Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)

Directed by: Ron Underwood

Starring: Melissa Joan Hart, Mario Lopez, Timothy Bottoms, Markie Post, Kyle Howard, and June Lockhart

Genre: Made for TV, Romantic Comedy, Christmas

Rated: Not Rated

Trudie Chandler is having a terrible day. Everything seems to be going wrong, from her Do-It-Yourself perm frying her hair to missing an important job interview. On top of that, the handsome, successful boyfriend she was bringing home for Christmas breaks up with her. In the midst of a nervous breakdown, Trudie kidnaps David Martin, a customer at the diner where she works, and drags him off to spend the holidays with her equally crazy family.

I have a soft spot for this movie, and I’m really not sure why. It’s a cheesy ABC Family Christmas movie that seems to promote Stockholm Syndrome and kidnapping as the new dating. Yet, it’s so silly, I can’t help but enjoy it.

Melissa Joan Hart is quite funny as the mess that is Trudie. The poor girl can’t catch a break, and she is sick of disappointing her parents time and time again. She kidnaps David and forces him to play along as her boyfriend, Nick, so her parents won’t think she’s a failure yet again. Her desperation does make the viewer pity her, and seeing the way her parents treat her, one can almost sympathize with her temporary insanity. Even David sees this, which is why he begins to care for her on some level.

David’s character is very sweet and charming. He’s more than just the pretty rich boy she thinks he is. It's sad to me that she kidnaps him, and he is more loving toward her than her own family is – with the exception of her brother. Her mother keeps saying Trudie is “trying to ruin Christmas” and her Dad is on her case about the missed job interview. No one has faith in her first true love – art, so they push her to marry rich so she’ll have someone to take care of her. I wanted to knock her parents’ heads together for the way they treat all three of the kids.

The highlights of the movie for me are the horny gas station attendant, David’s girlfriend’s maid, and June Lockhart as Grandma. All made me laugh with their antics. The gas station attendant giving her free fuzzy handcuffs and grumbling about how David was a lucky bastard, Maria torturing her boss and Grandma pulling a gun on the cops all had me giggling.

The ending is predictable and cheesy the way all romantic comedies are, yet I still find it cute. Trudie gets a taste of her own medicine and her family stops being jerks. Happy endings are a must for a romantic comedy.

Overall, it’s a fun little movie if you can suspend disbelief and just go with it. It does have a lot of adult humor, so it’s probably better suited for ages twelve and above, despite it being a part of the ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas countdown. It is a cute film, despite the sexual innuendo, and is a bit of light-hearted fluff to get viewers into the Holiday spirit.

6/10

12 Dates of Christmas (2011)

Directed by: James Hayman

Starring: Amy Smart, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Jayne Eastwood, Benjamin Ayres, and Laura Miyata

Genre: Made for TV, Romance, Comedy, Christmas

Rated: Not rated

Following in the same vein as Groundhog Day and Christmas Every Day, 12 Dates of Christmas is about a young woman named Kate who is stuck in the past. She is successful in her career, but her love life is a mess. She is still hung up on a guy she dated a while ago, and can’t seem to let go of him when he has clearly moved on. Meanwhile, her stepmother has set her up on a blind date with a sweet, handsome, successful man, and Kate continues to screw it up. Luckily for her, a mystical force has intervened and she will relive Christmas Eve over and over until she gets it right.

I really did not like Kate at first. She was rude to everyone and so stuck in the past that I wanted to slap her. She was rude to her neighbor, who is just lonely and trying to be nice. She treats her stepmother like crap for no other reason than she is not Kate’s mother. Not to mention, she shows up on her date with Miles and practically ignores him for two minutes before rushing off to meet up with her ex. Eventually, she does begin to change things, and gradually becomes more likable, but that isn’t until about the halfway point, so until then the audience has to suffer through her idiocy.

Miles is the compilation of perfection that can only exist in a romantic comedy – handsome, successful, sweet, intelligent, and genuinely loving. Yet Kate turns her nose up at him time and again in her quest for perfection. She is so hooked on the idea of her ex that she can’t see the wonderful man before her.

I began to get frustrated with the plot after a while. She has the cutest date with him about sixty percent through the movie, but obviously the film can’t end there, so she has to relive another six days until we get to the end of the movie. There was so much she seemed to have to do to end the cursed repetition that it was a little overwhelming.

There were also some scenes that were unnecessary and/or confusing. I didn’t think her shopping spree on one of the days did anything for the film and could have easily been cut. She also seemed to have her ex’s dog on all of the days, even when he doesn’t show up at her apartment and give her the dog for the evening. Somehow the dog is just magically there. Also, I want to know what happens with Michael’s puppy.

What I did like about this movie was its message about trying to control the world around you. Life doesn’t work on a schedule; you cannot plan out every major event. Love happens, death happens, friends come and go; all you can do is make the most of each day. Don’t close yourself off to new relationships whether they be neighborly, friendly, familial or romantic, because you’ll never find your way to happiness. It is a very true message, and a lesson the main character desperately needed to learn.

Overall, it’s a fairly predictable, cute little romance, with some character development. It does have a few unanswered questions, and the leading lady is incredibly annoying at first. It’s a little cheesy and could have used some more editing, but it’s not a bad little movie and it has a nice message.

5.5/10