Football may be something that I don’t understand or watch but Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story, I do understand and I do love. After last year with the Chiefs, I definitely was looking forward to this years. The Bills are an institution here in New York. I mean sure we have the Jets and the Giants, but the Bills are different.
Bills Mafia is different.
So, here I am watching Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story, and I am smiling. Fandoms colliding – Teen Wolf and Shadowhunters. The fun thing when fandoms collide because it’s always fun to follow their careers. And it’s fun to watch their careers and see where they go.
Holland Roden and Matthew Daddario star in this years Holiday Touchdown movie. Roden plays Morgan Quinn, a pedatric doctor who is devoted to her patients. She’s oblivious to the fact that her bestie is in love with her. The bestie being Gabe DeLuca, played by Daddario , is the Bills’ VP of Stadium Development.
Gabe looks at her the way that any women wants to be looked at. He looks at her as if she’s hung the moon. He sees her and he comes alive, even though he doesn’t want to tell her how he feels.
Both of them – their families are devoted to the Bills. When a package arrives for Uncle Tommy they learn that he’s been receiving gifts from a mystery sender. Gabe and Morgan set out on a quest to find the mystery of who the sender is.
FAMILIES
Uncle Tommy is a hero. I said what I said. The man moved his sister and her kids in when his brother-in-law passed. Uncle Tommy wants nothing more to be there for his family and that makes Morgan realize she wants to solve the mystery of the gifts that he’s been getting for years.
Morgan and Gabe are determined to find out who has been sending gifts. Tommy has always wanted to meet the person who left the gifts. Gabe is so excited to be around her.
The DeLucas and Quinns have been friends for years. They love to go to Bills game and always take a picture at the last game before Christmas. It’s a big deal to them, as tradition matters. Their friendship matters.
Would I have loved to learn more about the families? Absolutely. But I loved that we got to learn a lot about Gabe and Morgan. We love a falling in love with your best friend trope and these two play out that trope well.
SECRETS
Everyone has has secrets. Somethings they don’t meant to keep to themselves, but it’s just over time secrets are harder to keep.
For decades, gift have shown up for Christmas via the mail. It started back in the 1970’s – when Tommy was off to Vietnam. He has been the person who had kept his Mom a float. But now it was a on a privates salary. One day a bunch of groceries showed up at her door. After that it was money, gifts, and more started showing up at the door.
When he returned he took over helping his Mom and make sure that there was always food on the table and a roof over their head. And even though he was back, there was always something that showed up at Christmas.
Tommy had always wanted to find the person who sent the gifts, but gave up. He got too busy with life and before he knew it – it was as if too much time had passed. Gabe and Morgan decided that they were going to find who it was.
VIDLERS
In the box of gifts, there was a figurine that still has part of a sticker from the store that the person bought it from. The two venture to the store and ask if they have receipts from the 70’s.
One thing I can say about is that Holland Roden and Matthew Daddario both surprised me with every emotion they brought to the screen. I think that the two were able to really convince Hallmark viewers that their characters belonged together and that they could believe in Gabe and Morgan. I believed in them.
The truth is that the way that these two bring their characters to life, you can’t help but find yourself literally cheering and yelling for them to get out of their own way.
I loved every moment of Gabe and Morgan searching at the store. They were just happy and happy is a good thing. They made us invested in this movie.
all you want it to be
What cracks me up is that everyone around Gabe and Morgan tells him that it is completely obvious that he loves her. There isn’t a person that isn’t telling Gabe to open his mouth and tell her. To be fair – he tries.
When she has an event at work – which is helping the kids decorate letters to Santa. She mentioned that she needs to go buy Bills merch to give to the kids and Gabe said that he could probably get the team to donate some. But, he goes above and beyond that – he gets players to come and help the kids.
The kids in the hospital were so taken with the players and felt so excited to have them all there. Morgan is so excited that he’s done this and you can see the excitement in his eyes that he was able to make her happy.
I fell out of my chair laughing that even the Bills players called out Gabe about how obvious it was that he liked her. She doesn’t act like she sees it, but I do believe that she sees it. She’s just afraid to hear it.
EVERYONE ELSE CAN SEE IT
While at the Quinns home, they are looking for clues in the box that Tommy gave them. They find a picture of Tommy with a young woman. It’s quite an old picture and they ask Tommy about it.
The two set out to find the woman in the picture and how they do it cracked me up.
We all have that friend that is excellent at finding someone online. I have friends and well I can too – that if you give us a name we will find everything about that person. Morgan and Gabe heading to their “friends” house – to ask for help. That “friend” had a basement that looked like Bills merch threw up over every inch. It was a lot.
But the whole scene sounded like the Godfather and I was laughing. That “friend” finds something and it does enable them to find Mia.
I think that what makes Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story, so different than Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story is the humor in this one. This movie cracked me up and offered so much joy. I loved A Chiefs Love Story, don’t get me wrong. It’s just this one is a lot funnier.
I needed that. Especially with all that is going on in the world. I really enjoyed that piece of this puzzle.
PASSIONATE ADMISSION
The two are able to find Mia’s sisters house and she answers the door. When the two are able to talk to her, she admits that she is the one that has left gifts, year after year. She doesn’t want Tommy to know.
Morgan doesn’t plan on telling Tommy, but Gabe isn’t having it. He believes that Tommy should know. When Morgan says they are giving up – I am not sure if Gabe didn’t want to hear that because he didn’t want to loose time that he had with Morgan or if he really wanted to make sure that Tommy had a happy ending.
When he becomes so passionate about it – he admits to Morgan that he is in love with her. She didn’t say thank you, but also didn’t say that she loved him. Shock man. She was in shock.
It’s a scary thing – falling in love with your best friend. Admitting feelings is also terrifying. But watching the admission – just how Daddario delivered Gabes admission – had me jumping on my bed screaming KISS THE GIRL.
TAILGATE
It’s the day of the game, and Morgan isn’t sure of what to say to Gabe. So the two aren’t really talking, but when she finally gets the nerve to talk to him – he was gone. I was so mad, but I do know movies well enough to know that the anger won’t last forever.
There will be pay off.
And there definitely was.
It’s halftime and Morgan is worried where Gabe is. When he showed up Morgan was so excited to see him. He keeps telling her to watch what is happening. They were honoring Mia’s niece for her service, but he had made it more than that.
He’d been able to get Tommy on the field so him and Mia can reunite. I was smiling so big. The family couldn’t finish the game though, as Morgans sister went into labor.
Now me, I am thinking that they are never gonna get this family picture now. We have like four minutes left on the movie. But I was pleasantly surprised that we did get a happy ending.
Gabe was able to get the family on the field to take a family picture. The family is excited and yes, as a viewer you get to be happy for them, but well… I was screaming that we needed Morgan to say I LOVE YOU TOO. I actually felt bad for Gabe, because he’s just trying to make sure the two are okay.
When she grabs his face and kisses him, I fell backwards on my bed and said, “It’s about time!”
Because it was.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- I loved Andrew Walker was the bartender
- Tyler Hynes and Hunter King showing up was a treat
- I too, want a reindeer
- We’re getting a new Holiday Touchdown next year, right?
