Thanksgiving Christmas Movie Marathon | Holiday 2021// #ItsAWonderfulLifetime

As one does for the holidays, we were gathered with family for (American) Thanksgiving. As evidenced by my other posts, I recognize the (winter) holiday season as starting at the beginning of autumn and thusly start my movie watching earlier than most. But even I was unprepared for back to back Christmas movie watching. Though I don't have a subscription for their content, Lifetime has a heaping helping of movies available for viewing (with ads) on le YouTube. It's about four days since we had our cheese-cringe fest, so while I can't be super detailed about my reaction, here's some hard recaps of plots and reactions as I opine on the impromptu evening fun.

A Very Vintage Christmas

When the owner of a small shop, Dodie, finds a box with a collection of romantic items, she makes it her mission to deliver it to its owner in "A Very Vintage Christmas."

Tia Mowry-Hardrict is in it. Immediately interested. But as we progress, I can't help but wonder who wrote her character. This Black woman from Chicago, seeming middle class, possibly upper middle class, who is so enamored with vintage pieces and older eras, highlighting primarily White artistry as she recounts her favorite. Because yes, the Andrew Sisters had plenty a bops, but plenty of non-White artists also existed and comprised the same era. Plenty of other artists she might have related to better if her Blackness was more explicitly recognized as part of her character makeup. Anyway, a cheesy romance with a super enamored, overly eager male suitor with some overexaggerated stressors driving plot is the quintessential recipe for a solid Christmas movie. If I hide my face in my shirt, which I did, I can't deny I liked it.

 

The Twelve Trees of Christmas

Cheri gets the neighborhood to participate in a Christmas tree contest where she unexpectedly falls for her competition in "The Twelve Trees of Christmas."

Whoever chose the thumbnail knew what they were doing, because I 100% clicked for Mel B. Spice Girls nostalgia will always sucker me in. Well, for about 3/5 of the Spices (I loved Baby and Ginger but not enough to watch a movie just because they're in one).  Anyway, old girl from The Librarians, Lindy Booth, is in it. So is Casper Van Dien, who, like Mel B, was sorely underused. My biggest issue with this movie, and it's something I notice immediately in other holiday films making the same claim (again, because I'm a native New Yorker), is its insistence that it was taking place in New York (City) and that certain things were just the New York way. There are too many libraries in New York that the loss of one in one building would be so catastrophic. New York is too diverse to have this little diversity. And then the delusion on the part of both characters. The male lead did instruct his designer to do whatever it took, and stood by that decision, until it came time to publicly disavow her actions. Anyway, also cute, but a lot of disbelief simply could not be suspended.

Christmas Unwrapped

Charity, an ambitious reporter, learns the true meaning of Christmas when she investigates Erik (Marco Grazzini), a beloved member of the town in "Christmas Unwrapped."

I recognized the female lead, Amber Stevens West, from a number of things. But it was the realization that the editor was Cheryl Ladd that elicited gasps from my mother. The movie was really cute. In my opinion, this movie had the most attractive pairing of romantic leads. But the mystical Christmas magic aspect of it was presented and left really ambiguous. What was Erik's connection to Kris and how did that translate into a charity business? What did the editor write on the gold card? Why was this on anyone's radar in the first place. $2 million gets moved around, again, New York City, like nothing, all the time. Especially for a charity? A lot of turns, like the besties pairing off, were predictable. I still don't how it made sense for the male lead to take offense that she quit her job to be honest to her fair opinions on his charity and hid something potentially hurtful from him, just for him to be upset because of her wavering belief in magic, a magic that is not even his. What does he even do the rest of the year. Is he in league with other holiday mascots? Back to the main point, why couldn't he just be a savvy business person who keeps in dealing quiet and saves money until Christmas? Anyway, this was also cute. Probably the most convoluted plot, but also the most Christmas-y?

Today, November 29th, we're less than a month away from Christmas and the inevitable tapering off the the seasonal spirit that comes shortly after New Year's Day. Will I be doing more holiday binges? I hope so. Lifetime and other outlets have so many available for free viewing on these interwebs. And then we can talk about the paid subscriptions and that's a whole other topic. We had flurries the other day, so I officially declared it burning log on the television in the background time. Here's to wanting a snowy winter and being obsequiously seasonal.