My Christmas Guide (2023 Hallmark)
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Cast: Ben Mehl, Amber Marshall, Ava Weiss
Director: Max McGuire
Writer: Keith Hemstreet
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DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlySynopsis (via Hallmark)
After losing his eyesight, a college professor adopts a guide dog from a trainer. As they all begin to spend time together, his confidence returns and his heart begins to open. Starring Amber Marshall and Ben Mehl.
Recap/Wine Thoughts
Best Friend Guide Dogs is a business that trains dogs for the visually impaired. A beautiful woman named Peyton who is a dog trainer. She takes Max out for a test drive. On the walk, she sees a father, Trevor, and daughter, Annie, leaving school. His daughter suggests he get a guide dog, and Trevor laughs it off.
Things aren’t so great at home; Peyton’s boyfriend forgets their company’s work event and that he is meeting the in-laws. He plans a golf trip instead. (Chad being Chad, I guess!)
Meanwhile, Trevor uses technology to help him navigate throughout the day. He uses an app to help pick out clothes by color and a walking stick to get around. When Trevor runs into a pole on a construction site at the university and is frustrated at the lack of accommodations on campus, he talks to the dean. The dean of his college suggests he take a break for the semester until the construction is done. (ummm, that is messed up.) Annie is worried about her dad and wants him to get a guide dog.
Peyton leaves a pamphlet at the school and sees Annie being bullied by her classmates. (Jerks!) Annie shows her dad the pamphlet and makes her dad go to the Guide Dog Center. At first, Trevor is annoyed, but Peyton calmly explains that it could be a good solution. She conducts a questionnaire and is happy to learn Trevor is a literature professor. (Because her dad loves the classics and she LOVES Dickens.)
Trevor meets Max and starts training. He is embarrassed by the training, and Peyton explains that he needs to put his pride aside to be safe for himself and Annie. Peyton Leads Trevor around town with a leash, giggling the whole time. Trevor still has reservations because he isn’t sure he has time to care for a dog.
Chad heads out of town and passively agrees to meet Peyton’s dad when he is back in town. (The fact that Chad doesn’t even appreciate a ride to the airport says it all!) Later, Peyton sees a post on social media, and Chad is not just there with the boys; he has his arms around another woman.
The walk with Max goes much better, and Trevor feels more confident. He thanks Peyton for showing him the ropes with a cup of coffee. At the cafe, they talk about how one another smells. They start mapping routes together to give Trevor and Max the necessary tools to get around. Peyton tells Trevor that Max can accompany him to his classes or just wait in his office. Max is very calm and focused on his guide dog responsibilities. She also tells him that he is very handsome and his students are lucky that he is their professor.
Since this is technically a dog movie, we get a scene with puppies. Trevor and Annie meet Peyton’s father, and they hit it off. Trevor even gives Peyton’s dad some book advice. Annie and Trevor invite Peyton over to help decorate their Christmas tree. It is a happy moment! (Oh, and the guide dog is there too!)
Chad calls to check in, and Peyton asks about the girls from the photos. He tells her not to worry and blames his friend “Chainsaw.” Chad wants to extend the trip and can tell Peyton is annoyed.
Instead of picking up Chad at the airport, she hangs out with Trevor and Max. They practice walking some more but end up at a concert venue. Trevor is touched by Peyton’s thoughtfulness and planning. After the day goes so well, Peyton asks if he will join her and her father for a dinner by a private chef. He happily accepts. The dinner goes well, even if Annie and Peyton’s dad are MIA!
Chad is back in town and falls asleep on the ride back from the airport. When Peyton asks if they can have dinner to catch up, he says, “Soonish.” He books a trip to Mexico for him and Peyton based on Chainsaw’s advice to make things up to Peyton. When he sees Peyton and Trevor together, he gets jealous and changes his mind. Chad is a jerk when he makes fun of Trevor for not shaking his hand. Peyton tells Chad later at dinner that he is distant. That causes Chad to belittle Trevor the next time he sees him. Trevor tells Chad that Peyton deserves better.
Annie gets called into the principal office for smashing the bully in the face with cake after he makes fun of her blind dad again. Trevor tells the principal that she is being unreasonable. To add insult to injury, the dean insists that Trevor take a leave because of the construction. Upset, Trevor returns Max to the shelter and gives Peyton a Christmas gift.
Peyton feels bewildered and sadly opens the present. It is a bottle of perfume with her scent. Her melancholy mood is interrupted by a co-worker who had Chad and Trevor arguing on CCTV. Peyton rushes off to break up with Chad once and for all. (It is a very satisfying moment.)
Annie sees her bully getting picked on by a bigger bully and handles the situation. She tells her bully that her dad is a fantastic guy and that maybe he should get to know him.
The students of the college appeal to the dean and give him handwritten letters asking to keep Trevor on as a faculty member for the semester and, I don’t know, maybe NOT discriminate against him for a disability, which is incredibly illegal.
Peyton stops by Trevor’s house with Max, and she doesn’t leave. She helps bake and spends time with Annie. Trevor thanks her for making Christmas memorable, and she says the feeling is mutual. They kiss, and Trevor tells Peyton that he has never met a woman as beautiful as her, inside and out. (Annie and Max secretly watch, which ruined it.) The End!
Side Note/Stray Thoughts
I need a movie about Chainsaw called. “Buzzing through the holidays.”
WOW! Chad! Could he get any worse?
Overall rating
Pour it up
Put a Cork in It
Christmas Feels
🎄🎄 (2 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
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*Photo Credit: © 2023 Hallmark
