The Christmas House

Mike is heading home for the holidays. His parents are doing a long tradition in their family, "The Christmas House" in which they set up the whole house with Christmas decorations, both inside and outside. While there we found out that Mike's parents are going through a rough patch in the marriage and that Brandon, Mike's brother, and his husband Jake are trying to adopt. Meanwhile, Mike is reconnecting with his childhood friend and neighbour, Andi.

It was such a nice film. I thought this was quite different of what Hallmark usually offers. Still predictable, still very Christmassy, but it followed a different structure. (you know, leads knowing each other, problem, happily ever after, done). In fact, Mike and Andi's relationship is a sub-plot of the movie. The focus is on the whole family and them figuring out their problems and relationship. The cast had great chemistry all together. I particulary liked the flashbacks scenes, they were such a emotional touch. Also, I laughed more than once, specially with Brandon and Mike who actually behaved like siblings.

I like that Hallmark is being more inclusive, and the scene of Brandon and Jake kissing and the final scene must have made so many people mad that makes me so happy. Hallmark, keep it going! I literally don't have anything to complain, it is such a heartfelt movie. I'm adding it to my favorites for sure. Kudos to Robert for being so involved in the story.

Wow. This is a wonderful Hallmark Christmas movie. I am impressed. I mean, I like Hallmark films, but this is above and beyond what I have seen thus far during the 2020 Christmas movie season. It is a fun, warm and heartfelt story. The script is great. It is tough developing a story in 80 minutes. But the writers here have done an excellent job. The sub-plots were all engaging: Mike and Andi's romance, the development of Mike and Noah's relationship (teaching magic), the mother and father's marriage troubles, and Brandon and Jake's adoption. The writers do a good job too with the dialogue and interaction between the characters, the family members. Sure, it is a predictable plot, but it is a made-for-television Christmas movie (in a very predictable genre of film to boot). The more important element here for me is: did it pull me in, did it engage me? It did, from the start. Moreover, I found myself laughing out loud a little thru-out the film, which is a different experience for me when watching Hallmark movies; from the 'Handsom Justice' opening clip, father jokes, the competition between the sons, the advertisement Mike and Noah made, to the closing scene of the deodorant commercial, it was a rather funny/fun Christmas movie. The acting, overall, was excellent for this genre of film. Robert Buckley (as Mike) had an impressive performance. It is nice seeing him on screen again, as I liked his character in One Tree Hill. Treat Williams (as Bill), Sharon Lawrence (as Phylis), and Jonathan Bennett (as Brandon) all had strong performances. The remaining supporting cast was great, especially Noah and the magician. Finally, there was plenty of Christmas cheer; the scenery, props and sets were all very festive. Overall, a very good Christmas movie by Hallmark this year. It is well worth a watch.

Sweet and cute Hallmark movie, one of the better ones in the recent past. The cast is very good and Robert Buckley is so likeable in the lead and he co-wrote the story!

Not the usual Hallmark movie, it's refreshing. Kudos to the writing and teleplay teams and the great casting. The usual Hallmark is a formulaic focus on a single woman who finds romance, it's soapy and can be sickly sweet. This is about a family, actually three families, a house and cultures and real life. Kudos to Hallmark.

6/10 - Hallmark's groundbreaking step to include a gay couple as part of the main storyline quite frankly deserved a better plot line altogether