Hallmark Christmas Movie Season Has Begun!

If I still had my subscription to the Hallmark channel, I would check it out. I can see how the movies would be cozy for Christmas. Enjoy.

I always wondered what Bobby Campo was up to after Final Destination.

[quote]The commercials are all for Ensure and hearing aids, so I am probably not the target audience! (I am actually a 54 year old single gay man!)

Why do you say you’re not the target?

Who has been watching? Three movies down. "Christmas at Pemberly" was actually pretty cute. "Christmas Joy" (premiered Sunday) was rather dull. Didn't watch "Road to Christmas" (premiered Sunday) because 90 Day Fiance was on, duh. I'll catch a rerun.

Remember when Alicia Witt had a promising career? Now she is becoming the Queen of Christmas TV movies.

OP: be sure to cradle your mug while you’re wearing your oversized sweater.

OP is that the ine where she goes to his apt to get some dog-related items amd freaks out because she sees a framed picture of him with a female, who eventually turns out to be his sister not his girlfriend? I think I watched that one last year.

Who are the two people in the OP picture?

Canada's version, 'W' Network, is all Christmas, all day. Today, it's been a Candace Cameron Bure-fest of barfitude.

r5 Alicia Witt was in the Twin Peaks revamp as I think Amanda Fishface's mother. She should be like 61 years old by now, with how long she's been around. But she still looks an easy 30, like she took both a year off after high school and 2.5 years off after college and then maybe spent a little time in the Peace Corps and took her time ("I've got some savings") finding the one job with no responsibilities at a non-profit.

Are you on crack, R10? Alicia Witt was born in 1975 - she's 43.

I like the one where the girl from the big city returns to her quaint hometown to help the family business from a fierce competitor...who she ends up falling in love with!

R8 Danielle Panabaker and Matt Long from "Christmas Joy"

Which ones have the hottest guys?

r11, in my timeline, she was born in 1943.

OMG YES!!! Hi, I'm a hetero female and I love this garbage. So many hideous looking men. And Jesus the way some of these movies play (Bramble House... Christmas?) the romantic male lead displays what would be warning signs/red flags if it were a life time film. Oh and the women?! Over worker and bitter or exceedingly naive in an over enthusiastic, wide eyed hopeful way. Lol! **" As good looking men go there was a movie that was actually cute. A "Princess for Christmas" 2011, I love Katie McGrath (Irish actress) in Merlin so yeah that's why I watched. The "Prince" was played by Sam Heughan. He was very handsome at the time. He has a harder face now. The "Prince" shit is the best for it's....Mansion/Manor "Castle" and the clothes. All cheap looking in material/fabrics, dressings and people's clothes. The Christmas Hallmark garbage is also great because the women MUST HAVE A MAN for Christmas...lol! Wtf? Oh and Candace Cameron....that shrill hateful voice and big crazy eyes.

R14 aren't all of hallmark HoHoHo movies contain attractive to hot white guys?

*R16 here, should read overworked not overworker. But seriously the men are creepy/stalker looking or just like...man....The Predator fucked the Crypt Keeper and THIS actor was the child from that wretched union. Or, or, they are FUG. Like potatoe faced fug.

The SNL sketch about Hallmark movies that was cut from the live show last year.

They film all of these movies during the summer and it's so obvious. Despite the fake snow, it does not remotely seem like winter. They need to fix that.

You can count on the synopsis from r12; that it will be filmed in some Canadian town or city and that, yes, all the men in these film are somehow FUG or weird looking. Is it that hard to find a good looking man in Canada?

This is the only thing my 87-year-old aunt will watch on TV.

Mom is that you?

Has there ever been a gay or lesbian character in any of them? Probably some flaming decorator or something, right? Some butch lesbian handyman type who just looked like a lesbian but never was really revealed as one for sure?

Really, do they even make one with some gay people each season? I mean, there are eldergays out there, too.

The last thing I saw Alicia Witt in was in a guest spot on Kingdom where she gets fucked over a sink. I guess she went right back to making Christmas movies right after.

r24 they gay character is usually the sassy friend/barista/admin assistant, etc.

And the movies usually focus on white, heterosexual couples.

I think I may have seen one with a black couple. But it's mostly white, heterosexual couplings.

Hallmark have employed Lee Ann Rimes?

The viewing Frauen likely hate her.

They know what happened when she made a Lifetime movie, right?

I've yet to see a character that actually identifies as gay in one of these movies.

I did not realize my thread had responses since Saturday! Thanks for the Sam Heughan recomendation! I will look out for that one!

Certainly some of the cute, generic white men must be gay? The vast majority never seem to do anything else.

