Marvelous Geeks

I wish I was a Christmas person because it seems like it must be delightful. I even bought the Bonne Maman advent calendar this year to try and get into the spirit, and so far the only joyful thing it’s filled me with is a different flavor of jam every day. But some things are just not meant to be, so I don’t get a huge amount of enjoyment out of many Christmas movies. I do like The Holiday, although I suspect that a huge part of that is due to the fact that I love the idea of becoming friends with an old man on vacation, and I often go quite a few Christmases without watching even the classics. There is an exception to almost every rule however, and the only movie that I make sure to watch every year is The Family Stone. 

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For someone who always prefers historical romances to modern-day ones, holiday movies featuring royals tend to be hard to love, but that’s not the case with Hallmark‘s A Royal Queens Christmas. It might just be my favorite one since A Princess for Christmas.

Starring Megan Par, Julian Morris, Nicola Correia-Damude, Jonelle Gunderson, Ramona Milano, and more A Royal Queens Christmas is one of the sweetest love stories following a disguised prince who steps in to fill a piano player’s position at an annual performance.

While it’s unclear what was happening with the Italian/American accents in this film, every other part of it is genuinely aces. Park and Morris have such strong chemistry that it was easy to root hard for them from the first run-in to every tension-filled conversation. While I wish we could’ve spent way more time with them in the longing area, it was still so heavy, surely I wasn’t the only one screaming “just kiss each other” already. (Especially during that moment in front of the shop.)

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that Reba McEntire can do no wrong. Period. Right alongside Dolly Parton, we love, and we trust, and we stand by everything she does. And for that reason, Reba McEntire’s Christmas in Tune is a perfect musical bop.

Starring the noteworthy Reba McEntire, John Schneider, Candice King, Justin David, and more, dynamic (now separated) husband and wife duo Georgia (McEntire) and Joe (Schneider) are forced to reunite for a benefit concert when their daughter Belle (King) needs a performing act. The entirety of the film is just pure, unabashed warmth, good ol’ familial coziness, heart, and one of the loveliest tropes, a second chance at love for both couples.

In short, Reba McEntire’s Christmas in Tune feels like the kind of Christmas concert you wish you could attend. Correction, it basically is a Christmas concert. It’s flashy in all the right ways, the décor is stunning, and there’s no song that doesn’t sound better because of Reba McEntire’s singing it.

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Netflix’s A Castle for Christmas is the holiday film we’ve all been waiting for. It’s romantic, it’s utterly charming, the lands are stunning, the cast is exceptional, and the tropes slam hard. Dun Dunbar castle is the dream location for a film like this, and the leads are everything.

Starring Brooke Shields, Cary Elwes, Vanessa Grasse, Lee Ross, Suanne Braun, Andi Osho, Eilidh Loan, Tina Gray, and more, there is nothing A Castle for Christmas is lacking. The plot, the friendships, the love story all thread together so perfectly that at no point will you want to avert your gaze.

Forced to share space? Check. Grumpy castle owner, somewhat of a sunshine author? Check. A duke? Check. Enemies to gradual friends to lovers? Check. A lingering embrace followed by longing looks? Check. Dances? Check. The only trope absent from this film is basically forbidden lovers—everything else is set. There’s even a precious pup named Hamish, and I wouldn’t trust anyone who doesn’t love that? She walks on him bathing, folks—need I say more?

A Castle for Christmas is film is a delight from start to finish.

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Hallmark‘s A Christmas Together With You is a pleasantly surprising love story that focuses first and foremost on the reunion of lost love instead of a currently developing one. And while I’m generally not a fan of the whole high school sweethearts arc, somehow it works here.

Starring Laura Vandervoort, Henry Lennix, Niall Matter, Liza Huget, and more, A Christmas Together With You follows Megan (Vandervoort) and Frank (Lennix) into a small town to reconnect with Frank’s first love, Claire (Huget). Megan has a literal run-in with Steve (Matter) and his dog where they get off on the wrong foot only for him to make up for it later when they find themselves in the same town, and she stays at his family’s cabin.

The film isn’t an instant favorite where the love story between Megan and Steve is concerned or even for Frank and Claire. Still, it deserves credit for establishing a found family beautifully. The bond between Megan and Frank is that very found family, and it’s the one that brings the waterworks.

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Much like Lifetime’s The Spirit of Christmas, Hallmark’s A Timeless Christmas plays with the concept of time travel and shockingly gets it right. So few holiday films stay with me in the parade of endless options year-round, but when they do, they’re generally the films that feature the best tropes and nail them. The concept of time travel forces you to suspend disbelief, and that’s an easy thing to do when the leads have exquisite chemistry.

Starring Ryan Paevey, Erin Cahill, Kenny Kwon, Brandi Alexander, Zahf Paroo, and more, Hallmark’s A Timeless Christmas takes a man from 1903 straight into the future where his home is now a museum, his fiancée is in the past, and well, need I say more? There’s just something so deliciously exhilarating about a man from the past grappling with modern technology, fashion, food, and everything else while grumbling through it. A lot like in The Spirit of Christmas, Charles and Daniel need to figure out something crucial from their past only to fall in love with the present and choose it instead.  A win for us all.

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In an unsurprising turn of events, Netflix’s The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star is just as ridiculous as the franchise’s former films. Still, the established relationships continue to be sweet, while the new budding romance is…hot. These films aren’t good, and I’m not going to pretend they are; moreover, I almost hate how entertaining they continue to be.

Still, Vanessa Hudgens somehow continues to be ridiculously enamoring, and Fiona is somehow the perfect addition to the now threeway switcheroo. Hudgens’ accent might be cringeworthy at times, but her means of switching back and forth between the three leading ladies is stunning, nevertheless.

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Lifetime’s A Picture Perfect Holiday plays with some of the best tropes, and it makes you feel through each of them. There’s a stunning cabin, folks—need I say more? Like most Christmas films, A Picture Perfect Holiday is the right amount of cheesy, fun, and full of plenty of romance.

Starring Tatyana Ali, Henderson Wade, Paula Andrea Placido, Rivkah Reyes, Tito Livas, and more, a photography retreat goes array when Gaby (Ali) and Sean (Wade) serendipitously meet because they’re double-booked in the same cabin. As opposites, there’s riveting banter throughout, leading to moments of quiet intimacy found in reflective conversations and longing gazes. Paired in groups at the actual retreat, in the end, Gaby comes to learn that there is a lot more to photography than the dreams she once possessed.

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