There is no part of me that expected to cry over Magic in Mistletoe, but here we are. I’ve always said that Hallmark doesn’t ask what you need, they show you. They show you where your heart is. They show you where your soul is. They show you the magic that you need in order to believe.
If we’re being honest, I am not a big believer in a lot of magic. When a lot of things haven happened in my life, I have spent a lot of my time thinking that only the worst will come. But it’s because a lot of my life I have seen the worst of Christmas and the rare times that I have loved it, I have seen only a glimpse of something positive.
And even then it has been a rare thing.
But maybe that’s why I have found magic in these movies. Maybe it’s because the magic of movies, we are going to get a lot of things right. I think lately a lot of me has found solace in the face that I can see a lot of myself and realize that forgiveness is a thing that I can give.
As well as allowing myself the grace of moving forward.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Harrington Davis (Campbell) is the author of the popular Magic in Mistletoe book series but commercial success has left him a recluse who’s lost his love of the holiday. His social media post claiming Christmas is a scam causes fans to quickly turn on him, leaving April (Greenwood), the publicist for his publishing house, having to change her holiday plans to help restore his reputation and save the launch of the latest – and final – books in the Magic in Mistletoe book series from flopping. She drops by in person to convince him to try and set things right by returning to his hometown of Mistletoe, which inspired him to write the first book when he was just a teen, and participate the annual festival the town throws to honor the popular books. He begrudgingly makes the trip and it’s clear that April has her work cut out for her. But as Harrington and April spend time together at the town’s events and she meets his longtime friends, a different side to him emerges and she learns the hurt behind his bitter feelings as well as what inspired him to create Magic in Mistletoe. The initial frost between them starts to thaw and there just may be a path leading to a merry Christmas for all.
WHAT IT’S GIVING: A Scrooge Is Not Always A Scrooge
STANDOUT PERFORMANCE: Paul Campbell. Somehow I understood my want to not deal with a lot of things Christmas by seeing it in a character that has experienced a lot of the same pain.
GRINCH-ISH THOUGHTS: There is not a day that goes by that I won’t tell you that Christmas is a scam, that it’s one of those things that people use to spend money, receive and give gifts, to indulge. There isn’t a day that goes by that I won’t tell you my hatred for the holiday.
But I am not famous and I don’t write books about the holiday and my life hasn’t been built around the magic of Christmas. But for Harrington it has, until he takes to the inter webs and declares not being a fan of Christmas (basically). This of course makes national news and makes everyone who reads his books, not want to read his books.
Enter a PR savvy dynamo who goes to where Hamilton is and tells him that he’s going back to where everything began – Mistletoe. When he doesn’t want to go she blackmails him – telling him that the publishing house will sue if he doesn’t.
There’s a thing about going home – sometimes it is freeing and sometimes it strangles you. There is something about going home that makes sense and something about it that makes life a little easier and also harder. It’s not an easy line to be on both sides of.
For Harrington, he’s seeing the way that the way that he thought that Christmas was, the way that he was being taken advantage of, the way that he thought that people had given up on Christmas and were just about the money that they could make from him. Yet being home, he’s seeing that it’s not that simple and that the way that he thought that life wasn’t, isn’t necessarily how it is. He’s not given people a chance, but the person he’s let down the most is himself.
Harrington has let himself down because he’s let himself get so wrapped up in grief that he’s forgotten about what joy Christmas can bring and how the people that he’s loved so much and the people that he’s lost would want nothing more than for him to live a life that is filled with joy.
There is nothing wrong with experiencing grief on your own timeline and in your own ways. It’s actually something that I think people spend too much time on, believing that they have to do things in a certain amount time. It’s thinking that we have to heal in a line – but healing and growth isn’t linear.
It’s April’s pushing him to keep challenging himself, to open his heart, to find the magic he once had, that makes him grow. And yes, things aren’t always going to go his way or hers, but what is the great thing about this and movies like this – it’s that we’re reminded that we can always grow.
We should always grow.
The way that this movies pace moves, I have to admit I loved. I loved the way that I found a way to fall in love with each character, each moment, and each part of the story.
And you believe that they’ll find the happy ending.
And for that, I am so thankful. Because in finding that happy ending, what Harrington found was the ability to move forward. And moving forward is one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves. Opening ourselves to the possibility of magic in our lives is a gift.
And sometimes we need to be reminded of just that.
CHRISTMAS CHEER: 🎄🎄🎄