There should be a gay one at least once. Jesse Metcalfe and Victor Webster meet at Santa's workshop in "My Christmas Daddy".

Can someone recommend a few good ones? I like less cheesy story with a really hot and masculine male lead.

Lifetime’s TWELVE MEN OF CHRISTMAS is fun, r31

I love these movies too OP

R32 it’s not bad for that kind of movie.

Canadian viewers will recognize funny guy “Gary” from the Canadian Tire commercials playing one of the reluctant calendar models.

Are actors that appear in these movies at the end of their rope creatively or do they pay so well that actors can’t turn them down?

They are all mindless good fun and the men are hot

They're middling actors, usually, R35. Basically a place for soap opera actors to holiday or people that aren't quite good enough for soaps to get a job. Low expectations are required.

[quote]I've yet to see a character that actually identifies as gay in one of these movies.

I don't think there have been any, but they do use openly gay actors, including Luke Macfarlane and Jonathan Bennett. And last year, there was one that starred former lesbionic Anne Heche.

[quote] Has there ever been a gay or lesbian character in any of them?

Openly OUT actor Luke Macfarlane (Brothers & SIsters) has had the romantic lead in THREE of these x-mas Hallmark movies. But the STRAIGHT male lead to the female lead.

One reason Luke Macfarlane gets cast is that he is Canadian. All the Hallmark movies are filmed in Canada, and for Hallmark to qualify for tax credits, they need to have a certain percentage of Canadian talent in each film. The bigger the role, the higher percentage, thus the bigger the tax credit.

I think a lesbian one would do okay even with the usual audience. Maybe even a gay male one as long as they were both cute and non-threatening to the old ladies.

There was one with Mike Vogel and Katherine McPhee. They meet in their dreams like Freddy Krueger.

OP, it began in July.

Mormon-owned Hallmark, the Racist Channel.

[quote] Openly OUT actor Luke Macfarlane (Brothers & SIsters) has had the romantic lead in THREE of these x-mas Hallmark movies. But the STRAIGHT male lead to the female lead.

This year he is in the Christmas movie starring Candace Cameron Bure titled A Shoe Addict's Christmas...yes it is the real title

The first results are in

ROAD TO CHRISTMAS (Starring Jessy Schram and Chad Michael Murray) 2,705,000 viewers

CHRISTMAS JOY (Starring Danielle Panabaker and Matt Long) 3,366,000 viewers

CHRISTMAS PEMBERLEY MANOR (Starring Jessica Lowndes and Michael Rady) 3,571,000 viewers

Gag me

R35, R37 it depends. Some of these are actors who can't act, some are actors like Alicia With...she's pretty, full face, nice legs....they type Hollywood would never cast. "Saving Christmas" stars Bobby Campo and what's odd is he is cute in an awesome shucks kind of way. He's so good, the way he breathes life into a one dimensional character? He's so wasted having to be here. Mira Sorvino did a Christmas movie here too....was she ever a good actress? Because she seemed constantly tired and as if she was someplace she didn't really want to be. THEN there's Holly Robinson Pete....this is where she went to die. Career wise, also she's a terrible actress. But I was really amazed by Bobby Campo's acting. Don't know why he doesn't get work. Then again he's white but Campo sounds Hispanic. I know a few Puerto Rican Campos. Not being racist, I'm just thinking when they read that last name they might not want to give him a chance because they figure he's hispanic and maybe his skin color won't fit the character's background/ look. I dunno.

R16, R47 here, I love seeing actors both Candidian and American actors from SUPERNATURAL. Especially actors that I don't get to see too often. Bobby Campo his stage name, shortened from Camposecco. Italian name I'd wager.

I think you mean SHARING CHRISTMAS, R47, the movie with Bobby Campo.

There is a movie called SAVING CHRISTMAS but it stars Kirk Cameron. I don't think it's Hallmark.

I only watch them if the male lead is really attractive. Some of them are kind of "meh".

I love watching that shit.

what r23 said. my mom lives for this shit. one of her favorites isn’t on this year, something about a christmas tree competition, and some little boy enters one from his dad’s nursery and wins.

first the little boy has to fess up to dad, then the tree is ATTACKED during its cross-country journey by citizens snipping off branches by souvenirs. when she got to the bit about the suspenseful passage through a forest fire i took the dog for a walk... i couldn’t keep a straight face.

Did Kirk Cameron burst into flames when he found out his sister Candice would be working opposite Luke McFarlane?

Has the Christmas Moose made an appearance?

Hi, Bobby Campo's agent!

To all y'all heaux who keep suggesting an LGBT movie....they don't even let white actors and black actors mix on their shows due to their conservative fan base.

