All Christmas movies are starting to be the same. Spoiled and engaged man/woman gets cut off from money, struggles at first and then becomes a huge success, breaks off engagement to be with woman/man met during struggle. Oh, and it snows. Probably a lot of snow.
The lead character may be a playboy, someone who's lost her memory, gets lost at the airport and ends up on the wrong airplane, gets picked up by the wrong chauffer, completes that final task to get her wings, and/or inspires a broken family to reconnect.
Okay, I'll admit to years of Hallmark movies. And until recently, I couldn't get enough. But lately, I need something just a little different. This week, I found not one, but TWO, movies that fit that bill.
The first is "Klaus", a 2019 movie that I found on Netflix. From IMDB: A simple act of kindness always sparks another, even in a frozen, faraway place. When Smeerensburg's new postman, Jesper, befriends toymaker Klaus, their gifts melt an age-old feud and deliver a sleigh full of holiday traditions.
This movie was a pure joy to watch. One of my 24 year old sons was here while I was watching, and he sat down and watched with me. We both agreed that it was very well animated, the story was intriguing, and the voices and level of conflict were perfect. Yes, we knew how it would end, but to see that the first Christmas tree was actually whale bones, the reindeer were not actually flying but were merely airborne because of sliding down an Evel-Knieval-type ramp, and the first elves were an entire village of Sami people.
Okay, I know this is not true, but it all fit together perfectly to tell the story of how Santa "Klaus" came to be. It is GREAT for the kids, but adults will love it, too.
The other movie caught my eye because of the premise. Another 2019 release, "A Christmas Movie Christmas" says this on IMDB: Two cute sisters live together. One loves Christmas movies and the other calls them predictable. They meet. They fall in love. It snows. The end. This time's different. They magically wake up in a Christmas movie.
Based on the notion that all Christmas movies are the same, which I have already established, this movie makes the bold move to put the characters, two sisters, inside such a movie. It's one sister's wish to go, and the other sister goes along as the sidekick, or so she thinks.
I had a few good laughs with this one, as they good-naturedly poke fun of the genre. Two men competing for one woman? Check! A jealous ex-girlfriend? Check! A perfect grandmother who is always baking? Check! Animal shelter volunteering? Check! It's such a fun movie, with cute dialogue, a wonderful location (filmed in a little German town in Michigan called Frankenmuth), and very real chemistry between the actors (the actors who played Lacy and Paul married in real life after filming!). It was the perfect movie to watch in front of the fire with a cozy blanket and a glass of merlot.
So, check them out and let me know what you think. Also, drop a note to let me know your fave holiday movies this year. Cheers!
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