Sugarplummed

I believe this to be the best Hallmark Christmas movie of 2024, maybe ever actually. The level of campiness and outrageousness while at the same time honoring the tropes of the holiday movie genre were impressively balanced. Sometimes, when Hallmark tries to be tongue in cheek, it can be cheesy but this one was hilarious, I was chuckling the whole time. I hope they make more movies like this, tons of interesting plot and emotional development for all the characters plus an ending that isn't rushed and scrambled in the last five minutes. And more Janel Parrish! She needs to be at Lacey Chabert level, I would love to see her lead more movies!

Ok. So I didn't know what to expect from this movie. But what I definitely didn't expect was for Hallmark to be this self-aware. It was funny and charming. Maggie Lawson was her usual amazing self and I loved the acting choices made by Janel Parrish, she gave her character real life and I love the vocal choices.

She made her seem just cartoonish enough without becoming annoying. But gave her a few layers that made her likeable and real.

The meta was especially hilarious. Hallmark knew exactly what they were doing. So major kudos to them for this delightfully silly and heartwarming movie. Would definitely watch again.

As others mentioned, Sugarplummed parodies the general slate of Hallmark Christmas movies (and others, because many Hallmark romances throughout the year use the same tropes, just without the snow or decorations.

Here, the Christmas magic, which happens sometimes, is a hyper-competent and hyper-perky character coming out of a series of Christmas movies about a small town's Christmases. Janel Parrish's high-pitched voice is a BIT grating, but you'll get over that.

We've liked Maggie Lawson since Psych, so that gave us a bias toward the movie before it even started.

The gags used in the movie to accomplish Maggie's Christmas Wish List are fun, and follow along with the same sense of good-spirited send up of their movies over the years.

This one will be rewatchable. Recommended, and I didn't even have to finish the movie to give it the stars.

I know people justifiably mock Hallmark Christmas movies but what about a Hallmark movie that mocks Hallmark movies? Sugarplummed is just that movie. It's funny and (unlike many of them) really smartly written.

Sugarplummed is about a mom that wishes for the perfect Christmas (which she always wishes for). But this time, Sugarplum, a character in a series of Christmas movies magically shows up to help the mom get her wish. She comes with a book of hard and fast rules like Flannel is a Natural Aphrodisiac and When a Big City Girl Meets a Small Town Bachelor, They're Guaranteed to Fall in Love and Get Married.

The kids are not perfect and they're not annoying. This time they're sarcastically funny. In what Hallmark movie does a kid walk in to the perfectly decorated room and say, "Why does it look like the North Pole threw up in here?"

I highly recommend this one!

I am pretty sure this movie is what you call a parody. It is a Hallmark movie making fun of Hallmark Christmas movies. And the first thing you need to know is that there are rules. Sugarplum keeps sounding them off a little like Gibb's rules in NCIS but much more fun. Janel Parrish is like a Christmas fairy on steroids. Way overacted. But it works because it is supposed to be way too much.

Maggie Lawson's Emily is kind of a Christmas fairy wannabe, that is a Sugarplum wannabe. She has Christmas lists and aspirations but her family just isn't into it. There are Christmas movies where Emily would be put into the TV movie world of Perfection, but this movie switches that and Sugarplum from the movies appears in Emily's world and brings lots of fun chaos with her. The Christmas movie cliches come through like a tidal wave. Even my favorite Christmas movie cliche - a snowball fight.

The acting is what it needs to be where, or who, it needs to be. The dialogue is sizzling.

Something interesting to me is Rule 39. I've noticed it in countless movies but didn't realize it reached the status of a Christmas rule. The endless wardrobes in too small a bag.

Lest you think that Sugarplum's assertions that her rules only have positive outcomes, that changes. The movie even starts to get into real life family issues.

One of the last scenes is a musical performance of an original song by Kyra Leroux as Nina.