Movie: Haul Out the Holly
Starring: Lacey Chabert, Wes Brown
Network: Hallmark Channel
Rating (out of 5 stars): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Synopsis: Emily comes home to visit her parents, only to discover they're leaving for a trip of their own. While staying at their house for the holidays, Emily meets members of the community who want her to join in the neighbourhood's Christmas festivities.
⚠🛑 Disclaimer: This review may contain movie spoilers
Review:
This movie was so entertaining and full of laughs. Lacey Chabert and Wes Brown were spectacular. Melissa Peterman and Stephan Tobolowsky were absolutely brilliant in their supporting roles. This was a movie that was full of one liners, excellent cameos, a silly plot and just utter nonsense. It is exactly what I needed.
Plot
Let me start off by saying that this movie isn't going to be for everyone. It was the most ridiculous plot, had cheesy one liners, and corny jokes. To some it may be utter nonsense, but for me I think that was the whole point of this movie. It was written as a satirical comedy so was deliberately trying to deliver the most ridiculous nonsense to the viewer. This was achieved perfectly with a far-fetched plot, some over the top acting, stunts, fake snowmen, and some of the best one-liners to date in a Hallmark movie. For me this is the funniest movie Hallmark has ever made.
In a nutshell Emily (Lacey Chabert) has broken up with her boyfriend and decides to come home to stay with her parents. Her parents live in a neighbourhood that is obsessed with Christmas and is regulated by the HOA. Emily didn't like this environment when growing up and declares she is not going to participate in the festivities while home. Little does she know that her parents are moving to Florida and have concocted a plan with the entire community to get her back into the festive spirit and to fall in love with the neighbourhood again. What follows is the most ridiculous shenanigans, community activities and Emily's rediscovery of her love for all things Christmas and her neighbourhood.
So I understand that this plot is absolutely ridiculous but you can't let that take away from the hilarity of the whole situation developing around the plot. We have such amazing characters, quirky neighbors, over the top community events, and much more.
Characters/Performances
Lacey Chabert - I think that this is probably one of my favourite Lacey Chabert movies now. I have never seen her in a comedic role and she was brilliant. I thought she was a strong independent character that didn't back down when first confronted with Jared the HOA. She had some great come backs and one liners. Her physical comedy was on point and she did all of this while still being her cute adorable self.
Wes Brown - Now Wes Brown is one of my favourite Hallmark leading men. I have never seen him in a comedic role and he was exceptional. He was over the top at points but I think that was the point. The whole movie was over the top so his portrayal of the Christmas obsessed HOA was brilliant. I loved his looks, one liners, physical comedy and overall quirkiness. He was one of the highlights for me in this movie. His giddyness when they opened the storage unit and discovered the Christmas displays as well as his excitement over getting to play Santa were just hilarious.
Melissa Peterman - Pamela, played by Peterson, for me was hands down the best supporting character in this movie. She had me laughing so hard I was crying. Her under the breath comments, one liners and that karaoke scene...pure laughs. This woman needs her own Hallmark show.
Stephen Tobolowsky - The character of Ned, played by Tobolowsky, was one of the funniest characters to ever grace the Hallmark screen. His character really stole the show every time he was on screen.
Cameos - There were two unexpected cameos in this movie that really elevated this movie for me. The first was the exceptionally talented Kristoffer Polaha. I was floored when he appeared on screen and absolutely loved that he could be heard doing a Jimmy Stewart impersonation. He was quirky and fun. A really great addition to this movie.
What I wasn't expecting was the second cameo late in the movie. I actually screamed when he appeared on screen. Low and behold we had Eric Mabius! Even though he was on screen for a small amount of time I loved it because it was a bit different to his straight laced no nonsense character Oliver that we have grown to love in the "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" movies. I thought he was super funny with his over the top dramatic look and then run to embrace his wife Pamela. So funny.
Hidden references - There were a lot of little hidden references in this movie that added to the laughs and to not taking this movie so seriously.
Hallmark movie reference - When Emily sat down to watch a Christmas movie you saw she was watching a Hallmark movie. Well if that's not enough it was Christmas in Vienna and Emily say "Oh I love this guy." I loved this a s it was a little wink at her recurring leading man Brennan Elliot. What a cute gesture.
Nottinghill Reference - At the end we got a little nod to the movie Nottinghill when Emily says a very familiar line that Julia Roberts uttered...with a few minor changes of course.
"I'm just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him..."
Final Thoughts
This is a movie that you can't take seriously at all. It was designed to be a satire and it won't be enjoyed if you are looking at it without that in mind. This is one of the best Hallmark movies to air this year and is definitely the funniest one they have ever done. It has exceptional leading and supporting cast that offer over the top performances that aid in showcasing the ridiculous plot, cheesy jokes and on screen antics. You will be laughing constantly throughout this movie. It was such a great watch and will be on my re-watch list for sure.
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