R56 they used not to have black actors at all. Now they include some of them in leading roles. Mixing them with white actors is a too bald idea for their minds

It's due to the religious beliefs. As R43 said, it's a blatantly racist network. You'll NEVER see a black man or woman in one of the leading roles. Especially the women...typically blond or very white, for leads. In addition to their stone-age religious beliefs, Cameron-Burre a perfect example.

R57, name one of their movies with a black leads.

R58 the ones with black leads this year are (but it is something new for them, they don't usually have them)

A MAJESTIC CHRISTMAS Premieres: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2 8pm/7c Stars: Jerrika Hinton and Christian Vincent

A GINGERBREAD ROMANCE Premieres: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16 8pm/7c Stars: Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Duane Henry

MEMORIES OF CHRISTMAS Premieres: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 9pm/8c Stars: Christina Milian and Mark Taylor

Tatyana Ali has had the lead in TWO X-mas Hallmark movies

Christmas Everlasting & Wrapped Up In Christmas

The gay actor quota this season is the usual one for MacFarlane and one for Bennett

For the Latino quota they split the PenaVegas. One movie each

Tatyana Ali has done Christmas movies for Lifetime too.

I like the Lifetime Christmas movies because they have had some gay minor characters and they have shown interracial couples. Also, Lifetime shows the couples having sex or in bed. Hallmark never even goes there.

A MAJESTIC CHRISTMAS

When Nell’s bracelet slips into a Salvation Army pot, Connor accuses her of stealing. Later, Nell learns he’s the client, who wants to turn The Majestic Theater into a multiplex. Though Nell and the town want to preserve The Majestic, she and Connor still develop an attraction.

[quote]Mormon-owned Hallmark, the Racist Channel.

What on earth do the Mormons have to do with Hallmark? Stop making shit up.

Hallmark is actually owned by the Romulans.

If there's no Lacey Charbet, there's no me.

Lacey will star in Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe on 11/23.

Half of the DVDs on sale on Amazon are these movies. They're everywhere.

Thank you, r67!

I've always liked "Christmas with Holly" about 3 hot uncles who take in their orphaned niece.

I could swear there was one Hallmark movie - it starred the beautiful Andrew Walker, the only reason to watch - where the sister of the love interest identified as a lesbian. They didn't do anything with it, but it happened.

I hate Hallmark Christmas movies, only because I like to watch I love Lucy in the morning getting ready for work and I like to fall asleep to Murder She Wrote at night and I can't for 2 months because it has to be 24/7 Christmas shit.

I swear Lacey Chabert has done so much work for Hallmark that she could easily be transferred over to a store manager at one of their card outlets.

It really is quite amazing how many of my friends, family and co-workers are into this dreck. I may have casually watched one or two of them last year just to laugh but the "5 minutes of movie/5 minutes of commercials/repeat" is annoying AF. Now Hallmark is hawking merchandise (i.e., Hallmark Christmas Movie Watching Shirt and coffee mugs). It all kind of bugs me but I must admit it's an interesting phenomenon and may be common ground/talking points with family member deplorables who you're forced to interact with.

r31, try I'll be home for Christmas.

James Brolin directs and stars as a retired cop dad with a cute dog, with Mena Suvari as his work a holic daughter, a non-annoying granddaughter, a rent-a-Canadian hunk as Mena's love interest and Barbara Streisand warbling the title song.

In general, are there any gay and lesbian holiday movies?

The few I know of are the Thanksgiving movie "What's Cooking?" which has Julianna Margulies and Kyra Sedgwick as a lesbian couple. That's a pretty good movie and they are good in it.

Robert Downey Jr. being gay in "Home for the Holidays".

And, the edited out scene of the lesbian principal going home to her wife who is in bed obviously dying of cancer in "Love Actually". So, not only edited out of the movie but they had the lesbian miserable and dying for Christmas.

Is that all we get?

R76 Many of the white female heterosexual characters were also miserable in Love Actually (Emma Thompson's and Laura Linney's characters come to mind as well as the happy funeral for Liam Neeson's wife).

Yeah, but miserable white ladies getting happy endings isn't exactly the same as yet another lesbian dying and miserable, not getting a happy ending, AND being cut out of the movie anyway.

This is such a weird sub-genre.

A lot of the gay films we get have so much angst, it would be nice if there were movies like this for us.

My personal favorite.

R31 and R50. The Spirit of Christmas. Cheesy, haunted, hot and masculine goodness.

These movies are for people who read all those crappy romance novels. There are tons of those that come out every Christmas season, too.

Why is there no "I'll be Trans for Christmas" movie about a lonely boy who gets his wish and is turned into a gorgeous woman for Christmas, by a hot, hunky wizard???!? LITERAL VIOLENCE!!!

