Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up

I watched the original and saw this as my obvious next choice. I wish I didn't. The new neighbors just reminded me of everything that is wrong in the real world today.

Instead of taking me away from the world for a few moments, this put it front and center. As a huge Lacey Chabert fan I feel this sequel is beneath her as an actress. This movie felt very quickly put together and was a mere afterthought. I do not think this movie does any of the original cast , characters and story line justice. And if one were to accidentally watch this movie first I would bet my Christmas cookies they'd never watch the original, Which was delightful.

"Haul out the Holly" was a great movie! So fun and cheerful! It's too bad that I can't say the same for its sequel "Haul out the Holly: Lit Up." Not such a fun and cheerful movie. This movie was quite annoying. A family who were reality TV stars moved in, and literally tried to take over the neighborhood and the homeowner's association, and Christmas festivities, and everything. And they were obnoxious to boot. And mean. Not Christmassy and not cheery. Very disappointing. They should not have made this sequel. They should have just left the first movie "Haul Out the Holly" alone. I recommend "Haul Out the Holly," but not its sequel.

I absolutely loved the original Haul Out the Holly. I watched it a zillion times last year, and was really looking forward to seeing this sequel. However, they completely changed the tone this time. The original was light and funny, any tension was minor, and you knew everything would be fine. This one introduced major tension right away with the very unpleasant new neighbors. I gave it about half an hour, couldn't find anything to like about it (other than the stellar performances from last year's cast), and then just fast-forwarded to the end, which was fine. They really missed the boat on this sequel.

Caught this on the night it debuted. A few hours earlier, they played the original. I was at home with my mother and was not going to go out shopping the weekend after Thanksgiving. The original was inoffensive if not great. But this one. Let's just say that I am an atheist and I was longing for some spirituality or mentions of the real meaning of the holidays.

Instead, this is a very shallow look at a bunch of shallow people in a Homeowner's Association (HOA) who really don't think of much but decorations and cookie contests. Despite such a great cast like stalwart Lacey Chabert, Melissa Peterman, Ellen Travolta and Stephen Tobolowsky ( all returning from the original movie), there isn't much here to recommend it. Too bad. Not hoping for a third.

I wasn't a huge fan of the allegedly-funny Haul out the Holly in 2022, but thought I would give this second one a go nonetheless, looking for something that might change my mind, as the cast - led by the Queen of Christmas Lacey Chabert, and the always-reliable Wes Brown - is very good.

Alas...

Sadly, the cast is wasted.

The movie seemed like it went for 3 hours, and not in a good way.

I just didn't find this funny. The parts where I assume I was meant to laugh were just uncomfortable.

Watching the ultra-competitive new neighbours who arrive on Evergreen Lane (which is actually a cul-de-sac) was akin to running my nails up and down a blackboard. The characters were the complete opposite of what Christmas is supposed to be about. Their "jokes" were not funny. There were few in this film that were.

Let's hope there is no third movie. I'd prefer to see Chabert and Brown together in a more meaningful Christmas film.