Our Italian Christmas Memories (2022 Hallmark)
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Cast: Sarah Power, Beau Bridges
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Synopsis (via Hallmark)
The Colucci siblings tries to recreate their late grandmother’s legendary pasta sauce in an effort to jog the memory of their grandfather who is struggling with dementia.
Recap/Wine Thoughts
The movie starts with some Italian Christmas music. Nonno/PaPa, is the patriarch and tells the family that family is everything! The grandchildren cheer. Anna is the eldest sister, then there is Ella, and RJ.
27 years later, Professor Anna is not into Christmas or cold weather and begrudgingly comes home for the holidays. She doesn’t like to see her grandfather since he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Seeing the drawers labeled breaks her heart.
Nonno is very emotional during the holidays and misses his wife. Anna will be taking care of her grandfather while her mother takes a well-deserved vacation.
Anna plays cards with her brother RJ, and it seems like the family is grateful she is home but a little resentful. RJ is a chef and is dating a co-worker named Monica, the daughter of the restaurant owner! (Bad idea!)
At the neurologist appointment, Anna meets the very handsome Dr. Greg. The appointment goes well, and Nonno starts off the appointment lucid but becomes frustrated when he can’t do simple math or recall a simple phrase. Anna is distraught. He is in the middle stage of Alzheimer’s. Living in the past and present at the same time. Dr. Greg recommends full-time care, and It is a mood killer during Anna and Dr. Greg’s meet cute.
Monica meets the family and invites them all to the restaurant. Anna talks to her siblings about this being the lat Christmas that Nonno might remember, so it should be memorable.
Ella and her wife Natalie are expecting a baby and have decided to sell the family farm. Anna, of course, has a lot of opinions about selling even though she hasn’t been around. Ella tells Anna is she has so many thoughts, she should run it herself.
Anna takes Nonno out for a shopping trip, and he seems to be going great until he gets confused about where he parked the car and breaks down. It is extremely well-acted by Beau Bridges.
Ella and her wife host a Christmas party at the farm and tell the guests that it will be the last family Christmas on the farm.
The family goes out to RJ’s restaurant to taste his new special on the menu, but he is frazzled in the kitchen. Nonno is confused and sundowning during dinner. He thinks his wife is showing up and gets confused. Ella pushes Nonno to discuss the next steps in care, and Anna suggests that it isn’t the best time.
Nonno goes for a walk and doesn’t come back. Anna is worried but eventually remembers that he went to his old home. They find him sitting on the sidewalk in the cold and take him back to the house.
Monica and RJ tell say, “I Love You.” (Well, RJ says Ditto.) He is then tasked with creating a New Year’s Eve special. It is a good thing because Anna finds her grandmother’s secret recipe in the pocket of a cardigan.
The family all work together to make an Italian Christmas meal that Nonno remembers well. The meal brings him to tears as he exclaims it tastes like home! Then everyone looks for the Christmas pickle.
Side Note
Minority Report: Monica, Ellen, Ella, Natalie,
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Christmas Trees represent the Christmas vibes.
I will use the following tags for those who want to know if they should watch or skip: Pour it Up (Would Recommend) or Put A Cork In It (Would Not Recommend).
Overall rating
Christmas Feels
🎄🎄🎄 (3 Christmas Trees)
Enjoyment Level: 🍷🍷🍷 (3 glasses of wine.)
What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments or on social media @LifetimeUncorked
*Photo Credit: © 2022 Hallmark Crown Media
Live tweet along with @LifetimeUncork using the hashtag #OurItalianChristmasMemories
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Italian actors should play Italians. Beau just didn’t do it. I know of no one who called their grandfather “nonno”: papa or grandpa, yes but nonno, never. That tree that was tradition? Never heard of it. Italians never followed recipes. Pronunciation of Sugo, incorrect!! It is not “so goo”. No anchovy in homemade sauce, ever! Celebration of 7 fishes on Christmas Eve is not consistently followed by Italians.
My Italian grandparents always celebrated 7 fish on Christmas Eve, one of my most vivid memories was preparing for it. My mother & her sisters spent all afternoon preparing the fish dishes. After dinner we went to midnight mass and came home to a table filled with Christmas cookies, cakes, Italian candies. Lastly my Aunt Josie’s eggnog. The whole event was magical.