I feel a little bit called out (in the best way possible) by Sugarplummed and I am not mad about it. Now, I am not sure what I expected from this movie, but whatever I did – I never expected Hallmark to make fun of itself.
Yes, I said make fun of itself. Maybe they didn’t mean to, but it’s definitely what it felt like. There was no part of me that didn’t find every rule funny and also found myself realizing that I really do believe in these rules.
Yes, called out.
The premise of the movie is, “Emily’s wish for a picture-perfect Christmas comes true when a magical, optimistic movie character steps off the screen to help, but as things spiral out of control, she learns that true holiday perfection might look very different from what she imagined.”
Premise doesn’t cover everything that this movie is about, but we’ll get there. And I know that I will be appreciative that Hallmark made this movie.
THE LIST
Emily is a busy Mom that only wants what is best for her kids. She wants to make Christmas perfect and her idea of perfect means following a checklist that her Mom made when she was a kid.
She’s tightly wound – so tight that a Xanax may not be enough to help her. However, she does want to be different and I honestly believe that she thinks she’s doing everything right, because this is the kind of stuff that worked for her. It brings back good memories for her.
The thing is that every year she busts out this list and every year she’s never able to finish it. Something happens and something doesn’t get checked off. But this year, because everyone is so busy and this may be the last Christmas they are all at home, she is determined that this year, the ball will not be dropped.
The whole thing gave me a little bit of anxiety, because there is so much pressure placed on Christmas. It’s supposed to be a day of togetherness and family and personal. The checklist – to me – added a whole new facet to it and personally, I would not be able to handle.
So yes, her kids and her husband not wanting to hear about it and seeming distant for it, made perfect sense to me.
THE WISH
Emily’s husband is working all of the time and not standing up for himself. She’s annoyed that he doesn’t seem to be paying attention to what is going on in their home, but I wonder if she realizes she’s not also.
Emily is longing for connection. For her family to be reconnected. Her daughter wants to go off to the Berkley School of Music and she’s definitely not hear that from her. She wants her daughter to stay close to home. Her son is a little isolated and no one seems to like him at school.
She comes home and thinks that her husband is talking to her, but her husband is talking to his boss. She becomes frustrated and heads to the office to pick up some ornaments that were mistakenly delivered there.
While there, the box breaks and as Emily goes to pick them up she notices that the star says that you can wish upon it. She wishes for a perfect Christmas with her family, like the ones that you see in the movies.
If I am being honest here, I don’t think that I would ever wish for that. Why? Because perfection is different to everyone and I don’t think that at this point, Emily knew what perfect means to her.
What happens next – SugarPlum comes out of the screen and is there to help her. I am 100% behind Emily when she thinks that she’s lost her mind. I would have thought the same thing. Only thing is – she’s not lost her mind and Sugarplum is right there.
SUGARPLUMMED
One thing that I loved so much was the book of rules. At first I was like what the NCIS is happening, but then when I realized that it was all the rules that we believe in for Christmas movies…
I appreciated it.
I appreciated that as they started to mark everything off the list, all the rules that they spoke of were things that I have seen or thought of. I appreciated that I could laugh at every rule and be like, that tracks.
The thing about holiday movies is that you watch them for an escape and you watch them so you can get away from life. Viewers have come to expect certain happy endings or certain things tied up in movies. We expect happy endings and we expect to see love find a way.
So, I laughed and found joy in all of the moments that we got to see in this movie, trying to find a way to get everything done. And well, I also loved when the rules started to backfire.
Sugarplummed is very funny and also gives a good lesson on the meanings of Christmas. The movie had one Christmas tradition after another and it was good to see the joy that these things bring people.
I think that it’s one of those things that I love about Christmas movies. The joy. They show you all of the joy, the growth, and the celebration.
Sugarplum is going to help Emily and it’s going to be a hot mess, but that is because Emily isn’t listening.
NOT LISTENING
There isn’t much that Emily is really listening to. There also isn’t much that her husband is doing besides working. Sugar Plum definitely has everything stacked up against her and these two aren’t making it easier.
Emily’s house is chosen as a finalist in the Christmas decorating contest and she thinks that this will be what gives them a magical Christmas memory. It’s number five on the list.
The thing is – when even Sugar Plum is telling you to dial it back, you probably should do just that. I think that Sugar Plum – in all her Christmas glory – can see the other side of the story. She can see things about Christmas and what works better than those who are on the inside looking at.
Emily has to stop and really start to listen to her family. She keeps putting off her daughter – who is trying to make a case for going to Berkley. She’s bossing her husband around, instead of listening to what he has to say. Her kids talk back to her and they want nothing to do with this whole contest thing.
What really stung – for me – was seeing her daughter say that she liked Christmas’ the way that they were. It reminded me that sometimes it’s just the simple things that mean the most. Emily needed to see that though.
PERFECT CHRISTMAS
The same day that the contest is judged is the day of Emily’s daughter pageant. Everyone leaves and it takes the pain of hearing her family upset to open her eyes. Seeing them all leave – it felt as thought a part of her was being torn out of her chest.
So was I happy when she realized that the pageant was the place she needed to be? Absolutely. Family needs to be together. Seeing them all work together and their little girl sing on the stage and everyone else happy for her – that was their miracle moment.
I loved that moment.
Sugarplummed was filled with humor and rules – but all of which worked. I loved this movie and I loved Janel Parrish’s over the top portrayal of Sugar Plum. The movie showed me that we can have fun, enjoy the moments, and laugh. I loved every moment they called out the rules and every moment the rules called them out.
But, hey, i’ll stick to loving the rules of holiday films. That is magic to me.
