To Have and to Holiday

Given my limited interest in Christmas movies in general, of course I was not familiar with the existence of this movie, prior to stumbling upon it by chance. And as I was sitting through a month of sappy Christmas movies this year, I opted to add it to the list of movies to watch.

The storyline in the movie sort of felt like a "Meet the Parents" or "Father of the Bride" movie rip-off, just dressed up in a neat and shiny Christmas outfit. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it was a bad movie, because I found it to actually be enjoyable and a fun watch. So writers Grant Levy and Dominik Rothbard managed to churn out something that proved entertaining. And it was nice to have a Christmas movie that deviated from the archetypical over-the-top-sappy Christmas movies out there; yeah, I'm looking at you Hallmark.

Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with actor Eric Close, and he really spruced up the movie as Mark Palmer, the father and pastor out to see his daughter not rush into a marriage. I can't claim that I was particularly impressed with leading actress Madeleine Arthur, sure she acted okay, but she just didn't have that particular charisma that many leading actresses have in sappy Christmas movies.

The movie is definitely not a Christmas classic for me. In fact, I will never return to watch it a second time. But it was an enjoyable enough watch the first time around.

I am sure that fans of the sappy Christmas movies will enjoy this movie, and thus should give it a chance.

My rating of director Stacey N. Harding's 2024 movie "To Have and to Holiday" lands on a six out of ten stars.

I fully agree with the idea of marriage counseling. And the pastor is trying to teach some great principles. But he is clearly biased and his judgment isn't giving the best results. If nothing else, he is building a wall with his future son-in-law. Pastor says family has to be built, but that takes both of them. As the adult, and the pastor, he should be taking the lead in building a good relationship and not antagonizing Jason. Resentment is easy to create and hard to break down. Being constantly judged while in an unfamiliar setting is too much. Jason asks "Does your father like me?"

Jason isn't exactly helping. His pride is in the way. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Is his dander up because of how he is being treated, or is he being treated badly because of his arrogance?

And yes 3 months is pretty quick. I'm a Boomer so I think it is too quick.

None of this makes a bad movie. In fact it is building a pretty good story with some great opportunities, even if maybe being a bit predictable. The friction that Bootcamp brings out is real. There are also some funny moments.

I really like Madeleine Arthur's Celeste. She is upbeat and nice. As I already said, Robert Bazzocchi's Jason is not as likeable, but that's partially because he is meant to look a little bad especially in front of Mark. Jason has some great qualities. Mark is a caring dad. His concerns are legitimate but a little too enthusiastic. And of course he is meant to look bad to the viewer, at least in part. One of Mark's worst moments is over the lights.

My star ratings are usually based on my personal enjoyment. This movie is well done. It has some good themes. But there was too much negativity even past the last commercial. I did enjoy the very lad scene.

There are many great moments in this hallmark film that were new and fresh, like 60 minute Christmas and the pastor's marriage bootcamp. The story centers around the small town pastor's daughter, Celeste. Celeste moved to New York for an internship in the fashion industry. Unfortunately, she didn't procure a fulltime job, but she did procure a serious boyfriend. When her internship is over and she has given up her NY apartment, it's understandable that her father Pastor Mark might assume when she comes home for Christmas that she is coming home to their small town for good. The problem is Celeste and her boyfriend Jason are having trouble saying goodbye in New York...so after a special 60 minute Christmas they decide that Jason should go home with Celeste for Christmas.

Jason's appearance is a big surprise to her parents, but not as much of a surprise as the proposal that he give Celeste on the first night after Celeste confesses she always wanted to get married in her father's church when learns her father's church is being remodeled in the new year. This sets up a whirlwind wedding scenario and prompts Pastor Mark to insist on a lightning version of his marriage bootcamp for Jason and Celeste, with the real hope that it will break them up.

I think romantics like me will love this one. My favorite part was how the young couple really knew each other and trusted their love and each other...and Jason was amazing. I liked how supportive everyone was, with the exception of Pastor Mark. This is a big recommendation from me.

I'm happy and proud of Robert Bazzocchi. He deserves more recognition. To Have and to Holiday. Is a pretty good movie. I like how crazy the town is. And beautiful. I didn't like Celeste father. He was so annoying. And childish. Yet he calls himself a pastor? As for Celeste mother. She is one of my favorite characters. She was sweet, kind and a better parent. Jake and Judith are my favorite characters. I thought, it was funny how the mailman acts. When someone beats him in a dart game. They seriously need to find a new mailman lol. Robert did an amazing job playing Jake. He's very talented and deserves more acting roles.

To Have and to Holiday is another of the Hallmark movies this year featuring a cast of people who are virtually unknown to me. With the exception of the lead actress' parents, I'm not sure I've seen any of them before.

That said, the acting was better than a lot of movies you see this time of year.

Madeleine Arthur and Robert Bazzochi are excellent as a young couple who become engaged after dating briefly, prompting her father, who is also a pastor, to insist on putting them through his marriage boot camp in order to gauge their compatibility.

We've seen these things before, even this year, and this part of the movie didn't really work.

Fortunately, there was enough of a plot to make it worth a watch.

Arthur is cute and sweet and pretty, and has excellent chemistry with Bazzochi, and both turned in strong performances as the young couple navigating issue after issue on the way to the altar.

We'll be seeing them again.

There's a million choices at Christmas time. This is not great, but there are worse choices.

Six.