"You should do the right thing because it's the right thing to do, not to brag about it."
Hello everyone!
Instead, I'll be doing all the goodies this month!
And boy, is Hallmark delivering.
True, there have definitely been a few misses, especially given the fact there have been an almost whooping 50 movies or so between their regular programming and Movies & Mysteries, but hey, it's enjoyable overall!
For tonight, I'm picking out one that's about as heartwarming as you can get, and then some.
Yeah sure, I can hear you saying on the other end, but EVERY movie is that, it's the point!
Okay yes, but Christmas with the Darlings adds just a little bit of extra sugar plum.
Links to previous blog posts of the same kind of theme can be found at the bottom of the page.
Onwards!
Jessica, our main character (played by the ever delightful Katrina Law) is an executive assistant to the eldest brother of the Darlington family. Why the title of the movie didn't include the actual surname is beyond me, probably to make it a play on Peter Pan. It's the only reason I can think of!
Anyway, in the new year, she'll be moving on to a corporate lawyer position, but she's organizing everything for a big Christmas party and at home until then, as her boss is headed to Lisbon, and his two nieces and nephew are coming over.
See, there used to be three Darlington brothers, but now there are only two, and the kids are moving back from Australia as their legal guardian there can't look after them anymore now their mom's gone too.
Jessica is slightly taken aback that her boss just wants to ship the kids to the boarding school where the rest of the family has always attended, and she volunteers to look after them at the main house instead, saying every child deserves to know a family Christmas. She also unexpectedly gets help from Max (Carlo Marks, a Hallmark regular), the youngest brother who nobody really takes seriously and is sort of a playboyish character.
Max returns home after hearing Jessica is leaving them (because he walked into the door the first time he saw her), and also volunteers with the kids, so then the older brother heads off, and he and Jessica are left in charge.
This brings some initially mixed results as Jessica is more a list kind of person and Max is a spontaneous one, but ultimately their goal is to give the kiddos a happy Christmas, especially as the three youngsters admit that they don't want to get attached because after New Year's, it'll just be the three of them again.
This breaks my heart, and also gives Jessica and Max the kickstart they need to REALLY make things awesome, and the mini-family does all sorts of things together, making ornaments, baking, driving in a horse-drawn carriage, reminiscing about the kids' parents, doing puzzles, etc.
Jessica is also stuck planning that party when she realizes the focus of it is all wrong for the big businessman the Darlington company wants to woo, and so they switch everything around and host it at the mansion, having it be more family-friendly, and Max himself forms a connection with the businessman, though his older brother seems to think he may be more hindrance than help.
Max does admit to Jessica that it's easier to play the role everyone has painted him in, because then he can't disappoint anyone, though he himself is constantly disappointed and hurt that his brother won't trust him with more - which of course sparks Jessica's personal crusade to have her boss see the truth.
Especially as she learns from her best friend that Max volunteers at the hospital all the time, on top of everything.
The party is a huge success, and the oldest brother informs Max their new boss has specifically asked for Max as liaison, having gotten along with him so well, but this does mean he needs to leave for the other side of the world like, right now, which would mean he'll miss Christmas. He does, taking with him the last puzzle piece of the 2000+ thing they've been building together as the kids sneak it to him.
But all's well that ends well as he turns right around at the airport and goes to confess his feelings to Jessica who, meanwhile, has crusaded further and convinced her boss the kids should attend school down the road from the main house and come home every day, where she can look after them.
After all, she was his EA, finished law school AND passed the bar, she can totally be a lawyer and look after the kids too, it's the 21st century.
Especially as she switches to family lawyer instead of corporate, and she gets Max to help too once he realizes what's up. So, because the older brother is not in fact the Grinch, he agrees to this new plan, and the lot of them head inside to finish the puzzle, have some hot chocolate, and just enjoy time together as a family.
The end!
This one maybe doesn't seem to have a complicated plot - and why would you need one in a Christmas movie? It has that heartwarming feeling, however, and on top of that it introduces the concept that, yes, women can and do normally have successful careers on top of raising families without issue. This was quite the departure from the usual since normally the woman gives up her job, but Max was the one who essentially shifted his position around to stay behind with her this time.
It was also lovely to see Jessica's best friend get some screen time as she is portrayed as LGBTQ+ and she, too, finds herself a date during the movie, and I have to admit this feels the least forced I've seen in Hallmark so far, so big kudos to them!
All in all, Law and Marks are on the ball here in their respective roles, the kids are adorable, and the movie gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling.
Just one thing, though: what sensible woman would ever put on stiletto boots to walk around a slippery driveway on???
xx
*images and video not mine
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