These movies are harmless fluff to have on in the background while you're cooking or baking. Everything in life is depressing. These movies are a form of escapism.

For R31 and R50.

Totally agree with you R85.

Not Hallmark by any means, more of a low budget production akin to the Eating Out series.

My mother and my aunts are addicted to these Christmas movies. These movies are like porn for older women.

[quote]Home for the Christmas holiday, a gay man starts falling for his ex-boyfriend's lover, not knowing that the relationship is a mere pretense.

Also not Hallmark, but this is still one of my favorites to watch at Christmas time. "I never thought I would hear myself saying this, but how fast can you get to a pound cake?"

[quote]There is a movie called SAVING CHRISTMAS but it stars Kirk Cameron.

I saw that one, it co-starred Mayim Bialik. Kirk made Mayim convert to Christianity so she could celebrate Christmas with the rest of the townspeople. And also so she wouldn't burn in hell for all eternity, which is what Kirk said happens to Jews who don't convert. It was a cute movie.

I'm making it a point to watch a lot of these. Last year I felt Xmas-meh but this year I want to revel in the joy of the season even if it's breeder joy. Plus a lot of the male leads are serviceably hot.

There was an actual gay couple in the last movie, Road To Christmas. One of the guys had a small dog that he carried around and a theater degree. Asian boyfriend.

I found this site that is doing reviews of all the movies. It's pretty hilarious:

Hallmark is making a mint off of these Christmas movies, they've become a highly-rated cable channel.

I have seen a sassy gay personal assistant but that was on a Lifetime movie.

FILMS PRODUCED BY Hallmark

Lifetime's fewer, more high end, slightly less fun Christmas movies start in November as well.

It's a very Braxton Christmas with this remake of A CHRISTMAS CAROL with Toni and Towanda Braxton!

List of all Lifetime's Christmas movies this year

On what day is the Julia Roberts one?

The LeAnn Rimes Hallmark Xmas movie is on tonight at 8.

Here’s an old one: Santa Jr. (2002) While delivering toys, Santa's son (Nick Stabile) is arrested for trespassing. Dispirited, he turns for help to a public defender (Lauren Holly). Also starting Judd Nelson as the handsome prosecutor who has a crush on Holly.

Marc Bendavid is probably my favorite Hallmark leading man. Like Jesse Hutch also.

DEBBIE MACOMBER'S CALL ME MRS. MIRACLE (2011) No one celebrates the holidays like Emily Merkle (Doris Roberts) – or Mrs. Miracle as she is known by some – who is back to ensure that this Christmas is the most magical and meaningful of all. When Mrs. Miracle appears as a seasonal employee in the toy department at the financially troubled Finley’s Department Store, neither the store’s owners, nor the customers, have any idea of the events that are about to unfold. Just when it seemed Christmas might not come at all this year, Finley’s favorite employee proves they don’t call her Mrs. Miracle for nothing! Also starring Jewel Staite, Eric Johnson and Lauren Holly.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2003) starring Tori Spelling, Dinah Manoff, William Shatner, Gary Coleman. Wow! Quite a cast! Not to be confused with IT’S A CHRISTMAS , CAROL (2012) starring Carrie Fisher.

A BOYFRIEND FOR CHRISTMAS (2004) Holly Grant is a child advocate who learned a long time ago not to rely on Santa Claus to leave Mr. Right in her Christmas stocking. She made a wish 20 years before, but it never came true. However, hard-working Holly is in for a surprise when a handsome man arrives on her doorstep with a twinkle in his eye and Yuletide tree in tow. Ryan Hayes, a successful attorney, is in cahoots with Santa – and in love with Holly. Will Kris Kringle himself fulfill his promise to Holly all these years later? Starring Kelli Williams, Patrick Muldoon, & Charles Durning.

The "Mrs. Miracle" movie is pretty bad. But , at least, it has Eric Johnson, for whom I've always had a soft (or hard) spot.

The Tori Spelling one has absolutely no redeeming value.

"Boyfriend" also stinks, but It's always a pleasure to run across Kelli Williams.

Andrew Walker is always the best reason to watch any Hallmark movie.

Enid Nelson has spoken.

This LeAnn Rimes movie obviously had a much bigger production budget. The sets are beautiful, it feels like winter even though it was probably filmed in summer... however, the story is just so damned boring that I can barely follow it.

