Synopsis:
At Christmastime, a close-knit group of childhood friends return home after ten years to take part in the celebration of life of their beloved high school teacher.
Starring:
Christa B. Allen, Ryan Rottman, Ashley Newbrough, Marielle Scott, Cardi Wong, Liza Huget, Everick Golding, and Janet Kidder
Genre:
Drama
Premiered:
December 18, 2021 - Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
🎄 2021 Christmas Binge Watch Movie #84 🎄
---- Spoilers ----
Uh, this movie was a lot. It's far more dramatic than I had anticipated, and I'm not sure the movie completely pulled it off. I don't think everyone got an equal amount of time devoted to their storyline, and not all of those interweaving stories were interesting, and honestly it was pretty predictable. The cast was solid though.
A group of friends from high school gather together to honor their late high school drama teacher while sorting out their own issues. The worst character by far was Ben (Ryan Rottman). He's got super issues. Listen I understood where he's character was coming from, his parents died, he's fighting with his brother, but man he was a lot to take. Like when his love interest Avery (Christa B. Allen) is venting about her truly awful mom Ben is all like I've got dead parents. Every time somebody brings something up, I've got dead parents. Bro I've got dead parents too, I get it, but come on. I get that this character was mourning, but he was still a major dick. Like all his friends had to apologize to him, because I guess only his issues matter. He never said he was sorry in return, cause you know he's got dead parents. Poor Avery had to get past her mother trying to run every aspect of her life, plus she ended up with Ben. A good amount of this movie was centered around them, and I wish it wasn't. We've also got the best characters and probably most relatable, Sarah (Ashley Newbrough) and Noah (Cardi Wong). Sarah is busy at work being a doctor, and hubby Noah is helping with the kids but also struggling to share his dream of being a baker with wifey. And Finally we've got Mia (Marielle Scott) who's listless in life and failing as an actor. This storyline almost felt like an after thought. The friends confide in each other, they blow up at each other, and they make up. All these issues come to a head a week before Christmas as they do holiday events to honor their beloved teacher Mr. Massey. I laughed out so hard whenever these characters had a flashback with their teacher, these grown ass adults pretending to be teenagers was something else. You know it's kinda like those dramatic television shows about friends. I can't think of anything recent, but my mind immediately thought this was like a watered downed version of Thirtysomething. If Hallmark wanted to do a more serious dramatic television series this might be a way to go for them. I applaud them for trying something different even of it didn't fully work.
My Rating: ⭐⭐½
Where to Watch: Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
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