I know the answer, but why are Hallmark holiday movies…like that?
The plot is always meant to be escapism, but the female protags never *want* to escape- they’re Type A ladies who worked hard to get where they are and have had the dream of success in business since the beginning. You sort of get the sense that they’re extroverted and like urban living. They have friend groups, apartments, and all that. Yes, the movie does tell you that they’re stressed, but they really seem to like their lives outside of that.
When they do inevitably get sent to Xmas-ville for their assignment, the guy they meet is almost never nice at first. He makes fun of her for not knowing how farm equipment works. He calls her ‘city girl’ and implies her journalism degree is stupid. He takes joy in making her do unpleasant tasks to ‘humble’ her.
Even when they warm up to each other, he still doesn’t like her very much- the worst example I’ve seen was the lady being an artist, *finally* getting her first gallery showing, and wanting to catch a flight to go see it…and the guy didn’t want her to go, because who’d look after his toddler who loved her so much? She wasn’t even *moving*, just taking a short trip to Seattle or wherever.
I know people say these films are Chick Flicks, but they really don’t seem to cater to a female perspective at all. Most of us don’t work High Profile jobs, and we certainly wouldn’t want a guy who made fun of us for it if we did.
All I’m saying is- Cinderella wouldn’t be Cinderella if she enjoyed working from home, and Prince Charming made it a point to jokingly call her an Old Maid.
[stage whisper] it’s conservative Christian wish-fulfillment
[pterodactyl scream] it’s conservative Christian wish-fulfillment!
To make it explicit: they’re movies about putting women in their “proper”(to conservatives) place.