Meet Me at Christmas (2020 Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
Cast: Catherine Bell, Mark Deklin, Luke Bilyk
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Synopsis (via Hallmark)
When Joan’s (Bell) son’s wedding planner unexpectedly quits, she must coordinate his Christmas Eve wedding with the help of Beau (Deklin), the bride’s uncle. As they work alongside each other, they discover their fates and pasts are intertwined.
Thoughts
The movie begins with a snowman building contest. Teen strangers finish (they met at a bakery and call each other 4 & 5 because of the ticket numbers they pulled) just in time and win first place with a snowman sporting sunglasses. They celebrate their win with a Ferris wheel ride, even though the guy is afraid of heights. He checks the time on his grandpa’s old-school watch, and they agree to meet at the town Christmas tree lighting and make a wish with a Christmas ornament. The teenagers don’t even know each other’s names but promise to reveal them when they meet.
Twenty-eight years later, widowed Joan works in a flower shop and plans her son’s Christmas wedding. Her co-worker/friend, Vanessa, suggests that Joan start her own business because she is so savvy with clients.
Joan visits the town’s Christmas tree and recalls the night, 28 years ago, when she fell in love with the stranger. A man gruffly tells her to move so he can take a picture of the tree. Joan tells him to lighten up. Then she talks to her son, Liam, about finding a job and his wedding with Katie. The rude man turns out to be Katie’s Uncle Beau, who is doing the wedding photography.
The wedding planner quits unexpectedly, leaving Katie and Liam to plan their own wedding. Joan and Beau are given a to-do list to help organize the wedding. While shopping for Christmas trees and picking up the wedding flowers and cake, Joan and Beau can’t help but feel as if they’ve met before. When Joan sees Beau check his grandfather’s pocket watches, she realizes he is the stranger from that magical day. Beau and Joan agree to keep the discovery a secret because she met Liam’s dad that same day and kind of recycled the romantic story, substituting Liam’s dad for Beau. AWKWARD!
Joan hosts a wreath-making event, and another snow-building competition happens. Joan has many opinions about Liam and is overly involved in his life, maybe too much. She goes all mama bear when Beau gives Liam some critical feedback. To make it up to Joan, Beau takes her out to dinner under the guise of tasting the catering menu for the wedding. (It is totally a date.)
On the “working date,” Joan and Beau take a horse-drawn carriage to the restaurant, have wine, and slow dance on an empty dance floor. I’m not sure when the working part comes in, but this is a full-on romantic dinner. They walk through the steps of the night they met and re-capture the magic. Joan can’t help but feel guilty because she is still grieving her husband. Joan’s mother notices the spark between Joan and Beau and encourages her to follow her heart.
A winter storm wrecks the wedding venue, and Joan/Beau comes up with an alternative plan on the fly. AN OUTDOOR WEDDING IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER?!?!? Beau decides to stay in town longer and plans a new photo collection focused on family. (Joan hears otherwise and thinks her is leaving before the wedding and abandoning his family.) Speaking of family, Liam goes into Beau’s room and finds a photo of his mother when she was a teenager. Joan explains that she wasn’t and never could be in love with Beau, as Beau overhears the conversation. Let the misunderstandings commence! (Although in this case, Joan said she wasn’t into Beau clear as day, so it isn’t a misunderstanding. She is just a liar.)
The outdoor wedding takes place, and everyone watches on, bundled in coats. At the reception, Liam overhears Joan talking to her mother about Beau and lying about her feelings to protect her son’s vision of his parents’ love story. Liam runs off, and Joan follows. Liam tells his mother it is okay that she lied and suggests Beau is in love with her.
We finally learn, in a wedding speech, why Beau didn’t make it to the town Christmas tree lighting. He saved his brother from being hit by a car and was in the hospital for months. Joan and Beau get another chance and put ornaments on the town Christmas tree and make a wish. They kiss as the tree lights up.
Side Note
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Overall rating: Put a Cork in It
🎄🎄 (2 Christmas Trees)
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*Photo Credit: © 2020 Hallmark Crown Media
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