This reads like a parody

[quote] What if Lifetime never made Christmas movies? In this special, hosted by Melissa Joan Hart, we will be taken on a journey that explores how terrible life would be without Lifetime Christmas movies to bring us holiday cheer. Melissa will be visited by the “host” of Lifetime Christmas Past, Present, and Future, and along the way, she will preview the 14 exciting movies that are coming to Lifetime this holiday season. Once this special is over, you won’t be able to imagine a world without the magic of Lifetime Christmas. "It's A Wonderful Lifetime Preview Special" is produced by A+E Originals. Steve Ascher, Kristy Sabat and Allie Breslin serve as executive producers. Brie Miranda Bryant executive produces for Lifetime.

Why do the leading men in these movies always seem gay.

Hallmark Christmas Movies are like crack cocaine for my mother and my aunts. They are hopelessly addicted.

They're for people who thing Harlequin romances are too racy.

I think Hallmark would have a ratings field day if they sprinkled in a couple of completely Hallmarkized gay stories. They would be just really the same basic storylines as the straight ones but have it with a gay guys instead. It's a huge win-win for them. The cuddly gays would love it. The cool house fraus would love the sappy kissy ending. The ratings would go through the roof.

There is a demographic out there of gay guys that like the romantic stuff and the simple storylines of two gay guys falling in love.

As far as I am concerned, Hallmark is missing a HUGE ratings pop on this.

Ugh, I'm sick of this shit. When do The Golden Girls start airing again?

I’m watching it setting up my Department 56 Christmas Village.

[quote]Like Jesse Hutch also.

I watched a harvest themed one (they are branching out to other holidays) solely because of him. For a financially strapped farmer, he had a lot of different shirts (same style - different colors) designed to subtly show off his body.

This one was a bit shocking in that they couple kissed in the middle of the movie, the kiss was somewhat heated, and there was a cut-away that strongly implied that they slept together. Usually the couple does not kiss until the last scene, it is somewhat chaste, and for Christmas movies - it is in town square filled with people and a gently falling snow.

For those bemoaning the dearth of gay Hallmark movies, check out Big Eden. It’s not holiday-themed, but it’s a traditional rom-com with gay characters, including a plot where a big city gay returns to his small midwestern hometown to care for an aging reative. He wasn’t looking for love, but when he crosses paths with an old high school crush....It is, to use a descriptor I haven’t utilized since since middle school, totally barfy. But if you’re looking for that kind of thing, this is that kind of thing.

Oh and the lead in Big Eden is played by a straight man (in GAY BLACKFACE), making it even Hallmarkier somehow.

I seem to recall one of these flicks with Melissa Gilbert where, though the film doesn't explicitly show any sex scenes, her love interest at one point is seen leaving the country inn big city director Half-Pint is staying at, and sniffing his index finger...

I never knew Carrie Fisher did one of these Christmas movies.

The Leanne Rimes one get 4.1 million viewers

The one that premiered on Sunday got 3.6m viewers

Netflix are getting in on the act as well.

Eddie Cibrian was laboratory made perfect for this crap. Does he star in any?

R121 Where do you find the ratings?

R124 I find cable ratings here

Thank you, R125

My mom records all of the new ones every year and I watch some with her while I'm home for Thanksgiving. They are corny and predictable, but easy holiday viewing.

We watched 3 or 4 today and each one involved a lady returning to her home town after having been made a partner at her NYC firm. Two of the lead male characters uttered the phrase "I just want you to be happy," after the young woman expressed her uncertainty about their relationship.

The young women learned the meaning of Christmas/family/love thanks to the unusual requirements of Grandmother's last wish/inherited home/deceased sister's will.

Thankfully, there's always a firm in the small town that needs the big-city skills of the young women, so each is able to follow her professional dreams AND score some hot hometown dick.

When we ran out of Hallmark movies, we watch her recorded episodes of Live PD.

My niece was all excited on Facebook about the holiday line-up. I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a rusty melon ball scoop and rinse out the sockets with battery acid

I’d rather watch those holiday movies than Live PD, if those are the only choices.

Wow. Looks way more varied this year than I imagined. I thought every other movie “starred” that talentless drunk George Stults.

And now lifetime has joined this fuckery? Who watches shitty xmas movies all day long?

The titty movie auteur Fred Olen Ray directs a lot of these, along with Lifetime Movies. He joked that he has eight of them premiering this month, which might not be hyperbole. It's hilarious knowing that the pablum these vapors-prone rubes consume comes courtesy of the man who blessed us with "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers," "Beverly Hills Vamp," "Bad Girls From Mars," and "Attack of The 60 Foot Centerfold."

Live PD is the shit!

The most difficult acting is faking the excitement of being in such movies

The men in uniform of Warwick Rhode Island are hot to death!

Damn you, Op!

I've been hooked into watching "The Christmas Ornament," starring an aged Kellie Martin (My So Called Life; ER) as a reluctant widow faced with finding Christmas love.

