2021, Dustin Rikert (The Finnish Line) -- download
Whoops, this one's late!I remember Lyndsy Fonseca from her days in the Canadian TV show Nikita, spin-off of the classic movie La Femme Nikita, which was definitely a That Guy movie. But, for me, she will always be the chirpy waitress in Agent Carter. And this movie kicked off her career in Hallmarkies!
The Draw: Fonseca (those eyes; #SWOON) and Time Travel ! I am always up for time travel.
HERstory: Dr. Angie Reynolds (Lyndsy Fonseca, Agent Carter) is a work work work doctor in NY, but really, when aren't doctors thus. But she's getting some well needed time off, as in not working through the holidays like she usually does, but instead of going home to her PST like everyone expects her to do, she just wants to head to Yonkers and hide. Christmas Magic has something else in mind.
The establisher brings up the fact that she was once engaged to Plastic SportsReporter (Eric Freeman, Katy Keene) but turned him down. Her Work BFF says she made a mistake, says he's hot -- I just see a Beardy Weirdy Ken Doll. But Ange and Work BFF bump into Angie's Hometown BFF Ben (Chandler Massey, A '90s Christmas), a guy she lost contact with ages ago. She says it was him, but we aren't convinced. She begs off and the Work BFF heads to the Hometown BFF's party while Angie heads to Penn Stn to catch the train to Yonkers.
A loud teller at Penn beckons her over and instantly we know something magical is going to happen here. Sitting at the kiosk is Doc Brown and, yeah, something is up, especially since he's dressed all old timey. He sells her a "Holiday Special Ticket" which looks like it came from the same design company that made Willy Wonka's gold tickets. She doesn't catch on.
On the train, after she nods off briefly, she awakens to see Plastic SportsReporter sitting across from her, but a younger, less beardy version. And her coat is different, and her hair is different. And its 2011, ten years earlier. And the train is different! Apparently in 2011 you could catch an old timey train to Connecticut.
This old timey steam engine becomes a prominent thing as if the production crew was very very happy they got to use it.
Angie ducks out of her seat to catch her breath and finds Conductor Brown (Christopher Lloyd, Back to the Future) sitting in the dining car, and he only kind of pretends to not know what is going on. She states emphatically that she does not want to go home, does not want to be with Plastic SportsReporter and asks for the train to turn around. He asks for her ticket and she sees half of it faded out, like that is supposed to be the gold standard (pun intended) of how people can demand magic time travelling trains should work. "Fine fine," she says, "I will figure out what you need me to do before Xmas Eve in order to go home to 2021." Angie doesn't seem all that bent out of shape by the idea that Xmas Magic is real. It all strikes her as just a fun challenge.
So, first challenge -- say Yes to Plastic... OK, let's call him by name, Tyler. But first, we have to meet everyone. Dad picks them up at the station, and he is not in Arizona (forgot to mention earlier; her parents are broken up, Dad moved to AZ). Sis and husband have their first child Henrik. Mom (Lea Thompson, Back to the Future; ohhhh it wasn't just the train they snagged), with the artfully placed dab of flour dust on her face, is just happy everyone is home. And we hear about Aunt Myrt, the town rich lady whom everyone considers family. Everyone wants a rich aunt. And Boomer the dog is alive.
First up, TREE HUNTING ! Of course, its the tree lot where BFF Ben works as a Santa with a weird gangster Santa voice. He and Tyler lock eyes -- RIVALRY. You can see, instantly and obviously, that Ben loves Angie and he's been friend-zoned most of his life... let's not use that term, considering its distinct connection to the incel mindset. Ben is mos def in love with Angie, and they are perfect together, the banter being On Point, but no one has taken the next step. Ben seems to be just pining.
But wait, there is a reason for all this...
After a long day of train rides and tree hunting, Angie nods off on the sofa and BING, she's back on the train. She argues with Conductor Brown about what's going on, he obfuscates and the train arrives again. When Angie steps off, there is a magic bloop and she's at Ben's Santa shop, no explanation of how she went from her mom's sofa to here but for.... Xmas Magic! There's no train anymore, just the tree lot.
Fonseca is having a ball with the physical comedy of playing this confused but enthusiastic young lady. Its incredibly corny and hokey but she's constantly gesturing wildly. I don't know why, but I found it funny and endearing. Probably the eyes.
So, this is where the friendship comes into play. Rather than just blunder through this magical time travel event, she actually tells Ben what is going on, immediately, over breakfast (remember, its the next morning, magically) and he is, of course, confused and worried. But she has plans, plans to show him how she is time travelling and how she has to fix .... something. Cuz that's how time travel magic works. Fix something, and then you can go home.
That evening, Ben comes over for Gingerbread House making, mainly for the benefit of the kid, but also so... Ben can choke on a gumdrop and Ange can go, "SEE ! SEE ! I told you I knew the future, and I still saved your life just like I did when this originally happened!" Tyler is more and more noticing the two's connections, but Ange is just waiting for tonight to come, the night when 10 years prior (or now) Tyler proposed, and she said no.
