2022, Pat Kiely (Three Night Stand) -- Food Network / download
HERstory: Hazel (Tiya Sircar, The Good Place) is a consultant (translates to unpaid intern) at a Big City Architecture firm (based on the inserted shots of Park Slope, Brooklyn) hoping to get the soon to open position. She gets the job, as she is the most qualified, works through Christmas, movie ends. Bzzzzt, of course she doesn't get the job, which affords her the opportunity to go home to PST (picturesque small town, for those new to the Toast to HallmarKent) which she skipped last year because of her mother's death. But before we go, she has her mom's best friend Nina (Karen Glaive, The Day After Tomorrow) come over with some home-baked cupcakes, which do look spectacular, and they reminisce about Hazel's mom who was a phenomenal baker.
She returns home. Mom's bakery is not doing so well, Dad (Sugith Varughese, Little Mosque on the Prairie) is in debt, and all due to the new bakery across the street. Dick move new baker in town. But not long after, we find out that the new bakery is run by Hazel's ex-BFF from high school, Shelby (Kyana Teresa, The Enchanted Christmas Cake), and was funded by Nina. Rivalry rekindled !
She also gets to meet James (Marc Bendavid, Nikita), the handyman/baker in her dad's shop, apparently the only baker because we never see dad do any baking nor even help out in the shop, nor are there any employees, let alone customers. The thing is, James is really a baker and produces phenomenal cookies & pastries that wow even cynical Hazel.
So, Dad needs money to save his bakery and Mark Clemmons (Duff Goldman, Cake Masters) is holding his annual Gingerbread Competition, and this year the prize is $100k. One Hundred Thousand Dollars! Not to do a Food Network style competition baking, live on air, but just to bake a pretty gingerbread house and wheel it into the hotel for presentation and judging. The Food Network must be doing real well in this universe. After a bit of "how dare you Mr. Handyman bake in my mom's bakery" grumpiness, the two decide to bake for the competition. Well, James will bake. We don't actually see Hazel do any baking to contribute, but she's an architect so she will design and assemble.
As expected, they interrupt their baking for a number of hot chocolate fueled forays into the Christmas Fair, and even one to the Meet & Greet for the competition, where both ogle each other in their fine evening wear. But for the most part its bake, bake, assemble, assemble, ASSEMBLE ! To be honest, I marveled at this expected montage scene, as in most Hallmarkies, the baking scenes are barely realistic, but this draws upon the actual Food Network experts to create rather heavenly designs, if not exactly following the continuity of the story -- as Marmy points out, if the "secret ingredient" to their gingerbread was chocolate sauce, it would be much darker. But the couple begin moving past their grumpy demeanours and actually admiring each other.
And then, the disruption. Hazel is offered the job in NYC, just as she has begun to realize she has feelings for James. Give up on her dreams and find true love, or abandon James and her Dad and work in the firm she has always wanted to? She loses her temper, without explaining to James why, and accidentally damages the gingerbread house -- a recreation of the Chicago City Hall, which I should mention is the nearby Big City for her PST, not NYC which is a weird pivot. She yells at James, he storms off. Clock Tower ruined, competition lost, bakery closing! All is lost.
But then Nina comes to the rescue with a radical idea. Hazel and Shelby, the ex-BFF, should patch things up and work on the rebuild themselves. Didn't understand why the fix couldn't be "patch things up with James" but Shelby is Nina's aunt, and she has ulterior motives. Anywayz, it works and they fix things in time for the presentation.
But they lose, but to the truly better choice -- a beautifully done mosque, by the very friendly Yasmin, who also seems to be from Hazel's PST? I am not sure, but this "national competition" seems unfairly stacked with people from Hazel's PST which may just be a suburb of Chicago? Either way, unfairly stacked. Despite losing the $100k, Duff Mark mentions he wants to do a spotlight episode in their PST and highlight both of the bakeries across from each other, and Nina who happens to be a successful cookbook writer, will also write a book based on Hazel's mom's recipes. Bakery(s) saved! Hazel can turn down the job, stay with James and live happily ever after! And maybe actually do some baking.
The Formulae: OK, it starts straight forwardly enough in a Big City (NYC) which I still consider weird as she seems to live next door to another Big City, but I guess they needed her to be geographically far enough away to not make it home for Xmas last year. Also, PST Girl pursuing her dream job, which she abandons pretty much as soon as a Handsome Dude comes along. That said, these movies have at least been attempting to have their leads not abandon the job, as Hazel does find a quaint and inspiring little architecture firm in town that is happy she would join them. Is it really worth noting it takes place in a PST, or at least a suburb that plays the part of a PST ? I mean really, do any of these ever not have a PST ? I suspect the answer is yes, but I would have to go back thru our archives to see which stood out. And in said PST, there is a failing Family Business -- Hazel Nut Bakery. The two start off not liking each other, but eventually fall in love. Also, Dead Mom. And the Xmas Market makes many an appearance, along with the requisite cups of hot chocolate, and kids singing Christmas Carols. Of course, while mainly a baking trope, we do get a baking montage or two. And there were at least three appearances of Xmas Sweaters. And amusingly enough, the trope-ish vintage red truck was a toy on the shelf of the bakery. The misunderstanding was only mild compared to how often they play a pivotal role.
Now, that said, this year was the first of Marmy & doing a Christmas Movie Bingo, so we were able to note and track pretty much every trope that popped up.
Unformulae: No red dress (Hazel's red coat doesn't count), nor blue dress for that matter, and no Winter Ball to wear said dress to, though when they went to the Meet & Greet, the outfit Hazel wore was rather fetching. And no visit to a tree lot to grab, and spend time decorating. In fact, decorating did not play any part in any aspect of the movie, not in bakery, not at home. Their place was mildly decorated but Dad was not so sad at Dead Mom that he couldn't decorate until inspired by budding love in the air. They were all too concerned about his business going under, I guess. Also, no snow globes, no ice skating, no tree lighting in the town square and beyond the angry Hazel smash of the tower clock, no klutzy moments.
My favourite break of formula is doubling down of diversity, especially considering a whole new network has formed in response to Hallmark going "too woke". Ex-BFF Shelby is gay, and the sweet, friendly Yasmin who wins the competition is Muslim.
True Calling? Yeah, pretty much, as the gingerbread house making contest is the centre of all happenings in the movie.
The Rewind: Nothing really, but the array of really well constructed gingerbread houses and structures was worth looking at again.
The Regulars: Sircar has done a small handful of these, but Bendavid has done many many more. I was actually surprised that Varughese had not done more, but I recognized him more from just about every Canadian comedy show from the past 10 years. Kyana Teresa has also done quite a few, and it shouldn't be too long until she does her own leading role in one.
How does it Hallmark? Its pretty standard fare, though I wish the PST had been more than a skip and a jump from Chicago.
How does it movie? I will pretty much say this each time, they never really do go beyond their tropes and middling acting despite some actors, like Varughese being more than solid in his role as Dad; his acting chops just shine even in such a small role.
How Does It Snow? Lots and lots of cotton batting found everywhere!!
I had no idea Food Network got in on this game. Eerybody doin it.
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