The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls

Hallmark set the cat amongst the conservative pigeons back in 2020 when 'The Christmas House' (based in part on star/writer Robert Buckley's childhood Christmas memories) featured an openly gay couple in the main ensemble cast. Insane that people focus and obsess about that - good on Hallmark for (finally) depicting the real world in their Christmas movies.

The Christmas House was fantastic. And the sequel, with a high bar to clear, is just a skosh below the level of the original. That's not to say it's a bad film. Definitely not. The great cast is back, and this time here are TWO Christmas Houses to be decorated, with the Mitchell family in fine form once again.

How good are Sharon Lawrence and Treat Williams as parents Phillys and Bill? Fantastic in every scene.

The relationship between brothers TV star Mike (Buckley) and bakery owner Brandon (Jonathan Bennett) is explored more deeply in the second instalment. And Ana Ayora is back as Mike's childhood sweetheart, Andi Cruz. That relationship has it's speed bumps.

It was always going to be hard to top The Christmas House. As I said above, it doesn't quite match the original, but it's still a really fun film.

Here's hoping for The Christmas House III one of these years.

A fun to watch Christmas movie, it's light and doesn't follow the usual Hallmark formula. The usual formula is centered on a lone female looking for love, this is about three families and competition between two brothers. It's farcical, not full of hot cocoa, holiday sweets and gingerbread. I haven't seen gingerbread in grocery bakery sections for years, it's very dated.

This is better than the original movie, it has better writing and it moves at a fast clip so there aren't boringly slow conversations that bog down many Hallmark movies. And it's not full of nostalgia for the past like some of the Hallmark movies this year.

I hope Hallmark is planning on a 3rd Christmas House.

It has all the premises to be exactly the charming Christmas film. And it is it. And the good premise is, not exactly, the memories about the first part, amusing and chaotic but the fair definition of essence of family in the "fire" of competition.

Sure, the acting is the key like the dialogue, but it is little more. I prefer define many Hallmark films as nice but in this case, the words has many meanings. First, good humor and provocative situations. Not the last, fair example of joy of life. The result, just better than the first part. And source of realistic, too realistic in few cases, situations. So, nice at whole.

I was excited to watch 'The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls', as I loved the one last year. From the 'Handsome Justice' clips and father jokes to the maniacal sibling rivalry, 'The Christmas House' was one of my favorite Christmas movies in 2020. And it was one of the funniest Hallmark Christmas movies I have ever seen. So, as you can imagine, 'Deck Those Halls' had a lot to live up to, and I am happy to report that it does not disappoint. It is a fun, clever, and cute film with several laughing-out-loud moments and even a couple of touching scenes to boot. The story follows the Mitchell brothers, Mike (played by Robert Buckley) and Brandon (played by Jonathan Bennett), as they compete against each other on a TV competition show for the King of Christmas. Who can create the best Christmas House this year? Hopefully, the two don't end up destroying everything that gets in their way. The script is great. The writers do a wonderful job again with the dialogue, especially between the brothers. The sibling fights are not only fun to watch but also feel real, a sign of some good writing. This time around the writers spend more scenes developing Mike and Brandon's (back)stories. That is, they add depth to these characters. As a result, we get to know them better, allowing the viewer to invest more in and engage more with their stories. The writers again do a wonderful job of developing the dialogue and interaction between the family members more broadly. Indeed, the family dynamics is what makes these two movies so successful, I think. The setup of the movie in this one is also fun to watch, as there is (competition show) interview footage of family members where they discuss the Christmas House, family traditions, and themselves. These are some of the funniest scenes in the movie. By the way, the magic guy makes an appearance in this one too. Speaking of magic, the cast, like in the first, is brilliant. The chemistry between the family is what makes all this work on-screen. Buckley and Bennett again have impressive performances with some great back-and-forth. I also appreciated the worries and vulnerability they brought to their characters, though in different ways. Though less screen time than the first, Treat Williams (as the Dad) and Sharon Lawrence (as the Mom) still have great performances. They were fun to watch, making me laugh or chuckle a few times (especially their interviews). The rest of the cast also does a great job this time around. Finally, there is plenty of Christmas cheer in this one, as you might expect when the story is partly about the Christmas decoration competition. All in all, 'The Christmas House 2' is a lot of fun from start to finish with some brilliant performances and great (on-screen) chemistry between the cast. It's one of Hallmark's best this season. Let's keep our fingers crossed for a third movie.

6/10 - I will be the first to admit that I was not blown away by Hallmark'a first Christmas movie with an LGBTQ+ lead, but I actually felt this one really improved where it's predecessor lacked: some good old fashioned character development.