A Gingerbread Romance (2018 Hallmark Channel)

A Gingerbread Romance

Stars: Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Duane Henry.

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Synopsis (via Hallmark)

With Christmas just weeks away, the architecture firm Taylor works for enters her in a contest in which the teams will design and build life sized gingerbread houses. After the contest, Taylor will likely be getting a promotion to a position in another city. The firm teams her up with Annabelle, a renowned French pastry chef with whom Taylor instantly locks horns. When Annabelle backs out, Taylor stumbles into a local bakery and meets Adam, a baker and single dad. In an act of desperation, Taylor convinces Adam to partner with her for the contest, arguing that winning would give the bakery and his designs much needed exposure. For years Taylor has been resistant to call anywhere “home” for fear it will only be temporary. But the time she spends with Adam and his daughter Brook in their cozy home, decorating for Christmas, and exploring Philadelphia at Christmas, fills her with a longing for a place to call home.

Thoughts

Young Taylor likes to draw pictures of houses and goes on trips with her family… 20 years later we get Tia Mowry who loves building house, she is an architect. Her family still travels to Singapore, but Tia is too busy with work. Christmas is wherever you hang your stocking, so she will be fine.

At work Tia is up for a job in Paris and she can solidify the deal if she designs a lifesize gingerbread house to raise the firm’s profile. They had Tia a gumdrops, especially if she wants that Paris promotion. She has a rival named Brandon (played by Giles Panton who has been in five Christmas movies in 2018.)

Adam delivers a green Christmas tree to Tia’s firm and smudges her plan they have a rude conversation and are annoyed with each other. Adam wants to open his own bakery and his family (including his cute daughter) encouraged him to do so. When Tia’s baker partner drops her for a more lucrative offer from Brandon, she tries and fails to find a baker in town to team up with. Desperate times call for desperate measuring cups and she hires Adam to help her.

We get our first (of many, I’m predicting.) of baking while giving expositions scene. Tia wants the gingerbread to durable and he wants them to taste good. They can’t see eye to eye and burn the cookies! Later, they add volunteers to help construct, bake, and decorate the gingerbread house. Again, she wants everyone to stay on deadline and he wants people to be creative.

Cue working on things montage. Which include standing around and looking at wooden frames.

More baking happens and Ray (The owner of the bakery) is impressed with his skills.

Since this movie can’t be all about baking they go shopping at a Christmas farmers market. They see a chandelier and Tia admits she always wanted one in her house… or maybe her Gingerbread house. Adam’s family decorates her house and brings over a Christmas tree. They decorate it and share more feelings. They go to a candy store to find things that could work for a fireplace. They also go ice skating, to take their mind off of the Gingerbread house literally cracking.

Tia decides to change her design and goes with Adam’s suggestion of using gingerbread bricks instead of one big sheet. We get out third baking montage/house building. They are almost on track for the judging day.

Another montage of decorating and getting the gingerbread house ready. Tia hands her stocking on the mantel, they add a chandelier, and a picture of Adam/Tia/and his daughter. Adam invites some investors to the showing so he can start his business. He invites Tia to spend Christmas with his family. The boss shows up and tells Tia that Paris is hers and she should pack her bags. Adam is like, where are you going? Tia is like… we need to talk. Adam is heartbroken but says he understands.

The judging happens and Tia and Adam WIN! (There really was no contest, all the other houses were pretty lame.) Adam becomes a partner with Ray and will own his own business. He runs to go tell Tia that he loves her but she has already left for Paris.

At the airport, Tia finds a child’s drawing and has a change of heart. She calls her boss asks to be assigned to a local project and then heads over to Adam’s house. She tells him that he is her home and he tells her about his new business. They celebrate by kissing under holly. (We all know mistletoe has white berries.)

Side Note

Minority Report: Romantic leads and their families

Folgers coffee Ad in the movie? I thought this was a trope of the past, but here it is in 2018.

Movie set in Philly, but not really.

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Overall rating

🎄🎄 (2 Christmas Trees)

🍷🍷🍷🍷(4 glasses of wine required)