(Yes, at the end of the movie, she got that fine-ass man!)

These movies are irresistibly cheesy!

I can’t watch this network after Candace Cameron was featured. Dad gays watch it too. Shame on you.

*sad

I'm eagerly awaiting "Dawson's 50-Load Christmas."

For DL I am P.R.A.Y.I.N.G The Hallmark Channel airs a rerun of "Northern Nights," starring proven homewrecker Leann Rimes and Eddie-always-looking-for-the-next-best-deal-Cibrian!

LIfetime is struggling with their Christmas movies. Tonight's offering:

Christmas Perfection: A handsome mannequin in a Christmas window display comes to life and becomes the man of an attractive advertising executive's dreams. Unfortunately, even though his appearance is perfect, his personality remains a bit lifeless.

I think it is a re-run. Or they made 2 movies with mannequins

Hmm... it says new on tvguide.

Hallmark Christmas Movie Season Has Begun!

Currently watching DL favorite Catherine Bell ("JAG") in "Christmas in the Air."

Catherine's character falls for her client, a frazzled widower . . . at Christmas.

R143 in 2012 they made this

Holly's Holiday: NYC ad exec Holly Maddux dreams of the perfect life, the perfect job, and of course, the perfect man to sweep her off her feet. When she wakes up one day to find the "perfect man" awaiting her, who is nothing more than a mannequin come to life, she must decides if "perfect" is the perfect fit for her.

Twitter did this in “Hallmark Holiday Movies in 5 Words”

——

Everyone looks like a Mormon

Green turtleneck, red plaid scarf

Red turtleneck, green plaid scarf

Penthouse luxury; bookstore worker salary

Nineties sitcom stars save Christmas

The elevator music of TV

Career driven woman. Local man

Two hasbeens and a farm

Cheesier than a Kraft single

Cheesy fraufare

I started watching these corny holiday movies when they first started airing on Lifetime. My favorites were Kristin Chenoweth's "12 Men of Christmas" and Haylie Duff's "All About Christmas Eve," because they seemed more like straight out romcom's, and not Christmas movies. But one day I caught A Christmas Melody, where Lacey Chabert returns to her hometown and butts heads with her former high school rival played by a considerably and hilariously older, Mariah Carey (who's scenes all seemed to be filmed through a soft focus filter...). I was kinda' hooked after that.

how much photoshop did they use on Bennett?

16 movies aired so far on Hallmark Channel.

Average viewership: 3.6 million.

Highest: 4.237m for the one with Candace Cameron Bure and Luke McFarlane.

Lowest: 2.627m for the one starring a black couple

11 movies aired so far on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.

Average viewership: 1.6m

Highest: 2.146m (the one starring Aimee Teegarden)

Lowest: 1.142m for the one starring Erin Cahill and Justin Bruening. The one with Christina Milian got 1.189m, second lowest rated one.

Everyone is so well dressed, so well groomed. Not a hair out of place. The town is beautifully decorated with white fairy lights and strings of C9 multicolored bulbs . Nobody says, “Aw, fuck!” when snow or water or whatever threatens their perfect hair and wardrobe.

I had no idea anyone except Mormons and very recent immigrants watched these things

r151 these Hallmark movies are HUGE with fraus. It's their porn.

A Majestic Christmas stars Grey's Anatomy alumnae Jerrika Hinton and former Madonna dancer and star of Noah's Arc Christian Vincent.

And Jesse Metcalfe was in one of those Xmas movies with the worst slicked-back hair.

Majestic Christmas is the lowest rated one so far

r76 It's not a Hallmark movie, but The Family Stone is certainly a holiday-themed film with a substantial part for a gay couple (one white, one black (and deaf)).

I've yet to ever see a Hallmark Christmas movie with even the faintest tinge of actual sexual chemistry between the leads - probably because the vast majority of male leads are gay actors hired on vacation weeks from the soap operas where they are usually employed. Those end of the show kisses are so chaste, they might as well be between brother and sister

I am IN ONE this year....and not just a two-line role!

I am a no-name actor. It wasn't a huge paycheck, they don't spend a ton, but it was the largest filmed role I've played to date. The script was a bit conventional for this genre, but our cast was a delight. Our gorgeous leads were sweet and hardworking (I am not the romantic lead), and over our brisk shoot (seven to eight pages a day!) we really bonded and had a wonderful time. No egos, lovely director, experienced production company, plopped in the middle of nowhere just shooting a sweet Christmas movie. I had the time of my life!

My parents LOVE these movies so much. I, for one am ready for the return of "Murder, She Wrote" so I can watch Jessica solve cases while I go to sleep. We all know Jessica did it.