Exceeeept, this time Tyler is even more work work work than she remembered, mainly because her hanging more with Ben is allowing him to have more time with his phone, and he accepted a job offer. That night is not about proposals but about him being distracted by work.
Of note, Angie is also noticing the disconnect between her parents. Even ten years ago (or now) they had been drifting, which eventually leads to the break up. She needs to find out why and does lots of poking and prying. Mom's playing dumb. And we are getting a side plot about sis not being able to get pregnant. All of this is meant to hint that Angie from 2011 was so distracted by medical school that she was missing all the things going on in other family member's lives.
For a fluffy Hallmarkie, this one wants more complications than most.
Ben is going to be invited over for decorating, but Ange still needs to get Tyler in the proposing mindset, so she arranges a fake-GF for Ben through Aunt Myrt's granddaughter, a bubbly vacuous nice girl who is more than enthusiastic to play the role, which is kind of weird, and Ben plays along though he is less than enthusiastic about it.
It kind of works? Tyler does propose, but... back on the train, Angie voices her frustration that she only has half a ticket. Ben is not jazzed by all this. Angie's next attempt is to repair the relationship she had always assumed she had with her sister, but was too distracted to notice she was... too distracted. Angie has a lot of misconceptions about the past for a girl who obviously spent all her time avoiding it. That doesn't work. Then finally, she hits on the real deal -- make sure her parents reignite the spark and don't break up eight years later! She talks to Aunt Myrt, professes a need to recreate the night of their first meeting at Aunt Myrt's first annual Xmas Party. It works, Mom in a hot pink 35 year old dress dazzles Dad and ... fireplace relit. Buuuut Angie is still in 2011, and Conductor Brown is not helping, and reminds her time is running out.
Then sis gives Angie something that she should have had given to her many many years ago, before this repeat 2011 -- a note from Ben that was supposed to be hidden inside a Secret Santa gift from him. A note professing his love and asking to move their friendship to the next level. She never responded, he assumed it was not what she wanted, and just left it at that, while still pining. But reading the note, Angie realizes what is going on and ... with an incredibly thin stretch of emotional development, realizes she has loved Ben all along, all her life. She tosses the ring back in Tyler's face, who is more than happy to catch his flight to Barcelona (a soccer thing) and.... the gold ticket is full. Buuuuut before she can confess everything to Ben face to face, the train is beckoning and Conductor Brown says, "Its now or never...." She does not want to live 10 years of her life over again, so she calls Ben, tells him she loves him and says, "Meet me on Xmas Eve at Fancy Resto and 10pm!" Back in 2021, that will just be later that day.
Exceeeept, Angie is called in and work work works (saving lives) through the deadline. She grabs a fancy green dress from her locker (she has fancy dresses in her work locker?!?!?) and runs to the resto to find --- it closing. Its Xmas Eve lady, can we just go home? But Ben calls from a corner table. But this is a new Ben, a Ben who she confessed love to 10 years ago and is now in a long term relationship with her and .... well, at least they let the last ten years of New History flood back into her brain (does that hurt?) before he proposes himself. Kiss kiss, very happy ending.
Exceeeept, time travel gaff? Why doesn't Ben remember she had time travelled? If she gets to remember it, why doesn't he? He should know that the woman in front of him right now just got back from 2011... oh never mind, its a Hallmarkie.
The Formulae: Despite being a time travel focused movie, it still gets in all the requisite Xmas stuff. There is Ben's tree lot, and decorating of trees, and an Xmas Eve Deadline, and hot chocolate, and decorating of trees and gingerbread houses, and a tree lighting in the town square, and an Xmas dance event (no red dress though, but Mom's hot pink number) and a Dick BF.
Unformulae: Its thoroughly about time travel hijinx and was clearly elevator-pitching, "We snagged two Back to the Future stars, so let's capture the same vibe!"
True Calling? Technically, the stop she was trying to make is "ignore Xmas" and while Xmas is all around them (do they feel it in their fingers, in their toes) the Magic is not about recreating Xmas, but more about the whole tight-knit-family deal. So, not really.
The Rewind: It wasn't so much as a rewind but a loud chuckle at the, "Go ahead Henrik, you can put the first ornament on the tree..." as he reaches out with a red bulb to place it on a very obviously already decorated tree.
The Regulars: Fonseca went on to make four more of these movies over the next four years --- hope she is in line to become new Hallmarkie Royalty. Might have to give this year's entry a shot. Chandler Massey has done a few including this one.
How does it Hallmark? Pretty decently. While it was very obvious that Ben was pining for the fjords, the banter between the two really nailed it on "best friends" but her "I love you!" realization was not sold to me.
How does it movie? Made for TV Time Travel Hijinx movie maybe?
How Does It Snow? OMG, where do I start. They went sooooo over budget on the fake snow here. There were soooo many scenes of full snow fall, snow everywhere, and all of it fake. Combinations of soap flakes and cotton batting everywhere!! And the digital snow! Someone must have invented the digital equivalent of a snow blowing machine because every fly over shot of the old timey train had EVERYTHING blanked in a dusting of snow, like the aerosol can stuff my mom blanketed our living room with every year when I was a kid. And Angie's family home with its snow covered roof and decorations and banks of snow, all added in post!
