A Holiday Spectacular

I loved seeing Ann-Margret and Eve Plumb, Loved the vintage costumes and sets, loved seeing the Rockettes, and the story being set in 1957. I even liked the story of a rich girl escaping from her pampered life and following her heart while learning to live outside the ivory tower.

It is a story of following one's dreams, standing on one's own feet, and the power of friendship. It is not the story of what life was really like in the 1950s for non-white people in New York City. In a right-minded effort to correct their past lack of diversity in their movies, I feel, with this one, Hallmark has done a disservice to their viewership and to the truth of the African American experience. It shows an integrated dance troupe with a black dancer who is even promoted over the other girls at the end. In truth, the Rockettes did not have even one non-white dancer until 1985. And she was Japanese. It wasn't until 1987 that a black dancer was famously accepted. As much as I appreciate Hallmark's efforts at inclusion, falsifying history is just wrong and harmful. And I don't think you can just gloss over this situation by glibly proclaiming "It's the Hallmark Channel, not the History Channel!!!". There's a quote about being doomed to repeat history that might apply here. Not to belabor a point, but something similar happened in 2016's A Journey Back to Christmas. In that one, a nurse fresh from segregated 1945 is transported to 2016 and is treated and questioned by a black doctor and interrogated by a black Chief of Police. No incredulity, nor even a blink on her part. What a lost opportunity for a short but dramatic (or comedic!) history lesson! And it would have taken all of 10 seconds and a line or two. Not sure how I would have fixed this one, but even an expository paragraph at the beginning or end about the truth of the matter would have gone a long way toward remedying the problem while still giving a talented black actress a job.

Going for a period piece like this breaks the mold of the average Hallmark Christmas romance, but they still couldn't QUITE get away from the normal tropes. Both the romantic leads needed to "follow their dream". There was the typical split from the rich boyfriend for true love, and the always present crisis with the new boyfriend to be wrapped up in the last seven minutes.

Still, it was wonderful to see Ann-Margret. One never knows when she'll stop accepting roles, and she came off a LOT better here than Marlo Thomas did in her appearance a few weeks ago.

The Rockettes looked great. As others have mentioned, the Rockettes didn't integrate until 1988, and to this day only have two black dancers on the team. I'll give them a minor break in that they had to show the real Rockettes in the performance scenes, and they weren't going to ask two members to sit it out, so they kind of needed to show them in the acting scenes, or that would have stuck out.

My wife was more impressed with the movie than I, sort of a surprise with all those great looking women (and legs!) on display. :-)

She puts it in the "Watch again" category, while I put it in the "Glad I saw it but that's it category". :-)

This is an excellent production, with sets, costumes, and dialogue that really captures the late 1950's era. I have paid to see movies at the cinema that do not have the richness of the look of this film. Hallmark and the producers are to be credited with hiring Director John Putch to bring this story to life. He has done a really fine job here. It is hard to single out cast members because they all are excellent and have their terrific moments, but Ginna Marie Mason has the chore of carrying the film's story and she does so very effectively as Maggie, a young, well-to-do woman who realizes her dream of being a dancer. I am surprised at some of the negative reviews here that focus on the fact that the Rockettes had no black dancers in the 1950's. Does everything have to be turned around and focus on race nowadays ? Why can't an actress or actor be hired for a part whether they are black, white, red, or green? As nicely written by Julie Sherman Wolfe, this story is about women in an era where they had to struggle for independence. The script does not deal with racial issues that existed at the time. The part of Alice is about a seasoned Rockette who is feeling that her time as a dancer is coming to an end. The producers hired a black actress to play the part and Tiffany Denise Hobbs is just wonderful in it. I can remember reading articles in the Hollywood Reporter and other journals during the last 10 years that bemoaned the fact that actors of color were not hired enough for parts that could be played by any race. Well, here you have it. Alice just so happens to be played by a really fine black actress. Some other movie can explore the history of women of color breaking into the Rockettes. That is not what this movie is meant to do. It's meant to entertain us and tell us about women of any color who are realizing their dreams in the late 1950's.

The only disappointment here is the limited use of Ann-Margret. She is not given much to do, but, still, it is always a pleasure to see her charming presence in any movie, no matter how limited. Maybe next time.

As for the Rockettes, Director Putch filmed their routines very effectively here and they are pretty amazing. A joy to watch. We saw them in the real Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall about 20 years ago and were sort of disappointed with the show. The Rockettes were only on stage for about 20 minutes, and the rest of the show is a silly play for children that, to tell the truth, our kids were bored with. But, the Rockettes had their full attention and they were wide-eyed with wonder, so it was worth the price of admission. So, if you can't get to Radio City, this movie is a wonderful way to see the Rockettes - up close to boot.

So happy to see Broadway uber talented Stars Ginna Claire Mason (Wicked) & Derek Klena (Moulin Rouge) and first rate supporting cast in a wonderful Christmas movie! Finally pleased to see a movie about a dancer with an actress who can dance... Still, you do leave the film wishing there was more Rockettes content. Overall a very good period piece, gladly surprised with the recreation of the fifties, the wardrobe, hair and makeup is stunning for Hallmark standards... indeed a charming romance flick, fantastic chemistry between the leads, this one is definitely a keeper. Great job on this one; Hallmark: please keep casting Broadway actors, we love them!

Hallmark hit the mark again with this holiday movie. A much different story line than the usual Hallmark plot. Focusing on the Rockettes really was a nice change while still developing the relationship between the two lead actors. Both Ginna and Derek were excellent in the movie as were the supporting actors. It was great to see Ann-Margaret, who one could actually believe, was a Rockette! She really looks great. Adding in Eve Plumb from the Brady Bunch was another nice touch. Carolyn McCormick as Maggie's mother was wonderful as well.

Personally, I remember as a child in the '50's seeing the Christmas Spectacular and the Rockettes at Radio City. I know some reviewers pointed out some historical inaccuracies, which you can do in most Hallmark movies that take place in the path, but that didn't detract from this wonderful movie. Hallmark has had some winners this season. Three Wise Men and a Baby, Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas and Ghosts of Christmas Always come to mind. I'll add this movie to my list!