A Merry Scottish Christmas

I have nothing but nice things to say about this Hallmark holiday film. I am loving these excursions into foreign locales and the sharing of other culture's holiday traditions...and this is no exception. In this film we travel to Scotland for a Christmas with siblings Brad and Lindsay.

They arrive at the fictional Glenncraig, or the lovely and very real Duns Castle which was used in the filming, at their mother's invitation. What they don't know is their mother was meant to be the Duchess there as first born and Lady Josephine. A role that she ran away from to go to America where she became Brad and Lindsay's mother. Her brother, Danny, became the Duke in her absence. Unfortunately, Duke Daniel has recently passed away, leaving the castle and estate to his absent sister and potentially Brad and Lindsay.

It was fun seeing some Scottish Christmas traditions with the bonfire to celebrate the Christmas solstice, the Shetland ponies, the banquet and ball...The dancing, the kilts, the Scotch.

"An enchanting time and place, the romance, the history, the moors, Glenncraig is straight out of a fairytale at Christmas time."-Mac

This was a story about family and home. I thought it was a beautiful touch to use Michael Buble's song "Home" at a key point towards the end. It was fun to see the reunion of two Party of Five members, reunited as siblings again. The real revelation however is the Scottish actor James Robinson, who played the castle estate manager Mac Bell. Perfect for the role of a romantic lead, he is handsome and his Scottish burr really added a note of authenticity to the film (along with the proper Scottish pronunciations!). Kellie Blaise was also a nice addition to the cast as Sarah Morgan, Brad's wife. What lovely hair she has. Gerry O'Brien, was perfect as the voice of reason Graeme Stewart. The surprise appearance by Will Kemp for a dance with Lacy Chabert, was fun especially in light of their co-starring in Hallmark's Dancing Detective series.

This is a film I would recommend to anyone who likes to armchair travel and who is a fan of Christmas and family. (Also I might recommend this to Party of Five fans who might get a kick out of the Scott Wolf-Lacey Chabert reunion.)

Wow, Scotland in the winter looks beautiful. So green. Like you could jump right in the ocean or walk around in a t-shirt without trouble. Wait, it was not summer? This was supposed to be a Christmas movie? Huh. OK then. On to the story, our siblings find out their mother was a secret duchess and they now are in control of a Scottish castle, cuz that's a thing. If you've seen Party of Five, you know Lacy Chabert and Scott Wolf have had parent issues before, but this didn't seem so much as a problem. They were just annoying about it. Lacy falls for the groundskeeper, dances with someone she should actually be dating (Will Kemp) and leaves the castle only to return and stay. The last 10 minutes of the movie happened so fast that you really need to look up from your phone to catch all the flip flopping. I'm giving this one seven stars for the acting (mostly the tour guide and bar keep) and the setting. I read that the castle they used was actually in Ireland - which is not cool Hallmark. Always dissing the Scots.

This is a Hallmark movie and follows the general formula, and is good clean entertainment with actors we enjoy seeing. It is set in Scotland but apparently was mostly filmed in Ireland, and maybe that is why in one scene a pint of Guinness is ordered at the bar.

Lacey Chabert is Dr. Lindsay Morgan with a thriving medical practice. Scott Wolf is her older brother Brad Morgan, he is a thriving tax attorney. They live in different California cities, they were very close as children growing up but had become somewhat estranged as adults. Mending that gap is part of the overall story here.

It is the Christmas holidays and their mother has requested they fit in a trip to visit her in Scotland. She was from there originally but at age 20 had left and moved to the States, married an American, and raised her family there. Both Lindsay and Brad are making the trip somewhat reluctantly, both are very busy.

But it turns out the trip is very important, their uncle, the Duke, had recently died and the disposition of the castle and the vast land holdings are at issue. Will they have it split up and sold, or will Lindsay and Brad (and his wife) decide they are Scottish enough that they can move and live there?

My wife and I found this to be a nicely entertaining movie. A big bonus for me, at exactly the half-way mark of the movie is a large group whisky tasting and, even though it is a fictional movie, brought a certain warmth to my heart.

At home, streaming.

The last Lacy Chabert movie we really liked was Christmas in Rome, and this one didn't live up to that standard.

The main draw of this movie was the Scottish setting. Once the main group of characters arrive, the mother tells her son and daughter she was in line to be the Duchess, but didn't want the lifestyle control that went with the title and sticking with her family.

The "sort of" outrage shown by the son and daughter didn't ring true for us. It seems manufactured to put some tension in the story, but it was pretty much the only tension in the story.

From there on, we saw charming scenes of local life and traditions, but they didn't interest us enough to wish to watch this again, and the movie trundled on to its entirely predictable ending.

This is your standard Christmas movie fare-decently festive, predictable storyline, and acceptable acting. However, there's an odd dynamic between the siblings; their relationship feels strangely like that of a married couple. It's as if the writers were either only children themselves or come from a family dynamic most of us wouldn't recognize. While it's worth a casual watch for the holiday vibe, it's not something I'd spend money on in theaters. Better for a free streaming night with low expectations.

But don't expect to be blown away, I'm hoping the budget was low. The woman are great Lacey and the Mother steal the show. The guys on the other hand are pretty novice.