T&K's XMas (2022) Advent Calendar Day 12 - My Southern Family Christmas

2022, Emily Moss William (Christmas in Louisiana) -- Hallmark/Download

The Draw: Bruce Campbell? Maybe the bayou? No, really just Bruce Campbell.

HERstory: Campbell (Jaicy Elliot, Grey's Anatomy) Wallace (not Bruce) lives in The Big City (well, medium? I don't think Dallas is a real Big City) for an airline magazine, so she spends her life travelling around writing about stuff. And one such stuff is Xmas traditions around the world. They are trying to find the perfect pitch for this year's, and she accidentally shares her screen full of details about her "real Dad". Years ago, her father left and she has always wondered why. Now he has a new life in small town Louisiana, and is about to be named the Père Noël, basically Santa of the Bayou. Her research on her father is confused as the pitch and suddenly she is on a plane to Louisiana.

Its very apparent this movie is going to be about Campbell reuniting with her birth father, Everett Bergeron (Bruce Campbell, Burn Notice), and not focused on the traditional meet-cute of Hallmarkies. His new wife has been trying to convince Campbell to meet him as he constantly talks about her, and doesn't feel he deserves the honour of being named Père Noël, which is apparently a Big Thing in their town. But you can imagine how challenging that would be, even for an adult, so when she shows they decide to stick with just the cover story.

Campbell is there, effectively researching the new Père Noël but also there researching her Dad. If it wasn't for his own wife supporting the charade, this would be kind of creepy, especially as she ingratiates herself with his two daughters, and his life as the famous local baker of "Louisiana (Hand) Pies". I have only heard of the hand pies, or natchitoches -- basically a Cajun empanada -- recently on the show A Chef's Life with Vivian Howard, but honestly was expecting tourtière for this movie. But also learns he is popular for being a should for troubled folk to lean on, as he is known to have a rough go at it in past, that being from Campbell's birth and his leaving.

But she does eventually also do a rather hands off meet cute with the local town archives keeper Jackson (Ryan Rottman, Gigantic) but the movie sacrifices all the usual dominating romance elements to focus on the relationship being built between Bergeron and Campbell. That said, it does have a lot of fun mixing Xmas into all of this, and Xmas in the Bayou (which I believe, has already had a few Hallmarkies made of it) is illuminating.

Eventually things are coming to a head, Xmas is almost upon them, Bergeron has grudgingly accepted the role as Père Noël and Campbell is feeling even more out of sorts keeping her true identity from him. Especially when Jackson figures everything out AND local news agencies heap attention on Bergeron and his local family. Despite some pretty sublime moments as a pseudo-family, its all too much for her and she runs off.

But no, the next morning, Jackson arrives at Xmas day at the Bergeron's with Campbell in tow, a pile of presents for the family (cute note about there being a local Big Box store open late on Xmas Eve) and something special for Everett. Its a picture of him holding Campbell in his arms when she was a baby (great actual picture of Bruce Campbell as a young man) -- the confession is made, and just when we are about to tear up, Everett gets up and runs off, seemingly overwhelmed by it. Campbell is heart broken, his wife is shocked and they are all about to escape when he returns with a load of letters and notebooks. He has been writing to her all his life, but had no way to actually send  them (didn't know her mom's new address or family name) and eventually switched to writing in a journal, everything he ever wanted to tell her. He is soooooo happy to finally connect with her, and yeah, everyone is balling bawling.

The Formulae : We don't see much of it, such as the typical fly over scene, we do see the bayou and some absolutely lovely houses & buildings in this perfect PST of Sorrento, Louisiana. I love how the "vintage red truck" trope is a Ford pickup from the 80s here, but just as a wink & a nod, there is also a toy sized traditional vintage red truck in the background of one scene. I also like how the "almost kiss" moment is replaced by an "almost confession" moment, when Campbell misses the moment to tell Everett she is his daughter. There is an "Xmas Events" and a dance, and coffee shops, and hot chocolate but its all flavoured with a homey, Louisiana style that not only blows most of the familiar scenes out of the water, but also adds some additional colour to whatever you think life on the Bayou would be like.

Unformulae: Primarily, in that while she does meet a PST guy she likes, the connection being made in the movie is not between them, but between Everett and Campbell.

True Calling? Yeah, it pretty much does, as this one is ENTIRELY about family.

The Feels: OK, I am adding in this one, which is one of the topics from Kent's favourite podcast about Hallmarkies, "Deck the Hallmark". So yeah, since this is a movie about a girl "abandoned" by her birth father, going to Louisiana to meet him, and Everett is her father, the connection being made between him and Campbell is just super sweet. BRUCE Campbell just plays it so low-key and sincere. 

OMG, the letter and notebook scene. I'm not crying, you're crying. Just getting misty thinking about the scene.

The Rewind: It's Louisiana, so the lighted Xmas decorations on the lawn are ALLIGATORS !!! Hee hee hee hee ! 

The Regulars: Bruce has started doing these, which will probably keep me coming back to his. Ryan Rottman, the low key love interest, has done a few. Moira Kelly, who plays Bergeron's wife, has done a few, including another in Louisiana. In the background as Campbell's boss was Hallmarkie staple Wes Brown.

How does it Hallmark? As a trope laden Hallmarkie Xmas story, not so much. But as a movie about The Feels in an easily digested, low key, low budget format, entirely so.

How does it movie? Not bad. Not quite up to the level of "I will watch this one again for Xmas" but I enjoyed that it had more meat (meat pie) on it than most and very little in the way of eye rolling, groaning scenes.

How Does It Snow?  Well, obviously, not at all, so instead of tracking snow, I will comment on the Fake Search Engine -- this time it's Super Search ! I love how all the fake search engines in these movies are more versions of AltaVista than Google.