Christmas by Starlight
Reviewed by Lisa Sue
The first thing to comment on Christmas by Starlight is that the co-stars came up with the story, and Paul is credited with the teleplay. Having seen both Paul and Kimberley in a number of these Hallmark movies, I think Wedding Every Weekend springs to mind, they seemed to have picked up nicely on the formula and seemed able to transfer what they may/may not have learned making these movies into the script. So here’s the premise for this movie- Annie’s a family lawyer who specializes in adoptions, and her parents beloved Starlight Café (Best Waffles in Chicago!) is about to be demolished to make way for more…shopping malls or some other unnecessary pantheon of corporate greed. Enter William Holt- the face of the corporate greed, heir in training to Holt Enterprises, which SURPRISE is the entity about to shut down the Starlight Café. William’s dad doesn’t like how little attention Will is paying their clients (something about some potential lawsuits) or Will’s general lackadaisical work ethic and insists that a lawyer be hired immediately to make sure Will doesn’t get the company into any more trouble. Enter the DEAL- if Annie agrees to pretend to be Will’s lawyer for a week (which buys him time until he can come up with some other scheme) Will agrees to keep the Starlight Café open. Being as smart as Annie is, she understands the absurdity of such a deal but short on other options agrees to this desperate plan of deception. Mind you, what happens to her real job and the adoptions waiting for Annie is not mentioned, we wish the best for those families and orphans.
In Annie’s first meeting as Will’s lawyer, she gets Holt Enterprises out of a lawsuit with the preservation society by agreeing to host a fundraiser with the proceeds going to said preservation society. To Will’s utter surprise, Dad Holt is on board this idea as a fundraiser is cheaper than a lawsuit and is great publicity for the firm. To try and teach Will a lesson Dad puts him in charge of the fundraiser. All other Holt Enterprise work temporarily suspended, Will is to concentrate solely on this fundraiser. Naturally Will delegates the work to Annie and his PA Lyle, not knowing Annie’s motto is “Buy the skates, land the twirl” Her version of build it, and they will come. Practical translation: get the Christmas Tree for the fundraiser, and everything else will fall into place. The fundraising centerpiece obtained, Lyle tells her she needs a theme. To which when Will replies, isn’t Christmas the theme? Annie responds “Christmas is the season, not the theme” Thanks for enlightening me, I would have assumed Christmas was a legitimate theme; then again I’ve put together zero fundraising events. To get inspiration they hang out at a toy store, where Will stumbles upon the theme Christmas Magic. More wise people will have to explain to me why Christmas doesn’t work as a theme, but Christmas Magic does. We also get to hear the story of why Annie loves Christmas, how beloved the Starlight Café is, and her treasured snow globe. Turns out Annie was adopted a few weeks before Christmas, and the snow globe was the first Christmas present her parents got for her and they all symbolize stability and security she hadn’t had before that.
During one lunch, they eat BBQ outdoors. She’s wearing gloves and a white overcoat. Who eats BBQ like that? I’m not saying one can’t enjoy BBQ in a white coat and gloves, but I do believe it takes away from the essence of BBQ, which is at its core messy. Lyle keeps Annie on track with the fundraiser, making sure a photographer, music, and food is provided. With so much emphasis on eating, one is surprised that Annie forgot about the food. Since the fundraiser is being held at the Starlight, she just assumed food was taken care of. Turns out waffles aren’t suitable fundraising food. Who knew? I would totally eat waffles at a fundraiser, they are great any time any place. After some more fundraiser mini drama, they wind up settling with the BBQ place as the caterer. Despite some bumps in the road, they manage to pull off this fundraiser. And the night before, Will adds some more decorations to really add more Christmas Magic to the fundraiser and surprises Annie.
Now we make it to the main event, the fundraiser. Things seem to be going well between Annie and Will, who over the course of the week have started to see each other in a new light. Naturally this is when it is going to fall apart and during the fundraiser Annie is told that the Starlight will be demolished come the new year, despite the agreement. She feels hurt, deceived, and betrayed by Will. For someone so used to being independent, to let her guard down and for this to be so devastating to Annie who doesn’t even get to enjoy the fundraiser she worked so hard on, I am surprised. How can Will fix this mess? In the race to the finale Will gets the preservation society to review the historical significance of the café, which while still a long shot means no development until a ruling. He stands up to his father and tells Dad, that what the Starlight provides, that sense of community (I should mention they do open mic night at the café, acoustic version of Silent Night) is worth more than any shopping mall. So with a renewed sense of purpose, turns out Will isn’t completely worthless. He gets Annie, and she gets? The Starlight saved and the key to make her dancer in the snow globe twirl again.
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