So, Darcy (not Mister? No, Lacey Chabert; Lost in Space) is a hard-working, thoughtful stock broker / financial planner / someone who works on Wall Street. I am pretty sure her exact job is not meant to be fully understood, just that she is someone with a heart of gold whose clients love her and she promises she will do the best for the guy who sells her a coffee from a cart. They know each other's names -- she's Nice.
She closes a Big Deal and heads home for the holidays to her Picturesque Small Town (PST). Her family is a Big Deal and they are usually in charge of running the holiday party for some sort of local foundation in the town. Its a weird setup that I didn't really fully understand, in that her family is not part of the foundation (so not THAT big of a deal?) but entrusted with the party to raise money.
When Darcy gets home, she is confronted by family drama (ex-boyfriend works for Dad) and tensions at the office (calls from her EA). And then things connected to the party start falling apart (caterer & designer drops out at the last second) so Darcy's expected relaxing holiday season is overshadowed by having to do a bunch of work. On top of that, her mom chooses the local guy who just opened a pub as the new caterer. And he is Darcy's high school ex Luke (Brendan Penny, John Tucker Must Die). And they don't really like each other.
Insert the only measly element of connecting this movie to Pride & Prejudice -- that the two have a cantankerous relationship from the get go. I am not even sure why they decided to connect this movie to the famous book, but for the weak attempt at drawing in fans of the novel. Yeah, they aren't making any fans here.
So, as expected, Luke and Darcy end up having to do most of the heavy lifting of arranging the party. Considering he is now the de facto caterer, I would assume he is tres busy, but no, he seems to have plenty of time to wander around with high school chum, who he is warming to. Add to the fun an element where Darcy is not really into her Real Job in NYC. She wants to Do Good but they wanted to Make Money, so she's not a good fit. They end up trying to force her out, which involves her crashing a video conference where other partners were going to discuss her being ousted. Impeachment Articles were approved !!
Of note, if this many arranged services (caterer, designers, etc.) cancelled at the last minute around Christmas, they would be sued within an inch of their business lives. Either that or Darcy doesn't know her family is one of the most hated in their PST.
Eventually, we wind our way to the final event, the Xmas Party where money will be raised by auctioning off a bunch of locally designed Xmas Trees. Darcy dons her Red Dress. Darcy wows Luke, but also catches the eye of her ex, who presents how they are supposed to be together, how they are made to be together, how it just makes sense. But no, Darcy is not having any of it. She has to do what feels right, and at that moment, leaving her company in NYC and re-joining her dad's firm, and hooking up with Luke feels right. Ex is re-rejected. But not before Luke misinterprets their encounter and runs off feeling jilted. Into the snow Darcy runs to explain everything and have that First Real Kiss.
And they all live happily ever after.
The Draw: Well, to be honest, it was Lacey Chabert. In many of my inadvertent watching of these movies, she seems to have been a staple. So, if we are going to do This Thing, then she has to be involved.
The Formulae: Oh how it formula-ed ! Jilted & Jaded girl, PST, Made of Money, Xmas Fair, Xmas Event Planning, Returning & Staying Home, Red Dresses !!
Unformulae: This one is pretty much by the books. The only thing that doesn't fit the mould as I view it, is that she doesn't end up starting her own immediately successful career? She basically just re-joins her dad's firm under her own conditions.
True Calling? Oh gawds no, this decided to capture some part of the Jane Austen audience by sneaking in some details related to the book, because who doesn't like a good re-imagining, but then NEVER ACTUALLY DOES. Again, only the title and her name. And I only know, because J knows. And she knows Austen.
The Rewind: Wait, what? Wasn't it daylight ten seconds ago? In the Xmas Fair scene, where Darcy and Luke decide she finally has to get some roasted chestnuts and he has to try them for the first time, they head off mid-afternoon to the Xmas Fair. But literally the next scene, it is night and her family is there and they are all listening to carollers. Poof.
The Regulars: So, I have already said that Lacey Chabert is Hallmark of Hallmark movies. But this is one of those Canadian Hallmark movies, shot in Canada and including the usual cast of Canadian regulars. Brendan Penny, the lead playing Luke, has been in half a dozen of these things, when not being cast in other Canadian dramas. Mom is played by Sherry Miller, who most will know as Aunt Hilda in the original Sabrina the Teenage Witch series, but is a solid SOLID Canadian actor. She's been in everything. Dad, also, is played by Art Hindle, another "oh that guy from Canada" actor, who has also collected many a paycheck from these movies, even working beside Sherry elsewhere.
How does it Hallmark? This is the spot-on type. Its sweet in just about every point, a little humour here and there, not much conflict (Hellz, they are richey rich rich, so even if the worst happens, they are all OK) and it ends on a Red Dress Moment.
How does it movie? No, it doesn't movie.
Bravo, Toast! You are nailing the template!
ReplyDeleteIf you're doing Lacey Chabert, I've heard from multiple sources to avoid the 2019 "Christmas in Rome". It's pretty dire. Not that they aren't all dire in their own way, but it's dire even for Hallmark.
I love your use of capital N "Nice" :)