Christmas on TV: Gems You May Have Missed

Lucky Christmas

This movie premiered last year on the Hallmark Channel, but because I only had about two weeks of TV Christmas movie viewing time on my hands, I had to pick and choose, and I ended up deleting a lot of them without even watching them on fast forward. Missing this one was a mistake! It has a fairly original idea of getting the happy couple together, although it does remind me of that '90s flick with Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda, It Could Happen to You.

Elizabeth Berkley from Saved by the Bell plays a single mom who aspires to be a chef but is stuck in hostessing and convenience store jobs. Every week, she buys a lottery ticket with the same numbers, kisses it for good luck, and of course the one time she wins is the time she left the ticket in the glove box of her stolen car.

The thief of her car just happens to be the quirky but barely-ever-on-screen friend of Jason Gray-Stanford. You probably know him as Lieutenant Randy Disher from Monk, but in this movie he plays a construction worker and aspiring architect who is channelling Bill Pullman in While You Were Sleeping. His family business is about to go under, and he lets his quirky friend convince him that he deserves a reward for finding the ticket. He starts spending time with Elizabeth Berkley and her son who plays one of the best kids I've ever seen in a movie of this type. There's hockey, there's baking, there's a pinewood derby--and I found myself smiling in spite of myself. The ending is a bit abrupt, but I was cheering the entire movie for this odd couple that actually makes a lot of sense. Watch it.

Trading Christmas
Some viewers might consider this a made-for-TV twist on The Holiday, and I'll admit that there's more than a little similarity between the movies, at least in basic premise. Two singles swap homes during the holiday season and find love and friendship in their new but temporary abodes. But I honestly prefer Trading Christmas (even though it lacks Jude Law). While the basic setup requires a willing suspension of disbelief, as does the notion that both principal parties to the house swap would find love that quickly while only meeting one new person each, the acting and the situations in this movie seem natural rather than forced. These couples don't need coy kisses under the mistletoe; they just need good conversation and undeniable chemistry.

Trading Christmas also differs from The Holiday in that our house swappers are not running away from recent break-ups or unrequited love. Faith Ford's character is a widow who already lives a full and happy life but makes room for more love and adventure when she meets bachelor businessman Gil Bellows. His brother, Tom Cavanaugh, is a novelist suffering from writer's block and a not-quite-healed broken heart from a broken engagement, and the last thing he wants (but the first thing he needs) is the influence of recent divorcee Gabrielle Miller on his writing. None of these four actors plays their part with an overabundance of heartbreak, which endears them all the more to the audience and makes you giddy and cheerful as their relationships blossom. I loved this one last year; I loved it again this year. Seldom does a made-for-TV Christmas movie stand the multiple viewing test like this one.

Recipe for a Perfect Christmas
By endorsing this movie on the "Gems" list, I don't want you to get the idea that this is a classic. But I remembered liking it enough last year to watch it again this year. What I'd forgotten between now and then is the outspokenness of the mom (played by Christine Baranski) and the selfishness of the daughter that grated on me throughout the movie but also seemed believable. I really do know women who open their mouths and spew out whatever opinions they have, no matter how blunt, and those women's daughters are usually just as outspoken in their own selfish ways.

Once I got past the overtly annoying traits of feuding daughter and overbearing mother, I discovered that Christine Baranski plays a more multi-layered mom than I've ever seen in a Christmas movie, made-for-TV or otherwise. Within moments she shifts from strong, independent job seeker to subtly insulted rejectee striving to maintain dignity. I root for her character most in this movie, since her side of the story seems more sympathetic than her shortsighted and overprivileged daughter's. However, I did root for the daughter to overcome that shortsightedness and realize she should be with the sexy Italian chef she asked to take her mom out. Because he's a sexy Italian chef. Who doesn't love that?

Christmas in Boston
Technically, I already reviewed this movie last year as a Not-Too-Shabby, but since then I have discovered that one of its stars is Patrick J. Adams of Suits. Because of my huge crush on his Suits character, Mike Ross, I watched Christmas in Boston with a whole new kind of appreciation. If you like Suits, you probably will, too. Catch it during ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas or whenever you want on YouTube if you're not picky about image quality.