I tried to watch Majestic Christmas (it actually featured black people in the lead roles) but it was just so damn boring.

My faves this year are Christmas at Pemberly Manor and the Candace Cameron Bure movie, Shoe Addict's Christmas. It was cute, what can I say?

[quote]Candace Cameron Bure movie, Shoe Addict's Christmas. It was cute, what can I say?

I know Bure is not popular here, with good reason, but I watched bits and pieces of a handful of these the last few weeks, and this might have been the best one, partially because the two leads were able to show a bit of personality. Bure was not as cookie cutter as some of the other leads in the other movies, and Luke - while largely just there to be the handsome man - was far less wooden then the leads in the other movies. It did not hurt that the movie had Jean Smart.

A few things I noticed, there will always be a snow ball fight where they will fall on top of each other, they will always get interrupted when about to kiss (sometimes when on the ground during the snow ball fight) unless it is at the town square at the end of the movie, and they cast children who are about 4 years to old to be playing the wide eyed innocent child waiting for Santa and being excited about making a ginger bread house (which they also do every movie).

I sampled way too many of these - but the royal ones might be the worst. Partially because I think for the actor they only care if they can do an accent and they seem esp. wooden and lifeless and on a superficial level, less likely to fill out one of those holiday sweaters and jeans as well as when they are casting the hometown boyfriend. Also, any palace scene is esp. cringe worthy, because you can tell it is just a nice house and the cheesy artificial Christmas decorations look esp. tacky and not very regal.

The one movie I have seen with a non-chaste kiss was more of a fall harvest festival movie. The couple actually got together in the middle of the movie and their kiss in the barn was prolonged with a cut away implying they might have done more after the scene ended. I am not sure the actors had any chemistry (although the actor was one of the hotter leads I had seen) and it did show the characters actually had a physical relationship. The characters also dealt with the ultimate reveal of the secret or misunderstanding those movies always have one character have in fairly adult fashion.

So obviously, I have watched more of these movies than I would like to admit... I will usually channel surf and watch two or three at the same time and maybe do this three or four times starting at around Thanksgiving. Most of them are pretty bad, but some are kind of a comfort food and some or so insipid and unwatchable that I do stop watching. I think some of that depends on the actors -- none of them are necessarily going to win an Emmy, but some come across as likable and some come across as brittle and annoying or way to full of a contrived fake cheer.

I met Bobby Campo earlier this year, and yes, he was shooting a Christmas movie! He was very friendly and seemed like a sweet guy. These films are basically produced by a few outside companies and then Hallmark, or Lifetime, or other outlets license them. Bobby's movie "Christmas Camp" seems to have somehow fallen between the cracks, but I hope it pops up somewhere, he is adorable!

[quote] Christmas at Pemberly Manor

LOL! What a title! Was A Very Darcy Christmas taken?

I tried to watch one after reading this thread but I couldn’t get through it. The people didn’t look, dress or sound like real human beings. Their clothes coordinated with the backdrop and all the houses and shops were overly-decorated for the holidays in a way Ive only ever seen at those “quaint” catering compounds that have los of different buildings for different sized weddings/parties ...and a gift shop. Like Milleridge Inn, which has a “Christmas Village” every year

Don’t forget to visit our gift shop!

And spend a few quiet moments with the one you love in our romantic Christmas gazebo!

They should do one where a serial killer is on the loose. That would be fun.

[quote]Was A Very Darcy Christmas taken?

It certainly was!

finally, a movie made for Moi!

Merry Christmas, Eve with Leann Rimes was actually pretty decent. It actually made me tear up at the end. Sweet Jesus I can't believe I just admitted that here.

I saw one which had a Secret Christian Message. I just thought the harried businesswoman single mother returning to her home town would find love, not find God.

I hope somebody returns to their home town to save a failing family business!

Basically, they're those schlocky Thomas Kinkade paintings set in motion. And made for the same audience.

I find I don't need them as much as I did last year after the election.

Some guy just said “that is a handsome fir”. He was talking about a tree and not ironically about Brad Kalvo.

What do you think Brad Kalvo is doing for xmas?

I'm at my mom's house for Christmas, and she's been binge-watching these Hallmark movies. It's comfort television for older women.

R173: “It’s comfort television for older women.”

Also, for gays. Get a party full of us slightly liquored and mention Hallmark Xmas movies, and the room is full of experts.

Jessie Schram makes these pictures. She played Pete Campbell’s California love interest on Mad Men. I love her but I refuse to watch those movies.

Saw one on Lifetime (they have a slightly different formula, but basically the same). Christmas around the Corner.

