A Merry Holiday

In general it was a movie with a good message, but it didn't have enough balance. I would have preferred that the Christmas celebration also mentioned the religious part of how and why Christians celebrate CHRISTmas. I work in an international school and we learn to appreciate different cultures and faiths. In my classroom parents were invited to share about theirs in special occasions: Diwali, Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid, also Carnival in the nice child's version. We also said not everyone had a religion and that also needed to be respected and accepted. So I would have liked to see the balance here as well. We say Happy Holidays but are sometimes constricted about saying Merry Christmas because it's 'religious'. Why?

My Lifetime Christmas film viewings over-time have been a very mixed bag. With some surprisingly good hits, where regardless of how predictable they are succeed in being full of charm, warmth and heart so succeeding in being light-hearted and undemanding fun. But also some quite big misses, where the characters are not likeable, everything is forced and shallow with implausibility too in some of the worst cases, the acting and writing being weak and basically with just nothing to them.

'A Merry Holiday' (another title is also listed but this one is much better) is a strong example of the former and left me very surprised, as something who was in all honesty not expecting to like it that much as the concept on paper didn't wow me. As far as the Lifetime films go, 'A Merry Christmas' definitely struck me as one of the best and certainly one of their best from their 2019 output. Am judging it by the way on how it fares on its own terms instead of comparing it to anything or implying that it is on par, worse than or better than anything better known and better regarded.

Production values are slick and never drab or garish, while the story is poignant and brought a lot of warmth to my heart. Enough of the music is also very pleasant and fits quite well, the songs don't feel too many and don't intrude. What's more, they made me smile, they had some emotion at least and a couple stuck in my mind for a while after.

There are a fair share of amusing moments that never felt overdone and an equal amount of never too over-sentimental serious ones. The writing is a long way from perfect, but for Lifetime it's acceptable. Enough of the story is very charming and heart-warming and even if the characters are not meaty they were characters to me that were worth caring for. Kelly Jackle is immensely appealing and she is matched by Jake Epstein, their chemistry is never awkward and is quite adorable. The supporting cast do well.

It is not a perfect or great film though. There is no doubt, with it being the case with all Lifetime Christmas films and being a long way from being a novel premise, that the story is very predictable and quite safe throughout, so there are major plot points and developments that can be seen from a long way away.

Did think that the writing did lack subtlety and some parts did make the toes curl a bit. A little more could have been done with the Hanukkah theme, which could have been delved into more and handled in a more balanced way.

Concluding, not great but a pleasant surprise actually. 7/10

I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, it had the usual characters, but it was a watchable, feel good movie.

Not sure which movie title this film is using..I saw it as Mistletoe and Menorahs on Lifetime Channel and was absolutely enchanted! The premise of the story is politically so relevant in today's culture. The two leading characters come from different religious backgrounds and each needs to learn about the other's religious traditions in order to impress someone in their life. Bravo to Lifetime for addressing the reality that there are different religions celebrating this season! The female lead needs to learn about Hanukkah and the male lead needs to learn about Christmas. Of course, we know that no matter how this adventure unfolds, it will end happily with a kiss. But on its way to that ending, the lessons learned are portrayed beautifully and respectfully, with both religions being learned about with joy and warm emotions. There is an abundance of historical meaning explained regarding both religions and their traditions. The leading couple are two of the most attractive to be featured a holiday movie in a very long time. The heroine is not only beautiful, but is portrayed as intelligent, serious, not frivolous and giggling as so many holiday movie heroines are portrayed. Her smile is dazzling! The leading man is a new face for this viewer, handsome, with sparkling eyes and a really attractive personality. One wishes to see a great deal more of this actor. The movie also ventures into yet another new territory, in that it portrays a gay marriage between two of the male characters..The relationship is presented with love, dignity and maturity. There is not one second of any inappropriate dialogue or characterization. Bravo to Lifetime for bringing its viewers into the 21st century! The only characterization in the film that was a bit over the top was that of the Jewish grandmother, whose mannerisms and intonations were a bit of a caricature. She was lovely looking but somewhat excessively portrayed. Other than that, this is a glorious holiday film for everyone, and should be on a 'must see' list for this season. It is also appropriate for children to watch as the lessons it teaches about religions other than ones own are beautifully taught. I will watch it again.

I enjoyed the movie and appreciated that they were trying to bring two cultures together. However, I found it odd that the writers took pains to explain the religious beginnings of the Eight Days of Hanukkah but their explanation of Christmas made no mention the birth of Jesus Christ.