Talkie Tuesday: Christmas Wedding Planner

 

"Love you muchly."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Okay, hear me out.

 

Yes, I know it isn't December yet when I usually begin with my Christmas blog posts, but this one is even less Christmas-y than my Saturday random post, I promise!

 

It definitely has the title for it, but it does not actually have the plot to back it up.

 

It's still funny however and at the end of it all it's a 'what just happened' kind of thing, which is basically all you need in the long run.

 

I honestly would have watched something else if not for the two main cast members, but I have a soft spot for both and so, here I am with a blog post ready and rearing to go so that we can have a look at this particular Netflix flick.

 

Oh yeah, Netflix has gotten in on the Christmas market niche. And this could be extra funny in the long run.

 

Christmas Wedding Planner, here we go.

 

As I go along this season I will be linking all the previous Christmas movies down at the bottom of the pages so you have everything in one place, but there's a bunch of them on my blog usually around December time, so if you'd like, check out the menu to the right side to open up all your options!

 

Now, away we go.

 

So the main reason I wanted to watch this movie to begin with was because it stars Stephen Huszar and Jocelyn Hudon, both of whom have become staples for Hallmark Channel (even though this isn't one of those productions) since 2017 when this was filmed. I really like Huszar in his detective role for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hudon plays the adorable girl very, very well. Hopefully When Hope Calls gets a second season!

 

Meanwhile, in Christmas Wedding Planner, Hudon portrays Kelsey, a young woman who just started on the business market and is a wedding planner, so to kick things off she's preparing a wedding for her cousin Emily (Rebecca Dalton). Emily is the rich girl everyone SHOULD hate, but aside from occasionally showing some ditziness, she's actually really sweet and it's impossible to do anything but smile.

 

 

Her mother, aunt Olivia (Gossip Girl's own Kelly Rutherford) has actually helped raise Kelsey as well as her only daughter, because Kelsey's mother became quite ill at one point and eventually passed away. There's a bit of confusion as to when this all happened, because Kelsey's memories of growing up seem to be mostly of Aunt Olivia scolding her, but as she's still paying for her mother's phone bills, it's to be assumed the illness REALLY took a long time.

The phone bills are important because throughout the movie, Kelsey keeps texting someone, and it turns out she's texting her late mother's phone as a source of comfort. It's an interesting twist and makes you want to hug the girl, honestly.

Back to the wedding, Emily is set to marry her fiancé Todd, when her ex comes to town. Connor (Huszar) is apparently dangerous to Emily because ten years or so ago they were on the cusp of running away together, so there MAY be some potential for it to happen again.

Kelsey wastes no time and marches right over to tell him he's NOT ruining this wedding, but he explains he's a PI and is actually looking into Todd, so while he isn't exactly here to whisk Emily away, he MAY destroy all Kelsey's efforts if she's not careful.

She eventually agrees to work with him so that they can figure out whether or not Todd is who he says he is, because while they're having a gown fitting with the jealous, bitter and clumsy bridesmaids, Todd is over there flirting with one of the attendants in the shop, which makes Kelsey suspicious and she goes to Connor.

Together they then attend a party at Todd's family home, where they almost get caught snooping and for a PI Connor is super slow on his feet, while Kelsey seizes the moment and just kisses him, so they sort of come out as a 'couple'.

Aunt Olivia simply tells her niece to be careful, but to keep an eye on him just the same, and so the story continues as they follow Todd around for a while until they end up at a restaurant where the waiter mistakes them for an actual couple on a date - where we're also treated to the most hilarious scene in the movie before the ending as Connor keeps slowly inching his hands into Kelsey's side of the table trying to reach for HER hand. It's quite a sweet moment as he's hinting he likes her and would like to try a kiss again under different circumstances, but of course Todd walks in.

Kelsey being her impetuous self, she rushes right over to accuse him of being the biggest villain in history (because Connor never told her to watch and wait), which of course backfires and turns out not to be true, so she's forced to apologise.

She's also brought face-to-face with some evidence Aunt Olivia presents her, checks from her late husband to Connor which imply that he was blackmailing the family. This angers her and breaks her heart as she breaks it off with Connor (not really giving him a chance to explain OR that they HAD anything to begin with ...) and focuses on getting the wedding off without a hitch.

Everything actually looks like it might work, but Connor does get a word in edgewise as he asks his friend, played by Joey Fatone (how he got into this movie is a mystery) to get her down to the restaurant, where Connor explains he thought he was taking a loan from Emily's dad but the guy threatened to tell everyone about 'blackmail' that never happened unless he walked away from Emily without another word.

Then, Connor actually has proof Todd isn't the angelic guy he seems to be as a maid comes forward, pregnant with Todd's child, so the wedding is definitely off. Connor finally gets the last word in as he reveals it was actually Emily's dad who hired him to look into Todd, sensing something was off about the guy.

Then proceeds the funniest and most bizarro ending of any Christmas movie I've ever watched as Connor and Kelsey make up, Emily and Aunt Olivia both peek around the door and give themselves away as the two kiss, then Connor decides heck it, the wedding's planned and ready, so he goes down on one knee and borrows Aunt Olivia's ring to propose to Kelsey.

As she accepts, all's well that ends well since Aunt Olivia gets to see one of the girls in the family wedding dress (there was no other for Kelsey to wear anyway!), their planning didn't get thrown out the window, and Emily catches the bouquet which Kelsey throws (and which was originally hers!).

We wrap up with Connor carrying Kelsey over the threshold of the honeymoon suite they'll be staying in, and then the movie ends.

If you think I'm making that crazy ending up, think again and go have a look. The movie is available on Netflix and it's honestly a really easygoing flick to watch with some very standout moments (the restaurant and the ending especially). It's not going to win any Oscars or anything, but it IS enjoyable and you get to giggle along the way, plus there's unexpected depth with Kelsey's connection to her family and how much Aunt Olivia really cares when she initially comes across as an ice sculpture.

Also, Huszar and Hudon kind of just work. That's a big selling point right there.

Tune in next week when we start looking into movies that have ACTUAL Christmas themes incorporated into their storyline (and not just the title!) as December begins!

xx

*images and video not mine

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