightings, etc.
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