Mystery on Mistletoe Lane

Mystery on Mistletoe Lane is an enjoyable, 100% family-friendly movie.

It stars a newcomer to Hallmark Christmas movies Erica Cerra, and familiar face Victor Webster. Cerra is perhaps a bit older than the standard Hallmark lead, but she's the right age for this role: an attractive single mother of preteens who has uprooted her family from Carolina and shipped up to Boston (sorry).

Her new job is manager of a house with historical significance, and she is determined to dust things off and bring some attention to the forgotten old house. In the process, she meets Victor Webster who assists in fixing up the place, but it's what they find in the process that sparks the mystery. Even her snotty daughter wants to join in the sleuthing.

Old familiar face Fred Henderson shows up as Webster's dad, and he has some secrets of his own.

All in all a fun watch, and a good one to watch with family.

I love Victor Webster and I have yet to see him put a foot wrong. Mystery on Mistletoe Lane is no exception as he plays David, the former historical society director and restoration specialist. He meets the newly hired director, Heidi Wicks (Erica Cerra) and her two children Annie and Garrett. New to town Heidi moved her kids into a historic property provided by her new job and it is of course a historic building. Doing some research she discovers it used to be known as the Mistletoe Inn. Her kids do a bit of looking around and discover a hidden Christmas scavenger hunt that was left by a previous owner, with rhyming clues and small handmade reindeer at each location.

There were a few plot holes...like how Wallace didn't come to inherit from his father and why his son didn't know the story of his biological father, but I am not going to nitpick. I enjoyed the story overall and I was thrilled with the scavenger hunt, the puns, and the interactions between Christmas crazy Heidi and the self proclaimed minamilist-no Christmas tree David.

This was wonderful and family friendly. I highly recommend for some holiday magic. Special note about Heidi's coworker Linda, played by Mary-Beth Manning, she was lovely and a great addition to the film. This is a delightful recommendation from me.

So glad to see a family mystery Christmas movie. The plot is simple with a new family moving into an old house with a treasure hunt to keep the house older and weirder. The new new folks in town are the new boss of the historical society and her two kids. Erica Cerra is such a great addition to the Hallmark family and her chemistry with Victor Webster is perfect. The kids are great and the mystery is fun for all. Taking it a step at a time with history of the town as a backdrop the feeling is of a true Christmas tale without the usual "take a shot" items which normally make up the Hallmark Christmas movies. All in all it is just fun.

Best mystery movie of the year. Great cast leads are excellent and terrific chemistry. The story is unique and something never covered by traditions of past movies. The movie flowed so effortlessly and very believable The clues were so good and the two kids were very good and really played excellent detectives. The secretary of the organization gave a nice warm touch. She did more with her expressions than most actors do with words. The leads Father did an ok job but probably did not have much dialogue. All in all if they continue with these mystery movies and keep the quality I think we are in store for enjoyable movies.

Finally, a MfTVM worthy of the Hallmark name! Well done all. The writing is quite clever and not too syrupy or vapid and tedious - evidenced by actors who don't look embarrassed to speak the lines. In fact, the actors do a lovely job of keeping it real and not schmacty. (As real as can be in a Christmasy Hallmark movie.) It was beautifully directed as Mr. Harmon didn't beat the viewer over the head with obviousness or too much manipulation as so many of these pieces do. The costumes, make-up, set dec all felt down-to-earth even in a movie all about over-the-top Christmas. I'm not a fan of Christmas made for tv movies, but I enjoyed this one very much. Thanks for your effort team!