Cranberry Christmas (2020 Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
Cast: Benjamin Ayres, Nikki Deloach, Marci T. House
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Synopsis (via Hallmark)
A separated couple feigns marital bliss on national television to help their town’s Christmas festival — and their business. But what will become of rekindled love when new opportunities complicate it?
Thoughts
The movie begins, and it looks like an Ocean Spray commercial. Dawn runs a Cranberry farm in Maine with her husband, Gabe. He watches her on a TV show hosted by celebrity Pamela Frank. The couple has been separated for three months and is working to save their marriage. (I’m happy HMM is going there! I’m impressed.) Dawn stops by the house to pick up a few things, and the chemistry with Gabe is there. They need to talk things through and are working together to run the cranberry factory.
Pamela calls Dawn and wants to run a feature story on the cranberry farm and the family that runs the festival. Dawn asks Gabe about it, and he suggests they not bring cameras into their marriage while they work things out. His family talks him out of it, explaining that he needs the publicity. They guilt him into changing his mind. The only way family can do.
The camera crew follows the couple as they share Christmas traditions. Dawn and Gabe recall when he proposed with a cranberry twig. Then they got so busy that he never got her a real wedding ring and threw themselves into work.
Kween Pamela arrives and wants to film segments herself. Gabe and Dawn invite her to stay with them while she is in town. They make her cranberry coffee and syrup. They show her around the farm. Pamela is impressed and picks up on the fact that they don’t have plans for the business. Gabe wants to grow old and sit in rocking chairs on the porch. Dawn wants to expand and grow the business. Gabe seems almost on the same page as Dawn when he buys neighboring land to expand the business. Except he tells her he is leaving the company.
Dawn and Gabe realize that they need to have a serious conversation but are strapped for time to sit down because they are entertaining Kween Pamela. Gabe clarifies after baking some Ginger People. He feels like he and Dawn have been pretending to be the perfect couple. They have a REAL conversation and communicate how the actions they’ve taken hurt them. Then they apologize!!! This writing is excellent here.
Gabe wants to start a catering business and focus on food. Dawn is supportive and promises to help him dream big. Pamela is also dreaming big and offers Dawn a permanent segment on her TV show. Dawn wants to do the show but also wants to support her husband. Kween Pamela understands Dawn’s predicament.
Dawn tells Gabe about the opportunity, and he tells her to take the job. Dawn asks him if he is looking for a way out of their relationship. As they argue, Pamela overhears the conversation. It inspires her to focus on her family and call an ex-boyfriend. She hopes for a second chance and tells Dawn to do the same.
The married couple realizes that they are not perfect and agree to work hard for one another. He gifts her the engagement ring he never gave her. It is a custom-designed ruby. He gets down on one knee and proposes to her, and she says, “Yes, forever.”
The next morning they sit in rocking chairs and plan their future endeavors. Gabe pitches a new TV show to Pamela about the expansion of Cranberry Lane. They kiss under the mistletoe and snow falls. (Maybe it is CGI. I don’t know!)
Side Note
Hallmark is dismantling the perfect marriage trope they have worked years building. This was a well-written movie portraying a couple working through a rough patch. Loved it.
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Overall rating: Pour it Up
🎄🎄🎄🎄 (4 Christmas Trees)
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*Photo Credit: © 2020 Hallmark Crown Media
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