Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/a-dickens-of-a-holiday
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Oh man 🙁 I’m really bummed about this movie. I have generally liked past Dickens plot movies. Unfortunately, this didn’t do it for me. Here’s a quick re-cap and my two cents.
Quick Re-Cap
Recently divorced Cassie Pruitt is directing A Christmas Carol in the 100 year anniversary of Dickens Days in Dickens, Ohio. Unfortunately, Scrooge comes down with laryngitis and they need to find someone new. They insist on choosing someone from Dickens. They ask big time actor Jake Dorsey to come home and help.
My Two Cents
I’m having one of those, “is it me or the movie?” evenings. I’ve been watching this movie for 1.5 hours and other than the quick re-cap, I haven’t written down ANYTHING about this movie. Normally by now I have at least half my review completed.
As a side note…there was something that gave me a quick thrill and distracted me for a little bit of the movie. Did you see the beautiful Inn where Cassie and Jake are staying? Did it look familiar? It should! I think it’s been in a few different Hallmark movies, but I remember it from Good Morning Christmas! In the video clip below, you can catch it at about the 14 second mark 🙂 I absolutely love this Inn. It’s so beautiful! I’d like to spend a weekend away there.
Okay, back to the actual movie. So, I really like versions of A Christmas Carol like It’s Christmas, Carole! that actually have a real Scrooge, ghosts, tiny Tim, etc. This take on the movie wasn’t really my cup of tea.
Maybe this would have been better if Jake had been more Scroogey and less jerky? I don’t know, but I liked Jake’s story line and how he kind of forgot himself when he became a big time actor and had to go through this process of improving himself so he could land the part of his dreams. The best improvement he made was him repairing his relationship with his family 🙂
Aside from fixing his family relationship, there wasn’t much else that captured my attention with this one. I mean, this movie was so blah that I’m not even gushing over the horse drawn carriage. Probably because Jake made such a big deal about that book being in the carriage instead of the horse driving it. Come on Jake! You’re in a carriage with the woman you’re starting to love! Don’t get all mushy about a book.
On top of not mentioning the carriage ride, I also didn’t mention the adorable small town appeal of the movie. I love small towns. Towns where everyone knows everyone and people help each other when they’re in need. There should have been more small town feeling in this book. There was some with everyone knowing Cassie had been directing Broadway and a few other little things, but I felt it could have been played up more.
Alrighty, so tell me folks, was it just me? Am I cranky tonight? Should I give this movie another try? As of right now, it’s definitely NOT on my Countdown to Christmas must see list for the season. Leave a comment and try to get me to change my mind! What did you like about this movie?
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Yes you’re cranky tonight
Thanks Joe Schmoe…I mean Jeffy Weffy. I know where you live 😉
Can I say that, yes, I think maybe you were having a cranky night? It happens to the best of us! But seriously, this was my favorite movie of the year. The interactions between Jake and Cassie were so intimate, especially when she was directing him, and his arc as an actor was so well-drawn. Kristoffer Polaha did a fantastic job taking Jake from entitled movie star/action hero alienated from his family to legit dramatic actor reconnecting with people he loves. The arc with his brother was terrific, and I really appreciated that this one didn’t fall back on the old “life is better in a small town and the only way we can be happy is if we both settle down here” trope. Plus, when he forsakes his chance at the role of a lifetime to come back, there’s no “surprise, the producer was watching and you got the job anyway” moment. He’s taken this chance with no guarantees (even for us as viewers), which makes the sacrifice so much more meaningful. So there were multiple ways that this movie broke out of the usual mold and made it that much richer for it. Both the leads were excellent and they had great chemistry and authentic, earned steps forward in their intimacy (not just the “oops, I almost fell” moments). I think you should give it another chance. It’s seriously good!
Haha! I hit a Hallmark wall and took a step away. I was trying to watch too many movies in too short of a time. I will give it another try eventually 🙂 Thank you for your thoughts! I definitely did like when Cassie was directing Jake. They did a really good job with that!
I guess you took a BIG break. Understandable, it gets old watching the same thing over and over. Which, if we’re being honest, is what Hallmark movies are. However, I did like your perspective so I could pick which few Hallmarks I would watch.
I totally have! I’ll come back to them. I’ve been reading like crazy. I’ve been hooked on a few book series and haven’t felt like watching TV. I promise I will get back to Hallmark movies soon 🙂 I’ll probably catch up on some of the ones I’ve missed too. Thank you for your comment!