T&K's XMas (2023) Advent Calendar: Day 15 - Baking All the Way

2022, Yannick Bisson (Murdoch Mysteries) -- Amazon

The Draw: A) It's about baking, cookies in particular. B) Its starring and directed by Mr. Murdoch Mystery himself, Montreal-born Yannick Bisson. I am sure there have been other examples in the Hallmarkie world where the lead was also the director, but I would imagine they would be Hallmarkie royalty, instead of just one of the most familiar Canadian faces on Canadian TV.

HERstory: Julia Wilson (Cory Lee, Degrassi: The Next Generation) is a pastry chef & successful cookbook author in Chicago. Its almost Xmas but she hasn't submitted the final recipe for her latest book, which is all about highlighting the best cookie recipes from around the country -- basically people send her recipes and she reaps the fame. But one final cookie alludes her -- the gingerbread cookie -- because nothing compares to the one she made with her late mother. That is, until she gets an anonymous gift basket from a bakery in ______, Wisconsin. Perfection! 

Why can't I ever remember the names of these PSTs?

So, Julia has to head off to secure the recipe, at the beginning of the Xmas rush season, but she has a sous chef that can run the place while she is gone. She arrives in the PST, checks into the quaint B&B run by the weird Mr. Weaver (Colin Mochrie, Degrassi: The Next Generation [i guess he played the Picard character?]) and his wife Vicky (Debra McGrath; Colin's actual wife, Degrassi: The Next Generation), who fangirls all over Julia.

The HomeStead Bakery, from which the basket came, is your typical PST bakery run with love and care and tradition, so its losing all its business to the new "corporate bakery" across the street. Also, its owner Kris Kringle Thompson (Yannick Bisson, Degrassi: The Next Generation Murdoch Mysteries) never heard of Julia and definitely did not send her a gift basket. Also, his recipe is not for sale, as its a family recipe and not his to give away. You know Kris, your mom (Jayne Eastwood, Degrassi: The Next Generation) is right behind you, and if its her recipe, couldn't she give it away?

Anywayz, not to be defeated, industrious Julia comes up with a plan. If she can increase Homestead Bakery's business by X amount before Xmas, Kris will owe her big time. He's swimming in overdue bills so he regretfully agrees. But what will she bake? The gingerbread recipe, of course! But not just cookies, but a whole array of gingerbread inspired recipes!! The 12 Days of Gingerbread !!

Time to brainstorm!! Like most bakeries where the only employee is him, and occasionally his mom, it doesn't hurt that he avoids actually baking, or running the shop, because he has to plan plan plan. Its also accomplished by montages, so that helps. They come up with some great ideas, and dismiss some others (I dunno, gingerbread soup sounds like a great idea to me ;) 

Some days are winners, some days not so much but things are going well and Kris is all swoony for this young (15 years his junior) successful pastry chef and business owner, even warming up to her ideas that put him out of his comfort zone (radio hits!) and feelings that he hasn't had since his Dead Wife. Things progress so well that he even gives her the recipe before they hit Day 12. 

Meanwhile she's being pressure by her agent and the publishers, so she snaps the recipe with her phone to tide them over. Lo and Behold, it all ends up going to print without her review and approval, and she is asked to Come Back for Meetings. She regretfully agrees, but when she tells Kris she has business obligations, he goes ape shit, "You got my recipe and now you are running!!"  I mean, he's right, but she does have to work work work. 

Gramma sees the jig is up and finally shares with Julia the history of the recipe, which was as much her mother's as it was Gramma's. They have a tearful conversation, and Julia heads back to the B&B to check out early. Gramma chastises Kris for being a dick, and his heart grows three sizes. Meanwhile Julia is on the road when she hears the radio hit she and Kris worked on, for the bakery, and her heart grows three sizes. She turns around, returns to the bakery, they make up and kiss, and hopefully they will live happily ever after, but.... 12 days of good Xmas sales doesn't make for a successful business and she DOES have a resto to run, so... maybe until summer?

Dude, you burning out on these already?

The Formulae: Utterly by the numbers for a Hallmark movie, even to the point that the elevator for this pitch is the same pitch as last year's A Gingerbread Christmas, minus the Food Network style competition. The Big City Girl, the PST, the failing business, the homey PST Guy, the successful Gal, the reason to stay in the PST for Xmas, the sudden return for work work work and the final realization that making googley eyes overshadows all. But  there are also some cookies (duhhh!) and hot chocolates (finally, a gingerbread latte).

Unformulae: A strange lack of the usual Xmas Tropes that I usually use to pad out the list above? There is no Xmas Event, there is no Xmas Fair, there is no Xmas Tree Hunt, there is a brief snowball fight, but there is a decidedly lack of Xmas in this Xmas movie. No red dress, but Julia does have a lovely red winter coat.

True Calling? There is references to baking, and cookies galore, but not a whole lot of actual baking to be scene, if you don't count seeing Kris slam down some gingerbread dough in anger just after Julia heads back to Chicago. Hey Kris, don't take it out on the cookies!

The Rewind: I did pause to look at the gingerbread recipe list (ok, I fess up, there was no Gingerbread Soup on it) but the pause and rewind, and a bit of Googling was for the chuckle bit at the end of the movie. When Julia is on the road, she hears a song come on the radio, and turns it of with, "Nope, enough of that!" Yeah, Cory Lee is a pop singer (though, I never heard of her) and that was her Xmas Song. 

The Regulars: Gramma Jayne Eastwood is not only a queen of Canadian TV movies, but definitely a staple in Hallmarkie land, and was even in the starting movie of Netflix's brief foray into the Hallmarkie Cinematic Universe, A Knight Before Christmas. Lead Cory Lee has done a few before this one, but this is her first Lead. 

How does it Hallmark? Entirely by the book of Hallmark in structure, but sorely lacking for a Hallmarkie XMAS movie.

How does it movie? Bleah.

How Does It Snow? Grrr. Even though there was a brief snowball fight, after which Julia leaves the snow on her face (don't ruin your makeup by wiping it away!!) there are so many scenes where they come in covered in "snow" which just stays on their shoulders and hair for the rest of the scene, cuz soap flakes don't melt.

Migawd I hate that poster, and while there was a better "all the cast" version, I had to use this most common poster cuz its so terrible. Look at my cookies!  LOOK ! And who is she looking at? Its not Kris.

Also of note, is that my Amazon Hallmarkie Inception might soon come to an end. In November, when I conceived the idea as an alternate to my usual "read lists, download ideas", there were TONS of "free to view" on Amazon. These have slowly dropped off, to be replaced by more on Stack TV, which despite being a source of legit W Network Hallmarkies, I refuse to entertain because of their inserted-commercial setup. If I am PAYING for a service, why would I also have to watch ads?