Holiday Crashers (2024 Hallmark Channel)
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Cast: Lyndsy Fonseca, Daniella Monet, Chris McNally, Jag Bal
Director: Michael Robison
Writer(s): Tracy Andreen, Lee Friedlander, Hope Juber
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Synopsis (via Hallmark)
Best friends Toni (Fonseca) and Bri (Monet) have worked at the same card shop for more years than they should as both struggle to find their true lifeās path. This holiday season, Toni and Bri decide to shake up their humdrum world by creating new identities to crash the amazing Christmas parties from the shopās confidential invitations. All harmless fun! Until Toni gets mistaken for a lawyer, which isnāt too far off the mark since she did finish law schoolā¦ just never completed the bar exam. Toni and Bri are then whisked away to a fancy corporate Christmas retreat in the snowy Vermont mountains by handsome business mogul, Justin (McNally), whose crush on Toni is real even if her legal career isnāt. And Bri is along for the ride as she has eyes for Vinny (Bal), a valet who may have a secret of his own. Can a distraction help Bri find what path in life sheās supposed to follow? Will Toni end up with the guy of her dreams or in a blizzard of trouble? This fun Christmas crashing romp will either end in disaster or two happily-ever-afters!
Recap/Wine Thoughts
It is the holiday party season with 24 days till Christmas, and small business co-workers Toni and Bri. Their boss, Gus, is overwhelmed during the holiday season. He needs friends to take the company van to deliver party invitations.
Bri is a bit rebellious. (We can tell this from her fluffy coat.) and Toni is tightly wound and was previously in law school. At a high-end daytime soiree, Bri pretends to be a Formula 1 race car driver and crashes the party. (Much to Toni’s horror.) Toni bumps into a handsome stranger while dragging her friend away from the open bar.
Toni’s father is an ambulance chaser and works for one of those class action lawsuit places. The father wants Toni to quit working at the invitation shop and join the family business. She is a natural-born lawyer. (Like Elle Woods.)
The handsome man from the party is named Justin. His hair is giving Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. Instead of working at his business job, he finds a party photo on Getty Images. He looks for Toni, the woman he bumped into. His co-worker calls him a stalker.
Bri decides Toni needs a night of fun, food, dancing, and distraction. They crash one of the parties from the store’s invitations and pretend to be wealthy cousins from “old money.” They run into Justin. He is as handsome as ever. Justin doesn’t seem to be into the socialite life, despite being one of the elite.
The movie does a silly montage of Toni working for the party and pretending to be a dual. Bri flirts with the valet guy with a Rudolph nose and has fun. Toni is a little more worried about lying, especially to Justin, with whom she is vibing. The friends steal more invites and crash a night party under different aliases.
LOTS of fun, food, dancing, and distraction happen in our second montage in 20 mins.
Toni’s parents notice that she is going out a lot. They react by saying, WTF, Antonia. They want her to pass the bar exam and get her life together. Toni tells her dad that people laugh at him and think he is a joke.
It was bound to happen; Toni and Bri run into someone they know. Their cover is blown. Her pregnant friend, Latisha, represents Justin while his company acquires Skyline Motors, a company that has faulty seatbelts. Toni gives Justin a heads-up about the seatbelts because her dad is filing a class action lawsuit. Latisha goes into labor at the party and asks Toni to fill in for the weekend as a consultant. Toni and Bri decide to go to a cabin retreat in Vermont.
Toni is STRESSING. She is practicing law without a license. Bri tells her BFF that she is just lying a little. She wants the opportunity to know Justin better. Plus, why turn down a free vacation?!?!
Justin’s assistant wants to do a background check. He shoots that idea down. Toni knows Latisha, and that counts for something, right?!? He welcomes Bri and Toni and gives them a hard time for lying about their names. They laugh it off and explain they are best friends with a lot of inside jokes. Sebastian is still suspicious.
Christmas is a week away. Justin plans to spend the holiday alone with Moo Shoo Pork and It’s A Wonderful Life. He has sisters but must not like them. Justin tells Toni that he is ready to start his own family. Later, he shares about his dad being a liar and explains he HATES Liars.
Bri spends time with the Valet, Vinny. He calls her on her BS and tells her he knows she is a party crasher/liar. The man is unfazed, and Bri is unapologetic. She doubles down and opens up to Vinny about her family and all of Toni’s lies, too! They kiss and forget all about it.
Toni’s lies begin to unravel. She runs into a guy named Doug. She told Doug she was an Olympic skier. Doug works with Justin and invites them to ski together so Toni can show him how it is done. She lies again, tells them she is doing the black diamond trail, and ditches them. They meet up later. Toni runs in place and throws snow in her hair to seem like she was skiing. It’s a funny bit.
Toni calls her dad to A) apologize and B) for advice about the awkward situation she put herself in. He advises he to say she still works for the law company she interned at. (Sure, whatever!)
Bri tells Toni she addressed all the lies with Vinny because she trusted him. Toni freaks out, but the friends work things out.
Everyone drinks fancy cocktails at a party, but Justin doesn’t want to talk about work. Bri learns that Vinny isn’t just the valet for his company; he is the CEO?!?! (He believes that if you do what you love, the money will follow.) Then Toni freaks out when some guys make fun of her father’s lawyer commercial. She apologizes to Justin for the outburst, but he just wants to spend time with Justin. They make out, but Bri interrupts because she thinks Vinny is out of her league.
Three days till Christmas, Toni has dinner with her parents, and they still think she is a POS. Well, that is until Toni gives her dad a bunch of plaintiffs. She also presents some former employees who knew about Skyline’s seatbelt issue via an internal memo. IT’S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!! Christmas music blasts as Toni’s parents dance in the window. Toni sets up a date with Justin to disclose the truth.
Bri and Vinny make up, and she is head over heels with a wealthy man! (The dream!) They have a really nice scene.
Justin is all business when he meets with Toni. He shuts her down because she lied to him about being a lawyer. The behavior is entirely unacceptable. Toni admits to enjoying the time they spent together because she likes how it feels to be with him. (and to be a fake lawyer.) She leaves her research on the desk and turns to leave but returns to tell Justin that he was a fantasy that turned real. He sends her away cooly.
One year later, Toni gets lunch with her dad. She is a lawyer with her dad and now stars in those cheesy lawyer commercials. Justin sees the commercial with Latisha, who encourages him to reach out. He feels like too much time has passed.
Bri and Vinny have a beautiful Christmas wedding and Bri looks absolutely stunning. They do a full-on Bollywood-style dance number. Werk!
Of course, Toni and Justin are both there. Justin crashes the wedding, and Toni feels awkward, but they get to talk, and Toni takes the moment to apologize. Justin congratulates her on passing the bar and apologizes for not hearing her out. He let his past influence his reaction to Toni. He asks her to start over, and she grabs him a drink. They reintroduce themselves to one another. Then they dance to Sia and make out on the dance floor. (Which is kind of trashy, honestly.) They do a lift in slow motion, and the movie ends! TaDa!
Note/Stray Thoughts
Hallmark, relegating the LGBTQ folk to the sorry margins is an interesting regression in storytelling.
The wardrobe department in this movie was on point.
I feel like the Bri and Vinny storyline could have been the A story line here.
Overall rating
Pour it up
Christmas Feels
ššš (3 Christmas Trees)
Enjoyment Level: š·š·š· (3 glasses of wine.)
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*Photo Credit: Ā© 2024 Hallmark
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