Holiday Heritage

Family dysfunction. Rekindled romance. Kwanza.

Grandma and mom aren't getting along. Mom wants to leave town to start on her own. They stand next to each other all day yet don't communicate. Granddaughter wants to fix it.

Ella left Griffin behind two years ago. She is home for the holidays and they reconnect. As in so many stories like this, they get thrown together to work on the festival. This goes about like you'd expect, but obviously it shares screen time with the other plotlines so I won't talk about chemistry.

I knew nothing about Kwanza. I looked it up on Wikipedia. What I found about the origins of Kwanza is more radical than what's portrayed here, or maybe it's better to say that what appears in this movie is sanitized some from the origins. I like how it's done here because it stresses a celebration of ethnicity as opposed to racial separation which is how Wikipedia portrays the origins. The 7 principles are briefly named and described. The different days of the celebration are touched on.

The acting is good. There isn't a lot of comedy but the dialogue is good. Instead of natural scenery of a famous location we get to see the costumes and festivities of Kwanza.

I'm not familiar with Lyndie Greenwood but she does a good job and makes an appealing Ella.

Lyndie Greenwood, as Ella, is bright eyed, beautiful and fun to watch. She's a graphic designer who left her Pennsylvania small town for Beantown. Brooks Darnell (just signed by Hallmark to a multi-pic deal) plays her broken-hearted old boyfriend Griffin. He's smooth, dapper and the town's mayor. They make a lovely couple. And they have chemistry. But this movie is as much (and probably more) about Ella's mother (Holly Robinson Peete) and grandmother (Darlene Cooke) and their dysfunctional relationship. And that conflict gets tiresome.

What we've got here is a failure to communicate. Ella and Brooks 2 years before, and Mom and Grandma for, what, forever?

Ella does her best to fix the problem, but it's not her problem to fix (despite what Grandpa Riley told her). And so, for the better part of 2 hours, we watch this fraught mother daughter interaction that could have, and should have, been solved over a couple of glasses of wine.

Momma Micah: why can't we ever use my recipes?

Grandma Tess: I miss Grandpa Riley and now all I care about is work

Ugh. Just talk to each other.

And what's with Chicago? Why would Momma Micah move 500 miles away (and 1,000 miles from her daughter in Boston)? I don't know how much money she saved working in the bakery with her mom but such a dramatic physical and career change is going to cost her some money. If's she really going to open up her own bakery in a new and different city? With no help? And I never heard why?

Still, I enjoyed the second chance romance and the reaffirmation of family values.

Grandpa Riley:

"Do and say everything with love." "You're stronger together than apart"

Holiday Heritage (2022) -

At another time I would have given this film more of a go, but it was all just a bit too somber and depressing for my mood at the time. With her Grandpa dead, Ella, played by Lyndie Greenwood, returned home for some festive escapism, but her Mother (Holly Robinson Peete) and Grandmother (Darlene Cooke) have been falling out and, thanks to a promise she made to Gramps, it's up to Ella to bring the two women back together, before Mum, Micah moves away to Chicago for good. All that and the only person who could help Ella was her ex boyfriend Griffin, played by Brooks Darnell, but there was a lot of animosity there too.

Although Brooks was quite charming and dashingly handsome, I just couldn't take the upsets and arguments that were likely to come as the story progressed as well as the constant reminiscing of how Grandpa would have done things if he were still alive.

I might tune in again when I'm feeling lighter and braver to take on the world, but at this time I needed something more fluffy and simplistic.

Unscored as Unfinished.

Kwanzaa in a Hallmark Christmas movie is enlightening and sentimental. The relationships between Ella, her Mom and Grandma is true-to-life and nice to see their relationship and selves blossom with honest conversation and the sentimentality that the Christmas season brings. This movie seems a good fit for Hallmark Movies and Mysteries with a very somber and serious tone, as the death of Ella's Grandpa has shattered the family's relationships and Christmas traditions. I love each and every character, but none of them are peppy, they are hurt and confused and navigating life as they know it.

Holiday Heritage Summary Ella returns home for Christmas to find her Mother and Grandma in a strained relationship as they work together at the family bakery, both grieving in different ways after the passing of Ella's beloved Grandpa who united the family through Kwanzaa traditions and principles. Ella's past boyfriend, Griffin is now the town Mayor, and has taken over many of Grandpa Riley's traditions. Ella needs Griffin's help and her Grandpa's direction to reunite her Mom and Grandma. Through making Kwanza cookies and celebrating both Christmas and Kwanza, all three generations of women blossom finding each other and themselves.

"The best interest of our family should be at the heart of our decisions."

-Ella's Grandpa Riley.

Kwanzaa Celebrations Lighting of the Kwanzaa Candles 7 candles lit each night 7 Kwanzaa Principles explored each night 7 nights of a feast Ella paints the 7 Kwanzaa Principles Selling Baked Goods to community Baking Kwanzaa Cookies at Chapel Family Bakery Karamu Kwanzaa Festival Firework Show on New Year's Eve Kwanzaa Night 6.

This was such an uplifting film that tackled standard familial concerns with maturity and emotionally open conversations.

Holiday heritage surrounds the after effects that death can have on a tight-knit family. In the surface, it sounds like the standard Hallmark holiday fare. Big city heroine returns to her family bakery to reunite with her high school love while helping with local holiday festivals.

However, in reality, it addresses issues that we encounter in our day-to-day but with honesty and openness. A year after the death of the family patriarch, The protagonist Ella returns home to discover increasing tension between her mother and grandmother.

The script is amazing. The level of maturity each family member showcased while expressing her perspective is super touching. I loved when Ella addressed the difficulties in her hometown relationship, not with overdramatic tears but with clear communication.

This is another example of Hallmark using its standard template but increasing the production values, the writing, the acting and the directing to produce a quality final result.

This was a very diverse cast, featuring Black, brown and white cast members without explicitly calling it out. Basically, it just showcases slice of life humanity. Personally, as a person of color, I also love when mainstream channels showcase upper middle class African American families as just that families, while still acknowledging the cultural background.

Honestly, this was such a good script and it was supported by an amazing cast. The clothes were amazing. The numerous hairstyles that Holly Robinson rocked were off the hinges. The houses were gorgeous and I always love holiday winter scapes with non-stop snow.

So, if you're looking for the Hallmark template but with a strong script and grounded acting, this is definitely for you.