The 5-Year Christmas Party

I really enjoyed this movie. I liked the young leads and Hallmark using some new young faces. I liked the realistic portrayal of young people pursuing acting or theater as a career and how often they need other jobs to make ends meet. I liked that she was taller than him. I liked that the movie wasn't condensed into a one-week romance. I enjoyed it so much that I was surprised by the low IMDb rating on this one. I read many of the other reviews and I can understand some of the criticism, but overall I thought it was a darling movie. I don't understand anyone claiming Katie Findlay was bad because she was fantastic and such a breath of fresh air for Hallmark.

In the 5-Year Christmas Party, two theater majors spend 5 consecutive Christmases in each other's lives, acting out the highs and the lows of post-college. Unlike many Hallmark movies where a single act of kindness means forever love, this tale is grounded in the realities of real life. Things like jobs, family and dreams matter to the leads, and guide their decisions on relationships or other commitments. Aside from an ending that leaves a bit too much to the imagination, this is a solid, non-Old School Hallmark movie that I would recommend.

Our lead is Katie Findlay, who plays Alice, who really wants to make it in theater as a director. Our leading man is Jordan Fisher, who plays Max, an aspiring actor. Kudos all around. These two are great together and definitely play different versions of themselves over the course of 5-years. Success or failure is subtle, but they showcase the differences well.

Credit to writer Zag Hug, a Hallmark vet, who also wrote the Ghosts of Christmas Always (9 stars), which is one of the best Hallmark movies of all time.

Major kudos to production on this one. Clearly on a budget, we re-use the same party house, kitchen, party venue, alley, parking lot and rooftop-and some of the same actors every year. They dress them up a little (emphasis on little) bit differently each time, but it's reminiscent of a play where moving a chair or changing the lighting signals a different act. Also, the changing of the season montages were great.

This movie is more sincere than fun, which means realistic laughs, love and tears.

Goofy notes They really hate catering the law firm Christmas party. I need to know more!

Forcing people to become carolers is not a real thing and nobody should do that.

I think Jordan Fisher must be wearing lifts, right? He's great, but she's pretty tall.

They make a joke about oranges and scurvy. I don't think it landed, but I applaud the effort.

I love that they bonded over watching Ashley Williams (Hallmark) movies. Meta!

I feel like these long gaps between seeing each other could have meant they might find another person to love. If I got ghosted for a year, I would probably not be so happy to see the person who did me dirty.

What happened between Daniel (Jeff Avenue) and Micah (Olly Atkins)? They were together for years 2-4, then Micah is MIA in year five? Come on Hallmark. You gave us a gay couple and then didn't stick the landing. Where'd he go?

Cast Kudos: The really, really bad mustache on Jeff Avenue for year 4. Just no.

Alternative titles: The show must go on, for 5-years; Catering my life story; Christmas Party Again; Alice and Max take the long way to love.

Loved it. An endearing story and one we haven't seen from hallmark before. Love the two leads, acting and chemistry was on point. Also I appreciate Hallmark reaching a bit of a younger audience with this movie and the lead actors being on the younger side. The story was cute, relatable and not trope-y or like a classic hallmark. As a former theater kid, they nailed the vibe. The time lapse element of the story was creative and even though you knew Alice and Max would get together it still keeps you intrigued to see how it will all unfold. This will definitely be one that I watch again and again!

This movie has a different approach than most Hallmark Christmas movie fare, and that alone makes it work a look, as it touches on the shaky relationship between two people who basicly only see either other once a year around Christmastime for a series of years.

The script writers went for sharp, smart dialogue and uncomfortable scenes, and they got that right.

Unfortunately, they created two characters with believable sexual tension, but, to me, unlikeable. The female lead in particular seems far too willing to ignore friends, as she ghosts two of them over the course of the movie, and eventually he ghosts her too, after going to California to make a movie. These are not people I'd make part of my life.

I'm not sorry we watched it, but it won't bear a second time through.

6.1 stars.

What are they doing? They obviously are attracted to each other for many years now. But whenever they get together, it becomes awkward. And it's not a normal awkward, its a weird awkward, which makes the movie 10 times weirder, which is why it's difficult to be able to feel any familiarity with the characters at all.

So basically, the unorthodox behavior ruins any possibility of this movie being entertaining. That's the only way I can describe this strange relationship.

And I don't think I've ever met anyone in real life who would sabotage something good the way these guys do. There's no sense, no logic no nothing to indicate why she does what she does.

His character is just playing along with her charade, because he likes her so much that he feels he has to fit into her alien social paradigm.

The acting is great, but this woman's character is cringe unapproachable...meh.