Christmas List
Starring Alicia Witt (From Friday Night Lights!)
Synopsis
Isobel Gray (Witt) plans a storybook Christmas with her boyfriend, including a snow-covered cottage in the Northwest, and a carefully composed bucket list (She’s not dying) of classic holiday traditions. But when the boyfriend goes AWOL, the list proves challenging and a tempting new romance turns her life upside down. Will Isobel have a White Christmas ending under the mistletoe? (Yes, that is literally the ending.)
Thoughts
Alicia Witt is no stranger to a Hallmark Christmas movie. She has even appeared with this same co-star (Gabriel Hogan, Scott Hogan’s Dad.) in Christmas at Cartwright’s. With each notch in Alicia’s Christmas movie belt, her performance becomes more manic and kind of scary. While “flirting,” she laughs wide eyed and teeth bared, which would send any sane man running for the hills! I much prefer her as a drunken single Mom or playing Cybil Shepard’s daughter.
The first half of the movie focuses on Isobel and her relationship with her OCD Mom, who has passed her obsessive personality disorder on to her daughter. “Only fake silver Christmas trees in this household” shouts her mother as she rearranges magazines just so. This rigid upbringing causes Isobel to take off to a remote cabin in a small town to live out her perfect Christmas. All planned out with a list, a Christmas List…
Items on Isobel’s Christmas bucket list (she isn’t dying, but it might be more interesting if she were) are checked off one by one. Snow tubing, pictures with Santa, make a gingerbread house, and skating are just a few. Each item brings her and townie Kyle (Gabriel Hogan) closer together, despite the fact she already has a boyfriend.
The second half plays out the most un-suspenseful love triangle. Kyle gets Isobel one of those pandora bracelets. (With charms representing each list item!) Brett, the boyfriend, returns and is just THE WORST. Who will she choose!?!?! Who cares!!!!
Side Note
I didn’t mention Isobel is a fashion designer because it doesn’t really matter, but the first few scenes when she is at “work” are hilarious. (She also wears one of the ugliest dresses I’ve ever seen.)
Overall rating
🎄🎄🎄 (3 Christmas Trees)
🍷🍷🍷🍷(4 glasses of wine required)
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*images via: Hallmark Gold Crown Media