"A venture capitalist from New York travels to a small town for Christmas. Upon arrival, she discovers that the town's bookstore is in a dire state of disrepair and immediately takes it upon herself to revitalize the store."

But Lifetime must not be so rigidly evangelical as Hallmark. The minister in this little Vermont town is GAY and has a black boyfriend or HUSBAND. He even held his hand on the street. They were minor background characters, but still.......

It was sweet - the big surprise - one of the supporting characters was DL favorite Jane Alexander. I also felt the faintest glimmer of chemistry between the leads, and after googling, realized that the male lead was straight - unlike the male leads in most of the Hallmark Christmas movies.

Coming up in January

5th: Winter Castle starring Emilie Ullerup and Kevin McGarry

12th: One Winter Proposal starring Taylor Cole and Jack Turner

26th: SnowComing starring Lindy Booth and Trevor Donovan

Lifetime's COMFORT & JOY (2003), starring Nancy McKeon, Steven Eckholdt, Dixie Carter & Paul Dooley.

McKeon plays a cynical, materialistic, high-powered career-woman (unmarried, no kids) who dreads Christmas. Following a car accident (and blow to the head), she awakens in a parallel universe where she's married to nice-guy Steven Eckholdt, and lives a very middle class existence as a stay-at-home mom who loves volunteer work. Warm holiday fuzzies and gentle laughs ensue. Dixie Carter & Paul Dooley play her parents.

The male lead in this one almost got me in hot water. I kept telling my mom he looked so familiar. Then I remembered he was in queer as folk!! Oops ...

This AM, GETTV had on some of the higher quality films from the 90s. I caught the end of one starring Neil Patrick harris as a stick up his ass businessman and his nice mom, Debbie Reynolds.

These films had the usual formula (since, in the end, he decided NYC wasn't "real" like his hometown and the business he inherited from his grandfather, secrets were revealed and all the children were safe....) but they looked and sounded of a high(er) quality than those made in this decade.

It's over for another nine months.

Uh, no.

Sorry to bump this thread, but the Amazon reviews of Christmas Around the Corner (referenced at r177) are hilarious. It's like the Southern Baptist Convention send out a mass email and asked all their adherents to give it one star.

Highlights:

[quote]Terrible when you start to watch a movie and then they drop a bomb on you like the pastor is married to a man and they have a child together. Off it goes and back to Hallmark.

[quote]The movie seemed wholesome enough....then shock! I personally felt angry that the writers and producer had to insert the liberal idea of a male minister married to a male. I noticed there are quite a few reviews already written in which dismay is expressed. The liberal arm of society feels compelled to make the case that gay marriage is perfectly normal, and I will never see it that way, no matter how many times it is conveyed and pushed down our throats.

[quote]This movie portrays a male minister married to a man and (somehow) they have an infant daughter.

And my favorite:

[quote]Ostensibly a normal romance attached to an abnormal, immoral church background in a false attempt to normalize what can't be normalized.

MARY!!!!!

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit, in "Vermont" (aka Vancouver)

The Christmas Moose has a movie coming out. I’m so excited for him!

The movie with Melissa Joan Hart and the nutcracker is one of the most bizarre things ever committed to film.

I'm waiting for James Franco to show-up in one of these films.

Josh Kelly is cute. Most of the female leads are characters you’d avoid. What’s the story on the lovely Josh?

R188, especially if it's one with a nutcracker theme...

"Christmas Getaway" with Travis Van Winkle is a must watch. When Ovation Channel was "high class" they would have "Battle of the Nutcracker" the ballet performed from various companies and the viewer would have a chance to vote. Sadly, the channel has changed it's format.

The words "Winkle" and "Nutcracker" should never appear together in the same sentence/paragraph.

It's just... No.

"Vermont" in a Hallmark movie is often Connecticut, or Hudson Valley, NY.

I am speaking from experience!

I thought they were all filmed in Vancouver in June.

(192) Good Taste your full of crap..translation: sh;it

Has anyone watched Christmas in Vienna yet? It premiered a few days ago. I wanted to make fun of it, but it was actually pretty good and the location photography was stunning. Made me miss Vienna, which is a gorgeous city.

R196: Yes I saw it the other day. Spent my honeymoon in Vienna during Christmas, 2017. They did some exterior shots in and around the Ringstrasse but I’m still convinced most of it was filmed in Vancouver in July, like all of these movies.

What about the scenes inside the opera house and Schönbrunn, etc? CGI? I expected them to be, but they sure looked real to me.

I googled it and apparently they actually did film in Vienna. That must have cost serious bucks, so I guess these movies draw even more viewers than I thought.

R199: I stand corrected, looks like they did a lot more filming there than I thought. I miss Vienna and desperately want to go back.