'Next Stop, Christmas' is a wonderful Hallmark Christmas movie: cute, fun, and entertaining. The story is clever and creative, the script is punchy, the emotional beats land, and the cast is charming and enjoyable to watch on screen. Hands down the best thus far this 2021 holiday season. The storyline revolves around Angie (played by Lyndsy Fonseca), a busy neurosurgeon who has, for some years, been avoiding her family during Christmas time. Her last fond memory of Christmas was ten years ago when her parents were together and her sister and she were on the same wavelength, a time too when she turned down a marriage proposal from the now-famous (and very handsome) sports commentator Tyler Grant (played by Eric Freeman). One evening before Christmas, after work and a drink with a friend, Angie grabs the last commuter train home to Yonkers to start her quiet and relaxing Christmas holiday alone. However, these plans are soon derailed by a mysterious ticket agent and conductor (played by Christopher Lloyd), as she finds herself on a magical train that takes her back home to that Christmas 10 years earlier. Her mission now is to figure out what she needs to do to get back to the present. And so our story begins, as we watch Angie relive her Christmas of ten years past, getting second chances and learning lessons about love and family along the way. This Christmas twist of the popular film 'Back to the Future' (BTTF) is well written with some fun and entertaining dialogue and scenes throughout. The writers also do a very good job of developing multiple sub-plots in 82 minutes, all while subtly introducing links to BTTF. As many reviewers have pointed out, the writers not only draw from BTTF, they also pay homage to the film, featuring two of the original stars Leah Thompson (playing Evelyn, Angie's mother) and Christopher Lloyd. One weakness of the story was the romance between Angie and Ben (played by Chandler Massey). Simply put, it was underdeveloped. There were not enough scenes of the two to develop their chemistry on-screen, unfortunately. The ending too is not ideal, though this is a minor fault. The acting, overall, is outstanding. Hallmark did an excellent job with casting in this one. Fonseca was brilliant. She had a quirky, yet warm, vibe to her performance, which was enjoyable to watch. The supporting cast too was outstanding. Finally, the film has a fairy-tale-like feel to it with some beautiful (and festive) props and sets, which will no doubt get you into the Christmas mood this holiday season. All in all, it is a cute, fun, and festive Christmas movie, with some impressive acting, a nice new addition to Hallmark's 2021 line-up. I highly recommend it.
