Christmas on TV: Hitched for the Holidays

Hallmark Channel Christmas Movie 2012 #7

This movie premiered last Sunday, but I didn't get a chance to watch it until today. From the commercials, I had gathered that it was a reboot of A Holiday Engagement or Holiday in Handcuffs and any number of other made-for-TV Christmas movies that feature this basic plot line: The main characters realize that they are single during the holidays. Oh the horror! Rather than spend one more December with friends and relatives barraging them about their single status, they obtain a fake significant other--through the internet, through kidnapping, through wishing on magical objects, etc.--and then proceed to fall in love with that person. The truth about their relationship comes out, everyone objects for some reason, they "break-up," the holidays pass, they realize they still love each other, one or both of them makes a grand gesture, and they all live happily ever after, never to spend the holidays alone again.

It's a great basic plot line, because any number of quirky friends or relatives, oddly themed holiday parties, strange family traditions, or crazy exes can be added to the mix without much effort. Going into Hitched for the Holidays, I figured it would be about on par with the movies I've already seen with this plot line.

Plus, it stars Joey Lawrence, and the commercials for the movie also brought to mind Lawrence's ABC Family movie My Fake Fiancé, a classic made-for-TV film that spawned Joey's current sitcom with Melissa Joan Hart, Melissa and Joey. In My Fake Fiancé, Melissa and Joey meet at a wedding, realize there's a big payoff to getting married, and decide to stage their own fake wedding to collect the gifts and money--and then fall in love and get married for real. It does have a lame subplot about Joey Lawrence owing money to a bookie named "the Monkey" that I think the movie could do without, but other than that I enjoy it. Anyway, the point of all of that is that I figured it's only a few steps from a fake fiancé to a fake girlfriend for the holidays. Because of Joey Lawrence and the typical plot line, my expectations going into this one were slightly higher than normal.

Readers, I have to tell you, this movie made me actually giddy. It was so much better than I expected it to be in every way. Joey and his counterpart, relative newcomer Emily Hampshire, played such a cute couple with real personalities and real problems. When they had that "I'm opening up to you because we're sleeping in the same room because our parents think we're in love" scene, I actually felt like they would have opened up to each other at that moment. Although I normally advocate saving the first kiss until the end, I loved that they kissed fairly early in the movie and kept on doing it because it allowed me to see their relationship keep developing and watch their feelings for each other grow. I loved that she was Jewish and he was Catholic. I loved that she was a theatre critic and he was a freelance advertising designer. I loved that it spanned all the way to New Year's Eve. I even loved Marilu Henner as the crazy, marriage obsessed mother.

In short, watching Hitched for the Holidays reminded me why I love these movies. All of them may be cheesy, and many of them may not actually be worth my time, but when I come across a gem like this one, the entire genre is justified. This is my favorite new made-for-TV Christmas movie of the season (so far), and I can't wait until next year to watch it again.