Un Noël en pain d'épices

The 2020 Lifetime Christmas efforts did vary and often veered between mediocre and slightly above average and were indicative at times of rushed productions. But there were enough of them that were still watchable and more (was pleasantly surprised by some) and were not amateur efforts. Actually think on reflection that the standard was of better quality than 2019's batch. 'A Sugar and Spice Holiday' sounded promising and really appreciated its inclusion of diversity.

Luckily, 'A Sugar and Spice Holiday' turned out to be better than expected. As the review summary indicates, it is not too sugary and has enough spice. It is easily one of the best 2020 Lifetime Christmas films and one of the few to be very good, when most were between mediocre and pretty good as said already. Is 'A Sugar and Spice Holiday' perfect? No, none of the 2020 Lifetime Christmas films are. But the good things are many and the best aspects are very well executed indeed.

Am going to start with the things that are not quite there. Admittedly, it is predictable and some decision making in the final third don't quite make sense and considering the job of the person in question are hard to buy.

Do agree that Suzy is a bit whiney in the final quarter and that the contest facilitator role was a little overacted.

However, a lot of good things are here and they outweigh the not so good. It looks attractive, especially the scenery, and the music has a pleasant and nostalgic quality that doesn't become overdone, over-emphasised or too syrupy. The direction was sympathetic but still gave the film momentum when necessary.

The dialogue is heartfelt, thoughtful and flows well without being self-indulgent or too flowery. The story is charming and moving, and doesn't go down the cheesy or sugary sweet route. So refreshing too in 'A Sugar and Spice Holiday' to have characters that felt like real people and ones that one gets behind in their trials and tribulations, they are also better developed than most in Lifetime Christmas films. There are stereotypes here but they are tasteful ones and are surprisingly well developed. Something not commonly found in recent years Christmas films. The characters have a very natural and sincere chemistry and the acting is very good, great in the case of the two leads.

Overall, very well done. 8/10.

A Sugar And Spice Christmas/Holiday (2020) -

"Teach someone to fish and they will stink, teach them to bake and they will always have sweet treats."

I really enjoyed this film. It was refreshing to have a story featuring an Asian family and some of the traditions of their heritage. They didn't go over the top with it and actually I appreciated that, because it can be too focussed on differences sometimes, but the nods and hints were just a nice change from the usual black or white options available.

And maybe it was because I was on a weird high/come down from forgetting to take my happy drugs, but it just seemed to have the right balance of silliness and seriousness.

Although he wouldn't be classed wholly as a leading man or deemed traditionally gorgeous, Tony Giroux, as Billy, definitely had a charm. As the film progressed, I thought that he was actually very cute and his character was really sweet with a lovely, fun personality.

The leading lady Jacky Lai, playing Suzy, was good too, but I had to wonder if she really NEEDED that promotion or not? They always say that in these films, but then they go back to the most luxurious apartments or spend a fortune flying back and forth between the city and their hometowns, so how poor are they that a promotion is all that can save them?

Suzy's Mother was an awesome character, but some of the supporting artists were a bit questionable, including and mostly those involved in the bake off.

But the Nan in this film was adorable, just like mine and God don't I miss her. We never made cookies together, but as someone that was in my life longer than most of the others, she left a gaping hole. The scenes that the Nan was in really pulled at my heartstrings.

What I really liked was the idea that Suzy might not get everything wrapped up in the end, so I was a little bit disappointed that they did what they did with it, but I would still say that this film was one of the best I've seen from the latest batch of the made for TV Christmas films.

7/10.

I really enjoyed 'A Sugar & Spice Holiday'. It is a sweet, warm, and engaging Christmas movie, one of Lifetime's better originals this 2020 season. It is also another first for Lifetime: a Christmas movie with (primarily) an Asian American leading cast. The movie centers around Suzy Yung (played by Jacky Lai), a rising star at an architect firm, who returns to her hometown in Maine for Christmas. However, she has to take her work with her if she wants that big promotion. While at home, she is persuaded to enter the local gingerbread bake-off with an old high school classmate named Billy Martin (played by Tony Giroux), thus stepping into her late, and beloved grandmother's shoes; baking was part and parcel of her childhood growing up with Nema (aka her grandmother, played by Cindy Piper). The story is lovely to watch on screen. The script is cute and fun. There was a nice balance of humor, romance, and family warmth, which made for a pleasing viewing experience. As another reviewer here pointed out, the writer did a good job developing the characters; there were, for example, some quirky individuals at the bakeoff. I also enjoyed the voice-overs and narrations by Suzy every time a new character was introduced in the movie, which included comparisons to and graphics of baked goods; I have added these sayings in the quote section of IMDB, they are quite nice to read. What makes all this work on screen, of course, is the acting. It was brilliant. Lai had a very good performance, quite convincing, I felt. Giroux too was great. He had a fun and confident - with a touch of warmth - vibe to his portrayal of Billy. The chemistry between the two was impressive/convincing (e.g., the scene in the kitchen, where Billy was showing Suzy his technique, was steamy). The supporting cast was also wonderful, some very good acting, I thought. I especially liked watching the performances in the bakeoff scenes (fun to watch). All in all, this is a delightful new edition to Lifetime's 2020 Christmas movie lineup. One of their best this season. Highly recommend.

A sugar and spice holiday was a sweet movie. It was well acted and had some nice moments. But the CGIs were horrible. Still, the movie is heartwarming and has a lot of sweets in it.

This was off the charts good. Everything came together. The two leads had great chemistry and were very cute in their own right. The writing had some depth in that although there were some Asian stereotypes, each character was well developed. It had both comedy and wit. For example, the Maine father had a southern accent because he learned his English from Johnny Cash records. LOLWUT?! There were some clever and amusing extra touches and some straight up comedy thrown in for good measure. I loved that when each new character was introduced, Suzy, our heroine would picture a bakery item which matched their personality and a graphic would appear over their heads.

The bones of the plot followed a usual Hallmark template: Successful hometown girl returns to her small town and has to save something while working on a project that will make or break their career. But the writer and director switched it up and went against the usual clichés in a number of places, especially with Suzy's future career path. It had plenty of heartwarming moments, some tension, and some good life lessons. The romance was sweet and even touching. I loved it. It's is my top 3 this year and top 10 all time. Don't miss it!