Christmas at Plumhill Manor (2024 Lifetime)
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Cast: Maria Menounos, Kyle Pryor
Director: Brian Herzlinger
Writer(s): Avery Henry-Bailey, Megan Henry Herzlinger
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
Margot Stone, a beautiful rising architect in New York, discovers a magical Christmas secret in an English countryside manor she unexpectedly inherits. Experiencing Christmas across the pond may make Margot a fish out of water, but an unforeseen romance and sense of belonging give her a breathtaking new blueprint for love. Stars Maria Menounos, Kyle Pryor (2024).
Recap/Wine Thoughts
Maria Menounos is a businesswoman with great hair and work attire. She successfully pitched a building design and saw it through to the grand opening. Her advice to another up-and-coming architect is to take the puzzle of life one piece at a time. (Also, being beautiful and stylish doesn’t hurt.) She is the gem of her company but doesn’t even have a Desktop computer in her office. Maria Menounos feels lonely and calls her mother to thank her for a Christmas card.
A butler approaches Maria Menounos. He informs her that her long-lost aunt has given her a mansion. The mansion is a surprise inheritance. He tells her that she has to move in immediately. She must stay for seven days. He gives her a bottle of wine from the vineyard. Maria Menounos drinks the wine and decides to go for it after finding a hidden riddle under the bottle label.
Once abroad, a chauffeur with a Scottish brogue picks Maria Menounos up at the airport and shows her around. She invites Maria Menounos for a night out at an English Pub called the Black Horse. A handsome stranger, Alfie, sits next to Maria Menounos at the bar. He doesn’t hit on her, but the bartender, Nick, does. Alfie is a local brewer with his setup at Plumhill Manor to make a popular plumb cider. Once he learns that Maria Menounos is the new owner of the manor, he instantly hates her. (They take out their aggression in Bar Trivia, WHICH WE’ve ALREADY COVERED!)
While taking a bath, Maria Menounos drips it into the water, revealing more clues to the mystery I couldn’t care less about. Luckily, Alfie does care. He believes the manor should have been left to the town. He thinks someone who cares about its history should have it. He starts to help Maria Menounos. They get locked in rooms, take walks, and decorate for Christmas. (If you forgot, this is a Christmas movie like I did!)
Alfie left his corporate job in London and is happy to leave the grind behind. Maria Menounos hasn’t left the job behind. She keeps getting phone calls from her boss and a hot co-worker named Daniel. (Who thinks she is working on a secret project.)
Maria Menounos finds a treasure box built into the stairs, which seems like it could be dangerous. The box belongs to her dad.
I didn’t think this scene would matter, but it is the best part of the movie. Maria Menounos has to fill in for a choir member at church who has a rash. Her job is to ring one bell at the song’s end, and when it is her time to shine… SHE DROPS THE BELL!!! It falls in slow motion and is very dramatic. Alfie saves her from complete embarrassment by standing up and clapping vigorously.
Baking happens, and it feels really old-school Hallmark to me. (Or even upTv, TBH.)
The butler returns with more news, and Maria Menounos learns that Aunt Victoria is behind on estate tax. The debt will be transferred to her if she takes the manor.
Maria Menounos continues to get sidetracked from the mystery with random things. I think she pets a lamb, befriends a little girl, and spends time having “chemistry” with Alfie. They kiss, and it’s implied they hooked up when we get a scene where Alfie makes Maria Menounos an English breakfast.
After tracking Maria Menounos down, the boss shows up and wants her to develop Plumhill Manor. Alfie sees them having a meeting and thinks she has lied to him. He finds the blueprints (Which are actually blue) and is PISSED. Maria Menounos explains that she wants to avoid taking on the debt and that it is a good design.
It is time to resolve the mystery before we repair the relationship. Maria Menounos finds a key inside a Christmas Ornament. (Don’t ask.) It opens up a room by the wine cellar and is a portal to an underground castle. The building is historic and will be preserved for years to come! (Thanks, Norman Arch.)
Alfie and Maria Menounos apologize to one another and decide to open Plumhill Manor as a museum and wine-tasting place. They will also throw holiday parties, and the first one starts IMMEDIATELY. Everyone dances, and Maria Menounos signs her contracts with a fancy pen Alfie gives her for Christmas.
The following year Maria Menounos sends her boss a Christmas card! She lives at the manor wit Alfie and a sheep. THE END!
Side Note/Stray Thoughts
Maria Menounos looks fantastic; that is all I’ll say about her performance here.
The accents in this were insane.
Chaufer Jackie would be the killer obsessed with Maria Menounos if this was a regular Lifetime Movie.
Overall rating
Pour it up
Put a Cork in It
Christmas Feels
🎄 (1 Christmas Tree)
Enjoyment Level: 🍷 (1 glass 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: © 2024 lifetime
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